On The Screen – Avengers: Infinity War – 4/30/2018

**Caution:  Spoilers**

I saw it last night – and I was both blown away and left at a total loss.  There were so many things I was ready for going into this movie – first among them losing either Cap or Tony – and none of my expectations were born out.  The movie left me stuck to my seat – watching the credits roll – wondering what the hell really happened – and how they were ever going to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.  The post credit scene only made it worse.  I’ve never, ever walked out of an MCU movie without having something to say before.  Last night was kind of a long walk back to the car.

I’ve watched every single one of these movies – all 19 now – but I met these guys long before I ever saw them on screen.  I first got to know them in the comics and I’ve always loved them.  I even used to read “Sergeant Fury and His Howling Commandos”.  I’m not completely sure but those comics – along with DC’s “Sergeant Rock” – may have been the ones that got me started – I was spending a lot of time reading about WWII back then.

I suspect everyone has their favorites – for me it’s always been Thor and Cap – but Cap first and foremost.  Cap has, for me, always been everything a hero – not a superhero – just a hero should be – and he’s very rarely let me down in that regard.  I’ve always enjoyed the X-Men (particularly Wolverine – which is kind of weird given that he’s so different in so many ways from Cap), the Fantastic Four, Spiderman and Iron Man – but Cap and Thor stood above the crowd for me.  I still have a whole box of old comics sleeved up and in pretty good shape – they’re the Thor story arcs that I particularly loved.

My wife laughs at me for this – but we decided one day to bring them over the the local Comic Shop to get them priced and sell them – I spent about an hour over there – talking to the guys – swapping stories.  I never actually sold a single issue – took them all home – they went back into storage – and actually spent the last 15 minutes at the store going through the boxes – looking for issues I might want to pick up.  I really do love these guys and I loved them before they were Movie Stars.

I did truly love the movie and I think Marvel Studios pulled off a cinematic miracle that no one will ever manage again.  19 movies – 23 main characters – 10 years of film – all brought together in a crazy and amazingly well orchestrated cross-over and…they’re not even done yet.  All they’ve really done is set us up for “The End Game”.  I’ve read reviews that complained about the fact that there is too much going on or that there are too many characters moving back and forth between new and different places.  I can appreciate the feeling but I find the criticism to be a just a bit petty.  What Anthony and Joe Russo have done with this movie and what Kevin Feige has done with the multiple franchises over the course of 10 years is a one of a kind artistic achievement and I truly do not think that anyone will ever accomplish something like this again.  For what they’ve done, they do truly deserve to be recognized in a pretty glorious way – independent of the money they’ve made for themselves and their studio.

One final word – Sincere thanks to the Russos and to Feige for giving me ONE MORE WONDERFUL movie with Cap.  I’m sure his time on screen is about to come to an end and – while I know someone else always picks up the Shield – there is no real substitute.  When he does leave, it’s going to break my heart.  I’m also pretty certain that when he leaves – he’s going to do so in a way that is completely consistent with all those things that have always made him my #1.

“WE NEVER TRADE LIVES”!!