Part of the journey is the end.

Tony Stark

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As I sit here, reflecting over the last three hours last night, my mind keeps wandering back to the above quote. We’ve come such a long way in this MCU journey. When Iron Man premiered in 2008, I remember thinking that it was such the start of something new, something that could be incredible. I never could have imagined how truly amazing the last 11 years have been. A part of me almost wanted to refuse seeing Avengers: Endgame because once it’s over, it’s over. We’ve had a crazy ride. We’ve met some dynamic characters and encountered many obstacles. Some of our favorites have fallen and others have lost it all.

So if you have seen the movie, this review is you.

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Comic Relief

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No one likes watching their childhood heroes fade away, and heaven forbid we watch them die before our eyes. And though life isn’t always puppies and rainbows, one thing the MCU has excelled at over the years is adding just enough comic relief to make the losses almost bearable. With throwbacks to The Big Lebowski and actually quite relatable Fortnite playing aliens, Avengers: Endgame will have you laughing almost as much as you wanna cry. There are the simple nuances of our favorite characters that just give this movie that much more life and the blatant fan lip service that is appreciated across the board.

Time Travel and Other Headaches

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Whether it’s because at this point I’m exhausted or if they just did a really good job explaining how time travel works in the MCU, it seemed they did a fairly good job tying up any loose ends. As Banner promised, the Infinity Stones were returned to the moment they were taken so that the timelines would remain intact. At first thought, Thor taking [his] hammer from the past could have opened an alternate timeline but Cap must have thought about that too since he brought it back with him. And of course, I’m sitting here rattling my mind on how him going back to the past to be with Peggy would end up screwing things up but I think half the fun of time travel is not trying too hard to figure it out. (Unless that’s your thing and if so Stark and Banner it up.)

Part of me wondered why the MCU decided to go away from the idea of Thanos using the gauntlet for Death but then I remembered, I can’t stand the token romance trope. So many movies play on people’s love of love and it works. But in an already emotionally fueled movie, adding yet another doomed love story would have been too much.

Visually Iconic

The heroines

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It should come as no surprise to you, reading this article, that us Geek Gals love a good heroine. It seemed many of our generations had princess’s to look up to … now we have queens, war generals, and warriors. So when it came to that final battle and the girls banding together … I had goosebumps. Throughout the entirety of the MCU so far we have been blessed with CGI that isn’t overdone, giving a certain realism that other franchises are lacking in. Though logically, we know that there aren’t valkyries flying around on a Pegasus, but the MCU makes it seem so seamless. It sucks you into their world and leaves you begging for more.

The battle scenes

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Some have complained that it was much too choppy during the battles and I can understand where they are coming from to a degree. I sat rather close to the screen and at times it was hard to follow … there was A LOT of stuff going on. The thing to remember is this was a huge crossover, much bigger than Infinity War. When you are trying to seal the fates of so many people, fight scenes are going to be a little all over the place. One second you’ll be watching Thor doing something amazing and the next Captain America is picking up Mjolnir and kick some major butt. Each main character got their moment of glory, that last moment of spotlight … even a chance for us fans to say goodbye.

Closure

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It just wouldn’t be realistic if everyone made it out alive. We faced major heartache after Avengers: Infinity War but we still had that last bit of hope for what would happen in Endgame. The Natasha and Clint struggle for martyrdom was incredibly painful to watch. While you don’t want either to die you know one of them must or half the world will be lost forever, and when it comes down to it, Clint had a chance to see his family again. What Natasha did for him was beautiful, sad, and oh so very noble.

It wasn’t a shock at all that Tony was going to have to sacrifice himself. It seemed only poetic that he be the one to end it. The franchise started and ended with Iron Man in a sense and that helps it to feel more “full circle.” Watching Peter Parker go to say goodbye was almost as heartbreaking as Pepper giving him the ok to go, telling him they’d be ok. Ugh! Even thinking about it now makes me want to cry.

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So what now?

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While I won’t speculate on what’s next for the MCU (that’s an entirely different article), I will point out that there are some interesting options open for our heroes now. Thor passed the throne for hopefully some crazy Guardians business. Happy is back and can be there for Stark’s daughter. And don’t forget about Peter and Ned being reunited. All in all, I feel like Endgame did exactly what it was supposed to … allow our heroes to rest, give them some kind of light at the end of the tunnel. There’s so much room for new heroes in the next phase but currently, I’m just going to stick to imagining what kind of fun/trouble our favorites are getting into now that (most) have a second chance at life.

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What was your favorite part? Did your favorite Avenger get the kind of story ending you had hoped for? Leave a comment below.

Featured imaged credit: Marvel Entertainment