Marvel Cinematic Universe: The Second Time Around

Well, I did it. I watched all the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies and then watched Avengers: Infinity War in the theaters. Not on the IMAX but on the big screen anyway.

And, to be honest, I was blown away.

The next phase cannot come soon enough.

Dear V,

You started this, so I’m writing the rest of these to you also.

So, I know I haven’t written up the last three of the Marvel movies: Thor: Ragnarok; Black Panther; and Avengers: Infinity War, but I still plan to do so. Black Panther is one I definitely need to see again, this time, with subtitles. Last we talked, you said I missed so much by not having them. And I’m going to agree with you — I probably did miss a great deal. So, I’ll write that one up after I watch the movie with subtitles.

I think I told you that I’ve convinced my husband to go back and watch all 19 movies with me, considering that he went to Avengers: Infinity War and probably had no idea what was really going on. Of course, I’d just come off a 19 movie binge and watched Infinity War and I felt like I wasn’t sure what was really going on.

So, as we’re watching them all (again for me, some for the first time for him), I’m noticing more and more.

I’ve noticed Captain America can’t wear a loose t-shirt to save his life. Not that I’m complaining or anything.

I’ve noticed that a lot of the time, it only feels like Tony Stark is being an ass. Yes, he was an ass before he became Iron Man, but now it seems like there’s a reason for it most of the time, even if the audience doesn’t know what it is. I agree that Pepper should have kept her superpowers — and I didn’t like how that was glossed over by the movie in a simple line saying Tony figured out how to fix her.

I’ve noticed that Loki doesn’t say much in the movies compared to everyone else, but he’s still one of the most popular characters. People love Loki. And I’m assuming that’s not just because Tom Hiddleston plays that role. The longest dialogue I think he has is in Thor: The Dark World when Thor breaks him out of his cell and he and Thor are walking down the hall.

It still sticks with me that, while Thor has Mjolnir and his strength, Loki only has his dagger and his illusions. I wonder how far Loki’s brotherly love actually does go. They fight like siblings — my brother and I fought and fought hard. Does he really hate Thor? Or is it just jealousy in that Thor was always the “best and the brightest”? Or maybe they really just simply don’t have that much in common.

I also find it interesting that there is some truth in what Loki says about mankind. But that analysis will have to wait for another day when I have more time and the speech in front of me.

I’ve noticed that Falcon was the real first black superhero, but I bet people discount him because he’s a sidekick of Cap’s in the comics, plus he’s never had a movie out where he was the leading character. I think that’s not really fair to Falcon — because he is a superhero in his own right.

I learned that Christopher Eccelston played Malacath in Thor: The Dark World which is amusing since I’m so used to seeing him as the happy-go-lucky ninth doctor in Doctor Who. (Fantastic!)

I’ve also noticed that when you know something about the scientific material that the characters are doing the technobabble for, it really doesn’t make that much sense, so you have to put aside the technobabble and just enjoy the movie.

We’re currently watching Captain America: The Winter Soldier and this time, I so feel for Cap when he finds out that Bucky’s the Winter Soldier. I mean, I think that revelation is what leads to his capture because once he sees Bucky’s face, he just forgets everything and mentally loses it. He thinks Bucky’s dead — and that he has been for a long time. In fact, Cap thinks everyone’s dead — except for Peggy (Agent Carter) — and has been for a very long time. He’s mentioned how alone he’s felt in this future time, how hard it is to identify with someone because their backgrounds would be so different.

And Bucky too. I mean, you’ve got someone here who has been an effective assassin for a long time, who actually starts to recognize that he had some semblance of a life outside of who Zola and his accomplices wanted him to be. And then we find out that his mind is erased everytime he starts to remember something. At the end of the movie (which we haven’t watched yet), it’s no wonder that Cap wants to put Bucky somewhere safe, somewhere he can hide until he can face what is reality and what isn’t.

I’ll write more on this subject later. Probably after we finish this movie and go on to the next. Watching these in pieces also gives me more time to think about what’s going on in the movies.