#i literally did this exact comic but it’s actually just steve and tony

[phoenixmetaphor]

Day 4 - Real-life Captain America

[vinici-chi]

As I have been hearing my friend bitch about it AGAIN for the millionth time even though its been years, I'm giving my thoughts on Civil War and how I feel it with my to much empathy issue. (everything I see makes it hard to hate ANY character or motive because everyone has their reasons)(The only characters I actually hate are characters who don't seem to have any motive or reason to do what they do. EX. Umbridge, we don't see any backstory so I have no idea if she truly believes the ministry and is trying to stop what she believes is a 'rebellion' or a issue in her past that made her hate werewolves and others like them, so I can't empathise or understand.)

Is it about the whole government issue? No. because that just sounds like a horrible way to create a shitload of arguments. Am I gonna talk about how I think of the characters? Sure.

OK so first off, the most controversial character, Steve Rogers. I watched the movies, and the comics are in no way influencing this at all by the way.

First thought? good friend, not good man.

NOW before you start yelling at me.

He loves Bucky. Whether it's platonic romantic or whatever, he loves him. I have a cousin who i've know literally since I was born. I would do the exact same thing if she was in Bucky's place. Does that make me a good friend? Definitely. But what about the children and others who have lost someone to them? What about all those who she would have hypothetically killed? One man/woman over millions of others. Yes, he is not evil, or even the villain. But Captain America is a old, old man. with no one he knows still alive. And he is 𝘏𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯. He is flawed.

Then you touch the 'he killed my other best friends parents'.

Could he have handled that better? Yes. He dropped the ball 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥. Again yes, it wasn't truely Bucky's fault, and steve would protect his friend, but straight up 𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 to your other best friend about his parents deaths?

...That's 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘦𝘭.

While I don't hate him for it exactly... I'm appalled. it's cruel ok? Honestly the thing I hate most about this is the fact he used Tony's money while doing it. I sound like a broken record here, but it's true. I balked once I realized the extent that his friendship for Bucky was, that he used the money of one of his victims to find and protect the killer.

Yes Tony is a millionaire and money maybe doesn't even make a dent in what he did make. Is that right? NO. really its not, please put away your hatred of the rich for now, please?

Can Bucky be fully blamed for the deaths? no. he cannot. But that is not relevant to Tony. Not at the time, no. But it's still absolutely heartbreaking to Tony, it's betrayal, plain and simple.

Maybe Tony would've tried to kill Bucky if Steve told him. But would he have found him right away? How? Bucky was a HYDRA assassin, the best, for years before they found him again. In fact Steve probably only found him because of how close they were, much less Tony who never even met the man.

Now. I don't wan't to sound like 'Tony one shots the verse OP' but he wasn't aiming to kill that fight, and whatever the directors say, if they don't show that he was, I'm not going to acknowledge it. Guys... he could cut through steel and go after tanks and other things in previous movies. He could've even just blown it sky high. During 'I can do this all day' God that speech horrified me, he just watched his parents die? Tony waited around 20 seconds for steve to get back up before wailing on him again. He was absolutely not trying to kill Bucky. Make him hurt. Yes. While Steve had his shield and bucky his sneaky assassin stuff, they were still flesh and bone. Tony had what was basically and walking and much much more advanced, tank. It was a marvel of engineering for a reason.

But still, Steve's motive's weren't evil. They were flawed. He left a man who just had a vibranium shield to the (extremely weak) chest area. later it shows Tony having his Arc Reactor back in afterwards so it must've been bad. So leaving him without even checking on him makes me want to cry.

Now, Tony. Honestly, We don't really even see his perspective which makes this harder to reason out, but he did try to do what's right, and had a better picture of the politics going into it. Steve called the UN a government, which makes me kinda wanna cringe, but was born in the depression with minimal schooling. does it make him dumb? No. but compared to Tony, Tony was much better suited to politics and other things of its ilk, seemingly practicing from an extremely young age for the media and other business related things. Not to mention he was a genius and had multiple PHD's. Is Steve lesser? No. everyone has a different way to do things. Steve was most likely a better motivator and such.

And Laws and other things can be changed, compromised. 'One hand on the wheel' indeed. Ross most likely couldn't actually use the Avengers, when you think about it, Ross is a secretary of the US. The United Nations was composed of multiple governments. No Way were they gonna let a middle level government official get the reins of the Avengers, sorry. We couldn't actually read it so it was most likely a chain of command, like the police or special forces. And while they most likely did have agendas, everyone has agendas. Heck, Steve had one, and it was to protect Bucky, he was about to sign the accords!

Would they have stopped them from going after problems in other countries? I don't think so, if it was something they couldn't handle. Like another Chitauri Invasion. HYDRA? HYDRA is powerful, but they are still only terrorists. The countries have counter-terrorism for this issue. Then they most likely would've, other countries don't just let America in to deal with their terrorism do they?

Did Tony accidentally escalate things? Most likely. But he also didn't have all the facts. He didn't know the bombing wasn't made by Bucky, he didn't know the reason Steve wants Tony away from Bucky, he didn't know about the other soldiers. And what's worse is Tony thought he did have all the information.

And Steve... Is just unsympathetic? it's not necessarily a bad thing, but can make others very uncomfortable and sad or angry. Steve didn't look that nice when the video came up. He seemed to be waiting for Tony's reaction out of everything... which Tony also picked up on.

The murderer (Kinda) and a suspiciously un-upset soldier, who happened to be best friend showing no sadness over his best friend and his wives death?

So... so many red lights/flags etc.

And Tony reacted in grief and launched at the man.

I'm not mentioning the note. Sorry that just makes me sad in the end :[ as someone who has been guilt tripped and made to feel bad 'I'm sorry you don't understand' is a horrible thing to say and sounds like your pushing all the blame on the other :[.

I have no idea if it was something to pass the blame or just came out horribly wrong. while I'm hoping for the latter it's just... No.

This is getting to long and I might add to it but I'm emotionally exhausted at the moment, and close to tears for the both of them. I might be leaning towards Tony but the way they treated him just wasn't right? Yes he made bombs and they got leaked into terrorist hands. did he purposefully do it? ABSOLUTELY NOT. (And he went after them later). Not to mention out of all of the character he gets the biggest 'character progression'. also... 'the power in the right hands... our hands.' Obie's speech to Tony and he almost kills him sounds to much like what Steve said. Ok rant put on hold or i'm gonna go off again, see u.

[geenawrites]

'Black Widow' and undermining Dramatic Intent (II)

[PART ONE]

The 'Civil War' Effect

4): Elements that could’ve made Black Widow Natasha's personal journey are reduced to quick conversational bites told to Natasha instead of experienced by Natasha and the audience first hand.

The film could've built the story around her family selling her off to the government (on some eugenics mess). It could've set the stage for the subplot regarding her mother’s search for her until she was murdered, and Natasha trying to learn about her past pre-assassin.

For all the moments where we simply see her on her own, a lot of that alone time isn't used to explore how she feels, what she's thinking, or a personal throughline. It's just a montage of her looking gloomy and wearing comfy sweatshirts.

The only time Natasha truly feels like she is the emotional center of the movie is the opening act of the film. There, she’s portrayed by Ever (Gabo) Anderson and not Scarlett Johansson.

And as a film touted-as a vehicle for Johansson, that is bad. But also underlines why Florence Pugh’s Yelena was considered the real protagonist of the movie.

Black Widow could've been about Natasha wanting to reclaim her past from the Red Room (her abductors) because she reunites with her sister and parents (her surrogate family), and needed to finally deal with the consequences of killing Antonia (her ghost).

Instead, Black Widow is really Yelena’s story and emotional journey. Yelena justifies the presence of Alexei and Melina more-so than anything in Natasha’s history. As centered as Natasha was in the prologue, it works more as a establishing point for Yelena versus something like Natasha’s lost family or working with Clint Barton in Budapest.

Yelena being tasked to save the Widows (by the elder Widow who created the mind control cure), killing Dreykov, and destroying the Red Room are immediate issues that directly impact her arc and development as a character. Natasha is largely along for the ride, bringing Yelena where she needs to be in each act.

Natasha isn't as centered in her own her film as she should be. Simply compare the structure of her story to the structure in the Captain America (x2), Ant Man (x2), Thor (x3), and Iron Man (x3) films, and how those narratives focus on Steve Rogers, Scott Lang, Thor Odinson, and Tony Stark. Those films are about their emotional journeys while maintaining a healthy supporting cast that don't overshadow them.

Black Widow in comparison feels more like Captain America: Civil War, which is more of an Avengers film than it is a Captain America story. The emotional center of Civil War is Tony Stark and Zemo. Steve and his cast are simply underpinning Stark and Zemo's arcs. It also tries to introduce a new character (Black Panther) with the exact same story beat (revenge) as Stark and Zemo, and a MCU-wide subplot (Sakovia Accords) that ultimately goes nowhere later on.

The consequences of Civil War "Avengering" a solo film are on display in Black Widow in a big way. It's introducing new characters, and trying to tackle a trilogy's worth of storylines (the Red Room, Budapest, the Widow family, Civil War-fallout).

She doesn't even get a decent postmortem send off. The post credits, wherein Yelena mourns Natasha, is turned into a comedic skit and a teaser for the Hawkeye series. It's not allowed to remain a moment of mourning between two sisters separated by literal death.

As an Executive Producer of the film, I know this was not lost on Johansson. She might be an awful person, but she doesn’t strike me as someone so unaware of her environment that she set the stage to be undermined by her co-star. No, I think, given the timing, Johansson knew this was always going to be about setting up her successor.

Wrong Time, Wrong Place

Choosing to set Black Widow after Civil War was just a poor choice on Marvel’s part. Natasha circa 2016 has more or less come-to-terms with her history as a state-sponsored assassin for both Russia and the United States. Her arc as seen throughout the Avengers and Captain America films has come full circle following the events of The Winter Soldier. Now all she has left going forward is the arc dealing with Thanos' genocide and resurrecting everyone.

There is nothing to mine in terms of personal character drama because, at this point, she has laid it all to rest. It's nothing that torments her akin to Bucky trying to square away with his past as an amnesiac assassin.

All of Natasha’s threads are focused on the break-up of the Avengers. At first, seemed like her arc was going to be about not falling back into bad habits (being mistrustful of everyone). That it was going to deal with how she felt let down by the team (after trying to be the reasonable party among everyone), but the film doesn't really commit.

After that one conversation in Budapest, "getting the Avengers back together" isn't even a focal point. We just get awkward callbacks that tell the audience that Natasha isn't on the same level as Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor.

Yelena forgiving her family is used to tack on the sudden parallel idea that Natasha has been convinced she can personally bring the Avengers together again as a surrogate family once things work with her Widow Family.

Again, even in her own film, Natasha is playing the sacrificial matriarch of a Boy’s Club (whose event films she features only as a supporting character. Something I think people are only just realizing). That says to me the MCU never valued her beyond her ties to the male Avenger cast.

”You’re such a mom!” becomes a lot less funny in that context.

If this film was immediately set after The Winter Soldier or even Age of Ultron, wherein all of her history and SHIELD’s was leaked for public record, then there might’ve been a chance for an emotionally resonant story arc.

How would a Natasha scrambling to create new covers, and new ways to protect herself, deal with the sudden public attention of the world knowing that she was a foreign assassin that bought her way into the United States and became a celebrity superhero? How would a post-Winter Soldier solo film deal with Natasha’s past in way that she didn't become overshadowed by her own supporting cast?

How would a post-Age of Ultron solo film handle her past as informed by her nightmare (which stuck closer to her history as a trained dancer in the comics) on top of the events of The Winter Soldier?

But even as a post-Civil War narrative, Black Widow should've really cared to explore how Natasha felt about having to revisit her history with the Red Room, on top of being betrayed by Alexei and Melina. Instead of giving all those emotional beats to Yelena, actually show us Natasha confronting them beyond “it wasn’t real!”

How would the story turn out if parent with the biggest hand in the facilitation of her abuse (Alexei) wasn't turned into a flat comic relief character? What if he actually got chance to really consider her grievances, show remorse for his actions, without being turned into a “ha, ha, he’s do dumb (and fat)!” punchline (after setting him up as the total opposite in the prologue)?

Melina could've been an interesting co-antagonist working with Dreykov, but the film skirts past how she is complicit in the harm that her daughters faced (Yelena especially) with a fake Heel Turn moment that only undermined Dreykov as a threat.

And that’s really the problem with Black Widow. The film, or rather Marvel Studios, doesn’t want to really tackle Natasha’s past or pain like they were willing to do with Steve Rogers in The First Avenger, and The Winter Soldier.

Maybe because that would mean approaching the story with the emotional maturity of The Bourne Identity, a PG-13 film that was plenty violent without being excessive. It was also emotionally resonate by dealing with the fact that Jason Bourne was, pre-amnesia, a US assassin that did awful shit.

Instead we get a plot about mind-control, and magic red dust that can break said mind control (that apparently requires invasive surgery of the brain).

Whedon seemed comfortable with getting close to the actual violence that was asked of Natasha (vs. done to) by the Russian government as a kid. The screenplay for Black Widow can talk past Natasha willingly doing awful things, but doesn’t want to confront that by having her or Yelena deal with an army of assassins who are walking down the same path Natasha did, fighting and killing for another government without any sort of mind control.

This is why Natasha's assassination of “Dreykov’s Daughter” (Antonia) as the thing that happened in Budapest also doesn't land. The movie doesn't want to deal with how Natasha learned to live with murdering a child to buy her freedom into America. They make it so that she didn’t kill her, actually, just gave her a bad case of pizza face. She’s not even the one that pulls the trigger, the film suggests that it was Hawkeye.

Her mustache-twirling villain of a father, who somehow survived the explosion and building collapse with zero burns or broken bones, is the one who does all the truly horrible things to his daughter (turning her into a mindless slave).

The Original Sin that Natasha is defined by is swept under the rug in the same way her history as a killer is blurred by the script. It’s akin to rewriting Xena’s history with Callisto as the killer of her family and village, and deciding, “No, Xena didn’t kill them. They all survived with minor burns! Callisto can now forgive Xena!”

Natasha's Antagonist

Dreykov is a weak antagonist/villain because the screenwriting seems determined to accredit the abuse of the Red Room entirely to him instead of making a systemic issue. What started off as a clandestine organization for the KGB throughout most of the MCU is rewritten in Black Widow as the personal playground of a thinly veiled Harvey Weinstein analogue who puppeteers his personal assassins to do bad things, thus rendering them all innocent of their wrongdoings. It makes them "perfect victims" in way.

(Johansson has gone on record saying that this film was influenced by the #MeToo Movement. Well, celebrification of it, anyway)

Dreykov doesn’t challenge Natasha, or her family. There’s never an immediate danger or stakes being driven by Dreykov. He’s not doing something they have to stop “before time runs out”, he doesn’t have anything on any of the characters that could push their actions.

He takes a backseat to the family hijinks, so the journey to finding and destroying the Red Room has no urgency (Natasha being dead already notwithstanding). As the supposed architect of their misery, he’s about as threatening as Mason (Natasha’s Black Best Friend who buys her things while in hiding).

Dreykov fails like the rest of the MCU’s villains (not named Erik Killmonger) because there's no depth to the character. There's no real loyalty to the character as a demonstration of his power or influence. Again, all his victims are blameless in their violent actions. No one with speaking lines or face time (that isn't a G.I Joe grunt) is working with him because they believe in his goals or ideology.

Complicating that matter is that the script never reveals what his goals or ideologies are besides, "I can create chaos with an army of assassins. I am so evil."

It’s wild to me that so many are rushing to defend the implementation of this sloppily written (and miscast) character because, “he works as a villain because he's a human trafficker” and “he mind controlled his own daughter.”

“He does terrible things”, or a character representing awful things that happen in the real world, isn't enough to make an effective villain. If that was all it took, then 90% the MCU’s villains wouldn’t be so forgetabble.

(He’s not real, I shouldn’t be reading posts like, “he doesn’t deserve screentime b/c he’s an awful human being! He earned his lazy death scene.” Girl, what???)

If you’re gonna tackle human/child trafficking as defined by one antagonist, then really make it part of the story. Make it something that Natasha and Yelena are actively trying to stop. Don’t montage it over a bad Nirvana cover and then shift gears into a G.I. Joe scenario in a floating fortress.

If you're gonna make Dreykov the abuser of so many women, then make it crucial to your protagonist's narrative. Don't add a silly Angry Beavers plot where his stinky musk can control a woman's bodily functions because as a weak analogue to "how men police women's bodies".

Because Natasha has no real conflict with Dreykov, confronting him in the climax goes nowhere. Dreykov is Yelena’s antagonist. It's why Yelena gets to kill him instead of Natasha, so it would've made more sense for her to confront him instead.

The film eventually establishes he's no real threat to Natasha because the writing pulled a Xanatos. The character feels like he exists only so Johansson can sass him, and make a callback to the Loki Interrogation scene (a scene that only worked because of the audience misdirection.)

Dreykov could've been an effective villain if he was anything like the Headmistress characters in the Samee-Waid Black Widow series from 2016.

The Headmistress and Anya (the new Headmistress later on) were characters with emotional connections to Natasha and the Widow children she was trying to save. They taught these girls to believe in the totalitarian philosophy of the ruling class. Natasha and the other Widows couldn't live without them until they were able to escape their influence.

The Headmistresses were women, which makes it plain that women are also perpetrators of abuse. It isn’t just something that men do, which is how this script has approached this subject entirely (Captain Marvel did the same thing as well). Abuse being exclusively a male theater of action.

Antonia's death could've been meaningful in regards to Natasha and Dreykov as characters if Dreykov cared that Antonia was murdered by a Red Room assassin. Natasha admitting that she killed his daughter and regretted it would've made a lot more impact than just having him shrug it off because he's so heartless and so evil.

Or, as other people have said, imagine if it was Antonia who was the antagonist gunning after Natasha because of what she did, not only to her, but her father as well.

It would not only render the mind-control plot pointless, it would re-center the focus on Natasha, and force the writers to do something else with Yelena, Alexei, and Melina (assuming they're even necessary in this scenario). Then, Natasha would have a genuinely threatening antagonist because the stakes are personal on both sides.

It would've been a hellva lot more meaningful than using Taskmasker as a plot-twist (after hyping the character up as the controller of the Red Room and Natasha's personal nemesis).

Callisto’s story as a villain resonates because she cared about what she lost, and Xena knew there was no real forgiveness for what she did to her. Imagine if they approached Natasha’s role in Antonia’s death like that.

(But that's probably asking for too much nuance from Disney and Marvel.)

Conclusions

In story that wants to be about the abused reconciling with their past and family, the film effectively robs the abused of their autonomy by going the extra of mile of making them zombies. In the same way the Star Wars sequel trilogy avoided Finn’s history as an indoctrinated and enslaved Stormtrooper, Black Widow doesn’t want to deal with the ramifications of indoctrination.

How people buy into and protect organizations that strip them of their humanity by making them complicit in violent systems. Oh, sure, they’ll nod and wink at it (as they do with Natasha and Melina’s past), but they won’t go any further than that.

Instead of dealing with how a forced hysterectomy effects Natasha physically and emotionally, we get a joke that isn’t any better than Natasha calling herself a monster, or the “time of the month” joke that got rebuked by the director and the cast.

Instead of reflecting on her time with SHIELD and the United States, the United States is portrayed as "the good-guys who gave her a real family” (ignoring even the half-hearted criticism of the US that The Winter Soldier made), while Russia is still out there doing nefarious Cold War Things and ruining people's families. All of which just feeds into uncritical Russian stereotypes and Red Scare that the film’s foundation is built on.

I enjoyed the film, but the more I think about it, the more I realize Black Widow really does nothing except undermine Natasha's darker elements and self-imposed redemption arc (as written by Whedon).

On top of rewriting key elements about the Red Room (the movies being broken as the comics is a true irony), It minimizes Natasha's violent past to make her into a clean, and boring superhero whose solo film thinks lamp-shading sexism is the same as subverting it.

[captainsimagines]

“I Could Fall in Love”

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I hope you enjoy this little drabble as much as I enjoyed writing it. Cutting it close to midnight on Valentine’s Day but hey, it still counts. xx Moni

BUCKY BARNES X READER DRABBLE

Warnings: none, simply fluff!

Word Count: 3000+

Song Fanfic: Listen and enjoy!

~

     It wasn’t that you hated Valentine’s Day, you just didn’t see it as purely romantic. In your opinion, it was supposed to represent so much more than just romantic love. Friendships, beginnings and endings, the actual historical event, elementary school card giving, baked goods, and a nice dinner for either yourself or in the presence of others. So, no - you didn’t hate it. In fact, you actually quite enjoyed the giddy feeling of seeing other couples go all out for a single day, the sweets that were always available, and the awesome discounts. 

     “Come with us!” Natasha whined, filling up her glass with some oat milk and passing Steve some utensils at the same time. She wasn’t whining excessively, as that wasn’t in her nature, but she did raise her voice as her tone shifted from playful to annoyance. You rolled your eyes and chewed on your bagel, shaking your head dramatically. You plastered on your best grin, but it was overpowered by the massive chunk of bagel in your mouth. So you sat there, stupid bagel-filled grin covering your face, and tiny giggles threatening to escape as Natasha’s face also dropped into a silly one. 

     The rest of the crew was planning on attending a private Valentine’s Day party hosted by a close business partner of Tony’s. It sounded like a lot of fun and a perfect excuse to dress-up, but you had a tiny mission to go on before it. It was not a ‘mission-mission’ so to say- more like a ‘get in, get out, this will literally take two seconds and I could do this any other day’ type of mission. Natasha had given you such a disapproving look when you told her what your actual plans were for tonight, but she expected nothing less. You always had something else up your sleeve. 

     And that you did. 

     Since your mission was a quickie, you would be able to return to the compound before everyone else and bake your special pink cupcakes they all knew and loved. A sweet mixture of vanilla and strawberry, no flavor overpowering the other. You had recently perfected the recipe, only having Natasha and Bucky taste the final product, and because of their genuine surprise and praise, you were ready to bake dozens for everyone proudly.

     She finished her glass and went to wash it. “Still, I think you’re missing out! I hear the food is gonna be great!”

     You shrugged, “Eh, we have food here.”

     You heard Natasha release a tiny scoff, “Please tell me your actual reason before I laugh too loudly and wake everyone up.”

     “I swear, I’ve been putting off this mission for so long that tonight just seemed like the perfect time. Everyone’s occupied- I don’t know. I mean, criminals gotta get laid too, right?”

      Natasha snorted, “That’s very true.” She eyed you suspiciously while drying her glass. 

     “You know, you and Barnes are the only one’s not attending. Obviously, his excuse is that he’s literally on a mission right now but you see my point.”

     “No, I don’t see your point.”

     Natasha smiled, as if secretly knowing your other very valid reason for not attending the party. “We all have dates. You know that if he were here you would be going with him, even as friends. But since you would literally be the only one of us without a date, it seems reasonable you wouldn’t want to attend.”

    Okay, she hit that spot-on. 

    You groaned and lay your arms across the counter dramatically, “Stop, it’s scary how right you are all the time.”

    Natasha laughed and rounded the counter, going over to pat your shoulders. “I’m not making you go. Don’t worry. Just give yourself some self-care and I’ll see you tonight to let you know I got home safe.”

     You nodded and waved goodbye to her, ready to finish the everything bagel you had abandoned. 

          Bucky wasn’t one to dress-up for a night out anymore. He just didn’t have the motivation to do anything unless it involved stake-outs, knitting, painting, and binge-watching some stupid series you were watching. It always happened the same way, too. You would be casually chilling in the main common room of the compound, barely starting the first episode of a new series with stacks of junk food ready for your eager taste buds, when Bucky would randomly come in and ask what you were watching. And the next thing Bucky knew, you two were discussing the hidden elements of The Crown and debating whether a scene actually happened the way it was portrayed. By God, how much Bucky absolutely detested Prince Charles. 

     And you were so determined to knit that sweater for Natasha by her birthday that you came to Bucky’s room five times a day now rather than your usual three. But Bucky was extremely patient, helping you hook the remaining yarn that kept falling off your needles. Each time you pouted over the ‘horrible knot you made’ or when the yarn would tangle, Bucky would grin and tease you about, his stomach twisting pleasurably.

     And each time he would reach over to help you fix it, your heart fluttered ever so slightly. 

     Bucky had actually planned on taking you to that Valentine’s Day party but his mission carried on longer than it was supposed to. Rather than returning a day before the party, he would now be returning towards the middle of it. He wondered if you were still going to go, but he highly doubted it. Not because you had told him explicitly, but because you had joked that if he wasn’t able to go, then ‘why would you bother?’. 

     To see you in that red dress you had jokingly placed over your already clothed body and modeled for him - Yeah, he absolutely hated he was missing this party tonight. 

     His mission had just ended and he was currently on the flight home, resting in his tactical gear but with the headphones you let him borrow in each ear. He chuckled lowly, realizing that most things he had in his possession, whether that be the headphones, hair bands, lotion, and Spotify account, all belonged to you. It brought him some comfort as he fixed himself in his seat, settling on your ‘Love me please?’ playlist to match the special holiday. 

     Lovebug by the Jonas Brothers. Tonight by FM Static. Oh, dozens by Taylor Swift. You’ll Be In My Heart by Phil Collins. And a whole lot of Selena songs. 

     There was one song that caught his attention, as if the title spoke to him. It just made sense. He clicked it, surprised by the upbeat beginning and rhythm of the drums, finally closing his eyes as he heard the melody from the acoustic guitar. 

     He lost count of how many times he replayed that one song as his plane touched land. He quickly woke himself up and gathered his things, ready to jump into a warm shower and watch an episode of The Crown behind your back. The drive to the compound was short and he entered the living quarters somewhat alert. There were no sounds his super soldier ears could hear besides the clicks of keyboards by overtime workers and computers humming. Kind of sad and joyful at once, Bucky realized he was alone for the first time in a long time. Maybe he would try that face mask you had urged him to buy tonight. And those very comfortable pajamas. 

          Ever the procrastinator, you never did go on that mission.

     You were humming along to your Valentine’s playlist as you cracked the eggs into your bowl. You stirred quickly, bowl in your arms and a strike of flour along your unknowing cheek. You had your earphones in, enjoying the solace of such a peaceful night. The mix was coming together nicely and as you waited for the oven to preheat, you took out all of your cupcake supplies to set on the kitchen counter. 

     You could have sworn you heard some noises a few doors down so you took one earphone out to listen closely. At first you heard nothing, but you could have sworn you heard the likes of a toothbrush tapping against a bathroom counter. But as you stood there comically, bowl in your arms and whisk held up like a weapon, you settled on no disturbance. 

     You set the bowl down quietly and ran over to the door, looking down the hallway. Once you saw it was completely empty, you couldn’t contain the grin that spread across your face. You raced back to the kitchen and called for Friday. 

     “Friday? Could you please connect my phone to the living room speakers, please?”

     “Done.”

     You scrolled through your playlist and settled on a song that would for sure damage your vocal cords but delight you nonetheless. 

“I could lose my heart tonight

If you don’t turn and walk away

     You swayed around the kitchen as you traveled to grab each new ingredient, singing at the appropriate level the song called for. 

Because the way I feel I might

Lose control and let you stay

     Bucky had just finished brushing his teeth and putting a warm pair of socks on when he heard Friday play the exact song he had been listening to for the past two hours. At first he wondered if Friday had mistakenly connected his phone to the speakers but realized his phone didn’t even have the Spotify app open. He quickly walked down the cold floors of the hallway, his warm socks somewhat doing their job. He stopped at the living room entrance and leaned his shoulder on the doorway, beaming with a huge grin. 

Because I could, take you in my arms

And never let go

     You twirled around and used the whisk as a microphone, and to both your and Bucky’s surprise, hit every note perfectly. Bucky knew you were a great singer and although he would never admit it, he had heard you singing in the shower quite a few times. It was impossible not to at the level of volume you sang, but each time he would come into your room to grab something random or to ask you a question, he would sit outside the shower door and listen to your angelic voice as it sailed through the steamy air and into Bucky’s ears. But here you were, belting out the exact song Bucky had just learned all the lyrics for on his way home.

I could fall, in love, with you

     It was in that moment that Bucky realized he was in his ‘comfortable pajamas’, which consisted of a loose long sleeve and bottoms set, with a nice dark blue color and white stitching along the pockets and buttons. But the sleeves, incredibly so, were far too long for his arms so he would crunch them up in his palms. And his socks had stripes on them. But he remained still on the door frame, watching you sway to the music and enjoying the scent of your first batch of cupcakes already in the oven.

I could only wonder how touching you

Would make me feel

     You halted immediately when you saw his tall form resting on the door frame, a giant grin plastered on his newly shaven face. You yelped in surprise, putting down the whisk and patting your hands on your little green apron. 

     “Bucky, oh my god! Say something if you’re going to enter a room!”

     Bucky just shrugged, walking over to the kitchen counter, eyes never leaving yours. He leaned over and placed his chin in both his palms, smiling as the music continued playing in the background. “I like this song.”

     You squinted at him, “You know this song?”

     Bucky nodded, holding his hand out now for you to take. “Like I said, I like this song.”

But if I take that chance right now

Tomorrow will you want me still?

     You reached over hesitantly and let Bucky lead you over to the carpet. He wrapped one arm around your waist and rested the other higher up on your back. You wrapped your arms around his neck, allowing for his large frame to sway you both to the rhythm of the song. 

     “Nice pajamas.”

     “Shut up.”

     The room was dimly lit, cupcake aroma circling you two, and his snuggly pajamas seemed to also provide you the warmth you were previously getting from the oven. You smiled up at him, low giggles emitting from your lips. He did the same, enjoying the feel of your body pressed up against his. 

So I should, keep this to myself

And never let you know

     “When did you get back?” you asked, reaching up to touch his shaven cheek. You were undoubtedly curious about the feeling.

     Bucky let you roam your hand all over, “About an hour ago. I didn’t think anyone was here.”

     You chuckled, “I am! I told you I wasn’t going to bother going to that party if my plus one wasn’t coming!”

     Bucky lifted his arm and twirled you slowly, happy that you followed his lead. “So, I’m your plus one now?”

     You rolled your eyes, “Always.”

I could fall, in love, with you

     “How did you even hear about this song?” you asked, hands now resting comfortably on Bucky’s chest. He had his arms wrapped around you, hugging you to his chest as you two swayed. 

      “We share a Spotify account, doll.”

     “Yeah, but it’s a love playlist. Were you just in the mood for some ballads and stumbled across this one?”

      “Exactly. It’s quite the tearjerker.”

And I know it’s not right

And I guess I should try

To do what I should do

     He looked so relaxed at this moment, fresh and calm, enjoying the dance he pulled you into. He was resting his chin on the top of your head so you felt his little puffs of air escape his nostrils. And as he breathed in, you could feel his chest rise and lower below your palms. You were tempted to reach up and grab his face, pull him into yourself and share a sweet kiss, but you decided against it. For some reason you knew that this was different. You had snuggled before during naps or binge watching, but they never had a romantic undertone. And if you acted upon your desires, you were frightened it just might ruin your friendship. It took you two years to build up such a rapport with this man, and dare you say you were extremely proud to harbor some of his deepest secrets, and him yours. But his breathing calmed you immensely, as if the gentle rhythm was enough to put you to sleep, and you wondered if he was thinking about the same thing. 

But I fall in love, with you

So I should, keep this to myself

And never let you know

     Bucky seemed to hug you tighter as the lyrics encircled the room. Over the last few weeks he had felt a shift in your relationship, where sharing food was no longer as innocent as it seemed, barging into each other’s room was not seen as drastic, and partaking in each other’s hobbies was never a bore. Steve had commented on it before, asking Bucky if there was something between you two. And Bucky confided in both Steve and Sam, hands pulling at his hair as he paced in a safe room and his friends sitting patiently on the lone couch. They let him act out his worries in peace, and once Bucky tired himself out they both explained how he should ask you out or how to bring up the topic with you. Bucky listened intently and pushed down the tiny voice in his head that joked about Steve being the one to give him romantic advice. But if he ended up with you on his arm after this little pep talk, it would all be worth it. 

     But now the song was coming closer to its end, and he knew that if he didn’t act now then he probably wouldn’t have the courage to bring it up ever again. He leaned down to your left ear, and whispered the lyrics to you. In Spanish. 

Siempre estoy soñando en ti

Besando mis labios, acariciando mi piel

Abrazándome con ansias locas

Imaginando que me amas

Como yo podía amar a ti

[I am always dreaming of you

Kissing my lips and touching my skin

Anxiously hugging me

Imagining that you love me

Like how I love you]

     You knew Bucky knew several languages. You knew. But it made you incredibly excited and hot that he specifically knew Spanish. He spoke in such a gentle manner, breath hitting your skin and voice practically drowning your mind. It was all foggy for a moment, but you quickly refocused your attention on his face. 

     “Oh, wow.”

      Bucky smiled, “What?”

     You scoffed and swatted his chest lightly, “Don’t ‘what’ me! You just confessed you like me!”

     Bucky pushed you away for another twirl under his arm, but kept you at arms length once you turned around. “No, I confessed I love you.”

     You stumbled slightly, staring at him with wide eyes. You thought about how absurd that confession was, but as quickly as that thought entered your mind, it left - because let’s face it, you did know each other for over two years and were best friends. This was right. This felt right. 

     “You love me?”

     Bucky breathed in deeply but your reaction didn’t change his mind. It was now or never. “Yeah, I do. Seemed like the moment to tell you.”

     You grinned, pushing your body forward to be engulfed by his strong arms once more. “And to think you could have just told me at this damn party when I was looking all hot without freaking flour on my face.”

     Bucky let out a loud laugh that originated from the pit of his stomach and reached his hands up to your face. He pulled you in and kissed you sweetly, the taste of your lip gloss driving him wild. He tasted like toothpaste and chapstick, a perfect combination for your superhero. 

     “I love you, too.” Bucky let his eyes close in complete bliss. 

     You could have stayed like that forever, but as you left his lips and looked up at him, you suddenly remembered you never set a timer. 

     You pushed Bucky away, your sudden strength sending him backwards onto the couch. “My cupcakes!”

      And as you rushed to pull the burnt tops from the oven, you could hear Bucky slide off the couch and hit the floor, his laugh louder than the speakers. 

I could fall, in love

With you.”

~

Happy Valentine’s Day. All the love. xxMoni

[thebusylilbee]

some people are saying that Peter Parker's childhood best friend was Harry Osborn so he shouldn't care about Tony Stark's billionaire status and therefore Tom Holland's Peter is properly written............ like......... first of all look where that friendship ended lmao............ And yes one of Peter Parker's key character traits is that he gives a chance to everyone !! he would not reject Tony Stark from the get go, I agree ! But the thing is in the comics he's generally an ally to Iron Man before realizing his mistake... and Tom Holland's Peter Parker fucking sucks precisely because he does NOT get that essential character arc.

Homecoming could have followed that narrative SO easily honestly, there was very little to change: in the last act Peter should have been more sympathetic to the villain's situation and should have confronted Tony Stark about it to have that "death of the idealized father figure" type of scene. But Marvel did not go with that because Of Course you can't paint the guy as morally grey before his big heroic Endgame death right ?! Okay sure cowards, but what was stopping them from pulling a "he wasn't as perfect as you thought he was" arc after his death ???

Peter Parker should have been OUTRAGED by Tony Stark's fascist drone in Far From Home. The only fucking Spider-man I can think of who wouldn't be is The Superior Spider-man from the comics who is actually literally Dr Octopus in disguise, like that's who that neutral reaction would fit ! The proper Peter Parker should have had the exact reaction Steve Rogers had in The Winter Soldier, he should have wanted to learn more about Tony Stark's projects to put a stop to them, maybe should have been in conflict with Happy Hogan about it even !!! It could have made Happy's character a little more interesting too, a little less two dimensional, the guy could have gone through a whole ass reflection on the value of his life's work as the right hand man of a morally grey billionaire who did great AND terrible things ! And it would have allowed Peter to be more understandably weirded out by Happy and Aunt May's relationship... but no instead we got zero moral dilemma and the weapon that can spy and kill anyone on earth was not questioned by the one super-hero who is consistently supposed to be morally good to a sometimes annoying extent.

Far From Home was a proper character assassination for Tom Holland's Peter Parker so no he is not well written, and yes if Maguire's Peter and Garfield's Peter suddenly met him and heard that he has a fascist weapon at his disposal and still worships the guy who invented it... well they would simply despise his ass. That's just logical.

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About "What If...Captain Carter was the First Avenger" from Marvel Studios' What If...

Salutations, random people on the internet who certainly won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

Back when Marvel Studios announced the new lineup of films and shows, I was admittingly underwhelmed. Nothing we've seen so far has been poorly written, far from it, but during the announcement, nothing really popped out at me as worth getting excited for. That is, except for one series: Marvel Studios' What If... An animated series that changes the canon of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, all through the simple question. The question being, "What if this happened instead of that."

From the get-go, I was sold on this idea. I'm a sucker for hypothetical scenarios, thinking up all the ways of how some of my favorite stories in fiction could be drastically different thanks to one tiny change. Some might call that "Fanfiction the Series," and while you're not wrong, I fail to see how that's a criticism. Because fanfiction can be fun...just as long as you ignore the sick freaks, sure, but it still can be fun! So whether Marvel Studio's What If... is fanfiction or not, it still didn't change how excited I was to watch it. Was it all worth the hype? Well, to answer that question requires spoilers, so keep that in mind as we dive deep into Marvel's most ambitious project yet.

Now, let's review, shall we?

WHAT I LIKED

The Watcher: Gonna get the generals out of the way before I talk about what I specifically like about this episode. Ok? Ok.

Now, using the Watcher as the narrator for this series is just perfect. What If... already has a similar energy to The Twilight Zone: An anthology series that takes viewers to new and mysterious realities all through the guidance of an omniscient narrator. And using the Watcher as that type of narrator might just be the second-best choice...number one would be Stan Lee, obviously, but...he's dead now. May he rest in peace.

I haven't read that many comics, so there's not much that I know about the Watcher's character aside from a ten-second Google search. But something tells me that a character described as a celestial being that observes and records the events surrounding the galaxy sounds like the exact type of omniscience to guide us through the unknown. All added with Jeffrey Wright's performance, who really does convey a character that sounds like he's as old as time and wise beyond his years. Plus, it's pretty cool that such a seemingly odd character now technically plays a major role in the MCU canon. Comics are weird, and if the Watcher proves anything, it's better to embrace that weirdness than deny it.

The Animation: Looks like someone watched Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse.

That really is the feeling I got when watching this. What If... doesn't look as good as Spiderverse (Nothing can be as good as Spiderverse), but the idea is still there as it combines primarily CGI animation with a few hand-drawn elements. It makes certain scenes just pop and, at times, even makes specific shots look like they're straight from panels in a comic book. Besides, while Spiderverse still looks better, that doesn't mean the animation isn't phenomenal in What If... The scenery looks gorgeous, the CGI models moderately match their live-action counterparts, the expressions are fantastic, and movements are as smooth as butter. There was definitely some money that went into this series to make it look as good as it did, and my eyeballs were more than grateful because of it. Especially when it comes to--

The Action: Holy s**t, was it a good thing that this series was animated!

The MCU has had its fair share of great fight scenes in the past, but it always felt restricted to what the big superhero fights could be due to everything needing to look "realistic." That all changes in What If... Because now that this series is animated, we can finally chuck realism out the window and allow these characters to be as epic as they were in the comics. The movements are swift, the blows look like they hurt, and best of all, you actually get to see characters fighting each other! There are no random cuts to hide the stunt doubles or weird camera angles to avoid audiences seeing how ugly the CGIed replacements are. We get to see all of the action with zero restraint, thanks to the fact that animation is limitless and allows writers to get away with literally anything. And shows like this make me wonder, "Why the hell isn't the MCU animated?"

Peggy as Captain Carter: It's here that we get into the specifics, and by golly, do I love me some Peggy Carter making a return. And what a return she made!

Seeing Peggy kick Nazi ass as Captain Carter is as awesome as it sounds as she gives a new definition of a "Strong, independent woman." She took s**t from no one and was more than willing to destroy anybody who said differently. It's a ton of fun for fans (the ones who aren't sexist, at least) and even fun for Peggy as well now that she gets a chance to wreck shop. However, that in itself could cause problems. If you watched Agent Carter (a great show, by the way), then you'll know that Peggy doesn't act as...somewhat meatheaded as she does here. As she said it herself, she's "usually more covert than this." And she is, as she was pretty much the first superspy in the MCU, who's impressive through how she effortlessly infiltrates her way to winning the day with diminutive requirements for fighting. So stripping that away gets rid of a core part of what makes her character so interesting. Although, in fairness, you could blame the fact that the reason she's acting like this is that the super-soldier serum is messing with her brain a bit. We've seen through U.S. Agent the reciprocations of the wrong person taking the serum, and while Peggy is far from the worst pick, there are hints of why Steve Rodgers was the best choice. Still, even though it's not the same Peggy Carter, that doesn't mean Captain Carter is a poor addition to the hero roster in the MCU. She's cool in all the right ways, even though they're drastically different from what made her compelling, to begin with.

Howard Stark: Another character I'm more than happy to see again!

Howard didn't leave that much of a grand of an impression in Captain America: The First Avenger, but in Agent Carter (Seriously, great show), he was a blast. You can just tell he was Tony Stark's father through all the ways he fast-talks in and out of problems and brilliantly comes up with solutions thanks to being tech-savvy. The main difference between Howard and Tony, however, is that Howard prefers to stay on the sidelines, where Tony learned to be more proactive. You get a sense of that in this episode. Because even though he goes to save the day, you can tell that he would rather be anywhere else. And, as a bonus, Howard's just funny. Probably not up there as one of the funniest characters in the franchise (Paul Rudd's Ant-Man reigns supreme), but he still cracks me up more times than not. Howard may be nothing more than a side character, but he'll always win me over no matter how small of a role he has.

Steve Rodgers in the Hydra Stomper: Don't mind me. Just admiring the fact that despite being crippled and skinny, Steve Rodgers still finds a way to fight the good fight, which is who Steve is to me. One of the best things about The First Avenger is that it fully understands the hero that is Captain America. Serum or not, he will do all he can to do the right thing and won't give up despite how many times others tell him he should. So if Steve's going to fly around in a suped-up Iron Man suit that's appropriately named "The Hydra Stomper," then Steve'll f**king soar. Because he is a gosh dang superhero, no matter what name he takes at the end of the day.

Fast-Forwarding Through Events: Some fans might take issues with this. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see all the little changes that Captain Carter makes to the story, but realistically that's not the best choice to make. Let's be honest, there's not that much to show other than what this episode did, and doing a full-on rewrite of Captain America: The First Avenger would have rubbed some fans the wrong way. Besides, from what I can tell, most of the What If... comics are one-shots that very rarely branch out into longer arcs. The primary goal is less to write this large-scale story and more of this self-contained narrative that does what it precisely delivers: Show fans a glimpse of what would happen if this happened instead of that. That's what we were given, and I can't really complain that much. I would have loved to have seen more, but I can learn to be happy with what I got.

Colonel Flynn Taking Credit: This guy is sexist and an idiot, and that's why I hate him...but I'd be lying if I said that I didn't at least chuckle when he said everything was his idea. It's such a scumbag move that I couldn't help but find the humor in it.

(Like, what even was that scene where Peggy was pissed at Steve kissing a girl. THEY WEREN'T EVEN DATING !)nd Steve falling in love inThe First Avenger, which certainly wasn't helped by how they had these dumbass misunderstandings of each thinking the other was dating someone else. Here, they at least get to interact, confiding in one another about their insecurities and offer support when needed. And while it may be a little rushed, I'm more willing to believe their romance in under thirty minutes than I did in over two hours. It could have been better, but it also could have been much, much worse.

(Like, what even was that scene where Peggy was pissed at Steve kissing a girl. THEY WEREN'T EVEN DATING AT THE TIME!)

“I won’t tell you anything.”/”He told me everything.”: That's the Peggy Carter I know and love! Added with a solid joke, too.

Steve’s Pratfall: It's nice to know that no matter what universe we see, Marvel is still funny.

Peggy’s Sacrifice: Much like Peggy and Steve's romance, I buy Peggy's sacrifice way more than Steve's. Several fans already pointed out how it makes no sense for Steve to crash the plane into the icy waters when it seemed like he had enough control to land it or could have easily jumped out after aiming for the crash landing. Here, there's a more legitimate reason why Peggy sacrifices herself. The monster was undefeatable, and the only way to stop it was to push it back through the portal. Peggy, being the only one strong enough to do so at the moment, was the only option, and there was no way where she didn't end up going through with the monster. Even her return makes more sense, as I think her being lost to time and space sounds more believable than Steve surviving being frozen in ice. Something no mortal man should live through. Peggy's sacrifice proves that while the MCU can't change its cannon past, the writers learn from their mistakes and make something better.

WHAT I DISLIKED

The Reasoning Behind Peggy Becoming Captain Carter: So, the idea that one small change can greatly alter the story we knew is a great one, and it's one of the main reasons why I was excited about this series...but how does Peggy staying in the room cause the Hydra agent to detonate the bomb early? I understand the ripples that come from the Butterfly Effect, but I feel like that's too big of a leap to reason how Peggy ends up taking the serum instead.

Colonel Flynn: How is it possible that this guy is somehow even more of a pain in the ass than the general he replaced? At least Chester Phillips had the decency to respect Agent Carter!

Red Skull is Still on the Dull Side: Red Skull isn't an awful villain, but he wasn't really a great one. It's the same here, as he's just as forgettable and wooden an episode of television as he was in a full-length movie. But at least he had a cooler death this time.

Sebastian Stan is Not a Great Voice Actor: He's not awful, but his talent really doesn't shine in this regard. Some people think that being an actor and a voice actor is the same thing, but it's not always the case. Through live-action, actors are given a chance to express emotion through their expressions, movement, and voice. With voice acting, actors still have to convey emotions, but strictly through their voice. Meaning that actors like Sebastian Stan are limited to what they're used to and can stumble a bit when trying to perform in a field of acting they're unfamiliar with. You can tell he was trying his best, but this type of thing can take far more practice for others to perfect.

“Whew. Thanks. You almost ripped my arm off.”: ...hhhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHA! HA HA! Ah...oh man...I, uh...I felt the internal bleeding with that one. Wow. Just...wow.

Bucky Leaving After Steve “Died”: Ok, now that's the biggest bout of bulls**t I've ever heard. BUCKY WOULD BE WITH STEVE 'TILL THE END OF THE LINE AND WOULD NOT HAVE LEFT THAT QUICKLY!

...This episode did Bucky dirty, didn't it?

IN CONCLUSION

I'd say that "What If...Captain Carter was the First Avenger" is an A-. It's still a solid start of what I can already tell will be a great series, but some elements could have used some polishing out. I loved it, but it wasn't as bloody brilliant as it could have been.

(And I meant it: WATCH AGENT CARTER! It's pleasantly surprising!)

[redstarwriting]

Dimension Hopper

Avengers x Reader

Request: “Hi!! I was wondering if I could request an imagine about a reader from our universe going to the marvel universe?? And she's super smart and strong but like, a little younger than Peter (15). I'm still not over Endgame so can she be confused when everything is normal and the Tony thing didn't happen, and the avengers are confused about why she is so happy about tony, idk just FLUFF PLEASE😊💖“

Word Count: 1,858

Genre: Fluff, Platonic

Warnings: Endgame spoilers, swearing, run on sentences

A/N: Not gonna lie, I got carried away on this one. I might make a part two to it to show just how close the reader gets with the rest of the Avengers in this specific story, and to show that she’s a strong ass girl as well. I already have ideas for it, and I really enjoyed writing this one. I hope y’all enjoy it as well! I’m working on all the other requests I have right now, so if you sent one in I’ll get to it as soon as I can!

───────────────────────────────────

Saying you felt like your heart was ripped out of your chest was an understatement. You’d just seen Endgame, and while you loved it and honestly had an out of body experience during it, Tony died. No more Iron Man in the MCU. Needless to say, you cried your eyes out. Even though he was a fictional character, he was your role model. You, like him, were very interested in engineering and science and things like that. In fact, you understood a lot of what Tony could do, and you’re only fourteen years old. You keep the fact that you can understand all the complicated engineering things that Tony talks about a secret, of course, considering the technology to actually pull off what he can do doesn’t actually exist in this world. You were working on that though. When you weren’t doing your schoolwork or reading comics or watching Marvel movies, you were out in your garage, working to become this world’s Tony Stark.

Needless to say, as soon as your parents park, you hurry to start working on your projects. You’ve already seen Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and the entire concept of it interested you. Different dimensions, the multiverse, it all was something that seemed to be calling out to you. So, needless to say, you were trying to find a way to travel to other dimensions, only safely. You don’t want to find out what that glitchy thing that happens in Spider-Verse actually feels like. You’re just grateful that your dad happens to own a weapons company, much like another super genius in the universe that you would like to travel to. That’s what allows you to develop and invent all the time. It’s quite convenient, actually. Nevertheless, you’re lost in your work, distracting yourself from your sadness about Tony Stark, and you don’t even realize how much time has passed. It’s a Saturday, and you saw the movie at a one o’clock showing, so you got out of it at around four o’clock, meaning you started working at around five since you went and ate dinner with your parents. Now, it is four in the morning. And you are tired. It’s not the first time you pass out at your crafting table, and it certainly won’t be the last.

Now, you’ve gotten pretty far on the designing and creating of the fancy touch technology that Tony uses in the movies, and you’ve been using it more and more. Laptops and touch screen phones are a thing of the past for you, but you haven’t shared anything you’ve discovered with the world yet. Why, you ask? You’re fourteen. Chances are no one would believe you and they’d probably just say your dad was the one who actually did it, and you’re not about to let the things you designed get credited to someone else, even if he helped create you. With the technology you’ve created though, you can do things that are way beyond thought of on this Earth. And that leads back to the task you have at hand. Dimension hopping. Although you’ve fallen asleep, diagnostics for the machine that will be used to help dimension hop are being run through over and over again. You finished the basics of it, now you just need to find the exact way it will actually work. Lucky for you, a successful way is found. You’re just sleeping when it is. Crazily enough, the program downloaded itself into your watch, and you must have moved around and hit something in your sleep, because you hopped a dimension. The only downside? You were asleep when it happened. So, imagine your shock when you wake up, and everything around you is abandoned. Your machinery and equipment are nowhere to be found. You glance down at your wrist, pulling up information on what the hell is going on from your watch that you designed. “April 28, 2019… but what happened to my lab…?” you mutter, confusion and utter devastation flooding your mind. You think for a second and realize something. What if you’re in a different dimension? You frantically begin typing, trying to figure out what’s happening. Before you can even begin to look at the search results, though, the ceiling behind you gets blasted through. You turn, seeing none other than Iron Man, Tony Stark himself, looking at you. “A kid? You’re the one who caused a surge of energy?” you hear him say, and you just stare at him. “Y-You’re-“

“Rogers, it’s just a kid. She’s not about to harm anyone. She’s not even armed with anything and she literally just woke up… no, believe me Barton, I know what falling asleep while inventing looks like. She’s got it written all over her face. And hair. Yeah, of course you can come in, I already told you she’s harmless.”

Tony steps out of his Iron Suit, looking directly at you, and you literally just stare at him with your mouth wide open. “What’s your name kid?”

“You’re real?! And alive!” you blurt out and Tony just stares at you. “Wha-” You cut Tony off by crushing him in a hug. “Woah! Okay, okay, hey,” he decides to let it happen, but he is pretty confused. Before the embrace is over, Steve Rogers, accompanied by Bruce Banner, Natasha Romanoff, and Clint Barton all walk through the door. Through the gigantic hole Tony had previously made in the ceiling flies Thor. You immediately pull back from Tony, and nearly start crying. “Nat’s alive too! Oh my god this is amazing!” You start freaking out, and now they’re all looking at you with a weird expression. “Okay, what’s going on?” Steve asks, approaching you. “You’re not old!”

“No, he’s old, he just looks young,” Tony says, and Steve gives him a look. You laugh, shaking your head. “No I know he’s like 101 years old, but he still looks like 25! He isn’t an old man on the outside!”

“What the hell is going on here, Stark?” Clint asks. “Yes, I am also wondering who this child is and why she is stating that we are all alive when it is obvious that we are all alive,” Thor says. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” Tony tells him. “Okay, yeah I can imagine how this is weird but oh my god you guys don’t understand. I watched you guys die and now you’re here and I’m here and you’re all okay and you’re all together again and I’m just so happy you guys are amazing, Tony you’re my literal idol I want to be just like you and I’m so excited I finally get to meet you and I know I’m repeating myself and if this was typed out it would be a huge run on sentence and-”

“Wait, slow down, you watched us die?” Tony interrupts you, concern written all over his face. “Yes! And to be completely honest I have no idea how all of you are alive and I’m totally confused about it... does Thanos exist? Are you guys searching for the infinity stones? ‘Cause if not, you should totally do that before Thanos-”

“How do you know about the stones? And Thanos- who are you?” Tony asks, in obvious disbelief. “Oh, yeah! I forgot that part, my name is (Y/N), I’m fourteen years old, and I already told you I love you, but I love you. Like a lot. Like you inspired me to become an engineer... but seriously, how are you guys alive?”

“Well, we did fight Thanos in Wakanda, but he never got the chance to snap his fingers. Thor cut his head clean off with Stormbreaker and Doctor Strange used the time stone to bring Vision back and Cap and I decided to set aside our differences and start working together again. After a risk that big, it would be better for all of us to work together than be separated but that’s enough about that, you’re fourteen and you’re already an engineer?”

“Oh my god, that’s crazy! Everything I though I knew was a lie what the heck, this is insane! And you’re back together?! This is so great. I’m so happy I designed this watch so I could jump from my dimension to this dimension-”

“Your dimension to this dimension?”

“Yes, my dimension to your dimension.”

“You’re from a different dimension?”

“Yeah! Isn’t that cool! And so far, no glitches and my organs feel fine so I’d like to say this was a success, the only problem is I don’t entirely know how I got here,” you think out-loud, pulling up the hologram like technology that exists in this world already from your watch, beginning to type some things out. “So you invented that watch?” Tony asks, walking over to you to see what you were typing. “Uh-huh… it only took around two and a half months to design the watch itself and integrate the dimensional navigation software, but the technology used in it took me about six months to develop.” You can feel Tony’s eyes on you, but you just keep typing away. “How long did you say you were going to stay here?” you hear Bruce ask, and you shrug. “I didn’t say, but to be honest it looks like I’m stuck here because fun fact, this was somehow activated while I was asleep. I have no idea how to get back to my dimension, so…” you look at Tony, “Do you have a place I could stay until I figure it out?”

“Uh, yeah I do. I kind of want to talk to you about some things. I’ve noticed you don’t have an A.I. I could help you out with that, you’d be amazed at how much simpler it makes things,” Tony says, and your eyes widen. “Really?! I can have my own JARVIS?!”

“Hell yeah you can. Now with this watch, do you think that-“

“I hate to interrupt your science party, but are we just ignoring how she knows so much about us?” Natasha asks. “Oh! The dimension I’m from is hero-less. You guys exist in movies, I’ve seen every major battle you guys have had. Including one that won’t even happen because your timeline is different from the timeline that was created in my dimension,” you explain, not diverting your attention from your watch. “I have them all if you’d want to watch them. The actors look just like you guys, it’s pretty dope,” you inform and they all stare at you in disbelief. “You know, (Y/N), I think we’re gonna be good friends,” Tony tells you, and you smile. If you thought it was crazy that you discovered dimensional traveling, it’s even crazier that you just met not only your idol, but your future best friend. With the things he taught you, you went back to your dimension and released all of your tech, advancing the boring old Earth you knew. You constantly travelled between your dimension and the Avengers’ dimension, and because of Tony you always had a place to stay. You also may have brought Peter Parker to prom. Crazy how that works.

[silkspectred]

i just recently started following you after reading almeno tu ((which is amazing btw the exact cw fix it fic that i didnt know i needed)) and your thought posts/reblogs about endgame have really helped me become content with endgame rather than resentful after i got over my initial emotional reaction and honestly just thank you for like articulating my thoughts for me i guess ?? idk your blog and your twitter have really helped in this post emdgame world

oh, anon.

first of all, this brought me to tears. i’m very prone to tears these days for obvious reasons but i’m really touched by this. i’m really glad i’m helping you. and i’m really happy you liked my fic.

second of all, i don’t want to fake a confidence i don’t have, so i’m gonna try and explain how i feel about this movie if i can.

it’s hard. not gonna lie. i compartmentalize A LOT. canon and fanon, for me are two very different things. it’s why i wanted (yes, wanted) tony (and steve too) to die in endgame while i keep writing fics where they grow old together. where they specifically grow old together. it’s why i love pepper and tony in canon but in the end read and write stevetony fics. it’s why i can do a lot of other things. 

i am satisfied with tony’s arc. heartbroken that he died, absolutely, i keep bursting out crying at random times and i’ve seen the movie last tuesday. but i’m satisfied that he got to die like that, like the awesome selfless hero he is. i’m glad he got to be happy with pepper and morgan, and i’m happy he got to patch things up with steve and work with him like they did. 

i’m not entirely sold on steve’s arc. don’t get me wrong, i’m okay with it. i was okay with it the moment i came out of the cinema, and the more meta posts i read on it the more okay with it i feel. considering that him going in back in time to be with peggy was literally my worst case scenario for the end of his arc before the movie came out, i’m really okay with it. i think the specific context of the movie makes it work very well. it’s still not the way i have interpreted steve’s character all this time, but like others have said before, this is mcu, it’s not the comics, and what is true for the comics (steve’s arc being about finding a home in the future thanks to tony and the avengers) isn’t necessarily true for the movies. but in endgame his decision has narrative build up and character motivation. it woks, in the context of the movie it just works, and it makes steve into what i truly love: a flawed human.

i loved tony’s arc and i’m okay with steve’s. my heart is still in pieces, the one doesn’t contradict the other. the complexity of emotions this movie is making me feel, damn. there were things i didn’t like. but there were so many things i loved. and steve and tony? steve and tony together were amazing. everything i ever hoped to get from them in an avengers movie. i’m so happy we got all those scenes of them together. the angst, the softness, the anger, the quiet companionship, the emotional and physical support, the friction, the regret, the acceptance, the healing, the teasing and flirting, the forgiveness. the love. i’m so glad we got to see all that love between them, anon.

going back to steve’s end: it’s not what i would have written. it’s not what i write and it’s not what i’m very probably going to write if i ever come up with a fix-it or post canon fic (unlikely at the moment). but i’m okay with it, and hey, we have fandom. we’re tired and emotional and drained right now, but we are already bouncing back. we can make lemonade out of any kind of lemons. there are already fix-it fics going around and they are all amazing. i love our little stevetony corner of fandom, and now that we have time travel, hey. it can be 2012 forever!

this movie is an end. not the end, but an end. it’s sad, it’s heartbreaking, it’s so fucking nostalgic, and there are moments where i wish i could stop it all and scream that i want them back, alive, safe, my emotional support superheroes. but the movie had so many beautiful parts and i don’t want to give those up at all.

steve and tony are so amazing because they defy all ends, and they love each other across time, space, alternative realities, aborted timelines, wars, end-of-the-world scenarios, death, lies and so on. and we love them through all of that too, including fandom drama, bad characterization and articles about how tony stark was actually the real villain of the mcu all along (good luck with that hot take now, y’all)

so, yeah. i may not be 100% happy with endgame, but i am 90% happy with it, and stevetony is a huge part of that 90%. but i’m here for the long run, anon. i’m not a teenager, i’m one of those actual adults that a lot of people don’t want in fandom. the first digit of my age is a 3. i have had other ships in the past, that i’ve loved with every ounce of my soul, but stevetony, for me, is it. it’s the ship. it made me want to write and publish stuff regularly, and i can’t even express how huge that is for me. it gave me some of the best friendships of my life. so that 10% of endgame that i didn’t like, or that wasn’t perfect for me? it doesn’t stand a chance against what those two idiots mean to me.

[adambethyname-blog]

Complaints After Seeing “Avengers: Endgame”

We are a week removed from the release of “Avengers: Endgame.” After seeing it last Friday night, I pretty much went on a tear reading every interview, analysis, and commentary I could find all over the interwebs. I noticed that there was a commonality between a lot of the questions that people generated after a first pass through the movie. But this isn’t about questions, it’s about complaints and grievances.

First and foremost, a quick review: I absolutely loved it. It takes a lot of skill to wrap up 22 movies and that’s probably why the movie was three hours long, but the writers deserve a special pat on the back for not re-treading through old story lines in an effort to bring people up to speed. For example, Captain Marvel just shows up... no explanation. You were expected to have seen “Captain Marvel” back in March. You were required to know who she was and what she could do, and if you didn’t... well, that’s on you. 

Now, to be the prissy little diva that people expect me to be, I’m going to list my petty, whiny complaints. Why? Well they’re the most fun because I am never truly satisfied with anything. 

Thanos’ death wasn’t good enough: Honestly, he deserved worse. MUCH worse. They spent 22 movies building Thanos up to be this God-like villain who was almost invincible. When push came to shove and it was time to finish him off, he sat down and got dusted after Tony Stark/Iron-Man snapped his fingers. 

There were so many characters in the Marvel MCU that deserved to pull the trigger on Thanos. Drax’s family was murdered by Thanos. Nebula was taken apart a piece at a time for disappointing him. Thor lost half of the survivors of Asgard along with his brother, Loki, to Thanos’ genocide. Gamora deserved revenge for her mother’s death which we saw in “Infinity War.” Hawkeye saw his three children and wife disappear during a Hallmark-moment family picnic (Aside: there was a 15.6% chance of Hawkeye’s whole family being dusted with him surviving. Yikes,). So to just see him sit down, accept his fate, and turn into the contents of a 77 El Camino’s ashtray was a little anticlimactic. I actually said out loud in the theater, “That’s it?”

Really? Rats walking on the keyboard? : The big question after seeing the trailers leading up to “Endgame” had to have been “How does Ant-Man get out of the Quantum Realm since we saw Hope, Janet, and Hank get dusted on the rooftop in the “Ant-Man & the Wasp” post-credit sequence. I was thinking the surviving Avengers would get some lead about Ant-Man that would lead them to the van or something. Maybe his daughter finds the van (in the comics, she takes up the Ant-Man role) while looking for her dad. But no. Random rats just happen to stroll across the control panel and they happen to hit the “retrieve” button which just HAPPENS to bring Ant-Man back from the Quantum Realm. C’mon. That’s just lazy writing right there.

Stark’s Infinity Gauntlet Was Good Enough to House the Infinity Stones? In “Infinity War,” Thor travels to Nidavellir, a distant planet next to a dying star, to see Eitri (Peter Dinklage) about forging a new weapon to fight Thanos since Thor’s hammer was destroyed in “Thor: Ragnarok.” While conversing about the events that have gone down, we’re told that Thanos sought out Eitri about creating the Infinity Gauntlet for the express purpose of housing the six Infinity stones. We’re even shown the mold. 

It’s pretty much an understatement that to say that the Infinity Stones are powerful and I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that it would require something very special in order to harness all their power. Quite frankly, if I had to lay a bet, I’d say a molten glove forged from the heat of a dying star would do the trick. But to find out later on in the movie that Tony Stark was just able to cobble one together using old armor parts with Earth-harvested materials is a little much. Not to mention, whatever metal he used to make the Stark Gauntlet had the exact durability of the star-forged-space model. Not to mention, he was smart enough to make a gauntlet, but knowing what a snap did to monsters like the Hulk and Thanos, he couldn’t have beefed up his own version a little more to protect himself? It seems short sighted for a genius-level weapons engineer.

The Stones are still out there: “Avengers: Endgame” is supposed to mark the end of this entire storyline in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Truthfully, it was wrapped up pretty tight with major story lines closed. However, Steve Rogers aka Captain America takes the Infinity Stones back to the spots in the timeline where they “borrowed” them from. That means, quite frankly, another megalomaniac can grab a stone and start this mess all over again. As definitive as the end of “Endgame” was, there’s still an opening for the dreaded “reboot.” Oh boy, get ready for gender-flipped “Iron Man” a la “Ghostbusters” in 2025.

Nebula killing herself should have created a time paradox: If someone invents a time machine at noon, it won’t be 12:05 before someone brings up the rules of time travel established by “Back to the Future.” For some reason, we, as a society, have decided that of all of the time travel rules that we’ve learned as a result of pop culture, it’s “Back to the Future’s” rules that we are committing to the Constitution of Time Travel (I’m sure some of “Terminator” is going to be sprinkled in there as well). Even in “Endgame,” we are treated to Scott Lang, professional cat burglar, pontificating about time travel and casually dropping the rules about time travel including “no talking to our past selves, no betting on sporting events...” Professor Hulk throws cold water on the whole theory by saying, “If you travel to the past, that past becomes your FUTURE. And your former present becomes the past. Which can’t now be changed by your new FUTURE.” 

Still with me? Head explode yet?

Nebula’s case was driving me nuts for a solid week because in order for Endgame Nebula to become Endgame Nebula she had to evolve from Past Nebula. The two confront themselves toward the end of “Endgame” and EG-Nebula shoots P-Nebula. Now, P-Nebula doesn’t have the opportunity to evolve into EG-Nebula so EG-Nebula should CEASE TO EXIST because the events that turn P-Nebual into EG-Nebula will never happen and therefore EG-Nebula won’t come to be.

I get what Professor Hulk was saying, but the Nebula’s case is different because it’s literally the same person on the same timeline, just at two different points, that were brought together at a single common point in time. Quite frankly, using my time travel theory, P-Nebula COULD have killed EG-Nebula because then P-Nebula could still evolve into EG-Nebula; however the door doesn’t swing both ways since time is linear (which was confirmed by The Ancient One in another scene). 

I thought a better ending would have been for P-Nebula to kill EG-Nebula and when it looks like Thanos is about to re-snap the world again, P-Nebula turns on him and finishes him off. Why? Well you have to go back to “Guardians of the Galaxy.” 

“Guardians Vol. 1″ revolves around the acquisition of the Power Stone. Ronan the Accuser acquires the stone and wants to head to Xandar to destroy the planet. Nebula and her sister Gamora have been sub-contracted to assist Ronan in getting the Power Stone on behalf of Thanos; however, when Ronan realizes what he has, he tells Thanos to piss off and he’s keeping it for himself. Ronan is going to destroy Xandar and then come for Thanos (who at this moment is stoneless). Nebula who watches the FaceTime call Ronan has with Thanos turns on her father. She says, “You see what he’s turned me into. You kill him, I will help you destroy a thousand planets.” It’s apparent that even way back then, Nebula was harboring some awful feelings for her father who turned her into a cyborg for losing sibling fights with her sister. 

In “Endgame,” P-Nebula comes from the “Guardians Vol. 1″ spot in time, so it’s safe to say that she is still harboring these terrible feelings for her dad. It would have been poetic justice if she turns on him right when he’s about to fulfill his destiny. 

Yes. These are petty, but I have a petty mind that questions things like this. I just hope that when you commit to 22 movies, you put a LITTLE more thought into the plot. I mean, c’mon.

Oh, before I forget. “Spoiler Alert.” You probably should not have read all of the above stuff if you haven’t seen “Avengers: Endgame.” Consider yourself warned. 

[lovelyirony]

Tony wasn’t part of the reconnaissance mission to get Barnes back. Steve said he didn’t want to add more work onto a growing list Tony had.

But Steve was also a shit liar, so there was that.

Tony wants to know why he’s not involved; he’s the one who has the tech, has the means to get to wherever the hell Barnes has decided to go in Europe. (And really, it’s Europe. If you want to go unnoticed, there are about seven cities you can go to without them looking at you oddly. Maybe even six depending on the day.)

Steve is hiding something from Tony, and he has the sneaking suspicion it has to do with exactly what Barnes has done. So with a sigh and a look upwards, Tony works with Jarvis to start research.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t consult at least Agent Romanov?” Jarvis asks.

“She’s the one who’s remaining tight-lipped about it and helping Steve get all his stamps on the passport,” Tony says. “Forgive me if I’m not a bit jealous, J. I’m not on that vacation.”

“Very well, Sir. Should I delve into the files?”

When all of that information landed on the internet, Tony knew people were fucked. So he got the best people possible, and they contained it. A lot of it was information Tony would rather not see. Hydra techniques, their little get-togethers to be assholes.

But...he needed to see this. Why he wasn’t involved, why Steve had those looks he gave Natasha, why she told Tony to stay out of it. People didn’t tell you to stay out of it unless they wanted to make sure that you never reacted to what they were doing.

He finds out at lunchtime, which is not a very good time to find out such things. The restaurant wasn’t crowded, but more people than should’ve been there for a Thursday lunch. He had ordered a sandwich with a nice chipotle aioli, and that was pretty good. He’d had it once or twice, although he can’t remember the last time he’d had it. Maybe a year ago.

But hey. That didn’t particularly matter. Tony’s not very good with dates. Only remembers four: Happy’s birthday, Rhodey’s, Pepper’s, and his parents’ deaths. December 16th. He had almost gone to that, hoping to impress his father with initiative and networking. But then he remembered that no matter what he did, his father fucking hated him, so he stayed home and worked on coding Jarvis.

Not even the police had come to his house. No one like SHIELD. It had been flashing cameras and pretty newswomen saying they were sorry for his loss in that annoying news voice and he had to be confused.

He remembers the newswoman’s name who told him. Terri Lewis. She had froze, not smiling in that frozen way like most news people do.

“Tony...your parents. They’re dead.”

Well, that had been the icing on the fucking cake. Car accident. Tony can’t say he’s surprised--Howard wasn’t exactly known for his collection of sobriety chips. Mom never got her license, and hated driving in cars anyway. The car is wrecked, slammed into a tree.

Well. He’s in the restaurant, still eating the sandwich because apparently he doesn’t know how to act, and he finds out that that unfortunate accident?

Hydra must recruit drama students because that stage was perfectly set. And they used their star Winter Soldier--James Buchanan Barnes--to do it.

He doesn’t tell anyone about it. Has a long drink of scotch, and listens to Black Sabbath until he can’t hear lyrics, until he feels an iota of calm. He doesn’t blame Barnes, doesn’t really want to exact his pound of flesh or whatever. Or would it be metal? Well, that joke probably wouldn’t land, scrap that.

Tony falls asleep at some point. Wakes up to low voices arguing. He stays on the couch, slowly pulling the blanket over himself. Steve’s back, probably at Nat and Sam’s insistence.

“I saw him, Sam. I know we can get him.”

“I know you need a break,” Sam says. “You’re running yourself ragged, and I’m not going to pretend like you’re fine, Steve. We all know you’re not.”

“A judge and jury, hmm?” Steve retorts. He’s never liked discussing his mental health, Tony knows that. They’re two peas in that pod that reads “Fine” in bold, size 24, Comic Sans font. It’s not serious, but they’re pretending like it is.

Steve still wants to go. Tony doesn’t let him. Steve has dark circles, a wild look about him that has a tendency to never give up. Tony has learned over the years that sometimes, giving up is not that bad. It will not be the end of the world, and you will be okay.

“You’re not a part of this,” Steve hisses. “You don’t even know what’s going on.”

“Don’t give me that bullshit,” Tony says. “I know you, Steve. I know that you’re running yourself ragged because Bucky is the only one who probably knows what it’s like to be warped into future, to be like you, and no one else will catch up. You need to stop. You need to relax.”

“You don’t know anything about him,” Steve says. “Quit acting like you know everything, like you know me.” And there is Steve’s problem, because people do know exactly what he’s like. He’s stubborn, he’s cold, and if he thinks you’re not saying the right thing? He doesn’t listen. Which is both admirable and frustrating. But Tony is tired people thinking that he doesn’t know things, like he doesn’t know them. He knows what people are like, he could probably have a fucking major in behavior analysis by the time he was thirteen.

So this? Icing on the fucking shit cake he’s baked over the past couple weeks.

“Let me tell you what I know,” Tony says, voice dangerously calm, “you’ve been backpacking on Europe, trying to find someone else instead of what normal people do and find themselves. In this process, you’ve kept me out of the loop, which usually wouldn’t be a bad thing, but you can’t lie at all. So then, you’ve gotten me curious. What the fuck are you up to? Why was I not invited when I so clearly could’ve probably found your friend in a month, tops?”

Steve rolls his eyes. “Everything about you again, Stark?”

“In this case, yes,” Tony says. “Because you knew, you son of a bitch. You fucking knew about what he did, and you just....what? Were you gonna mention it when things got all better? Or not at all?”

Steve shuts up. Eyes are wide, because Tony shouldn’t know about that, should he?

“If you wanna keep a secret, Steve, you have to keep it on paper,” Tony says. “Or you tell me and you don’t piss me off.”

They don’t talk for a month. Steve doesn’t set foot in the tower, and Tony doesn’t blame him. Tony attends meetings, goes about as business.

He gets a text from Natasha. when r u and steve making up. i’m tired of angst

when were you going to tell me about the little incident?

not my place 2 say

oh because you always mind your business, romanov.

And then they don’t speak.

It really should terrify him, actually. but it doesn’t.

The Winter Soldier is in his kitchen, eating a banana, and blocking access to tea.

“Can you move? I need mint tea,” Tony says. “Also, Steve isn’t here.”

He relaxes a bit, which is odd. Also relatable on some level.

“I-I’m not here for Rogers,” Barnes says. “I’m here for an apology to be made. By me.” Tony waits. “I...remember it. Killing your parents. And I’m so fucking sorry.”

Tony doesn’t really know what to say. People don’t really apologize to him for big things, and Tony...his emotional skills are practically nonexistent.

“Do you wanna get a burger?” he blurts out. “I really want a burger with at least four pickle slices on it.”

“What?” Barnes asks. “But--”

“Yeah, I’m not good at emotions, and I really am hungry for a burger.”

They don’t say things for a while. Barnes just says to call him James, and also doesn’t like onions on burgers. Travesty, that. Tony orders the worst burger ever, and decides that if he dies of a heart attack, it probably won’t even matter. Not the worst thing to die of.

Could be a car accident.

They talk after Tony pays the bill.

“So, I know that you did that. And I know Steve would say that it wasn’t you, but I get the sneaking suspicion that you’re not Steve’s imagination.”

“You’re right,” James says. His voice is gravel. He’s tense, looking all around them. “I...I remember more than just being a puppet. I remember having thoughts. Winter Soldier is complex. Almost another person.”

“Cool,” Tony says. “I’m sorry, but I literally am not equipped to deal with this.”

“S’okay. I don’t even know if I can deal with it.”

Somehow, James ends up staying. Tony doesn’t know how, but he’s sleeping on the couch. He puts his backpack on a hook like he’s back from school or whatever, which is cheesy, but whatever.

Tony cooks. He does this more often than people think, because he knows how to do things, he just doesn’t make a big deal out of it. He thinks he cooked for the whole team once, and that was an ordeal he’d literally never do again.

So yeah. Makes eggs, sunny side-up. Drizzles a bit of seasoning over them, puts them on toast, and waits.

As it turns out, James regularly wakes up early, at like three a.m., so Tony could’ve made them two hours ago and been fine.

“So, what now?” James asks.

“Now, we start doing things,” Tony says. “And I’m not sure what things, but probably things that are good for your mental health and shit.”

“Sounds responsible.”

“God, I know.”

[calzonekestis]

My Endgame thoughts in 3,160 words and 17,025 characters. Under a cut. Spoilers, obviously.

Really. Truly. The whole thing.

Well. I texted a friend as soon as I got out, and I told him “that was a very good movie peppered with lots of shit that I didn’t care for at all.”

I don’t know what I think about it. If it was good or bad. If I like it or not.

If you read spoilers but didn’t see it, and we’re mad, I get that. I was mad too. I wrote most of this last night, and I’ve had to go back and amend it.

Also, please check your Tony vs Steve bs at the door. I like them both to varying degrees. That said I take issue with Steve’s choices and characterization at the end. We’ll get to that.

The Tony fans at least can say their boy saved the universe. They’re going to be mad still, but at least he went out in the best way possible if he had to die. Which he didn’t, but... we’ll get to that too.

The people who will be mad the most? Cap fans. Sharon Carter fans. Black Widow fans. Thor fans. Iron Man fans, probably, won’t be mad so much as sad. Actually, no, mad, because they probably wanted a happy ending for him.

So yeah. Is it “bad” if it makes so many people mad? Or are they just choices they didn’t like? For me, there was a lot of that. There was also a bit of characterization I didn’t like.

I’ll say this though, because the Steve thing that has everyone mad? I’m mad too, but per their time travel rules?

Steve didn’t erase Peggy’s family. They still exist in our timeline. Steve created a new timeline for himself to go live in. We don’t know if he stopped HYDRA and saved Bucky in that one, but I mean, we can assume.

So everyone complaining that he let all that shit happen? No he didn’t. This is an alternate reality he’s living in now.

If we go by what they established about changing the past not affecting the present.

But then we have Joe Biden Steve at the end, so... unless that’s a Joe Biden Steve who went from his timeline back to ours once he grew old. Not a Steve that existed and lived in the past of our current timeline. Then it actually works without contradicting their own time travel rules.

IMO... they ignored/ruined his character arc... but due to their aforementioned time travel rules, Steve going to the past wouldn’t affect that the present that he’s leaving.

So he COULD stop HYDRA, find Bucky, prevent Howard’s death, warn Hank and Janet about the missile.

That would all be an alternate timeline though, and our Bucky would still be the Winter Soldier.

So yeah, they contradict themselves... and completely fuck over Sharon Carter in the process. You know Steve didn’t tell Sam who his wife was, because he didn’t want him to tell Sharon that after kissing her he went back to marry her Aunt thus creating an alternate timeline to live in.

That’s the present being affected by him going back in time. Your time travel rules suck, Marvel.

So the children and family Peggy had? They still exist in our timeline, but not the timeline Steve created. The reality Steve created.

Okay so they don’t explain it, so this is just me trying to make sense of it myself. They say changing the past doesn’t change the present you left from, so unless Bruce was wrong and they’re contradicting their own rules Old Steve can’t have been actually out there all this time.

So I guess even though he didn’t show up in the gear and with the time machine when we see him, he did earlier, and just went to wait by the lake with the shield to be all dramatic? He probably waited to return until his Peggy died, and then he returned at some random point maybe like a day before they planned to send him back. He knew they would be there, so he just waited in his old man clothes.

That’s all I can think of.

So retroactively?

They had Steve kiss his wife’s alternate reality niece. I like Sharon Carter in the comics, I like what little they did with her on film.

They did her so dirty in the MCU, in the comics Peggy is almost a footnote and just part of his backstory. Sharon is Steve’s true love. Whether you ship them or not, they made Peggy out to be a bigger deal than she is in the source material.

I’m not here for pitting women against each other, but... God, the only woman the MCU has done dirtier is Betty Ross. Who should have been there with her dad at the funeral. Acknowledge her existence, Marvel. Yes they’re estranged, but maybe say having her die made Ross stop being such a dickhead and realize what really mattered.

Calling Peggy the love of his life is bullshit. Yeah, he had a date. Had. He never made it, due to being frozen. I don’t agree that they loved each other, tbh. I saw someone say they each had an idealistic, at times unhealthy attachment... but not love. Frankly? That’s not wrong. They liked each other. It never developed into love. Not in the timeline/reality we followed for the past ten years.

If this was their plan all along, then why did they introduce Sharon as a potential love interest?

Peggy is his past, Sharon is his future. The Lana Lang and the Lois Lane, respectively.

They didn’t plan this. It’s clear by how sloppy it is. It’s just so haphazard and insulting to all the characters involved, and yet Evans seems to be on board with it which disappoints but doesn’t surprise me.

Sharon didn’t have much screentime in the MCU, but every moment she had was important to the plot. She was one of the only agents that questioned Pierce’s orders. She held Rumlow at gunpoint even though the odds were against her. She let Steve know where Bucky was. She gave he and Sam back their gear. A lot of her scenes in Civil War got cut, and she got screwed by making it an Avengers movie instead of a proper Cap film.

She also got screwed by fandom. People acted like known like fucking toddlers, all because she was getting in the way of popular ships. Emily Van Camp was terribly harassed online, people calling her Steve’s beard or that it was icky and gross. Evans even said it was icky, which wasn’t that supportive of him... and then...

I liked Peggy in The First Avenger, but Hayley Atwell’s lowkey/high key narcissism is known within fandom circles, how she turned on Emily Van Camp and Sharon as a whole and threw shade at cons and on twitter and such. That left a bad taste in my mouth where I no longer care for the character at this point.

And they complete ignore/regress Cap’s arc of moving on. The fact he’s not the same man who went into the ice which is something even Whedon realized and addressed when he had him snap himself out of his Scarlet Witch!Vision.

The line from TWS they sampled for the trailer about the world changing and none of them can go back?

That was a lie. What’s ridiculous is that is the same exact directors, same exact screenwriters?

“Some people move on, but not us?” Well in that regard he had, so fuck that.

Speaking of regression, Thor’s?

I’m of two minds. He had depression and PTSD, but in my opinion, that’s end result wasn’t what Thor’s end result would be. He probably felt like he failed his people, but Jesus Christ, turning him into the Big Lebowski... fat jokes...

He becomes king, half his people are slaughtered and then and then he just... abandons the rest? To drink and watch his friends play video games? That’s sad. I think Thor would have felt like he failed and be hurting, but still try to do his best for the people who were left and still needed him? Instead of letting Valkyrie do it and the at the end to officially giving her the burden of ruling and fucking off into space?

And then at the end, he *officially* throws the burden of ruling in Valkyrie’s hands. Not that she isn’t capable, but it isn’t and shouldn’t be her responsibility.

“He’s being who he is, not who he’s supposed to be.”

That would be nice if it didn’t invalidate his arc. He didn’t want to be king at the end of Thor: The Dark World either, but at the end of Ragnarok he accepted it and was at peace with it.

Also, he didn’t need the hammer. Ragnarok made that clear. I’m glad Steve took it back with the stones, and I know it was more Thor needing to know if he was still worthy after becoming Big Lebowski... but it wasn’t needed. They just wanted Cap to wield it, and for them to have something else blunt to hit Thanos with.

This is the easiest money Natalie Portman made in her life. I feel bad for my friend who is a big Jane fan, as it’s literally maybe 15 seconds.

Nice to see Pierce, Sitwell, and Rumlow/Crossbones back, even if it’s only for a flashback and they’re all still dead in our reality. Or it would be, if it didn’t make the latter two out to be dumb. I mean, Rumlow isn’t a genius but he’s not just a dumb meathead. He wouldn’t just hand over the tesseract, he’d bring Cap to his superiors to ask “yeah hey what the fuck?”

Also, having Cap say Hail HYDRA is just... gross.

...Alternate timeline/reality Loki has the tesseract. I guess he’s the one the Disney+ series is going to follow. He’s wiped of all his development, though.

Vision is still dead. I guess maybe Shuri will rebuild him? Or it will take place between Civil War and Infinity War

So Guardians 3 is going to be about finding the alternate timeline Gamora who is now stuck in this one, huh? And I guess Thor is now a Guardian, or he’ll leave them between movies?

The alternate Nebula, I’m torn on. I think they could have gotten through to her, and she would be willing to team up with him. and would be willing to team up with them to kill Thanos. She never told him where the Soul Stone was. I mean, that’s why she aligned herself with Ronan. To kill Thanos. She hates Thanos.

Her wanting to make him proud and earn his favor despite what he did to her is heartbreaking on one hand, but the loyalty, when it’s been shown she’ll be disloyal and desert him if someone promises to kill him... idk. Btw.

Nebula should have gotten to kill Thanos. I don’t care that Iron Man started and is their poster boy. I’m sorry Tony fans. She deserved it more than he did.

Something else I’m curious about... was Peter Parker’s entire class killed? Not just Ned, the whole class. MJ, Flash, etc.? Because his entire supporting cast doesn’t seem to have aged at all in the Far From Home previews.

Also you’re telling me that in those five years, May never confronted Tony? Or if she did, we never saw it? Boo.

Oh, another dumb thing. Banner. Hulk. Professor Hulk. We don’t see how Banner made peace with the Hulk and became Professor Hulk, that all happens offscreen which is so cheap. He’s also just annoying throughout the whole film, and treated as comic relief? Also, the uncanny valley was deep this time around.

I’d honestly rather Cap had died as well, rather than the ending he got. Rather, if old man Steve didn’t show up, and there was just a cliffhanger of him being lost in time? Which has precedent in the comics? That would have been great. Instead of the bad characterization.

I’m indifferent to Tony’s death, honestly. He could have retired and raised his daughter. He could have died. I guess it’s cheaper to just kill him off and not worry about paying Downey for cameos they wouldn’t be able to resist.

Okay, the other death. Nat’s. I don’t care for it, but it worked. When I say it worked, I mean her motivations and the fact she at least had some autonomy. It was still fridging. It’s gross. It sucks.. but at least it wasn’t exactly like Gamora’s where she was a victim. I mean, she is a victim. A victim of gross writing, but... I like the character, you’re killing the only female OG Avenger for angst and drama... I would have preferred it was Renner, but her reasons worked even if I didn’t like it. I do think it would have been even just as heartbreaking/tragic though, it Clint had to give up his life for the hope of getting his family back. A devil’s bargain, they’ll be alive, but you won’t be and won’t see them again.

I question the hell is the point of a Black Widow movie now. Why should we care? Don’t get me wrong I like Nat. I have nothing against self contained, one-off adventures... but... it will be a prequel that doesn’t develop the character at all or see her grow and it’ll be inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. It may be enjoyable, but do we need to see it? It’s the Solo situation.

Do we need to see how the character became the character? What purpose does telling her backstory now serve, aside from just making people sad? Do we see how she started so we can appreciate how far she came, though? I can already appreciate that. You don’t need to twist the knife by making her origin her swan song. They can’t bring back our Nat, but who knows. Maybe the next villain will be Kang, and we aren’t done with time travel. Maybe we can have an alternate timeline Nat come into our universe like we did with Gamora.

A timeline where Clint was the one to die. I can deal with that, if they give ScarJo the money. I guess.

SCOTT LANG SAVED THE UNIVERSE. Well, actually. Also, a rat. A rat is responsible for saving the universe. I mean I laughed, but we couldn’t see Scott get himself out? He’s still my boy.

He’s probably my favorite character in the film. Seeing him and Hope reunite in the end battle was nice and made me happy, the way they didn’t miss a beat and got to working together. Him trying to keep it together when he talked about losing her. The end scene with them and Cassie. The fact she called Cap “Cap” and they shared a glance. Sucks for Scott to have missed five years of his daughter’s life, through.

Also, it kinda sucks that along with the people brought back, they couldn’t bring them the likes of Frigga and Quicksilver. Yes, they died, but you can still revive them in the present. You don’t have to make it so they never died. Maybe Quicksilver will Maybe in the WandaVision show, especially now that they won’t have to worry about a competing Fox version. Introduce her ability to warp reality. He was rumored to have been on set, and so I was expecting to see him in a flashback at least. Alas.

SPEAKING OF REVIVING DEAD CHARACTERS THOUGH. Why couldn’t like, Carol, use the gauntlet to revive Tony before they sent the stones back? She could take it. He didn’t need to stay dead, except for the fact... you know... Downey is expensive.

Something I find hilarious?

The kid from Iron Man 3 is at the funeral.

That kid knew nothing about the film whatsoever, except for the biggest spoiler? Cause if they invite HIM back to be at a funeral scene... whose funeral would it be, that he would attend, aside from Tony’s?

Oh, and SamCap. People, calm down.

I like Sam, Sam is worthy of the shield, Bucky’s not quite in a place where he’s ready for it anyway. In the comics Bucky becomes Cap, and then Sam becomes Cap after him. They can reverse the order. Bucky can still become Cap after him. Sebastian still has four movies left in his nine movie deal.

I’m curious about the Disney+ show now though. If it will be retitled, if they announced a fake title ala Serpent Society for Civil War. Although. I have a fear.

I don’t trust Marvel and I can see them killing Sam by the end of the Falcon & Winter Soldier series.

And then Bucky will take up the shield. Mackie’s 40. Idk how much longer he’ll want to be doing this, and he’s said in interviews he had no interest in bringing Cap and would like to see Sebastian take a crack at it, that he likes Falcon being Falcon.

Maybe age isn’t a factor. Bettany’s in his 40’s. Cheadle’s in his fifties. Paul Rudd is an ageless immortal who claims to be fifty. None of those are physically demanding roles though, not to the scale of Cap. The closest would be Chadwick Boseman, who is a year older at 41.

Age aside, I can see them doing it. That’s kinda the shit Marvel would do.

“Yay! We’re so progressive! We’re making Sam Captain America to placate his fans before we kill him! We won’t do that *just* yet in Endgame, we’ll wait to kill the black guy until he’s done helping out this other white guy figure out his place in the world!”

Now I’m gonna be anxious about that for the next year or two.

But so I think the shows are for characters on the shelf movie wise. Idk if when the show is over, we’ll see Mackie as Captain America in Avengers 5. It would be cool, but idk.

I don’t know if they’re even thinking of Avengers 5 at this point, or plotting out things like Guardians and Black Panther and Captain Marvel. And Eternals. And all their new Fox characters.

I guess the new Avengers line up will be Captain Marvel, Black Panther, Ant-Man, Wasp, SamCap, and Spider-Man? Maybe Doctor Strange?

Wanda retires to TV. As does Clint maybe, to train Kate Bishop and/or his daughter. Rhodey and Banner are just around.

Also. Banner and Thunderbolt Ross, at the end. Ross and the Hulk. Both in the same scene. Neither acknowledging each other or having any interaction whatsoever. Odd.

I keep hearing rumors about a Thunderbolts movie tho, from someone who was accurate with all of their Endgame leaks. I wonder if they want Ross to be the Fury of that which is why they’ve kept him around.

Bucky recently led the Thunderbolts but also Zemo is so ingrained in their history and I don’t see them working together at all.

I guess you could bring in Bernthal’s Punisher by that point if you want. Elektra. They won’t do it but they could.

Ghost would be a good fit, tho I don’t wanna see her be forced to kill people again. I can see them forcing her to work of a sentence. If she’s still alive, cause God if she was snapped and went 5 years without the Quantum energy... but yeah.

Bring back The Leader as a villain finally. Crap, I’m plotting a fanfiction.

https://twitter.com/rogerwardell/status/1070465411387404289?s=21

Idk. I just. Am disappointed but not surprised tbh.

Everyone knows I don’t like MCU Clint, but the callback interaction between he and T’Challa with the latter remembering his name was nice I guess. The final battle as a whole was nice I guess.

OH. And the exchange between Dr. Strange and Wong about if he brought everyone, and if he anted more? Probably not the intent, but to me it just seemed like a big “shut up” to everyone wanting the Netflix and Agents of SHIELD characters to cross over.

Also, a final critique?

The whole fake scripts, not giving actors a script thing. I hate it. I know like Mark Ruffalo and Tom Holland are notorious for letting spoilers slip, but I legit believe that a reason why A LOT of the actors got fake scripts was not to prevent spoilers but to prevent any of them going full Ed Norton and throwing a fit about the quality of said script.

Not letting the actors know the context of the scene they are performing is not only disrespectful but it’s broken and what can you expect but performances where they’re legitimately incapable of giving it their all?

That’s all I got for now. I guess.

I know it’s a joke, “I loved everything except for the stuff I didn’t” but seriously? I enjoyed everything except for the stuff I hated. Does that stuff ruin the movie? Do I not like it because I’m petty, or because it’s bad? You can not like something, it doesn’t mean it’s bad... but I think certain choices... were bad. Were very bad.

Was it shit sandwiched with awesome, or awesome sandwiched with shit? Do they balance each other out? Your mileage may vary. I haven’t decided yet.

EDITED: I replied to this in another post, a point by @chujo-hime, but I’ll copy/paste it on here since more people are likely to see this than our conversation.

“There’s no point in doing BuckyCap now that they’ve fridged Natasha”

I can’t fault you for feeling that way, and I don’t entirely disagree. have a theory on how Natasha could return despite them saying it couldn’t be undone.

Do what they did with Gamora. Take a version from an alternate universe/timeline. Maybe one where everything is the same, except that Clint died instead of her.

Whether or not they do this? Doubtful. Unless with the money they’re saving by letting another actor go (ahem) they give it to ScarJo to lure her back.

I mean, they have Kang back now. Next to Ultron, he’s one of The Avengers’ biggest villains. He’s also a time traveler, so there are ways… idk.

I’ve still not fully processed it. Whether Marvel is smart enough or cares to take advantage of their out, they have it. If nothing else, fans can exploit it in Fix-It fics.

ANOTHER EDIT:

Oh, what was the point of Ronin? I don’t mean sad Clint, I mean Ronin, aside from selling more action figures? He wasn’t even Ronin, they made him into The Punisher Lite. Ronin wasn’t Ronin, but I mean Clint hasn’t been Clint imo so...

[davidmann95]

Best comics of 2018?

A handful of disqualifications up front: since they’re just beginning, I’m not counting Electric Warriors, Martian Manhunter, The Green Lantern (though Evil Star explaining his name in #2 might be my favorite moment in comics this year), Ironheart, DIE, Shazam!, Killmonger, The Batman Who Laughs, or Miles Morales: Spider-Man, all of which almost certainly would have ended up somewhere in here with some more time. Additionally, I switched to a new online pull list system in March, so I don’t have a list of what I got before then - if I’m forgetting about something great that came out early this year, there’s a good chance that would be why.

Honorary Mentions: While there were plenty of comics I was happy to keep up with, a number stood out as exemplary examples of straight-take relatively traditional capeshit: Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV and companies’ Justice League, Steve Orlando’s Justice League of America (which would probably go among the best of the best if the art was a bit more consistent or the lineup more to my personal tastes), Brian Bendis and Nick Derington’s Batman work in the Walmart 100-Page Giants, Donny Cates’ Thanos and Doctor Strange work (the latter might not have quite made it, but that last issue with Irving and Zdarsky was gangbusters), Steve Orlando’s brief Wonder Woman run with Laura Braga, ACO, and Raul Allen, Tim Seeley’s Green Lanterns, Nnedi Okorafor and Leonardo Romero’s Shuri, Robert Vendetti and Bryan Hitch’s Hawkman, Saladin Ahmed, Javier Rodriguez, Rod Reis, Dario Brizuela, and Joe Quinones’s Exiles, Captain America by both the Mark Waid/Chris Samnee team and the current Ta-Nehisi Coates/Lenil Francis Yu lineup, Dan Slott and Valerio Schiti’s Tony Stark: Iron Man when it’s committed solely to being a superhero comic and not Dan Slott trying to be Contemporary, Brian Bendis, Patrick Gleason, Yanick Paquette, and Ryan Sook’s Action Comics, and Kelly Thompson and Stefano Caselli’s West Coast Avengers. 

On the slightly different side of things, Steve Orlando and Giovanni Timpano showed how you do an intercompany crossover right with The Shadow/Batman, Max Bemis’s Moon Knight while not living up to all it could have been - and likely to age poorly - had moments of truly bizarre grace, Saga was Saga even if I’ve lost the plot, Ahmed and Christian Ward’s Black Bolt concluded as well as we all might have hoped, Warren Ellis and Jon Davis-Hunt’s The Wild Storm continued to build up steam in its own fascinating style, Doomsday Clock remains utterly captivating in spite of itself, and Tom Peyer and Jamal Igle’s The Wrong Earth is making the most of a deceptively tough premise. On the one-off end, Chip Zdarsky and Declan Shalvey’s Marvel Two-In-One Annual is an essentially perfect off-kilter Doom/Richards story, Action Comics #1000 had no chance of living up to all it needed to be but was largely a great set of Superman stories regardless, and while the remainder of the miniseries has thus far been fine, Tim Seeley and Carlos Villa’s first issue of Shatterstar was a strange, special delight.

My Favorite Comics of 2018

Rock Candy Mountain: Technically Jackson - the rail-rider who can beat Any One Man in a fistfight - reached the end of his journey for hobo heaven this year, and flat-out, every Kyle Starks comic is a perfect one. This is a book where the first issue has a dude beating ass with a beautiful savagery that leaves an awestruck onlooker declaring “He’s got punch diarrhea and their faces are the toilet bowl”, and by the end it built up to one of the most moving climaxes of the year. It’s a comic about fallen men finding redemption in friendship and in dreams, and also there’s a cage fighter who calls himself Hundred Cats because it would be really hard to fight a hundred cats.

Dark Knights: Metal: This is the final, perfected form of traditional Event Comic Bullshit. Everything good about Snyder, Capullo, Glapion, and Plascencia’s Batman post-Court Of Owls is retooled and reenergized to fit the scale of a Crisis event, everything that I would have considered to be a weakness regarding their partnership either burned away or placed in a context where it becomes a strength. This is the Morrison approach to the DCU rightfully ascendant and presented in a form even more fit for mass consumption, and manages to live up to being the first classic-style, large-scale DC event comic in almost a decade - Marvel may blow its own load every six months until it’s simply got nothing to offer anymore, but DC waited until they really and truly had something, and that something was bloodsoaked magic.

Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man (by Chip Zdarsky and assorted artists): I actually wavered a bit on whether this belonged in the best of the best as a whole; most of the issues this year were definitely very good (regarding Zdarsky’s run specifically, I haven’t checked out the Spider-Geddon tie-in stuff), but more on the honorary mention end of the scale. Ultimately however, the Amazing Fantasy arc and #310 are Spider-Man comics I’m going to be coming back to for years to come - the latter is going to end up in every ‘Best Spider-Man Stories Ever’ softcover from now until the end of time - and they tipped the scales.

Batman: Very much in the same boat as Spidey above; a lot of this year didn’t do it for me in the same way as this run has in the past, but The Best Man is the best thing anyone’s done with Joker since Morrison, the ‘wedding issue’ itself worked really well for me, Cold Days made a premise that’s often stymied creators work as well as people have always wanted it to, and the Dick team-up issue was a perfect little summation of a relationship, nevermind how much this year succeeded in getting me hyped up for things to come.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: This is one of those comics where it’s so consistently good in such a specific, quiet way that people stop talking about it, but for real, this has never not in the top five or six things Marvel is publishing at any given time for as long as it’s been around. Erica Henderson leaving right before hitting the Kraven story that had been building literally since its first issue 3 years earlier could have been disastrous, but North and new artist Derek Charm manage to hit their own rhythm and continue delivering one of the funniest, cleverest, most sincere superbooks on the stands every month.

Mister Miracle: Yeah, it really was that good.

The Immortal Hulk: So is this, and if I have to name a single best comic of the year, this has probably gotta be it. Al Ewing’s been Marvel’s best creator for a long, long time, and putting him and Joe Bennett (who holy moley, I don’t think anyone would have guessed had this in him) on a tentpole character Ewing’s got genuine reverence for worked out even better than a fanboy like me might have expected. It’s sublime horror, it’s perfect Marvel comics continuity bullshit, and if the superhero is at heart a morality fable, this is very much a soul-searing apex of the genre as it speaks of how we can all go wrong.

Eternity Girl: …or maybe this is the best? It’s probably gotta be this, Hulk, or Miracle. Mister Miracle’s where the comparison really becomes clear, as they’re both books way out on the fringes of the DCU dealing with a character grappling with depression amidst the mundanity of their cyclical existence. However, as perfectly constructed and rawly human as Mister Miracle is, this hits a lot more of my own buttons and expresses its own brand of more surreal emotional authenticity, and rather than the expected and beautiful next step of a pair of already-acclaimed creators with an established partnership, this was a shock coming out party for Visaggio and Liew, who do things stylistically just as odd to see in a DC Comic as anything King and Gerads came up with. It seemed to sail under the radar for readers but also seems to be racking up awards, and I hope this’ll attain the reputation it deserves in years to come.

Ice Cream Man: Likely the respectable fourth place to the three above, while I can’t quite sing its praises in quite the same way when it’s playing so hard-to-get that I can’t quite put a pin in what it’s ultimately about, oh my GOD this is as good as gut-punch horror gets. Not simply grody shock-value stuff, but pit-of-your-stomach-everything-in-the-world-hates-you-and-you-were-wrong-to-ever-believe-in-love shit that’ll rattle your bones and fuck you up good. Not usually a horror guy myself, but this is an essentially perfect comic.

The Man Of Steel: Screw all y’all, this kicked ass and after how hard the Rebirth books blew it - Jon and the new status quo were both excellent, Tomasi had good bits here and there alongside some quality fill-in teams, but those books were still aaaaaaaaaaassssss - this is exactly the fresh start Superman’s needed for years. Granted the Fabok interstitials had some wonky pacing, but this was on-point and insightful for Superman as a character, exciting as hell, and has thus far led to nothing but more good comics as far as I’m concerned.

Milk Wars: Did the various tie-ins live up to the bookends? Nah, though the Shade/Wonder Woman story was pretty good. But those bookends? Friends, those books were AAA+ sup-per-he-ro-bull-SHIT, and while I was initially let down because it seemed as though it would have Superman in a major role and then didn’t, this is even more of an apotheosis of the Morrison approach to the genre than Metal. ACO is ACO, Eaglesham slaughtered it, and Orlando and Way should be as joined at the hip as cowriters as Abbnett and Lanning used to be. This is a gold standard for strange, edgy, colorful, wondrous, fucked-up superhero comics, and there should be a million more like it every day.

Justice League (by Christopher Priest and assorted artists, primarily Pete Woods): On the exact opposite end of the scale, while I don’t think I can say I enjoyed this book as much as the current Snyder-helmed gonzo cosmic adventures, I absolutely feel this was the better of the two. More importantly, this run is the successful version of what just about every other Justice League comic of the past 15 years has been trying and failing to be as the post-Authority, post-Ultimates, post-Civil War take on the concept. It’s as smart and atmospheric and bold as a book like Justice League ever CAN be, building its exploration of the conceptual stress points of the team around one and two-part adventures and clever character dynamics, illustrating an interesting new take on how to handle the main team book with the power players: taking their ability to handle physical threats as a relative given, a structural conceit acting as a delivery mechanism for the politics and people in play. It hardly breaks new ground in terms of redefining the superhero concept, but it’s as far as they’ve gone with the marquis characters without ending in disaster, and it’s an approach I’d love to see more often applied to this scale.

Superman: Walmart 100 Page Giant (by Tom King and Andy Kubert): Of all the places for King to do a regular Superman comic, huh? Still, we’d already seen what he’d done in that Batman two-parter and Action #1000, so I’m more than willing to take what we can get (even if most are going to have to wait for this to come out in trade). There have been four installments so far: the first is the sort of stage-setting that’s common to this type of long-form arc but with a distinctly different atmosphere than how this is typically done with the character, evoking a sort of Miller-tinged Golden Age flavor connecting Superman back down to Earth before throwing him into the stars. The third is a great Fuck Yeah Superman Doin’ Superman Shit throwdown that gives Kubert a chance to shine. The fourth and most recent is haunting, inspired, moving, and tight as a drum. And the second begins as the worst-case scenario of Tom King doing a Superman comic, and ends as likely my favorite Superman story of the last 5 years. If it continues in its current direction, Superman: Up In The Sky is almost certainly going to be a perennial people are going to rank among the best Superman stories of all time for decades to come, and everything I’d want out of this team tackling my favorite character.

Detective Comics (by James Tynion IV and assorted artists): I’m honestly surprised at myself for putting this here, but I just have to hand it to this run - which had to go quite a ways to win me over, between its opening gambit with Batwoman’s status quo and centering the whole thing around my least-favorite Robin (even if it won me over to him over time) - as basically being the platonic form of Dang Good Superhero Comics. Not boundary-pushing, not the sort of thing you’ll remember in 20 years, but just really fun, exciting, good-looking, slick, character-driven adventures building on themselves into the logical culmination of 21st century popular Batman stories. This is Batman 101, but in a good way, and I honestly think that on reflection it’s gonna hold together better as a Batman run than its immediate predecessor in Snyder/Capullo.

You Are Deadpool: This is the smartest, funniest, most inventive big two comic of the year and even if you’re so tired of Deadpool that your skull bones are threatening to suddenly contract and spear your brain in an attempt at saving your weary soul from the prospect of seeing any more of him, you should get this.

Superman (by Brian Bendis and Ivan Reis): I noted Action Comics among the honorable mentions, as while it’s a dang good comic that I enjoy a great deal - and Ryan Sook may well have established himself as my ideal modern Superman artist - it’s very much the best possible version of *exactly* what you’d expect from Brian Bendis doing Superman. This, on the other hand, feels like Bendis stretching himself to do something truly different in a way he hasn’t in years, and the results are stunning. I won’t pretend Rogol Zaar has amounted to much of anything as of yet, but Bendis has acclimated to the realm of Cosmic Superman Punch-Ups in a way no one could have reasonably seen coming; he’s managed to sidestep his usual issues by anchoring each issue in a crazy setpiece and a single perfect Superman character moment, and Reis is doing work here than can unquestionably stand alongside his Sinestro Corps War heyday. Whether it’s #1 having Superman fight an astro-goilla in the middle of a questioning on his responsibilities to humanity, #4 going full Shonen in the best possible way with probably my favorite fight scene of the year, or #6′s storybook mythmaking building to the best, cruelest needle in the balloon possible, or the consistent delightful fucking with Adam Strange, every issue here has something I didn’t know I badly wanted to see, and damn if that isn’t exactly what I want in my Superman stuff.

Assorted one-offs: Along with the major arcs and runs, we’ve got stuff like the Thanos Annual and DC Nuclear Winter Special, as good as anthologies of this kind get. T-shirt Superman got one last ride under Morrison in the Sideways Annual, fighting his way out from under the wreckage of a weird DiDio book to get exactly the sendoff he deserved. The Injustice 2 Annual, of all things, was a perfect piece of bittersweet character work. Invincible #144 satisfyingly closed out The Best Superhero Comic In The Universe by essentially also doing Invincible #145-500 or so, putting this often tumultuous title to bed with the dignity it had earned. And finally, Slott and Marcos Martin’s The Amazing Spider-Man #801 was a perfect minor mediation not even on the title character so much as the basic moral appeal of the genre as a whole.

[groguhasaknife]

Endgame Callbacks and References

proceed with caution - there will be a break before spoilers start but it may not work on mobile. If it does not work, I put 5 bold, header "Endgame Spoilers” in the beginning and 5 bold, header “End Post”s at the end

Please feel free to DM me I would love to talk to someone about this.

I literally spent 2 hours typing up my feeling and categorizing them so yeah this is just the references I remembered but I have other categories lololol and hopefully if I have time to format it I will post them later too. 

This obviously is not all of them it isn’t many at all actually but hopefully when I watch it again on Friday I can add more cuz I loved the references.

Endgame Spoilers

Endgame Spoilers

Endgame Spoilers

Endgame Spoilers

Endgame Spoilers

references/callbacks - these are all internal to like marvel itself

Joe Russo in support group

the same Russo bro was in Winter Soldier as a doctor

really liked how the subtly added an explicitly gay character, it was not the main point. as someone who is gay, I am always in disbelief when I see representation and I really could not believe it when he referred to his partner as he, I was so happy.

“Suit of armor around the world”

age of ultron

Tony, I love you. but it would have only delayed Thanos a little bit, it is the thought that counts.

Captain America’s Ass

okay this is not really a reference but this is just an homage to Chris Evans’ amazing backside

love that they pointed this out, love that they talked about it for a while

love that Tony commented on it and basically confirmed bisexuality love that

i like to think that this was for the fans

THOR VIKING BEARD

again not really a reference

there was a tumblr post going around that thor never got his braided hair well he did get braided hair or at least i think it was somewhat styled in thor 2 but WE GOT the braided beard babey with the full power up yummmm yess go off sir

also tell me thor in the end did not look like aquaman... or give you aquaman vibes love that for him and his final character arc, giving up his throne to valkyrie cuz he knows its not for him

Loki into Cap

callback to Thor: The Dark World

I knew as soon as I saw Loki again when they went back that they were going to think cap or tony was loki in disguise and they even pointed that out with loki transforming

it’s funny how loki only turns to Cap or at least he has done him the most from what we have seen

“I can do this all day”

the first avenger, civil war

This one was an obvious one, but I loved it just as much and future cap’s response? so good loved that for them

Elevator Scene

winter soldier

biiitcchhh i was toooo hyped when I saw this, but I just realized now, of course there was gonna be a callback to winter soldier and so like exactly because the Russos directed it obvi. But this was so good

like did they use the same footage in the beginning? (ik they didnt) It felt dead same to me but there were some different characters right? like was sitwell there in that scene in tws?

Hydra Cap

scene itself to Winter Soldier, Cap knowing they were hydra and reference to the comics plot twist that everyone was up in arms about

I think this was strategic for cap and I am pretty sure Chris Evans was against hydra cap? right so it was definitely not approving it or anything

the men "didnt feel so good" - when Cap is distracting Hank Pym

infinity war

I really don’t know if this was intentional but I was just like ……… really marvel youre gonna do us like that

"operating a machine" - howard stark

Iron Man 2

where he said tony was the best thing he ever created/invented, talking about him like a tool…...more on this another time

Jarvis!!!

agent carter

the same actor from agent carter! love him the most

“on your left”

from winter soldier

i died at this part, it took me a second to like process what was happening but jaglakjdf love u sam :((

“Avengers Assemble”

callback to tease in Ultron, and comics obvi

I may have cried. I was waiting for that. It was so good.

Steve Rogers wielding Mjolnir

from age of ultron…….more on this another time

callback to cap budging the hammer in age of ultron

“don’t worry she’s got help” - female characters

Infinity War

I don’t know if this counts since it was literally from Infinity War, maybe not the exact wording, but…... more on this another time

Someone standing behind Wanda

in the funeral scene there was someone standing behind Wanda, Bucky, and Sam that I did not recognize and idk if I’m just blind but they looked like evan peters to me...... and i know it was not him from searching it but i thought it was like an introduction of xmen to the mcu slowly as disney bought fox but i was wronggggg but who was it? was it maria hill? I saw she was credited in the well credits but i swear i dont remember seeing her in the movie

Wanda and Clint’s dynamic still remaining

callback to age of ultron

father and daughter relationship, really good

“don’t do anything stupid until I get back” “how can i? youre taking all the stupid with you”

from the first avenger

:((((((( i- that was very emotional like i didnt process that one either that was like deep in the recess of my memories wow that was solid

Clink of Tony working on the original Iron Man suit - end screen

from Iron Man (2008)

I did not actually infer that it was from Iron Man at first, that was in the back of my mind, but given that end scenes are always about the future I thought it was like the forge where stormbreaker and mjolnir and the gauntlet were made and referencing future characters, weapons, etc. But it was a great callback alkdfjalskdjfajlafjdklajkdl I love Tony :(((

also some unedited ramblings (i only added periods to make it somewhat comprehensive) :

I had the ending robbed from me by dumbasses on instagram. I predicted tony would take the gauntlet and die from it because I knew he was going to die. I wish I could relive watching that not knowing, but if any marvel fans want to tell me how they felt I would love to listen and talk about endgame and the mcu with you and live vicariously through you. that black widow dying and cap getting old was also spoiled. I thought cap was gonna stay when they time traveled the first time but I knew where the soul stone business was going. I wanted to sob at Tony dying and I knew I would have if I didnt know, but I already knew and had accepted it but now it feels like he isnt actually dead idk like when tony almost died in iw I cried so I know I would have sobbed.... but even so tony’s death had been spoiled to me 3 separate times in the three days since its been released and each has been on a different day so I guess it was meant to be but im still mad that was taken from me

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[snidgetsafan]

My thoughts on Avengers Endgame

Do I need to say this is the spoileriest thing to ever spoil?

You know what, if you clicked, you’re here, and you find yourself spoiled, don’t come and whine, or I’ll throw in ANOTHER spoiler in my answer. Now, onto my thoughts:

First of all, I absolutely love the movie. I laughed, I cried, I was on the edge of my seat for three hours, and never bored. I went in knowing Nat and Tony were the one to die, and that’s it.

I love how all the original Avengers’ arcs were done, and how it opened the way for new Avengers.

Tony: He went full circle. Literally, his “I am Iron Man” beginning and ending his superhero journey (and breaking my heart in the process). His conflictual relationships also got closure: with Howard, seeing his father nervous about his birth, and being the one to give him advice? Incredible moment. And with Steve, that was amazing. I LOVED that he died surrounded by those he loved, and in Pepper’s arms (RESCUE!!!!). Think of it: his worst nightmare was living while everyone else died. Here, he gave his life so everyone could live.

Which brings us to Natasha, who did the exact same thing. This movie established that all she had were the Avengers, which is why she clung onto them fiercely. I was at first afraid she was going to be fridged for Clint’s angst when they went together to get the Soul Stone, but she didn’t. She didn’t do it just for Clint, she did it for everyone. You should know I’ve been a Clintasha shipper since the first Avengers movie, and that the scene on Vormir? Positively broke my heart. That forehead touch, and that fight. (also just realized that most of their movie interactions... are fights.)

ALSO WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED IN BUDAPEST????!

Thor: At first I laughed, but then I wanted to cry. My poor baby is so broken. I’m not sure about the way he’s been portrayed. He was way too much the comic relief, and at his expense too. I think this could have been done differently honestly. The scene with Frigga was outstanding, however. And the “I went for the head”? The whole theater laughed, but the look on his face was heartbreaking.

And now onto Captain America. I’m saying Captain America, because this is going to mix Steve and Sam bits (not that way, you pervs) Let’s begin by the end: STEVE DIDN’T DIE!! Knowing this was Chris Evans’ last movie, I was really, really afraid but no, they gave us a happy ending for him, and it’s amazing. At first I thought the “love of his life” thing was heavy-handed, but it’s not. Steve’s had 5 whole years to finally stop and think, to absorb what had happened to him since he got injected, and what he lost. 

Also, Sam and Steve were mirrors of each other in this movie. We see Steve in a counceling position, just like Sam in CATWS. And before the battle, Sam is the one to contact Steve. Not the actual king T’Challa, or Bucky, or anyone else. Sam fucking Wilson, who, in Steve’s absence, took on a leadership role. A role he will assume from now on.

As for Steve and Bucky, I was disappointed we got so little interaction between the two on screen, but the implicit, oh the implicit. Bucky KNEW Steve wasn’t coming back, you can see it in his eyes. And their last exchange? Remember that the first time they had it, it was because Bucky was going to war for a long time, and there was a chance they wouldn’t see each other again. Now, why would they have this significant exchance if Steve was going to come back in a few seconds? They knew they weren’t going to see each other for a long time, at least for Steve. Also: they definitely, definitely talked about passing on the Captain America mantle to Sam together. Again, he’s not surprised, he’s supportive. So while I wished for more screentime for the two... I’m satisfied. And also I now need all the old Steve and young Bucky fic. I mean, guys, we got actual grandpa Steve Rogers.

AND THE BATTLE!!! THE WOMEN AVENGERS PROTECTING BABY PARKER AND KICKING ASS!!!! QUEEN VALKYRIE!!! LA CURARACHA SOUNDING IN THE MIDDLE OF A BATTLEFIELD!!!! THOR AND PETER AT THE END!!!!

ALTHOUGH GUYS WHAT THE FUCK WAS GOING ON WITH THAT BELL AFTER THE CREDITS???!

[awed-frog]

in regards to the CA civil war post you reblogged-- i havent seen the movie since it's come out and felt like shit for agreeing with Tony afterwards because everyone was all like CAP IS RIGHT!! -- but anyway, did anyone actually say "necessary imperialism" in the movie wtf even happened in that movie i dont even remember??

To be honest I haven’t rewatched the movie either, but I felt ‘necessary imperialism’ was about how the guy is called ‘Captain America’ and sort of represents the US and US politics? So what he does - and specifically what he does in that movie - how he stomps around the world, complains about UN regulations, only cares about saving or helping his friends, disregards the rubble and misery left in his wake - yeah, at the time that seemed quite a clear, if perhaps unintentional, metaphor of how Washington behaves. And I don’t want to start shit here - I don’t know the first thing about the Avengers, never read the comics, have no idea how much of this is the screenwriters or whatever - I’m simply speaking as a person who sort of enjoyed the movies, and literally my only point is that Steve Rogers has evolved in a direction I don’t like at all. Because, I don’t know, in the beginning this was a guy who sacrificed everything, including his best friend and a potential wife, to take the Nazis down; and yet, as the movies progress, his actions turn more and more selfish in a ‘friends first’ instead of ‘values first’ sense. This culminates in his idiotic decision to put all of Wakanda at risk and basically sacrifice not his own life, but the lives of hundreds of African men and women to try and save one of his buddies - Vision - who’d begged Steve and the others to just kill him before it was too late. Like, maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I believe there are some things it’s worth sacrificing what you want for - your ambitions, your life, and, yeah - the safety and happiness of your loved ones - and the exact definition of a hero is ‘someone who’s strong enough to make that incredibly hard choice no ordinary person would make’. 

 And the thing is - I’m not even annoyed by that - I’m annoyed by how it was framed as a noble, necessary and thoroughly unproblematic decision? Jesus, I was 100% there for ‘super-soldier tired of war compromises decades-old moral compass to save his friends because that’s what we’d all do’ - I would have loved to see that -

(As a nerdy addition, that’s a time-honoured and heartbreaking trope - the choice, for instance, that Aeneas faces in Troy. Like, there’s this scene in the Aeneid when Troy is finished, okay, it’s done and dying and there’s chaos and blood and howling soldiers everywhere, and Aeneas randomly runs into a courtyard and sees the Greeks about the butcher Priam, his king, the person he was sworn to serve and protect - and Aeneas knows he should step in, risk his life to save Priam’s, but instead - instead, seeing this old man about to be killed is a sharp reminder of his own father, alone and defenceless, and that’s why Aeneas turns back, saves him instead.)

- but nope, the whole thing was told as ‘hey it’s super cool to doom everyone as long as your bae is okay’ which seems to have become the standard narrative of many so-called ‘heroes’ of screens big and small? 

And if you start to look at the political implications of that kind of behaviour, then I’m sorry, but it’s exactly what Trump’s been saying for two years: that nothing matters, not human rights, not international peace, not hundreds of thousand of people dying, as long as American jobs and (rich, white) American lives are safe. Hell, he put it very clearly (and openly) after journalist Jamal Khashoggi was slaughtered in Istanbul:“I’d rather keep the million jobs.”

[Fact check: on top of everything else, it’s not ‘million’. Also, he’s not fooling anyone: like countless other politicians, what matters to him is not what Saudi Arabia can do for US jobs, but how much money he can get out of them to line his own pockets.]

[originaljediinjeans]

Avengers: Endgame (Spoilers) Reaction

Things I didn’t like:

Seriously Thor had to end up LIKE THAT? SERIOUSLY THEY REALLY RUINED HIM

Tony being “stuck in space” just wasn’t a huge deal after all, thanks a lot

Just...five years of trying to “accept” what Thanos did? They literally can’t do anything? That is just so wrong. 

Also REALLY BRUCE? Sheesh so tacky

Tony comes right back from space, settles down w/ Pepper and refuses to talk to anybody

First thing when he comes back he’s all like “Steve UR a liar and I hate you” Like he doesn’t want to go after Thanos bc deep down he’s like “Bringing back half the universe means bringing back your precious Bucky but I don’t think so” (he’s actually just bitter about losing to Thanos but you know me, I’m autistic, it’s all about Bucky) gosh

Wait, so the cosmos depends on the Infinity Stones existing? So Steve just puts them back where they came from, nothing is changed, what happens now that Thanos is no longer around, where do they end up? 

Or did they get destroyed?

So Thanos isn’t really dead? Neither are his minions? Someone can bring them back? They’re really just in the soul realm?

Everything about that one death scene. Like they used the exact same footage and imagery from Gamora’s death in Infinity War. 

About 30% or more of the movie is montages, I needed more actual scenes with dialogue and characters connecting! 

Also Thor taking off with the Guardians 2b a space bum forever. That is like...the worst. Who wrote that?

Things I am on the Fence about:

“Resentment corrodes. BTW you can have your shield back. Dad made it for you.” okay, guys, that’s great but this is a three-hour-movie, surely you have time to sit down and have a real heart-to-heart apology session 

Captain Marvel as 80% CGI and 100% goddess

Really? It was that easy to get the Aether out of Jane without the Svarthaelfen coming for it? Also Rocket what did you do to her? 

Steve Rogers ending: I guess it’s what the fandom wanted. Judging by Hayley Atwell’s smug face she may have written the scene herself. But I was kind of getting used to the idea of Sharon (even them just being friends), and Steve actually moving on...

Also I get that it’s more politically correct to let Sam be Cap, and that “poor Bucky has suffered enough”

TBQH I get why he’s okay just saying goodbye to Bucky and leaving him in the present. They grew up together in Brooklyn, so they had those happy years together, and now Steve has freed him from Hydra and Bucky can go live his own life so it’s all good. Steve only knew Peggy for 1-2 years so he needs the time with her, if he wants it

Heil Hydra: I know that this is totally a reference to that one thing in the comics. But dude, did you want them to think you were Hydra? Or you were just telling them you were onto them? Well, either way it worked. 

Things I Did Like

The Ancient One meeting Bruce Banner and serving him the tea, also his astral form is still Bruce Banner and this pleases me a lot

Tony and his dad afjlfakjfdsajhladfhk j

Clint and Natasha being space pilots can I get more of this please?

Tony being a selfish jerk and hiding from the Avengers and ignoring that the rest of the world is suffering...but at the same time being a dad and a husband and living his best life and taking time for himself and not suffering

And then Tony getting off his high horse

Natasha refusing to not be vigilant or give up even though everyone else has

Scott Lang talking to Tony Stark like, what up, dude! We need to take a chance!

PEPPERONY OFFSPRING IS A THING! BLESS!

STEVE DID THE THING!!!!!!!!!

Ebony Maw is back and he is uglier than ever

*cackle of laughter* Justice. Sweet justice. 

Thor having the talk with his mom 

Thanos over the course of the film slowly becoming a better villain, and finally attacking with all of his powers and deciding that benevolently destroying half the universe isn’t enough

Thanos real desire: to satisfy his own ego

Thanos is not in Endgame as much but by the end of it he is a 50% better villain than he was in Infinity War

AND THEN EVERYONE COMES BACK AND ALL THE PEOPLE COME THROUGH THE PORTALS AND IT IS AN EPIC BATTLE, A TRULY GLORIOUS FIGHT

Like everyone who got snapped and then some come out of those portals armed and ready 2 fight like they’ve been itching for this for 5 years

okay so their “souls” still existed in the Soul realm, good, I was afraid they were all disembodied particles floating in random

Captain Marvel showing up to the boss fight and smacking Thanos but him being able to smack her back, finally she’s not invincible!

Also her shorter hair --ooooh hair envy!

Rocket talking to Thor on Asgard and telling him to get a grip, that was good

“I am inevitable.” “I am Iron Man.”

4-year-old Nathanial “Nate” Pietro Barton, Cooper and Lila, Laura--Clint’s family--yeah if Clint had died it would have been devastating

Clint and Wanda’s moment after the funeral, demonstrating how she and Nat were also part of Clint’s family

Scarlet Witch versus Thanos, YEAH THAT’S RIGHT YOU SON OF A MOLDY CASSEROLE, YOU GONNA PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO VISION

FEMALE AVENGER BOSS FIGHT

VALKYRIE LEADING THE ASGARDIANS

“Avengers...Assemble.”  

I WAS LITERALLY CHEERING AND SCREAMING DURING THIS WHOLE SEQUENCE YOU HAVE NO IDEA IT WAS SO COOL

Just seeing Bucky again my heart afdskjfad;l

Just the epilogue and the funeral and seeing everyone together again as they should be, more or less

Steve and Tony going back to the 1970s--the whole segment is just great. Loved it. Steve’s undercover uniform is nice

I didn’t realize he could possibly run into Peggy until just before he realized he was in her office!

“Bucky is still alive.” Well, that’s one way to scare a body

Sam, Wanda, and Bucky at the funeral

New Asgard is a thing. This pleases me. 

Re-enacting Peter Quill entering the temple on Morag and then him getting hit over the head *points finger and laugh* like that was literally the only good thing about the time travel and revisiting the past

The GOTG staying for the funeral, that was nice of them. 

I have literally never been happier to see Spider-man in my life

Sebastian Stan’s face, that’s all

Steve and Bucky hugging goodbye, “Don’t do anything stupid until I get back.” “How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you.” OKAY NOW I’M HAVING FEELS

Also it’s really nice of Hank Pym to go to Tony’s funeral--did he go to Howard and Maria’s?

Things that Should Have Happened: 

Where the heck is Loki? 

Steve and Bucky should have had a scene together during the battle, fighting side-by-side

Bucky should have been the first person that Steve saw

Bucky carrying the gauntlet during the big hustle would’ve been a nice bonus

Loki stealing the Tesserract and disappearing--all that does is set up his Disney+ TV show. Shouldn’t that have led to more problems?

Like they seriously set up everything that could possibly go wrong but only one or two things do--well the movie was only 3 hours long, if they’d had five they could have made it more complicated

They could have made Thor a weepy alcoholic without making him a gross bum. 

More of the main characters dying besides the two that did. 

Tony and Nebula needed 10 whole minutes of relationship time. 

Just more of the 06 Avengers and Rhodey spending more time with Nebula and Rocket and their personalities bouncing off of each other

We should have at least been shown Tony and Pepper having a private civil ceremony, also her telling him that she’s pregnant

If Natasha needed to die at all, it should have been her going down in a fight, getting stabbed or something. Like someone could have showed up at Vormir, like Thanos sent someone once he got the intel from Nebula, and Nat and Barton had a boss fight at the top, and then Nat gets stabbed and thrown off

I was still actually expecting Tony to literally adopt Nebula

They could have done something about the fact that the Red Skull is the freaking Guardian of the Soul Stone(TM). Wouldn’t Nat or Clint have recognized him? Like the fact of his identity isn’t even relevant to anything--gosh, him meeting Steve must have been interesting

So Nebula didn’t kill Thanos. Hmph. Was there a way it could have happened, though? Is there a way she still “beat” him? Maybe by killing the past self that was still loyal to him? 

You had three hours to tell a great story and make the things we didn’t like about Infinity War better, and all you give us is beer-belly Thor and a lot of time travel gimmicks? sheesh marvel