I’ve tried to avoid the coverage of the Russo’s whirlwind tour for the re-release of Endgame. They are doing what all writers and director’s are encouraged to do–answer questions and spill secrets about their creation. They’ve said, for example, that the ambiguity of how Captain America wound up back in the present day is intentional. Whether or not this is true is another question entirely and, for the most part, unanswerable. What can be answered in my mind and finally put to rest is the question of this MCU arc. Is it worth the watch and even rewatch? Well, let’s go through.
Nah, let’s cut to the quick. It is worth it. You can stop reading now.
Still here? Let us continue:
It is worth it because of the mythology and the storytelling. It is worth it because of the backstory of the actors and the characters. It has value at every level–even the fan service level. I read a post recently by a writer who wondered aloud when and how fan service became synonymous with bad. Well, right away, my dear writer. A story should be consistent with itself and it’s characters and not become something different because fans like X, Y, and or Z. Fan service scenes like the passing of the torch from Black Panther to Spidey to the All-female team was fan service… But I digress..
The story is good and shows us the potential future. Sadly, it is a future I am less interested in, though that may be by design. This new phase is about a new era of characters that I don’t have the relationships with, so there is more freedom for the writers to direct them towards different audiences than my old butt. This may be the point.
My point is this: Marvel did a heck of a job and as I watch this final Avengers I recall all the films leading up to it and take joy in how the story came together to create a vision that I can appreciate for years to come.