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cjlasky7"There came a time when the Old Gods died!"
-- Jack Kirby, New Gods #1
I don't know how many of you out there grew up on Marvel comics. I did. Lived and breathed comic books from when I was six until I was out of my teens. Those of you who did will know what I'm talking about when I say:
Fantastic Four Annual #3, the wedding of Reed Richards and Sue Storm. The front cover (drawn by Kirby), with seemingly every single hero and villain in the Marvel Universe battling it out. That's the image that swirled into my brain watching Infinity War--except the movie may have been a little bit better than the memory.
*************
The plot of FF Annual #3 is as simple as can be: Reed and Sue are getting married, and Doctor Doom--who can't stand Reed having one moment of happiness in his life--throws every supervillain ever at FF HQ to stop the party. This bare bones concept allows their assembled superhero comrades to take turns in the spotlight as they try to protect the happy couple.
The same principle applies to Infinity War: Thanos wants the Infinity Stones; the Avengers have to stop him. Simple. But with that through line as the spine of the movie, the Russo brothers and their screenwriters are able to provide dozens of great character moments for their enormous cast and (just like in Captain America: Civil War) fight scenes that reflect the unique personalities and abilities of the combatants.
[The final battle between Dr. Strange and
Thanos had me geeking out in my seat. Mystical shields! Doc creating multiple images of himself to confuse his opponent! The Freaking Crimson Bands of Cyttorak! Only a true Dr. Strange fanatic could appreciate how CLASSIC that sequence was, the closest I've seen vintage Steve Ditko Doc translated to the screen. Just amazing.]
The most inspired character pairing is Iron Man and Dr. Strange. At first, you might think that throwing the MCU's two most pompous assholes together would just be too much--but Cumberbatch and Downey have a blast burning each other while slowly, subtly developing a mutual respect. The most surprising teamup-- that works like gangbusters-- is Thor and Rocket Raccoon. Pairing the earnest, larger than life Thunder God with the tiny, cynical Rocket is absolutely brilliant.
The contrast brings each character's issues into sharp relief, and I don't think Chris Hemsworth has been any better than he is here. Thor lost his father and sister in his last movie, Asgard is in ruins, he just watched Thanos kill his brother and his best friend--the big guy has a whole lot of Nothing Left to Lose going, and Hemsworth gives us the grief, the sadness and the determination to fight on. If Stark and Strange are the bickering brains of the movie, then Thor is its raging warrior heart, and he gives Infinity War much of the epic grandeur that it needs.
But hey--you're not into the Thunder God? No problem! You've got a billion other characters here, each with his or her own subplot: Bruce Banner and his big green "performance problem"; the parallel love stories of the Vision and the Scarlet Witch and Star-Lord and Gamora; Peter Parker, playing a wide-eyed Robin to Tony's Batman; Offshoot!Groot's teenage 'tude and his last-second dramatic save; Cap and his crew coming in from the cold; and the collective cast of Black Panther realizing that Wakanda is in deep, deep shit. It's all handled with great care and fidelity to their histories, it never seems rushed or cluttered, and if the movie strains for the comedy in some spots, the overwhelming majority of the dialogue is spot on.
***************
But all of it, as I said, circles around Thanos and his quest. So let's talk about the Mad Titan... and that ending.
In the comics, Thanos is obsessed with, and perhaps erotically attracted to, the personification of Death, and is willing to lay waste to large sections of the universe to win her favor. (Yes...very creepy.) The movie sublimates this obsession, turning it into a Malthusian mania for population control. If you examine it closely, though, his driving motivation really hasn't changed. As many commentators have pointed out, Thanos could have easily doubled the natural resources of the universe instead of cutting the population in half. But that, as the saying goes, is not where his head is at. Thanos longs for peace, quiet and order--but life is noisy, confusing, and messy.
You get peace, quiet and order in the grave.
Thanos has always been the bringer of death in the comics, and that's what he is here, too. Thor may have had his Ragnarok, but Infinity War is Gotterdammerung, the twilight of the gods of the MCU. Don't be fooled by that ending, people! Li'l baby Spidey, wise King T'Challa, and the mighty wizard might have vanished in puffs of smoke, but they all have sequels coming up, and they ain't going nowhere. Pay attention to the characters whose contracts are expiring: the original Avengers.
My bet on Avengers 4: the original team (with help from Ant-Man, and yes, Captain Marvel) regroup and manage to take down Thanos and reverse the destruction. But only with the sacrifice of one or more of the founding fathers. My money is on Cap and Thor not making it out alive. We haven't even started yet, folks. It's time for the Old Gods to die and pass the torch to the New Gods.
-- Jack Kirby, New Gods #1
I don't know how many of you out there grew up on Marvel comics. I did. Lived and breathed comic books from when I was six until I was out of my teens. Those of you who did will know what I'm talking about when I say:
Fantastic Four Annual #3, the wedding of Reed Richards and Sue Storm. The front cover (drawn by Kirby), with seemingly every single hero and villain in the Marvel Universe battling it out. That's the image that swirled into my brain watching Infinity War--except the movie may have been a little bit better than the memory.
*************
The plot of FF Annual #3 is as simple as can be: Reed and Sue are getting married, and Doctor Doom--who can't stand Reed having one moment of happiness in his life--throws every supervillain ever at FF HQ to stop the party. This bare bones concept allows their assembled superhero comrades to take turns in the spotlight as they try to protect the happy couple.
The same principle applies to Infinity War: Thanos wants the Infinity Stones; the Avengers have to stop him. Simple. But with that through line as the spine of the movie, the Russo brothers and their screenwriters are able to provide dozens of great character moments for their enormous cast and (just like in Captain America: Civil War) fight scenes that reflect the unique personalities and abilities of the combatants.
[The final battle between Dr. Strange and
Thanos had me geeking out in my seat. Mystical shields! Doc creating multiple images of himself to confuse his opponent! The Freaking Crimson Bands of Cyttorak! Only a true Dr. Strange fanatic could appreciate how CLASSIC that sequence was, the closest I've seen vintage Steve Ditko Doc translated to the screen. Just amazing.]
The most inspired character pairing is Iron Man and Dr. Strange. At first, you might think that throwing the MCU's two most pompous assholes together would just be too much--but Cumberbatch and Downey have a blast burning each other while slowly, subtly developing a mutual respect. The most surprising teamup-- that works like gangbusters-- is Thor and Rocket Raccoon. Pairing the earnest, larger than life Thunder God with the tiny, cynical Rocket is absolutely brilliant.
The contrast brings each character's issues into sharp relief, and I don't think Chris Hemsworth has been any better than he is here. Thor lost his father and sister in his last movie, Asgard is in ruins, he just watched Thanos kill his brother and his best friend--the big guy has a whole lot of Nothing Left to Lose going, and Hemsworth gives us the grief, the sadness and the determination to fight on. If Stark and Strange are the bickering brains of the movie, then Thor is its raging warrior heart, and he gives Infinity War much of the epic grandeur that it needs.
But hey--you're not into the Thunder God? No problem! You've got a billion other characters here, each with his or her own subplot: Bruce Banner and his big green "performance problem"; the parallel love stories of the Vision and the Scarlet Witch and Star-Lord and Gamora; Peter Parker, playing a wide-eyed Robin to Tony's Batman; Offshoot!Groot's teenage 'tude and his last-second dramatic save; Cap and his crew coming in from the cold; and the collective cast of Black Panther realizing that Wakanda is in deep, deep shit. It's all handled with great care and fidelity to their histories, it never seems rushed or cluttered, and if the movie strains for the comedy in some spots, the overwhelming majority of the dialogue is spot on.
***************
But all of it, as I said, circles around Thanos and his quest. So let's talk about the Mad Titan... and that ending.
In the comics, Thanos is obsessed with, and perhaps erotically attracted to, the personification of Death, and is willing to lay waste to large sections of the universe to win her favor. (Yes...very creepy.) The movie sublimates this obsession, turning it into a Malthusian mania for population control. If you examine it closely, though, his driving motivation really hasn't changed. As many commentators have pointed out, Thanos could have easily doubled the natural resources of the universe instead of cutting the population in half. But that, as the saying goes, is not where his head is at. Thanos longs for peace, quiet and order--but life is noisy, confusing, and messy.
You get peace, quiet and order in the grave.
Thanos has always been the bringer of death in the comics, and that's what he is here, too. Thor may have had his Ragnarok, but Infinity War is Gotterdammerung, the twilight of the gods of the MCU. Don't be fooled by that ending, people! Li'l baby Spidey, wise King T'Challa, and the mighty wizard might have vanished in puffs of smoke, but they all have sequels coming up, and they ain't going nowhere. Pay attention to the characters whose contracts are expiring: the original Avengers.
My bet on Avengers 4: the original team (with help from Ant-Man, and yes, Captain Marvel) regroup and manage to take down Thanos and reverse the destruction. But only with the sacrifice of one or more of the founding fathers. My money is on Cap and Thor not making it out alive. We haven't even started yet, folks. It's time for the Old Gods to die and pass the torch to the New Gods.
