It was back in grade school and I must have been about 7 or 8 years old when I first read The Death of Captain Marvel. I was sick at that time and had to stay in bed for weeks, missing out on my exams. The comic was also a strange choice of reading material. Why would one want to read about a superhero suffering (no, dying) from a major illness, while being ill and forced to stay indoors themselves, when they would much rather be doing something else?
Despite the depressing subject matter, something about the way it was written made it an uplifting read for me. The villain of the story (Thanos) seemed to be supportive of Captain Marvel even as they fought throughout the latter's dying stages. I don't think Thanos' motives were altruistic in any way. Obviously, he wanted Marvel dead. Obviously, he wanted one enemy down and one more offering for that character named Death. But...it didn't change the fact that Marvel was made to feel better about his situation - one which Thanos did not cause, and one which Marvel could not change. And that by telling him that it wasn't the end, but the beginning of a legacy- in a way, he (Marvel) was given hope that his dream would live on through his followers. There was not a single character in that narrative who cared to show Marvel the only positive side to this depressing situation. Most of them were already grieving for him even before he got bed ridden. I don't believe Thanos' actions were justifiable in any way, but they made him interesting and unique for a villain. He had his own brand of madness and one that wasn't as clear cut.
In the Infinity saga, Thanos undertook several quests to gain the Infinity stones, all to win the favor of a loved one. While there is nothing special about these quests in themselves- the fact that they pretty much applied a standard heroic arc (one that is normally given to a good guy/girl) to a high tier villain instead, made it a different experience for me as a reader. Normally, it is the hero/heroine who goes through all the contests, riddles and challenges to win the day or to win someone or something. But seeing the big bad villain go from stone to stone, outwitting his opponents, making use of the weapons he had at his disposal (which he gained one by one after completing a previous challenge) was entertaining. Troubling as well, because you knew the outcome would be a disaster but couldn't wait to see each treasure hunt succeed.
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Avengers Infinity War movie
- I knew they'd change Thanos' motivation from the get go. While I would much rather have it stay true to the comics, I didn't mind the change. I figured that perhaps the whole concept of Death would have been too abstract for the movie going masses, so I was ready for it.
But it would have been great to see a representation of Death. Cate Blanchett's Hela would have been an acceptable alternative/different version since the character of Death is not so much a character with a personality, but rather a mysterious entity where you can fill in the blanks. The version I had in mind was more along the lines of the creepy, enigmatic actress from Passion of the Christ. The other-worldliness in her would have made a great distinction from the usual villainess. - I was a little surprised at how much movie Thanos disliked Nebula. It wasn't the scene where he was having her tortured (he didn't strike me as a 'cruelty for cruelty's sake' type of villain), it was the scene where she was fighting him on Titan and asked, "Why didn't you just kill me?" and he replied "Well, it would have been a waste of spare parts!" O_o If he disliked her that much, why did he even make her in the first place? It would have been ironic if it was Nebula he brought to Vormir instead of Gamora -_-
- Just how nerfed is Vision in this thing? :( I always knew Marvel liked to underplay the more powerful characters (Thor, Scarlet Witch, Vision, etc) because they always wanted to keep the focus on street level fighters like Spidey, Cap and Stark. I was okay with this...I even found it noble, in a way - that characters who weren't as powerful could do the saving. It was inspiring then, but now, it just seems too much. If you want to show how powerful a villain is, why not have him fight the OP'd characters? It would have been more gut wrenching to see Scarlet Witch and Vision giving all they got (she was fighting for him; he was fighting for his life- and his life with her) but getting their asses kicked anyway.
At least Thor got to have his moments. I guess he deserves it after being so under powered and underused for how many movies already? And yet, there was still a bit of a letdown there. He came to Wakanda to show Stormbreaker and his lightning powers off, but during that crucial moment when Thanos was on his way to Vision and every other character was bending over backwards to prevent the Titan from reaching the end of the line...where was Thor? He had to have his god level moment after the stones were already complete? -_-
- Gamora's death didn't occur to me as a fridging, although I guess it qualifies. Since other characters at her level were also killed off I didn't see it that way, at first.
It was disappointing how they made her appear as 'the most dangerous woman in the galaxy' and yet you never really got to see it. She had decent fight scenes. But to gain such a title and reputation I guess I expected more? I thought it would come out in a later GOTG movie but since she's probably not coming back, then that's pretty much it for her. I like Gamora for all that but I imagine it must be harder for a fan of her comic accurate version. I don't know what she's like in the comics at all...so it was easier for me to accept this vulnerable, under powered movie version. I didn't mind the twisted father-daughter relationship she had with Thanos. I just wanted to see her as more of a bad ass in the earlier stages of GOTG. - I'm surprised at how beaten up Stark gets. First, in Civil War, then now in Infinity War. Every other hero seems to go through this but I think that among all the other characters, the 'let's beat Stark up' scenes just look much worse and more brutal? Maybe it's a compliment to the character that he can survive so much. Although he had a bit of help in the last one.
- Ebony Maw...the rest of the Black Order were alright. But this one was my favorite. He makes his only appearance in this movie, and yet he already seemed like a fully fleshed out character, complete with sycophantic behavior and snarky British accent. To Strange: "If I were to hand the Time Stone to him with your vaguely irritating person still attached, then there would be judgement!" I would've preferred killing him to be more difficult.
- Doctor Strange is the only OP'd character who gets his own movie and gets to shine from time to time. I like this character a lot. Loved his fight scenes and use of powers in AIW as well. If only the same could be true for Scarlet Witch. But we know that's not going to happen any time soon. Crossing my fingers that she at least gets to train as his apprentice in the future...if she comes out of all of this with her mind intact.
- I don't want any of the good guys to die at all. But I knew they were going to have to do it in order to show how much of a threat the main villain was. Given that it has to happen, it seems a bit of a cop out that none of the Avengers original cast members, much less the main trio (Stark, Cap and Thor) were killed. Not referring to the finger snap because I'm not sure how permanent that is. They only killed off second level characters like Gamora, Loki, Heimdall and Vision. There's still a second part to this so I'm trying to see how they're going to wrap it up.
- Apparently, Thanos chose to retire at the Cordillera (Banaue Rice Terraces) at the end of the movie. No wonder it looked familiar.
Overall, I loved the movie. I'm not going to say it's the best superhero movie because it's its own thing. It just seems like people love to compare movies that are so different from each other that it seems pointless. If there were anything else I'd like added- I think it would've been entertaining to see how Thanos got the other Infinity Stones (scenes where he goes against the Game Master, in Xandar, etc) but there probably wasn't enough time for that. Also, maybe a vision of Death in one of his dreams? Maybe that's stretching it.
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