Avengers Endgame: An End to the Infinite War

By Bill Friedell

2019 has been a year of endings. Game of Thrones aired its final season to a mixed reception. The final chapter of the Skywalker Saga of Star Wars is on its way at the end of the year. But first came Avengers: Endgame (Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, 2019) , the finale of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Infinity Saga, the culmination of twenty two films over eleven years of build up and story. Producer Kevin Feige and a multitude of filmmakers brought to film what comic book fans had always experienced on the page: episodic storytelling with interconnected characters and storylines. By digging into the MCU’s two greatest strengths, the characters and its 11 year history, Anthony and Joe Russo, with screenwriters Christopher Marcus and Stephen McFeely craft a satisfying and emotional ending (Be warned that I will talk about the movie in its entirety, including the end. So if you haven't seen the movie yet, be warned that I will spoil major moments and the ending of the film). 

Like video essayist Jonathan Burdett said in his series of video essays on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the films are built on the power of character (Burdett, 00:00:46 - 00:01:43). If we didn’t invest in the characters and find them compelling, we wouldn’t have cared about these characters when Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johanson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) joined together in 2012 in Marvel’s The Avengers (Joss Wheaton). We also wouldn’t have cared when many of our beloved heroes disappeared because of the machinations of the Mad Titan Thanos (Josh Brolin) in Avengers Infinity War (Anthony and Joe Russo, 2018). ​

Iron Man set the stage of the MCU as the first Marvel Cinematic Universe Film.,

Captain America: The First Avenger takes place in the 1940s, making it the first film chronologically.

The Russos, Marcus, and Mcfeely masterfully weave callbacks throughout the film. Not only as a celebration of how far the Marvel Cinematic Universe has progressed, but also to show how the characters have developed and changed. Captain America has many callback moments, particularly during the time heist to recover the infinity stones scattered throughout time. When he confronts his past self, we see a more naive version of him who hasn’t been in the modern world as long and hasn’t grown skeptical of America and S.H.I.E.L.D yet. When young Cap says, “I can do this all day”, present day Cap annoyed cause he always said that. He’s also more prone to swear, working off of the “language” running joke from Avengers: Age of Ultron. Captain America, starting with Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, 2014), began a process of dissolution with the world around him, seeing that the ideals of modern America fall away from what he knew to be true in the 1940s. While his ideals have never wavered (as seen in the final battle as Cap alone stares down Thanos’ forces, tightening the strap of his shield) he has changed in terms of his approach to authority and the naive patriotism he use to display. And this is rewarded as all the heroes of the MCU rally behind him and is finally given a chance to receive a life of his own. In the words of Matt Goldberg of the Collider Podcast, he is a soldier who is allowed to go home (Goldberg).

In terms of Tony’s arc, ever since he became Iron Man, he has struggled to figure out the best way to protect the world and rectify his mistakes. Ever since Iron Man 3, Tony has attempted to leave behind his responsibilities as Iron Man, not in a selfish way, but rather to create a better world he should have been trying to make instead of making weapons. But the sins of his past, usually in the form of a supervillain who hates Tony, forces Tony to confront his flaws and save the world while doing it. First, he destroyed his armor, then he created Ultron to protect the Earth from outside threats, and finally with the Sokovia Accords and mentoring Peter Parker  (Captain America: Civil War: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, 2016), all to no avail. After the snap, Tony started a family, finally resting after years of constant worry over the threat of Thanos. Once again, Iron Man must rectify for his failure, even though he doesn’t have to and doing so may endanger his own daughter’s existence. But through reuniting with his father, Howard Stark (John Slattery) in the seventies while searching for the space stone, Tony finds catharsis over the issues he had with him since Iron Man 2 (Jon Favreau, 2010) and further elaborated on in Captain America: Civil War. His father tells Tony that even though his child isn’t born yet, he would do anything for him, which Tony will have to do in order to prevent Thanos from restarting the universe. By creating this arc for Tony Stark, the father of the MCU having to give his life to save the MCU as a good father, he mirrors Thanos’ negative father figure role as seen through his interactions with his daughters, imposing his will and committing all sorts of atrocities in the name of knowing what’s best for the Universe (Marvel's Biggest Baddie Just Wants To Be Your Daddy (Avengers: Infinity War) 1:20 - 5:45). Where Thanos sacrificed his daughter for the "sake of the universe", Tony sacrificed himself for his own daughter and the rest of the Universe. 

Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) sacrifices himself to save all of existence.

Unlike the penciled images of the comic books these characters are modeled after, these stories aren’t infinite. While some franchises recast their roles to continue, the Russos decided to give our central characters a definitive ending. It retrospectively gives more power to what was given before by offering an endpoint, giving the arcs of each character structure. While Marvel could have continued these characters in some form or another. Marvel allowing for this poetic ending, sending Tony’s old arc reactor into the lake as the heroes of the MCU watch and morn, showing not only the effect he had in this world, but seeing what the success of the original Iron Man lead the way. Just like Stan Lee and Jack Kirby did for comics by creating the Marvel Universe, Kevin Feige and all the directors of the MCU did the same in movies. They created a universe of heroes that intermingle and interact with each other, combining the highest of stakes and crazy concepts with humanity and relatability. And while it isn’t the end of this series, it gives a proper final curtain for the first Avengers.  

Works Cited

Burdett, Jonathan, director. Marvel's Super-Powered Characterization. YouTube/ Films&Stuff, YouTube, 17 Aug. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDJQs7GK6hU.

Goldberg, Matt, host. The Collider.com Podcast; Episode 196 – ‘Avengers: Endgame’. Collider.com, April 23, 2019. http://collider.com/podcast-avengers-endgame/#poster

Marvel's Biggest Baddie Just Wants To Be Your Daddy (Avengers: Infinity War). YouTube/ Just Write, YouTube, 30 Apr. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=72QQsWm7yFk.​