Marvel What If…? Episode 3 Review

We all know the story of the Avengers by now. A group of remarkable people come together to become Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and fight the battles others never could. That’s how it goes in most of the comics, and how it went in the MCU.

At least, in the main MCU timeline. But in the Multirverse, anything is possible. Like, for example, a timeline where someone offs the Avengers before they even have a chance to assemble. This week, What If…? asks the question of what would happen if Earth’s Mightiest Heroes never got off the ground.

Fury’s Worst Week Ever

Fun fact: in the MCU, the events of Thor, The Incredible Hulk, and a good part of Iron Man 2 all took place in the span of a single week. That week wound up proving key to the creation of the Avengers, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Or, it was supposed to.

In this week’s dive into the Multiverse, the Watcher shows us a universe where that never happened. Instead, Tony Stark suddenly croaks in the donut shop while talking to Fury and Black Widow. Thor gets shot by an arrow that Hawkeye supposedly misfired. And then Hawkeye’s found dead, too!

It soon becomes clear that someone’s going around targeting all the names on Fury’s list for the Avengers Initiative, and the timing couldn’t be worse. Loki shows up with an army demanding justice for his brother’s death and wants Earth to either pay up, or burn!

Who is killing the heroes, though? The answer…will be told right here and now. It’s Hank Pym.

Why Hank Killed Earth’s Mightiest Heroes

There’s a reason why I just spoiled who the killer is, but we’ll get to that in a moment. For now, I think it’s worth talking about why Hank went nuts like this, and how it’s not as jarring as you might think.

In this universe, Hank’s daughter, Hope Van Dyne, wound up becoming a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, only to die on a mission. Coupled with the seeming loss of his wife, this was enough to send Hank over the edge. And instead of getting revenge on Fury himself, he just went around killing people who had nothing to do with his daughter’s death. Hank claims it’s because he wanted Fury to suffer like he did, but in truth, it’s nothing more than a jerk move. He’s spitefully robbing Earth of its mightiest heroes and risking everyone, a fact made all the more clear when, after all’s said and done, Loki conquers the planet.

Again, this is not surprising when you look at Hank’s comic book history. He’s had years of mental instability. He even hit his wife at one point. So, him being a serial killer here is, ironically, bringing him more in line with his comic book history.

Weakest Episode To Date

Whereas the two previous episodes were fun and imaginative, this episode was, in a word, dark. Everything that could go wrong for Nick Fury did go wrong, with him losing most of the Avengers roster before they ever meet up. If it had ended like that, then it might have been slightly better. However, Disney then reminds us of the fact that the Avengers were just a few heroes in a universe that would soon be sprawling with them. Captain America was still on ice, Captain Marvel returns from deep space, and I’m pretty sure War Machine could fill in for Iron Man at this point. Bottom line, the Avengers would assemble, albeit with different members.

It doesn’t change the fact that this was my least favorite episode of the series to date. Then again, in the Multiverse, we were bound to find versions that would suck like this. Regardless, this is one branching timeline I don’t think I’ll want to re-visit anytime soon.

I Give “What If… the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?” a 2/5

Click here for more MCU stuff

Check out more comic stuff

Avengers: Endgame Review

If someone had told me back in 2008 that the movie Iron Man was going to start something unheard of, I’d call them crazy. A lot of us would have. A shared universe of superheroes and interconnected stories had worked in comic books. It had even done well in cartoons with the DC and Marvel Animated Universes of the 90s and 2000s. But movies? No one had tried it; people may have thought it was impossible.

Yet Marvel did it; Iron Man was only the start of a larger universe. Eleven years and twenty-two movies (and several shows) later, the MCU rules pop culture. Now the first chapter to this incredible universe comes to a head in Avengers: Endgame, which has already broken the global box office record.

I told you guys in my last post about how I saw the first Avengers movie with my dad opening weekend. Now, I am proud to say that I got to do the same thing for Avengers: Endgame on Friday, April 26th, 2019. After giving myself a day to process everything, I want to give you guys my review for the movie everyone’s talking about. There will be some mild spoilers here, but nothing that will ruin the plot.

The film starts three weeks after the events of Infinity War, and the universe is working to pick up the pieces. Tony and Nebula get stranded in space like we see in the trailer, but thanks to Captain Marvel, they get rescued and get home. While Tony recuperates, everyone else goes after Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet. To their horror, though, they find that the Stones are gone. Thanos destroyed them so that a) the Decimation couldn’t be undone, and b) he wouldn’t go mad with power with them. So it looks like the Avenger have lost in every sense.

Time passes, and everyone deals with the effects in their own way, some better than others. Thor took it the worst, though; here’s an out-of-context photo that should give you a hint what’s happened to him:

Use your imagination for the rest. Then suddenly, Scott Lang comes back from the Quantum Realm. He had been trapped in there since the Pyms got dusted. The thing is, while it’s been years for others, it was only a few hours for him. Time doesn’t work the same in the Quantum Realm. Piggy backing off that discovery, the Avengers form a plan to undo Thanos’ actions. Using the Quantum Realm, they will travel back to various moments in the past, grab the Infinity Stones from then, and use them in the present to bring back everyone.

So I guess How it Should Have Ended got it partially right with the time travel part. As for me, what did I think about it? I think that it was a very convoluted plan, and if it sounds like Back to the Future, you’re not alone. Tony Stark even calls everyone out by saying “your plan is Back to the Future?” It was a crazy plan, and by all means, it shouldn’t work. To be honest, though, this wasn’t the first time Marvel’s used time travel; it’s happened in the comics.

I don’t want to give away what happens here, but the second part’s basically revisiting past moments from the movies and stealing the stones. I have to agree with Andy Epsilantis from Pop Culture Uncovered on this one: it was fun, but made for a weak story. It did give us some pretty good moments, though. A few of the characters were even able to get some closure to certain events in their past.

Letting the characters see themselves in the past, though, was pretty fun. For example, remember the scene at the start of Guardians where Quill’s singing to “Come and get your Love”? To everyone else, he looks like a dork singing in an empty room, and it is hilarious. The time heist doesn’t go off without a hitch, though. Thanos learns what the heroes are doing, and becomes determined to keep his work from being undone.

While I admit that in Infinity War, Thanos’ goals, while misguided, were to help the universe. That made him relatable as a villain and even, in some way, respect him for actually winning. In Endgame, though, Thanos becomes a straight-up villain. He vows to destroy Earth for its inhabitants constant interference in his plans. Then he’ll remake the universe with himself as a god. That’s pretty evil! And while I did enjoy how complex Thanos was (and still is), having a straight-up evil goal helped watching the Avengers fight him feel great.

What did I think of how it ended? First, I’m just going to come out and say it: THERE IS NO MID OR POST-CREDITS SCENE! The end credits are still epic, but don’t waste your time.

Second, while a three hour movie is pushing it for me, I walked away utterly satisfied. This film’s basically a love letter to what the MCU’s done and how far its come. It’s got humor, action, drama, genuine loss, and the geeky fan service. It is the perfect cap-off to this story that’s been building for eleven years. If it or any of the people involved in it don’t win an Oscar next year, I will be disappointed.
Third, and finally, I like how this movie has Stan Lee’s final cameo before his passing. Best part is that you won’t even realize it’s him at first glance. Having one of the men who made Marvel appear in the final chapter to one of its biggest stories gives it a form of closure.

In short, I thought that this movie was the best, and not just because of nostalgia bait. I highly recommend that you go see it in theaters while you can.

I Give “Avengers: Endgame” a 5/5. Excelsior!

One problem, though: where do they go from here?

Click here to see my reviews for various films.

My #1 Favorite Moment from the MCU- Avengers Assemble, The Avengers

There have been a countless number of moments in the MCU that I have loved, but out of all of them, this was, and still is, the defining moment of the MCU.

The Avengers spent the majority of the movie trying to learn how to work as a cohesive team, with little success. After Loki manages to nearly cripple the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier and kills Agent Phil Coulson, the heroes are able to rally together to defend New York against Loki’s Chitauri army. In this now legendary moment, Bruce Banner effortlessly transforms into the Hulk and punches a flying Leviathan into the ground as the Avengers Assemble in defiance of the Chitauri for the first time.

I still remember going to see this movie opening day with my dad, and up to that point, it was the greatest movie I had ever seen. I think most people even understand just how great this movie really was.

No one had tried to do a movie like The Avengers before. There were movies about superhero teams before, like the X-Men and Fantastic Four, but they didn’t have this level of world-building or attention. The closest I think anyone had gotten to the MCU was the DC Animated Universe from the 90s and early 2000s.

The Avengers managed to do what many had thought to be impossible, and redefined what it meant to make films about Superheroes. I hadn’t paid much attention to the MCU until Captain America: The First Avenger, but this was the moment where everything clicked, and I realized just how special the MCU truly was. But then I saw the end credits, and I saw him.

That’s when I realized that while what I just saw was amazing, it was only the tip of the iceberg. Nearly seven years and sixteen films later, the story that the MCU has been building towards for eleven years is about to be completed. And as I look back on what has come, I still consider this scene to be my all time favorite from the MCU.

I’m going to go see Avengers: Endgame in less than an hour. Whatever happens in the next three hours, no matter how this ends, this will mark the end of an era for Marvel and for superhero movies. Excelsior!

MCU Favorite Moments Countdown #4- Puny God, Avengers

When I decided to do this list, I knew that it was going to involve making tough choices about my favorite moments. I love them all so much, so it’s hard to make a decision. I think, though, this next moment has earned its place.

In the midst of the Chitauri invasion of New York, Loki’s confronted by the likes of the Incredible Hulk. As the God of Mischief tries to talk down to the Hulk and proclaim itself above everyone on the planet, Hulk decides to grab him by the ankle and pummel him into the ground.

He then proceeds to walk off while saying “Puny God”.

This was one of the funniest things that I have ever seen in my entire life, and it hits all the right notes in the process. The big bad getting interrupted while doing a monologue? Check. Unexpected and comedic timing? Check. Simple post ass-kicking one-liner. Check. But the best part was that Loki was beat up so badly that afterwards, all he can do is lie there and whimper.

It gets funnier. When Loki sees the Hulk on Sakaar years later in Thor: Ragnarok, it’s revealed that he was traumatized by the experience, with the mere sight of him enough to get him to run for the hills. Definitely one of my top five favorite moments.