**Caution: Spoilers**
Always interesting to see what occurs to you as you put some distance between yourself and a book or a movie. I’ve spent some time digging through all the stuff that’s been posted online about the movie and I’ve seen some interesting stuff. I’ve also seen some stuff that makes me shake my head. What I haven’t seen is a thoughtful discussion about where the original 4 Avengers – Cap, Tony, Bruce and Thor – are in their personal journeys at the end of this movie. That – to me – is the biggest tell of all with respect to what’s eventually going to happen in Avengers 4.
Here’s what occurs to me:
- Cap: He’s a man who’s outlived his own time. All his friends – with the exception of those he’s made as an Avenger – are gone. Even the relationship with Tony – his foil, friend, rival and, in many ways, his one true peer – is fractured. The two institutions he’s devoted his life to – America and S.H.I.E.L.D. – are both broken – possibly beyond repair. He’s one of only two Avengers who have shown a willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice for both his Team and for humanity in Captain America: The First Avenger. It’s sad to say but I know Cap’s journey has come to an end. The only thing left for him to do is reconcile with Tony and give his life to the causes he has left – justice and the future of humanity.
- Tony: He’s finally reached the point in his life where he’s ready to settle down and build a normal life with Pepper. He’s adopted a surrogate son in Peter Parker and obviously cares very deeply about the “Kid”. He seems to be done with the Playboy / SuperHero / Avenger life and is ready for something different / more. Very sad to say but…he’s getting old. He’s the second of the two Avengers who has already demonstrated a willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice for humanity in the first Avengers. One way or another, Tony is moving towards an evolution – all we have left is to wait and see whether Feige chooses to allow him to step away and create that life with Pepper – maybe giving him mentor / father figure / wise elder cameo roles in future movies – or in partnership with Cap – once again make the ultimate sacrifice.
- Thor: Thor’s story has been a coming of age tale – from brash, young adolescent exiled to learn some hard life lessons – to the final step of filling his father’s shoes and assuming leadership of Asgard. Hard to forget Odin’s last bit of advice – “You’re not the God of Hammers – you’re the God of Thunder”. After all that, I’m pretty sure that Thor’s journey isn’t done. Valkyrie and Korg are noticeably absent when we get a view of the wrecked ship on which the remaining Asgardians had used for their escape. I can only hope that they – along with some portion of the escaping Asgardians – were not present when Thanos destroyed everything and everyone. With Stormbreaker, Thor may now have the ability to recreate the Bifrost Bridge. Something tells me that Thor’s final chapter will involve the rebuilding of Asgard.
- Bruce / Hulk: Bruce and Hulk have been on a bit of a journey as well – trying to reconcile the two halves of their existence. Avengers and Avengers: Age Of Ultron were largely about Bruce. Thor: Ragnarok was all about the Hulk – he was persistent and semi-articulate. He’d developed a personality that was not all about his rage. In Avengers: Infinity War, the Hulk disappeared and Bruce finally walked onto the field as a man and, with the help of Tony’s Hulk Buster suit – satisfyingly ironic – actually became an Avenger independent of the Hulk. I can’t help but think that Avengers 4 will be the opportunity to bring these two together and find some type of reconciliation and balance.
Just my two cents and nothing too original but I do think it hints at where #4 has to go.
Seriously – I can’t wait. Just glad I have Deadpool 2, Ant Man and Wasp and Captain Marvel to tide me over.
Have a Great Week.
Antman was a lot of fun…