Highlights
- Marvel’s cinematic universe has been incredibly successful due to its connectivity, enjoyable characters, and rich storylines, as seen in the Avengers films and Loki.
- Avengers: Endgame gave several characters conclusive endings, earning standing ovations worldwide. Bringing them back risks undermining what made their stories great.
- The MCU should focus on new characters and allow the franchise to progress, rather than repeatedly resurrecting older characters. Marvel’s success lies in introducing new characters and telling conclusive stories.
Marvel has built itself into a wonderfully successful enterprise, producing everything from comics and cartoons to movies. The studio’s cinematic adventures have grown into something larger than anyone ever anticipated. The Avengers films have become so big that other studios attempted their own shared universes, only to meet instant failure. Connectivity, enjoyable characters, and rich storylines keep fans coming back. Marvel has also proven to master another aspect of cinema that’s gone understated: conclusive stories.
Several characters saw the end of their stories in Avengers: Endgame, earning standing ovations across the globe because of how beautifully the movie wrapped up their tales. Marvel outdid themselves once again with the Loki season two finale, giving another character a conclusive story. However, rumors are spreading on social media that Robert Downey Jr. and a few others are considering their return to the MCU. If these rumors turn out to be true and Marvel follows through with them, the studio risks everything that made its cinematic universe great.
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Which Avengers Died in Endgame?
The stakes were high in Avengers: Endgame. Fans knew going into the movie that the very fabric of the MCU would change. As disappointing as it was to say goodbye to some of the characters that brought them joy for 11 years, fans were happy to see their favorite characters receive a proper send-off. (Well, Black Widow deserved a little better.)
Audiences watched Natasha and Clint fight over the right to sacrifice themselves for the soul stone and the return of half the galaxy’s living population. Each character had their own reason to jump off the cliff, but Black Widow “won” in the end, plunging to her doom and giving Clint a chance to return to his family. Unfortunately, he had to watch his friend die.
Tony Stark made the ultimate sacrifice in the climactic battle with Thanos and his army. The whole goal was to keep the gauntlet and the Infinity Stones away from the alien. Otherwise, he would erase everyone from the history books. Unfortunately, the plan failed, and Thanos got ahold of the gauntlet with the stones. Luckily, Tony Stark is a clever man. He used his suit, made from the same nanotechnology he crafted the gauntlet out of, and pickpocketed the stones out of the gauntlet. Knowing there was no possible way he could survive the energy required to use all six stones, Tony snapped his fingers, removing their enemies from the battlefield.
Then there’s the Boy Scout. Steve Rogers survived the final battle and was still breathing when the credits rolled, but he’s no longer the star of any MCU stories. Audiences saw that during his journey to return the Infinity Stones and Thor’s hammer, he decided to stay behind and live out a happy ending with Peggy Carter. Once he gives Sam Wilson the shield and blessing to take up the mantle of Captain America, nobody sees the World War II vet again. There are outlandish rumors about him living on the moon (which is technically possible since Nick Fury lived in space for a while), and about him being dead. However, the last anyone heard about him was in a line during She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. For all anyone knows, he’s actually still alive and kicking.
Avengers Confirmed to be Returning to the MCU
While nobody has confirmed that any of the three original Avengers who bowed out after curtain call are returning to the MCU, rumors are running rampant. Variety put out a report claiming the MCU is “in shambles,” along with the notion that the studio is considering bringing back the stars to maintain fan interest in the MCU. On the app formerly known as Twitter, a longtime internet scooper MyTimeToShineHello claims that the Oppenheimer star has already signed on to return in a future Avengers project. During an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience, Downey went on record to say:
There would have to be a super compelling argument and a series of events that made it obvious. But the other thing is, I wanna do other stuff.
It’s easy to say that a large multiversal battle in Avengers: Secret Wars is a compelling enough reason to bring back the Avenger who started it all, but it sounds like he needs something with more meat to bite into than that. Kevin Feige, on the other hand, has gone on record to say that no such discussion happened and there are no talks with the former Avengers stars to return in their roles. Scarlett Johansson is returning to Marvel for an undisclosed project that has nothing to do with Black Widow, and she’ll be behind the camera as a producer.
Why Avengers Coming Back to Life is bad for the MCU
Superheroes returning to the land of the living is just another Wednesday in the world of comic books. It’s common knowledge that nobody who dies in the comics stays dead for long. Steve Rogers seemingly died after the comic book event Civil War, and Bruce Wayne met his “end” in Grant Morrison’s Batman R.I.P. only to return a year later. It wouldn’t be surprising if the movies followed suit. However, it’s a bad idea.
The impact of a cinematic death should carry some weight. Fans shouldn’t expect to see the character return in two or three films down the line. Some resurrections make sense, such as Vision in WandaVision. That wasn’t technically the same character, and it enhanced Vision and Wanda’s story. He’s also an android who can be rebuilt, so the same notion doesn’t entirely apply.
Marvel should strive to set the MCU apart from the comic book universe. Instead of letting actors play the same character until they’re in retirement age or recasting the role, Marvel should allow the MCU to progress. The veterans should pave the way for the younger generation and let new heroes shine. Marvel Studios thrives when they turn B-list heroes into household names, like the Guardians of the Galaxy. In the comics, Steve Rogers and Tony Stark have been 30 years old since 1941 and 1963, respectively. Real people age.
Instead of digging Tony Stark out of his grave, the MCU should consider putting Rhodey or Riri Williams front and center. Shining the spotlight on new characters taking up the mantle lets the MCU feel like a living, breathing entity. It would also dispel any sense of stagnation or repeat storylines. However, since the MCU is dealing with the multiverse, fans expect the main characters to run into variants of themselves and friends. Still, those variants shouldn’t replace characters who received a proper send-off. As much as fans fell in love with Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, and Scarlett Johansson in their roles, they would much rather see the MCU give them more characters to fall in love with who receive conclusive stories. Marvel won’t succeed by producing the same stories over and over again.
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