Handling a movie of this scope and complexity with huge burdens of expectation and trying at the same time to outsmart and surprise the fans, is a big challenge. The writers and the directors have handled the responsibility with flair. The Russo brothers have mastered the art of delivering what the audience wants and also depriving them in subtle ways so that the payoffs in the end can derive a lot of satisfaction. We can take the case of Bruce Banner who is shown failing to transform into Hulk throughout Infinity War. After getting knocked out by Thanos in the very beginning of the movie, Hulk has probably injured in his ego a bit too much to emerge even in desperate situations and the audience is given no further view of the Hulk in the movie. One can be sure that Hulk will make an appearance in Avengers 4 in a critical juncture and when he does come out with his trademark roar, we can very well imagine how the audience reaction will be. Though Hulk is no match for Thanos with the gauntlet on, we can expect a scene in Avengers 4 where Hulk is able to return the favor to Thanos, perhaps once the gauntlet is off.

The movie ends with only Iron man, Captain America, Thor, Bruce Banner, Black Widow and Jim Rhodes being alive among the Avengers. Ending a movie with shocking deaths to make the audience feel a sense of loss is a good tactic to bring them back for the second installment next year and the Russo brothers have handled that expertly. But that sense of loss lasts only for the time one takes to walk out of the movie theater. It is evident that the death of so many heroes is not sustainable for MCU especially since some of them like Spiderman already have his next movie in the pipeline. Also with the recent success of Black Panther, Disney will never allow Marvel to kill him off in any case. James Gunn has already shared his plans for a 3rd Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Then there is Doctor Strange, who after seeing through more than 14 million outcomes could only see one way to victory and that was by letting Thanos have the Time Stone and subsequently the remaining one as well. Even though Strange dies as a result of the mass extinction in the end, he probably knew that the only way to defeat Thanos was to let him win at first. So there is a plan afoot and we will have to wait to see how things connect in the next part of the story.

The action of Thanos exhibiting the true power of the stones had to be a major highlight of the movie, so the deaths were inevitable in line with the comics. But no death is certain in the fantasy world of comic books, especially with popular superheroes as we have seen in many occasions. So though we can safely assume these characters will come alive, the movie does try to explore the feeling of being on the losing side and emotional impact of the deaths on those who are left standing, in a way the MCU has never done before. The directors are counting on the audience to come back and watch Avengers 4 to see in what way the story make the heroes return. The Russo brothers will keep raising the stakes only to better their earlier act and we can expect more deaths in Avengers 4. It is evident that they are not afraid to tell the story that they want to tell without being affected by audience expectations. But it is unlikely that they will let the dead rest permanently in this case.

In terms of what may come in the next installment, we can expect the effects of Thanos’s finger snap will be reversed but probably not in the way shown in the comics. The deaths other than those caused by the finger snap were those of Loki, Heimdall and Gamora. Out of them, Gamora was sacrificed by Thanos to acquire the Soul stone and so her soul could be trapped in the Soul World which could be the world, the movie gave us a glimpse of in its last stages. In the comics Adam Warlock is shown having the power to make someone return to their body from the soul world. With Adam being hinted upon in one of the post credit scenes of Guardians of The Galaxy 2, we can always expect Gamora to return in some way or the other. As for Loki and Heimdall, we cannot be sure and they may be gone permanently.

In The Infinity Gauntlet, Nebula, who was horribly mutilated by Thanos, is the one who takes out the gauntlet from Thanos’s hands when he left his body and entered the astral plane. It is also Nebula who is made to reverse the effects of the finger snap resulting in the universe coming back to its original state. Since Nebula is kept alive in the movie as well, she will surely play an important role in the next installment. But considering the fact that the Russo’s will be trying their best to surprise the audiences again, we can never be sure. Marvel is carving a path for the movies that is unlike that of the comic series, so things may turn out quite different. We have seen instances where series creators have drifted away from the source materials to create their own story-lines quite successfully (yes, Game Of Thrones is a prime example).

It will be absolutely wrong to assume that Marvel Studios will slow down after Avengers 4 which will end the first stage of storytelling from their end. Multiple sequels are already in the plans with many of the heroes. With Captain Marvel being introduced in her solo movie next year and being hinted at in the post credits scene of Infinity War, we will see her join the fight against Thanos in Avengers 4. There are many interesting story lines up in their sleeves with definite plans to make things more exciting and keep luring the audiences . A new series of actors will be brought in as the older ones move out of their contracts and hand over the mantle to the newer lot. So the success of Infinity War has put the idea of superhero fatigue to rest, at least for the next couple of years.

 

 

By teleratz team

 

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