MCU Retrospective: Journey
Part of the journey is the end.
That’s what Tony Stark says to us in our very first look at Avengers: Endgame back in December. It’s been one hell of a ride since that trailer was released. But it hardly compares to the journey we have been on since 2008.
In some ways, I’m envious of people who were beyond elated to be able to see Iron Man in theaters that year. The very first film in this now-sprawling cinematic universe was packed with Easter eggs, including a particularly teasing post-credits scene. But more than anything, it put Tony Stark’s Iron Man on the big screen in a way no superhero film had ever done before. It revolutionized the world and the entertainment industry in ways that are still being felt today (and still being changed, too).
Imagine what those massive comic book fans felt when they saw Nick Fury step from the shadows and say the words “Avenger Initiative.” It must have been a jaw-dropping feeling and it must be so incredible to be feeling the weight of that eleven year journey here, just a day ahead of Avengers: Endgame and knowing it’s all coming to an end after all these years.
So, in ways, I’m envious.
But at the end of the day, I wouldn’t trade my own personal MCU journey for anyone else’s. We don’t trade journeys. Right Cap?
I am always interested to know everyone else’s journey. It’s cinematic history and it’s fascinating to me. As for my own, it’s not an eleven year adventure.
I do remember when Iron Man was released, but that’s mostly because of when it was name dropped in Hugh Jackman’s opening number for the 2009 Academy Awards. I vaguely remember the existence of the reboot for The Incredible Hulk. Movies like Thor and Iron Man 2 were not interesting to me and Captain America: The First Avenger was merely something I used to give my friend the nickname, Captain America.
I missed out on most of Phase One, but who knows? If I’d done things differently, maybe I wouldn’t feel as strong of a connection to it. Maybe things had to happen the way they did. And that’s okay. It’s okay that I ignored my sister’s pleas for me to at least give the movies a chance because it all ended up okay, ultimately.
I did listen to her recommendation and my father’s suggestion, though, when he dropped her and her friends off for the midnight premiere of The Avengers back in May 2012. They said, “Go see it with them. Why not?” I hemmed and hawed and eventually left the car and followed closely behind them, minding my own business and letting them have their fun.
It was the night before my birthday and I saw the movie on a whim. The most memorable moments from the evening were when my sister-in-law’s cousin randomly happened upon us in the theater and when we returned home at three o’clock in the morning to see one of the funnier episodes of Friends playing. It was late, though, so admittedly, I fell asleep during the first part of the film’s second act before waking up when Hulk was chasing Black Widow through the Helicarrier. Back in the day, the only word I would’ve understood in that sentence would be Hulk. Look at me now, Nik!
I don’t fall asleep during The Avengers anymore. It’s pretty much a perfect superhero movie and I’ve rewatched the Battle of New York arguably more than any other MCU battle. And it was the one that catapulted me into a love for the MCU. I didn’t become obsessive for it yet, but I definitely deeply loved The Avengers. It was hilarious and engaging and mind-blowing and I found myself connecting to all of the characters. Incredibly well-done, I found myself extremely charmed.
But I still didn’t know a whole lot. I was still under the impression that, since Loki was the villain for the movie, then a villain from an Iron Man or Captain America film would have to be the villain for the next movie, since Thor had this villain, too. I also was ready for Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man and B.J. Novak’s Alistair Smythe to show up in the Avengers sequel. I was so wrong and dumb!
The next year, another Marvel movie came out. My favorite character coming out of The Avengers was absolutely Tony Stark. From time to time, I’d stumble upon Phase One films on cable and it was enough to motivate me to see Iron Man 3 in theaters in 2013 with my friend, Joe, after we chaperoned a middle school dance. I really enjoyed the film, but had no idea it was so divisive until way later because I still didn’t dive into the deep end of the MCU yet. I skipped both Thor: The Dark World and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, so clearly I was not completely captivated yet.
Most of my knowledge of the second Thor film came from Ricky Brigante’s podcast review of the movie on Inside the Magic. I didn’t care about spoilers so I learned all about the “death” of Loki. That was the first podcast I ever listened to.
As for The Winter Soldier, my knowledge stemmed solely from clips promoted by Chris Evans on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. I just didn’t really care. I even told my sister that I wouldn’t see any more Marvel movies because I thought it was absurd that Bradley Cooper was cast to play a raccoon in a movie I’d never heard of before.
But then I took an art class with my dear friend, Chris, who is obsessed with Marvel and all things Tony Stark. When you’re in an art class, there’s nothing to do while you’re coloring, drawing, and writing except to talk to the people around you. Talking with Chris, he would often bring up the Marvel movies. Curious, I went home one night and googled “Marvel Cinematic Universe.” I couldn’t find the article if I tried, but I stumbled upon one piece that theorized about what Marvel Studios’ and Kevin Feige’s plan was for the future of the Marvel movies.
There were theories about Civil War and an adaptation of The Infinity Gauntlet that would see a massive crossover. Something about that article completely clicked with me and I was blown away. I thought it was the coolest thing I’d ever read and I began to fantasize about what the idea of a crossover on that scale would look like. I began to read more and more articles and Wikipedia pages and threads from the Marvel Studios subreddit. I talked with Chris about the universe more and eventually, I went with my family to see Guardians of the Galaxy and I absolutely loved it. For years, it was my favorite Marvel movie and I would rewatch it every time I stayed home from school with an illness.
I became an obsessive. Every day became a hard one because of how starved I was for content and information. I devoured everything I could come across and it became the only thing I would ever talk about with Chris. I rushed into a secluded closet when “Hydra” leaked the trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron and I lost my shit in my favorite teacher’s classroom during Marvel’s Phase Three announcement.
I really, truly couldn’t get enough of any of it and I watched every bit of the press tour and TV spots for Age of Ultron and saw it on opening night with my dad. I would see it two more times after that and from there, the obsession was on. I haven’t missed a Marvel movie in theaters yet!
I finished up my time at a graduation party to go see Ant-Man with my sister and asked her what the post-credits scene meant.
I read the trailer descriptions for Captain America: Civil War, saw the Spider-Man reveal in a thumbnail, and saw the film at a different movie theater with my friends, Caleb and Lach, because of how eager we were to see Spider-Man back in a film.
I went home for a weekend in November and went to that same theater with Caleb to see Doctor Strange.
I spent most of April 2017 watching the trailers for Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 and the reactions for the trailers in South College before my parents took me to see the movie for my birthday. To date, it is still my favorite Marvel film.
Caleb, Lach, and I reunited to see Spider-Man: Homecoming at yet another differing movie theater.
I went with my friend, Humad, and his roommate on the same night my fantasy football team collapsed to see Thor: Ragnarok and I’ve never found a Marvel movie funnier.
Then, I definitely went to a different movie theater when I moved to Orlando, Florida for a semester and saw the next three Marvel films at the AMC movie theater at Disney Springs.
First up was Black Panther. I hadn’t quite made too many friends yet, but one did ask me to see that movie with him. Ultimately, the plans fell through, but I had already downloaded the soundtrack for the movie and was listening to it as I traversed the bridge to Springs and saw Panther on a warm February night where everything was purple. It was truly the phenomenon everyone said it was and I podcasted about the movie specifically with my sister.
I got my tickets for Avengers: Infinity War ahead of time when my girlfriend and I were fortunately gifted with the same day off. I consumed every possible trailer I could after years of watching fanmade trailers on YouTube and scouring Instagram for set photos. The leaked Comic-Con trailer was the only thing I watched for months! It was all we had! The first trailer released during my class and I left early to watch it in the bathroom. The second one released while I was in my apartment, which is where I sat when the release date was advanced. Still driving me crazy, the anticipation was manageable because I was at Walt Disney World. It’s been a lot tougher this year!
But the whole movie was an absolute party. The Red Skull reveal elicited massive gasps. Thor’s entrance into Wakanda brought me to my knees. And the ending left everyone stunned in their seats. I was really grateful I avoided the people walking out of the theater before us with all their comments by putting my headphones in my ears, blasting the Black Panther soundtrack, and hiding in the bathroom to watch trailers in anticipation of the movie start time.
It will undoubtedly skyrocket to the top of my most rewatched list and it was definitely one of my favorite Marvel movies. It took me a while to process everything that happened, especially with everything else going on in the world, and to think about if it was even a good movie or not because there was no other film to compare it to. Ultimately, though, I recognized it for its brilliance. I’m still rewatching it even as recently as this past Monday.
I saw Ant-Man and the Wasp at Disney, as well, and I went by myself before doing some resort hopping and it was a hell of a lot of fun! It was a good way to whet the appetite for the forthcoming Untitled Avengers film.
Of course, I was back home by the time Captain Marvel came out and for two hours, Brie Larson’s perfect Carol Danvers helped me forget I had a sore throat. I instantly loved the movie and I squealed at the post credits scene.
And I was still just so excited for the final Avengers film.
We knew nothing about the movie all the way until early December. Even then, we still pretty much knew nothing, but it was a wild experience to not even know the title for a movie that was four months out. I watched the trailer in my bed early one morning and woke up my roommate, Lach, but I had to. I didn’t want the title spoiled for me! I was so sure it would never be called Avengers: Endgame, but when I eventually looked up what “endgame” meant, it made a hell of a lot more sense. And now I really love it.
I watched the trailer over and over. I freaked out when the Super Bowl TV spot dropped and my family and I watched it six times. My dad and I failed to notice Tony Stark in the official trailer for the film. I caved and watched the tickets on sale announcement. I left class to watch the retrospective promo. And I had to install willpower to avoid every other TV spot aside from the character-specific ones.
I made innumerable countdowns for myself in terms of reactions and trailers and articles and posters and podcasts so much more. Anything to help the time pass until the movie finally released.
And now we’re here. Avengers: Endgame comes out tomorrow. I still can’t wait to see it, but I know I’m going to miss all of this anticipation and buildup. 1640 days of knowledge that a two-part Avengers event was coming. And only one day left to savor the anticipation. I still want to see it. But I’m going to miss the journey.
I’m going to miss looking forward to every tidbit of information about the Infinity Saga. It’s been such a joyous time because are such joyous movies. They’re fun and thrilling and they make me feel like a kid again, lining up all of my action figures because I’m a completionist with OCD. The thrills, the laughs, the amazing characters. That’s what it’s all about. Making connections with stories in a time when we really needed heroes. What would it be like if a god came down to our planet? Or if a billionaire changed his ways? Or if morality really could win out all the time?
We’ve seen these questions put to screen in a way no one ever thought possible. This story means so much to so many people; it’s just incredible. It’s right up there with Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Game of Thrones, and the rest. It’s a feat like none other and it’s defined a decade.
No matter what your journey through these films was, I’m sure you wouldn’t trade it for any other. It’s all so deeply personal and deeply resonant. To see that your struggles matter and they can be overcome. To relate to people who look like you on screen. In the biggest way possible. The MCU’s given that to us. It’s an amazing gift.
It’s been a lot of fun to watch these heroes fight or talk things out, but most of all it’s been fun to watch them because they try. They try and they’re not afraid to fail or come across too earnestly or endearingly. They care and they show they care. They’re honest about what they want and they know their choices matter. It’s honestly refreshing and I know it’s meant a lot to me to see people try and put effort into the things they care about without fear of mockery or failure. I don’t want to lose any of them. But I know if we do, they won’t go down without trying. It’s the best that they can do — and that’s enough.
