Best Of

I differentiate my expectations for hard science fiction vs. fantasy. The MCU is clearly a work of fantasy and thus, I don’t really expect it to make perfect sense. Like you all I spent some time thinking about the paradox, branching timelines, alternate realities, and tried to piece it together in my head. The truth is, it doesn’t matter. Your brains to too big for your own good.

If Spider-Mans webs are so sticky how can he let go to swing to the next? If Tie Fighters are in the vacuum of space how do they make that neat sound as they fly? Even traveling at the speed of light you could not navigate the entirety of a vast galaxy in a lifetime... Fantasy my friends. The MCU is in no way meant to be a thought provoking piece of science fiction.

@DontCallMeKelso said:
Welp, I had a shower thought, how did Cap return the soul stone without some Cap/Red Skull battle or awkwardness? Like... what the hell, and how did he return it? Did he just hand it to Red Skull? I really need to stop thinking about them returning the stones because it just creats more problems.

I really hope the Black Widow movie is about Cap beating Red Skull until he takes the stone back and Widow is returned.

Happy Hulk dabbed and fat, alcoholic Thor threatened a kid in Fortnite over PSN. Pretty sure this is the best movie I've ever seen.

Nicole and I were joking afterwards about how toxic nerd-rage types will react to the scene with the assemblage of women superheroes

"The only thing Thanos couldn't snap away was PC culture" ?

I'm curious to see how the snap / five years / return affects the MCU TV shows

I'm interested in how they'll cover the fact that half the world is back after five years, if they mention it at all. I mean for adults it's less of a big deal, but for people like Peter Parker, he just goes back to school with half his class while the other half has already graduated. Not to mention how the Earth reacts to suddenly having more people again after 5 years of less. For all the emotional impact of losing half the population, Thanos was right on the effect his snap would have on the planet

To me the unsung hero of the story is Pepper Potts. She is given the option, Tony pretty much leads her to tell him not to do it and she can't because she is pretty much the spouse everyone should have. She knows she has to share Tony's brilliance, even if it could cost her everything. There were scenarios going through my head in a time travel story where their very daughter or even their relationship could be wiped out of history. It's a risk they took together because Pepper Potts was just as unselfish and heroic as Tony Stark was.

America's Ass

The only thing that truly kind of annoys me about this movie arc is that the "snap" action has got to be bullshit. Wearing all six infinity stones is all that it takes to become, essentially, a god (We hear that Thanos intends to create an entire universe and fill it with life, so if that's not "god" I don't know what is), and so the part where Thanos has the gauntlet during the final battle, and starts to "snap" but is stopped by Captain Marvel is, to me, kinda BS. He doesn't need to physically "snap" his fingers. He can just will anything to happen. The "snapping fingers" thing is essentially a colloquialism from Infinity War, and it annoys me that it has become the actual physical motion that is required for the wish fulfillment aspect of the gauntlet.

Thinking on it, one of my favorite scenes in the movie is a pretty subtle one. I loved when Thanos is watching future Nebula's memories through past Nebula's eyes and he sees all that happens. First he sees that he's been successful in finding the stones and making the snap. He hardly reacts to it, because he knows its his destiny. He doesn't boast or even show a hint of excitement.

Then he sees himself brutally killed, and he doesn't even wince at that either. No reaction, other than a confirmation that destiny is to pass, this is his fate. That moment made Thanos so much more badass and terrifying to me.