Warning: There are TONS of spoilers ahead so if you haven’t seen Avengers: Infinity War yet.. what are you waiting for? We do have a spoiler-free review here.
Where’d everybody go? (Click here to see if Thanos killed you) Since we’re always one to look on the bright side of things, at least there’s more vodka to go around for those of us who survived Thanos’ culling of the herd.
To say Infinity War is intense would be an understatement. But we need to put on our big girl pants, dry our eyes, and figure out where we go from here when the next Avengers comes out in a year.
If there are any glaring flaws with this nearly flawless film, it’s the (seemingly) obvious clues to how they’re going to resolve the universal massacre. We don’t believe half the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is dust in the wind. Unless Marvel is going to give us a super hero version of The Leftovers, there is a lot of work to be done. But it seems the path forward (and backward) has been laid.
Strange Days
The key may lay with one of our departed heroes: Doctor Strange. He ran 14,000,006 scenarios and saw only one way for the whole of humanity to overcome Thanos’ plan. Then, as he started to flake away, he said letting Thanos complete his mission was the only way.
Vision of the Future
Then there’s poor Vision (played so well by Paul Bettany). He dies one painful death in Wakanda, only to be brought back to life so he can be killed again, only this time with the knowledge that his mission to destroy his stone (and save the universe) was a failure.
Of course, this happens by using the powers of the Time Stone. Thanos used it to go back a few moments in time and acquire the stone. It seems obvious that this storytelling technique could be easily used again.
But how far back do you go? Just to save the Universe? To revive Vision (again!)? Does Loki get yet another shot at redemption? Do you undo Civil War and make it so Tony & Cap were never not allies? It’s a fine line Marvel has to walk. And maybe, just maybe these obvious paths were laid out to distract us, and they’ll take us down an incredible path.
Civil Behavior
And speaking of Steve Rogers and Tony Stark: both seem to have survived Thanos. But since so many of their superpowered compatriots are ashes, we’re hoping (and predicting) that circumstances will force them to deal with their sh!t, get over themselves, and work it out. One of the most implausible parts of Infinity War is that Tony, always the most practical of the bunch, couldn’t pick up a phone and call for Capt’s help.
Clearly they will need to work together. Hopefully they won’t self-sabotage the mission the way Star-Lord did as Peter tried to wrest the bejeweled gauntlet from Thanos. We’re not saying they need to hug it out at the end of the next film, but they need to work together.
Marvel’ous Money
There’s another reason we don’t believe all the dead are really dead. First, comics kill off and revive their principals all the time. Second, and this is the real reason, is money. Do we really think there won’t be another Black Panther film? It’s a billion dollar sub-franchise. Sure they could name another member of Wakanda as the heir to T’Challa. But do we really think Disney is gonna mess with something that kinda cash cow?
And then there is the Guardians of the Galaxy, another billion dollar sub-franchise. Sure Peter/Star-Lord and Gamora are gone, but that group is a trilogy in progress. And while we wouldn’t care if we never had to sit through another Guardians movie ever again (Hail Thanos!), we doubt all that cash will be left on the table.
The Leftovers
So.. who’s left? As we saw at the verrrrryyyy end as Nick Fury faded away, he paged Captain Marvel, in hopes she’s still around. Brie Larson takes on the role in a stand-alone film next spring. There is also Ant-Man and Deadpool still kicking around. Both have sequels coming out this year. We’ll have to wait and see if that sets them up for entry into the Avengers or if they even acknowledge what’s happened.
We’re going to the Deadpool Premiere in NYC next week, and have plenty of questions!
The Critic’s Cocktail Recommendation
Vodka rocks. Drink up while you can. Next year at this time we believe the other half of the universe’s population will be back and putting pressure on the supply, which is what Thanos, in his infinite wisdom, tried to avoid. If you see Thanos in a bar, buy him a drink.
Cheers!
Critic's Cocktail 