*WARNING* There will be SPOILERS in this review, you have been warned!

Written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely and directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, “Avengers: Endgame” is the culmination of Marvel’s ambitious 22 movie spanning Infinity Saga. A year after the Superhero grand slam that was “Infinity War”, Endgame picks up the pieces leftover from Thanos’ successful snap that rendered half of the life in the universe to dust. This film had to do the impossible, the insane, and the unimaginable after the events preceding it- and what we got was one of the most satisfying possibilities in the Multiverse! The first act wisely wades in the desperation and defeat that has rattled our surviving heroes. Each of the core six original Avengers process this in widely unique choices over the course of the five year time jump after the opening sequence. Black Widow organizes what remains of the Avengers Headquarters, getting reports from the cosmic and international heroes as time marches ever onward. She appears rattled and broken, focusing on what can be done in the wake of universal tragedy. Captain America leads a support group in New York City and is still an optimist at his core- even if he appears weary from his wars. Thor has created a “New Asgard” in Scotland with the remaining survivors of his people, though his own personal journey has turned into one of substance abuse and depression (also a beer-gut and fortnite with Korg and Meek). Hawkeye, whose family’s snap into dust opens the movie, has become a vigilante that mercilessly hunts down gangs and henchmen around the world. Without a family, Barton has turned full-on Frank Castle with a katana. Bruce Banner, ironically, has found peace by seeing the Hulk not as a problem he has to cure, but as the cure to his curse. Merging with the Hulk Banner has become “Professor Hulk”, combining brain and brawn to become a new, and subsequently more chill, being. Which leads me to the Avenger that started this whole damn thing, Tony Stark. After returning to Earth with a little help from Captain Marvel, Tony has a heated argument with Steve and abruptly leaves the Avengers battered and bitter. He ends up moving to a cabin on a lake with Pepper, together there they bore a daughter, Morgan Stark.

Above all else that these films have managed to accomplish, beyond the meshing of characters and stylistic flavors of genre-bending storytelling, is their masterful focus on characterization and development. Even when the plot hasn’t been as engaging (Thor 2: The Dark World) or when expectations didn’t exactly live up to the hype (Iron Man 3) the characters have always shined through the worst of it. Phase 1 was all about establishing the grand concept of what the MCU could be, and phases 2 and 3 only expanded upon the successes of the original six Avengers intermingling to save the Earth. Which is why both Infinity War and Endgame are so damn satisfying. The writers and directors knew that people have been putting emotional investment into these characters for a decade and they played into long standing character moments, emotional beats, and the humor of the MCU as a whole. Which is a feat in itself given how brooding the first act of Endgame is. It’s gratifying because we’ve been given scenes and beats that reward the audience for knowing all the winks and nods, but also because the filmmakers have given us a true end for several core characters, and evolved others to places we never could have imagined when we first met them.

Ant-Man is the key

The smallest avenger became the saving grace of the Marvel Universe after popping out of the quantum realm thanks to a San Francisco rat. While only spending five hours trapped in the quantum realm at the end of Ant-Man and the Wasp the world had moved five years in that time. When Scott Lang stumbled out of his tiny exile, he found a broken world. After this harsh realization he goes to Avengers HQ in New York and urges the remains of Earth’s mightiest heroes that there must be a way to reverse this outcome. They just need the will… and maybe a particular genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist…

Captain America and optimism

While most characters in the MCU are handled with great care to their respective personalities and motivations, I would argue that none have been as pitch perfect as Chris Evan’s portrayal of Steve Rogers (with the on-par exception of RDJ’s Tony Stark). From his world war two Nazi punching origins to fighting an alien horde on the plains of Africa alongside the Black Panther, Cap has always been the most reliable, resilient, and optimistic freedom fighter in the MCU. Some found his ending to be problematic for his core character traits, but I see it more as an influence from RDJ’s Stark. Both characters finally influenced each other to their cinematic outcomes. Rogers, ever the man to lay down his life for the sake of others, took Stark’s advice from Age of Ultron and went home in the end. This ending for Cap means more to me than anything else in the film, if he didn’t earn a life away from the fight- then who could?

Iron Man and protecting the universe

While this is an Avengers film, it’s still Tony Stark’s story at its core. Allowing Stark to live away from the fight for five years, raising a daughter with Pepper Potts, it worked perfectly as a closing arc for his MCU journey. He has come so unbelievably far from where he was during the events of the first Iron Man film. From weapons manufacturer and playboy magnate to one of Earth’s mightiest heroes living with his wife and child, it’s really staggering to watch the whole arc of Stark’s life since donning the iron suit of armor. Plus, he got to bookend the entire Infinity Saga with just four words.

Thor and failure

Thor’s had a devastating history in the MCU. By the time Infinity War’s events ensnare the Norse God he’s lost his mother, father, home of Asgard, and his brother Loki in that film’s opening scene. His whole story is about bringing a god to his knees and submerging him in humility and loss. So, when his friends come looking for him it’s no wonder that in that five years’ time Thor dove headfirst into some serious substance abuse in beer and food. Thor, the once and future King of Asgard, has fallen the furthest from his lofty nobility of power and regalia. His story in Endgame is about reclaiming his sense of self and rebuilding his shattered ego.

Professor Hulk

While the Hulk and Bruce Banner may have gotten less to do this time around, he’s had some serious development since Infinity War. Professor Hulk is internet famous now, he takes pictures with kids, and dabs like a dad out of touch with the cool kids in 2023. He’s generally mellow and tries to help his friends as much as he can. While he may not be credited with creating the time machine used in the movie, he is responsible for snapping everyone back to life- and for that, we thank you Professor Hulk! Proof that while he may be centered and at peace, he’s still the strongest Avenger!

Time Travel: revisiting 2012, 2013, & 2014 and the 1970’s

The time heist sequences were not only entertaining and clever, but they allowed the filmmakers to take the characters through their shared past, reliving a few of the films that came before. Obviously the first Avengers had to be referenced out of all the films in the saga, it was the one that proved that this whole Avengers thing could work in the first place. Captain America, Iron Man, Professor Hulk, and Ant-Man all arrive in the midst of the battle for New York where they must retrieve three of the six Infinity stones. Meanwhile Thor and Rocket travel to Asgard in 2013 during the events of The Dark World to retrieve the reality stone. Seeing Asgard in all its unbroken glory, and watching his mother from afar, Thor Odinson has his most human and heartbreaking scene yet, a panic attack followed by advice and encouragement from his Mother- on the day of her death no less. Good Stuff. On the other side of the galaxy, and one year later in the timeline, James “War Machine” Rhodes and Nebula land on planet Morag. All they have to do is snag the Power stone from Star Lord after he steals it during the opening sequence of the first Guardians of the Galaxy film. They leave the Benatar (Star Lord’s ship) to Black Widow and Hawkeye who travel to the planet Vormir to trade a soul for the Soul stone. Oh, and the first group that go to the battle of New York miss the mark while attempting to grab the Space stone. Professor Hulk and Ant-Man take the Time and Mind stones while Tony and Steve use the last of their Pym particles to go back to the one place where they could find both the Space stone AND more Pym particles for their return journey. This elegantly allowed not only for more cameos (and this film is full of surprise cameos!) like a younger Hank Pym, but it also gave Tony a chance to have a moment with his father. Tony’s relationship with his father is central to the core of the character, and it was fitting to give the two of them the time to have a candid conversation about fatherhood, with Tony giving his own father advice on the matter. Beautiful. Just the fact that the filmmakers took the time in one of the biggest films ever made to have touching character moments for a majority of the major players in these films, it’s just outstanding, and highly commendable in my opinion.

The end battle sequence

I’m not going to go into detail here, but just know that the final fight against Thanos and his alien army is the most comic-book thing I’ve ever seen and I loved every second of it. Have fun, and go watch this superhero masterpiece again- nerds.

As far as what the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe holds, only Kevin Feige knows, but I’m betting on a ramp up to Secret Wars. Possibly with the Beyonder from the first iteration of the comic event, but it’s more likely to be based off of the 2015 version, wherein Doctor Doom is the villain behind the mind bending comic book showdown. Now that the MCU can incorporate the Fantastic Four and The X-Men, the possibilities are infinite! What a strange and fascinating time we live in.

Final Score: 22 films!