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audarcy · 4 years

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Endgame/Infinity War is such a badly told story for so many reasons.

First of all, I’ll get the CinemaSins shit out of the way: obviously, the story ignores a lot of the ramifications of what Thanos does. And to be fair, it would be fine if Thanos’ plan was illogical if it had not been presented as logical within the story, or if the lack of logic had ever been pointed out. But yeah, killing half of all life would almost equally deplete resources (because half of our food source would be gone), killing half of all life at once would cause a ripple effect of considerably more death and destruction (plane pilots disappearing mid-flight, employees at nuclear facilities abandoning their posts, doctors disappearing mid-surgery, etc), life would not be able to go back to normal not just because of the Insane Trauma everyone left behind would have but also because the world’s infrastructure would be totally fucked..........you get the picture.

But I’m even going to give that all a pass. It’s comics and comics are fucking stupid. Comics have a planet called counter-earth that scientists never found because its on the opposite side of the sun so no one ever saw it. It’s allowed to be dumb. Moving on.

Ultimately, the main desire of IW/EG is to maintain and restore the status quo. Someone is trying to change things, and we have to stop it. And in the end, that’s exactly what happened. The only major change to the world is the death of Tony Stark. Which, uh, I guess is one good thing.

IW/EG just....didn’t mean anything. It was a cliffhanger followed by a fun throwback and then a big epic fight scene and a major character death to make it seem serious. And now we’re left basically where we started. It took all of that just to kill a character who’s had the same arc in every movie he’s been in, including the one where he’s dead. (“Maybe making weapons of mass destruction is bad...but if I am the one with the weapons of mass destruction, that is good.”)

And obviously these movies are trash meant to get the big box office numbers and little else, but these themes actually become pretty insidious under scrutiny, so it’s important to be critical of them. It’s important to be cognizant of these things because it’s subtle propaganda. It’s propaganda that says that those in power need to stay that way, that weapons of mass destruction belong in the hands of the “good guys” (white American Tony Stark) to beat up the “bad guys” who threaten the status quo...et cetera.

Also, the story gives a “logical” creedence to Thanos’ plan that it never actually challenges. And sure, the audience relates to not wanting half of all life to die, so we root for the heroes, but then we start getting people writing thinkpieces like “Actually, Thanos has a point!” followed by some Malthusian fascy bullshit. There was never a victory of ideology in IW/EG. There was a victory of might, a victory of power, but ultimately, it was Thanos who was given a voice. It was Thanos who was made out to be correct, as the story characterized him as an intelligent and all-powerful villain by framing his motives as logical. Thanos had to be made out to be this sort of Supreme Being in order to make the heroes seem Super Powerful for being able to beat him. So even in his loss, he still has to be Great and Epic, because the heroes need a Great and Epic villain to beat. Which means that people watching still take him seriously. Which means.....the story tacitly uplifts his beliefs.

Compare this to Black Panther, as I would like to be fair in this argument and compare a story within the MCU to another story on the same playing field. In Black Panther, the villain also had an ideological motive. Killmonger’s motive challenges the status quo: he wants Wakanda to change its ways. T’Challa challenges his ideology, but he takes it into consideration and ultimately agrees. And although Killmonger is defeated, he wins the ideological battle. The events of the story have a profound impact on its characters and the world they live in. T’Challas position of power is challenged, literally and thematically, and ultimately, he understands the responsibility that comes with his power and the moral onligation to use it for the benefit of the powerless. The story had a purpose. IW/EG....just doesn’t. The status quo has been restored. And nothing is really all that different, at least from what we’ve seen in Homecoming, where the biggest issue is that Tony is dead, which could’ve happened regardless of anything Thanos did.

And it’s important to understand the emotional core of IW/EG: desire to stay the same. Rejecting change. Making sure that the people who have power stay that way, that their power isn’t challenged. It tells us that those with power will do the right thing with it always and we can trust them to defeat outside enemies.

I haven’t been, like, Emotionally Invested in Marvel movies in a while, but these have an undeniably huge cultural impact, so...it’s important to be aware of stuff like this. At the end of the day, these movies are made by powerful people who benefit from their consumers thinking a Certain Way About The World, y’know?

#marvel #infinity saga #infinity war #endgame #avengers #avengers endgame #yes I am absolutely begging for rabid fans in my ask with these tags. I dont care

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libsterslobsters · 3 years

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Black Dog...

A Bucky Barnes x Reader fanfic

A/N: The motherfluffer strikes again! I know I said I was going to do a pt 2 of "What Is and What Should Never Be", but I was sitting with my doggo tonight and this is what I was inspired to write. It's more of a prequel, I guess.

Summary: There's not much Bucky wouldn't do for his best girl, but when she suggests they get a dog to help them readjust to life after the final battle with Thanos, he's not so sure it's a great idea.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes/ fem! enhanced! Reader

(reader can see moments into the future as well as understanding all languages and processing new information quickly, plus she's also a super soldier)

Warnings: Slight angst, mild swearing, fluff!, mentions of PTSD and panic attacks, No editor, we die like men

“You want to do what?”

Bucky considers himself a fairly reasonable person (well, there is the “was brainwashed for over fifty years” part) and he prides himself on valuing whatever his girlfriend (fiance he reminds himself, she kept the ring on for five years) says instead of only listening to come up with a response, but this time, he’s almost certain he’s heard wrong. At least, he hopes he has.

“I want to get a puppy.”

That’s exactly what he thought she said. “Or really a dog of any age.” Where to begin with that suggestion.

He likes dogs. He had one before the war. But that was back when it was safe to walk through Brooklyn at night, not to mention walk your dog along the sidewalk after dinner. Back before sudden noises in the night, however light or normal they are made him bolt upright in bed and reach for the knife he still keeps on the nightstand just in case. Before fighting “bad guys” was part of his every-day life, and way before he himself had become a bad guy. All of that considered, there’s only one way he can answer.

“I don’t think so, doll.” The corners of her lips turn down and her eyelids lower.

“Oh.” She’s more disappointed than she’ll let on. Maybe there’s a way to smooth it over.

“Why did you want a dog?”

He takes a seat on the sofa next to her (they were going to settle into their usual after work activity; watch something neither of them will remember later as an excuse to be together, usually with her legs resting in his lap and a bowl of popcorn between them) and silently wills her to look up, not be saddened by something he’s done. Goodness knows she’s had enough of that to last a lifetime already, and the wedding isn’t for another month.

She shrugs, still absently picking at her pilling sweater.

“There’s been studies done on how having a pet helps lower stress levels and raise seratonin levels. That helps with PTSD and sleep disorders.”

Something that used to just apply to him, but after Thanos, it’s as often her waking up from a nightmare that felt just a little too real or staring at words in a book that she’s not even seeing long after midnight.

“Plus-” She laughs, but it’s not the unbridled sound he treasures, it’s… bitter somehow. “-it’ll be like exposure therapy. We’ll be forced to leave the apartment for more than groceries and work.”

It seems as if the outside world has become even louder and more unbearable since the world ended and restarted again.

“All of that sounds good-” There’s the beginings of a smile on her face. He hates that he’s about to crush it all over again. “-but what about the logistics of it?” She frowns, clearly confused. “We don’t know where we’ll be living once your lease is up-”

“There are plenty of other apartment complexes that allow pets.” He nods.

“Yeah, but not all of them. And on top of that, when we’re away on missions, who’s gonna look after the pooch?” She seems to be considering it, mulling it over, then-

“Here me out: we train the dog to come with us on missions and do reconnaissance.” The smirk on her face lets him know that it’s a joke. Good. Then she’s not completely devistated.

“If the situation looks too tough, we’ll send him out ahead of us. While he’s licking their faces and their guards are down because even the worst of the worst can’t resist a cute puppy-”

“We storm the place?” She nods, shoulders shaking in a quiet laugh.

“You’re catching on! And, we can order a special doggy uniform since you can find anything on the internet these days.”

That’s the final straw, and before he can even consider it, he’s laughing too.

“You do make a pretty compelling argument, but let’s stick a pin in it until this thing-”He indicates her left hand, which is now resting casually against his thigh. “-becomes official.”

“Fair enough.”

___________________________________________________________________________________

She’s doing better now, she thinks. Better than she was for the past few months. Still, after her last class at the community college lets out (so many new enrollments now that the population is back to normal, and the majority of them have no memory of the hell those who survived the snap endured for five years), she sits in her car for a solid half hour, shaking and crying her way through a panic attack. When it passes, she reaches for the makeup bag hidden in her purse and, in an effort that’s really muscle memory at this point, repairs the damage to her face. There. Nearly normal.

Driving home is considerably more difficult than it used to be now that there’s more cars on the road, but the route is familiar, so that’s some comfort. Not everything changes. She really should pick up some potatoes and cubed beef for tonight’s dinner, but after the day she’s had, facing a crowded supermarket seems like just a step too far. Takeout, then. Maybe a pizza. After all, she’s got the same chemicals running through her veins as he does, which means their metabolisms can keep up with excess calories. It’s one of the better side effects of being “enhanced” as her file is labeled.

She’s so busy thinking about which toppings to order that she barely manages to swerve in time to keep from hitting the animal slowly limping towards the curbside.

“Shit!”

The miriad of horns honking from behind and beside her let her know that her decision isn’t a popular one. Still, she eases the car to the curb and as soon as the coast is clear (she should just run into traffic… no, that’s an intrusive thought, acknowledged and dismissed), steps out.

The animal made it across, at least. Animal, because she can’t be sure what species it is. It’s trying to get away from her, but the poor thing is limping badly, so there’s not much chance it’ll manage that particular feat even if she weren’t faster than the average human. She approaches with caution (if she were to be bitten, would it even effect her? More than likely not) in case she startles it.

“It’s alright.” She’s got it cornered now, and she can see that it’s a dog. A pathetic lump of matted fur and mange with at least one broken leg, but a dog none the less. She crouches, holding her hand out in front of her, palm open.

“You’re okay, sweetie. I’m not going to hurt you.” The poor thing is shaking, letting out low growls that quickly turn to whimpers as soon as she touches it. “You’ve had some tough luck, haven’t you? Yeah.”

She can’t tell what color it is under the filth and… her breath catches in her throat… blood. Black for now, but maybe a lighter color once it’s washed. However, the tongue that peeks out from a swollen muzzle is unmistakably pink. “Good boy. Or girl. I’m not going to look close enough to find out right now. Don’t worry.” It’s not a huge dog. She could probably lift it. That is, if it’ll let her. “A car hit you, didn’t it? Hurt that poor leg of yours.” She leans closer to get a better look. No collar. A stray, more than likely, and definitely a mutt. The decision is made. She’s not leaving it here.

“Alright. I’m going to get you some help, but that means I have to pick you up. Now, I’d appreciate it if you’d kindly refrain from biting me when I do that, okay?” She takes the blink as agreement. “Here we go.”

She must look strange, emerging from an alleyway in the middle of Brooklyn with at least thirty pounds of unidentifiably colored dog in her arms, but if any of the other motorists notice, they don’t let on. Thank goodness for technology. With the press of a button, her car unlocks and she’s able to deposite her new friend in the passenger seat before settling behind the wheel once more. “Siri, show me the nearest animal hospital.” Once the gps is online, she adds as an afterthought, “Call Barnes.”

___________________________________________________________________________________

Somehow, when he picked up the phone and the first words out of her mouth were, “Bucky, you’re not gonna believe me…” he didn’t expect it to result in him sitting in a veterinarian’s office an hour later, waiting to hear about a dog he’s never seen. Well, that’s not quite true. She did snap a quick picture. Even though he knows it probably wasn’t at it’s best, that had to be the most pathetic lump of fur and fleas he’s ever laid eyes on, through a photograph or otherwise. He’s not even sure it had both ears!

None of that matters though, because now he’s sitting there, pretending to study his phone with his baseball cap drawn low over his eyes and a pair of sunglasses to boot while she flips through the same magazine for the fourth time. If he’s being honest with himself, he doesn’t think the dog’s going to make it (actually, it might be kinder if it didn’t, the pooch is in such bad shape), but he’s decided it’s best not to bring that up. Time will tell.

“Are you mad?” That’s the first thing she’s said since he arrived and she informed him that they’d taken the dog back for immediate surgery.

“That depends. Did you walk into traffic to save him?” It probably wouldn’t hurt her, considering she’s strong enough to stop a car if she really wants to, but it’s not exactly a healthy habit to get into. Especially if they’re trying to be inconspicuous.

“No.” She flips another page. “Although I may have swerved to avoid hitting him, then chased him down into an alleyway and cornered him by a dumpster.”

That sparks a memory from the early days in Romania, the ones where he thought he was dating someone for the first time since the forties (albeit, moving very, very slowly) and she was under the impression that he saw her as a little sister. Her apartment was the equivalent of “low rent” and when, halfway through ‘Singin’ In the Rain’, a rat made it’s unfortunate appearance, she told him, “No, don’t kill it! Just get rid of it!” while standing on top of the coffee table (because clearly, that was so much safer than the floor). In the end, he did catch the rat (thanks to her precognition), and they safely moved it and it’s nest into a quiet corner of the courtyard. That’s when he realized he was in way over his head with this girl, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. It’s still one of his favorite memories, so-

“ ‘Course not.” She doesn’t look entirely convinced, so he wraps his arm around her, pulling her close despite the plastic waiting room chairs. “Why would I be mad at my girl for having a big heart?”

She chuckles, leaning into him. “You mean I’m a softy.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

Before she can reply, the door swings open. It’s late, and they’re the only ones left waiting, so it’s no surprise when the woman in scrubs stops in front of them.

“Your dog made it through surgery, although we did have to amputate the front left leg.” Huh. That’s the same one he lost. “We also took the liberty of giving him his rabies and heartworms shots, and since you said it’s a stray, we’ll call animal control to pick him up once he’s awake.”

That’s for the best. She may have a thing for hard luck cases, wounded animals, and lost teddy bears, but it’s not like they can keep the dog. He’s come around to the idea of getting a pet at some point (maybe he’ll surprise her at Christmas), but an animal that’s in that bad of condition… it’s a lot of work, and he’s not sure either of them is up for it (well, if truth be told, if he’s up to it).

“Did you want to come back to see him?” She looks up at him, clearly trying to get a read on what he’d rather do. He could just say no thanks, they’re alright. It’ll only make things harder when they have to go home. But, it’s obvious she wants to, and he’s not great at telling her no.

“Sure.”

He’s panicking just a little as they walk through a maze of corridors and metal doors that lock behind them. Calm down, it’s just a vet’s office, not a prison. You’re not going to have to fight your way out.

Finally, after the dozenth turn, the vet announces, “Here we are. He’s still a little groggy, and we had to shave him. It looked like he could use a trim anyway.” and pushes open another locked door.

Even with his leg repaired and his fur at least partially groomed, he doesn’t look like much. There are indeed two ears; one of them is just crooked, folding down instead of sticking straight up. He still couldn’t guess at the breed, but with all the muck washed away, it’s still a black dog. There’s an I.V. attached, and Bucky’s expecting that the most it’ll do is whimper if it’s touched, but as she approaches the table and gingerly begins to pet it between the ears, the dog’s eyes open, and it licks her hand.

“Hey, boy. You made it through. I knew you were a fighter.” Is it sticking it’s tongue out and- “Whoa. Your breath could take out an army!” -attempting to lick her face.

“We think he’s about eight months old. May get a little bigger, but not much.”

He’s a decent sized dog. Not exactly one you’d chose to guard your house, but not a lap dog either. And he seems friendly.

“Some nice people from animal control are going to come get you once you’re all better and they’ll find you a good home.”

Unlikely. After all, the dog’s a tripod. He’s going to regret asking this, but-

“Is there anything else wrong with him besides the leg?”

The vet shakes her head. “Nothing that a flea bath, mange treatment, and a few good meals couldn’t fix.”

So really, it wouldn’t be THAT much work. He’s seen plenty of dogs who can still walk with only three legs. He needs to get ahold of himself. The dog might not even like him. Animals are funny; they can tell a bad person from a good one, and if he’s being honest with himself, he’s not sure if he qualifies as the latter after all he’s done. There’s only one way to find out.

“Hey, boy.” He reaches out his hand (the metal one, because even if it’ll heal quickly, he’s not crazy about being bitten) and scratches under the dog’s chin. “You had a hard day, didn’t you?”

The dog sniffs at his arm and then, wonder of wonders, his back leg starts to kick. “But you still seem pretty happy even if you are a little worse for wear.”

He really shouldn’t do this. It’s a lot of work, having a dog of any kind. They don’t know where they’ll be living once her lease is up, and oh yeah, they’re getting married in three weeks. But, the big puppy dog eyes look up at him (the dog’s looking pretty desperate too), and he knows his decision’s made.

“Think Stark ever designed armor for dogs?” Her brow knits in confusion.

“You know, since we can’t very well have him out there on missions without some sort of protection.” There it is. Recognition.

“Are you serious?”

“No.” The beginnings of a smile freezes on her face. “There’s no way we’re taking an innocent dog into a situation with hostiles. Are you nuts?” That laugh gets him every time.

“So we’re keeping him?”

He nods.

“We’re keeping him, doll.”

She hasn’t looked this purely happy in ages. For once, the memories of the past and worries about the future are completely forgotten, and that makes it worth it. That, and, well… he is a pretty cute dog.

Author's note: here's a picture of my good boi and writing pal, Rigby.

#bucky x reader #bucky x oc #bucky barnes #bucky fic #avengers #captain america #marvel #marvel cinematic universe #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes fluff #post endgame #the winter soldier

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noconcernofyours · 5 years

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5 Takeaways from Avengers: Endgame (WARNING: SPOILERS)

Here’s another one I didn’t really have a place to post, so it’s going up here. Hope you enjoy my Hot Takes™.

On Thursday I went down to my local cinema to watch Avengers: Endgame, the culmination of over a decade of continuous, intricate world-building and story-telling from the mind of Marvel Studios boss, Kevin Feige and co. This article is not a review of the movie. To be clear, I loved it and there are a million reasons why, but looking at it purely as a film doesn’t really make sense to me considering all of the factors that make Endgame more than just another Marvel movie.

Instead, here are five takeaways that I, as someone who has been seeing these films in the cinema since Iron Man released in 2008, have been sitting on since I walked out of the screening on Thursday night. WARNING: HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

1. Sam Wilson is the perfect successor to Steve Rogers. Fight me.

There are several major emotional themes that Endgame introduces throughout the film: parenthood, reconciliation, coping with one’s failures. But, as the film moves into its insanely climactic final battle sequence, a new theme starts to move to the front of the pack – a passing of the torch.

From Peter being the major emotional anchor of Tony Stark’s death scene to Captain Marvel mirroring Steve Rogers’ heroic yet futile act of holding Thanos’ hand open from Infinity War, and even to Hawkeye teaching his daughter to shoot a bow and arrow in the film’s emotionally fraught opening scene, there is a real sense that the most definitive way this film can wrap up the original team’s character arcs is by showing who is still there to take up their mantles.

I’ve seen a lot of angry takes complaining that Steve passed on the mantle of Captain America to Sam over Bucky. These takes… *clears throat*… are dead wrong. Bucky is just as out of time as Steve was, more so even, due to the amount of time he spent either in ice, or out of his mind. He’s also so unclear of his own identity that it makes no sense for him to adopt this mantle that is meant to be so clearly defined and inspiring, especially considering the amount of damage he’s done to the world. That same internal conflict is why Steve was so uncomfortable being Captain America for so long. The main argument, I guess, is that he has a closer relationship with Steve, but I would argue that this is an incorrect analysis of their relationship. One of the things clarified by the time travel sequence is how Steve’s relationship with Bucky wasn’t about friendship, or loneliness, but about one of the other themes of the film: failing to deal with one’s mistakes.

It makes so much more sense for Sam to take up the mantle because, arguably, he is Steve’s greatest achievement as Captain America. Steve’s deeds inspired Sam to act. His training made Sam, someone with no superpowers at all, a superhero and brought him to the highest echelons of the Avengers. He, like Steve, was a military volunteer, unlike Bucky who was drafted. And, like Steve, and perhaps most importantly, he doesn’t know how to exist without the next mission. Sam has been Captain America-in-waiting since his introduction in Winter Soldier.

2. This film shouldn’t be nominated for best picture, but there are Oscar nominations that it does deserve

This last Oscar season was incredibly long, taxing and discursively toxic. One of the narratives in various online forums was a sense of discontent that Black Panther was nominated for best picture over Infinity War. Now, despite the fact that I thoroughly disagree with that feeling – Black Panther is one of the most narratively and thematically powerful superhero movies ever released and Infinity War has a thoroughly unpleasant message of abuse=love – there will, without a doubt be an Oscar narrative surrounding this landmark movie.

Let me set the record straight here: Endgame, whilst being an incredibly important moment in cinema, a hugely emotional watching experience, and a massive technical achievement, is not best picture material. Why? It doesn’t stand on its own. Without the background of the rest of the MCU propping it up, it couldn’t achieve nearly as much of the emotional impact that it did. For the same reason, I don’t think Return of the King should have been a best picture winner either. Sue me. The film also has some tonal issues that prevent it from landing all the emotional punches that a best picture nominee should have.

That being said, there are elements of Endgame that deserve recognition from the academy, and they are thus:

Robert Downey Jr.’s gut-wrenching performance as Tony Stark

Honestly, it does feel like Downey’s been playing this character in his sleep since Age of Ultron, but not here. This, for me, is his strongest performance put to film, and that’s all down to an awareness of how this character has changed since his debut in 2008. His meltdown scene after he is rescued at the start of the film is masterfully frightening and sad, made all the more so by his CGI-facilitated emaciated state.

Alan Silvestri’s genius score

Alan Silvestri is an incredible film composer; this much is clear. While I loved his score for Infinity War, which was full of clever little twists on previously existing material, and stunning uses of silence, I did feel a little let down that some of the better leitmotifs from previous films weren’t utilised at all, particularly Captain America’s theme, which Silvestri wrote for The First Avenger back in 2011.

As of now, I understand why he made the decision to leave that out. It wasn’t studio interference, demanding overly aggressive aesthetic consistency. It was a choice made to enhance Steve’s character development. We haven’t heard Steve’s theme since Winter Soldier, because he hasn’t really been Captain America since that film. The moment in Endgame that brought me closest to ugly crying in the cinema was when Tony handed Cap back his shield, and we finally heard that theme again. Silvestri has been paying attention in a major way, and probably deserves a writing credit for every movie in which Steve Rogers has appeared since 2011 because of it. Thanos’ theme is terrifying and beautiful too. Give. This. Man. All. The. Awards.

3. Guardians of the Galaxy needs a soft reboot, Ragnarok style

I hate the Guardians. I hate all of them… well… except Gamora and Nebula, but the former was done dirty in Infinity War, and the latter pretty much finished her character arc in Endgame. All the other ones are either funny window dressing (Rocket, Groot, Mantis), or outright intolerable (Starlord, Drax). One thing that made me enjoy Endgame so much more than Infinity War, was that I didn’t have to watch the Guardians’ unbearable antics for the majority of the movie. It was a small reprieve from the dick jokes, backwards character development, unfunny temper tantrums and relentless stupidity.

The end of the film sets up the future involvement of Thor in the next Guardians movie. I hope to god that means they’ll bring Taika Waititi on board to help write the new movie with James Gunn. I’m glad Disney made the right decision to bring Gunn back after his premature dismissal, but after the catastrophe that was Guardians of the Galaxy, vol.2, and the negative impact the characters have had on Infinity War, I think someone with the creative instincts of Waititi needs to be brought on to help make these characters into people again. Thor joining the team is a chance to make that happen.

4. Marvel did ScarJo dirty

Ugh. Every member of the original team got a proper ending, except ScarJo, who got fridged. I’m a huge Hawkeye stan, but Black Widow should not have been tossed off (literally!) in order to develop his character in the way they did. To make matters worse, she doesn’t even get a funeral! Just a little nod at the end from the guy who she died to save. After everything that happened with Gamora in Infinity War, I can’t believe the Russo brothers, who did so much to develop this character in Winter Soldier, were okay with giving Black Widow a death that was not only meaningless, but so similar to the woman they killed in the last movie.

Come on!!!

5. Endgame wrapped up 10 years of movies so perfectly that I don’t have to care what they do next anymore

All that being said, it really doesn’t matter anymore, does it? Over the last few years, I’ve gotten increasingly frustrated with the MCU. With the exception of Black Panther and Ant-Man and the Wasp¸ every film in the series since Captain America: Civil War has been a bit of a let-down for me. I hated Guardians 2, I was left feeling a little empty after Ragnarok and Infinity War, and Spider-Man: Homecoming was the biggest disappointment in the entire series that came close to ruining the character for me.

What’s so special about Endgame, is that it so neatly and powerfully brings to a close the narrative arcs of (nearly) all of the characters I’ve cared about since the MCU’s beginning over a decade ago. It, surprisingly enough, is a legitimate jumping-off point. If I were so inclined, I could be content to never see a Marvel Studios film again because most of the threads I was invested in have been tied up.

It also seems unlikely that they’ll be building to a huge single-narrative conclusion for a long, long while. How could they? Endgame was a movie a decade in the making, and I suspect it’ll be another decade before they get to anything that could rival the emotional resonance of their latest achievement. What comes next will, undoubtedly, feel substantially different than what came before, and therefore, probably isn’t targeted at me or others in my position. If I fancy seeing a new Marvel film, I will, but I highly doubt that by skipping one I’m going to feel like I’m missing out in the same way I would have done if I’d missed any of the last 22 MCU movies.

The greatest gift Endgame has given me, is a way out of the vicious circle of Marvel movie discourse. I can rest now.

#Avengers #avengers endgame #Endgame spoilers #avengers spoilers #MCU #robert downey jr #alan silvestri

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philosopherking1887 · 6 years

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Philosophy in “Infinity War” Part I: Thanos vs. Ultron

As promised, I’m going to start talking about some of the philosophical issues raised in Avengers: Infinity War, and this first one gives me an opportunity to discuss something I’ve meant to for a while: why I find Ultron so interesting. Spoilers and long discussion are under the cut.

We find out in IW that Thanos wants to kill half of the living things in the universe because of his views about overpopulation and scarcity, which align with those of Thomas Malthus: that populations will always tend to expand beyond the means of society to provide for them, resulting in poverty, disease, and conflict. Malthus, of course, never proposed mass murder as a way to prevent these terrible outcomes, though he did think that famine and war, as the natural consequences of overpopulation, were God’s and/or nature’s way of correcting the problem -- and of (futilely) cautioning humanity against reproducing beyond its means. We also find out that Thanos arrived at these views based on harsh experience: his home planet, Titan, experienced ecological catastrophe as a result of overpopulation. Thanos warned his people as the catastrophe approached and proposed his solution -- random culling of the population -- but he was, of course, dismissed as a madman. He now lives (sometimes) on the lifeless, desert-like ruins of Titan, applies his solution to planets that he thinks are reproducing beyond their means -- including Gamora’s home planet -- and seeks the Infinity Stones so that he can apply it to the universe as a whole.

It seems obvious to me -- and should be obvious to him -- that this is only a temporary solution. He claims that the standard of living on Gamora’s home planet improved dramatically after he halved its population; but if that’s the case, then unless Thanos was also distributing free birth control and family planning education, people would just take advantage of their new prosperity to have more children. Maybe with all the Infinity Stones in the Gauntlet, he envisioned himself or one of his disciples doing The Snap every few centuries?

I’ve seen some commentary suggesting that Thanos’s outlook is only comprehensible or even remotely sympathetic from a very pro-capitalist standpoint which ignores the fact that capitalism generates artificial scarcity. There’s certainly something to that criticism; “Malthusian” views are usually dismissed in the same breath as “social Darwinism” as artifacts of 19th-century and/or mid-20th-century elitist, racist, greed-driven ideology. I think there’s a reason Titan’s demise was depicted as an ecological catastrophe, considering the looming threat of climate change. Burning fossil fuels was a major part of how humanity harnessed the energy resources to be able to overcome natural scarcity, and now it’s biting us in the ass. That said, the technological advances that were enabled by the burning of fossil fuels for energy would probably enable us to stop burning fossil fuels if not for vested financial interests. And since population growth declines dramatically as societies become better educated and have more gender equality, it seems like it should be possible to stabilize a planet’s population so that it never exceeds the ecosystem’s ability to sustain it without resorting to mass murder. So yes, Thanos’s perspective and imagination seem extremely limited, and he’s drawing the wrong lesson from what happened to Titan. I guess he’s just really pessimistic about any society’s ability to overcome greed and education inequality...?

Thanos’s philosophical reasons for supporting mass murder of course call to mind another villain with philosophical reasons for mass murder (indeed, specicide, if that’s a word): Ultron. Predictably, I think Ultron makes much better points than Thanos does because they’re founded on observations about human nature rather than speculation about economic necessity. From looking at all of recorded human history, Ultron concludes that humanity has no moral right to exist because human beings have always, everywhere, been horrible to each other. If we solved all the scarcity problems that motivate Thanos, that would probably cut down on violence, but it would not eliminate it. I’m not at all sure that it’s possible to civilize human beings to the point that violence, small-scale or large-scale, never happens. That’s why Ultron says that humanity “needs to evolve”: human nature would have to change fundamentally in order to prevent the horrors that have littered human history.

Of course there’s a moral question here: is it morally right to eliminate a kind of being whose existence is, on the whole, an evil, or does it incur rights simply in virtue of existing? Pretty clearly, Ultron (like Thanos) is making a utilitarian calculation: cause a moderate amount of suffering in the short term in order to prevent a greater amount of suffering over the long term. But is that an acceptable trade-off, when those who enjoy the benefits are not the same as those who bear the costs? This issue -- consequentialist vs. deontological (i.e., rights-based, rule-based) ethics -- is the same one that’s explored in Watchmen, where Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias represents consequentialism and Rorschach (Mr. Black and White) represents deontology. In the MCU, Tony seems to represent the consequentialist perspective while Steve represents the deontologist; this is especially clear in IW with all that “we don’t trade lives” stuff (which I’ll have to discuss in more detail later). I myself don’t come down on either side all the time; I think it depends on the scale of decision-making. When you’re in a position of authority over large numbers of people, you’re going to have to make some consequentialist calculations; but in small-scale interpersonal interactions, you should operate like a deontologist. Tony thinks on the large scale and in the long term; Steve treats everything like an interpersonal interaction. But even on the large scale, there are times when consequentialist calculations lead to (what seem to us like) horrific conclusions. Tony has a human moral compass that allows him to avoid those; Ultron represents Tony’s consequentialist instincts writ large, with no human emotions to keep them in check. But there’s another question here: are our emotions a moral correcting mechanism, or do they impair our judgment? Would machines actually be better moral reasoners than human beings?

Ultron’s conclusion also raises a couple of interesting issues from a specifically Nietzschean perspective: one (meta)ethical and one metaphysical. (I’m not sure whether it’s a coincidence that Ultron quotes Nietzsche: “Like the man said, ‘Whatever doesn’t kill me only makes me stronger.’”) The (meta)ethical issue (I’m calling it that because it doesn’t fit cleanly into either normative ethics or metaethics as practiced in contemporary philosophy, which is clearly a limitation of contemporary philosophy) is the one that motivates Nietzsche’s main philosophical project: If the (Christian-descended) morality of compassion and altruism -- a morality that says that suffering and domination are the most terrible things, constituting an argument against the existence of anything that perpetuates them -- leads us to the conclusion that humanity, or life in general, ought not to exist, then why should we buy into the morality of compassion? One man’s modus ponens is another man’s modus tollens -- which, in English, translates to: one person who sees that a set of premises leads to a conclusion will just accept the conclusion; but another, finding the conclusion unacceptable, will instead reject one of the premises. Ultron, it seems, does not know how to reject the premise of the morality of compassion -- and that is almost certainly because it’s part of what Tony and Bruce programmed into him. His purpose was to protect human beings from suffering and domination by preventing alien invasion; the assumption that violence, war, and conquest are bad is fundamental to his very existence. Put in the facts of human history -- which make the prospects for an end to these things seem very dim -- and consequentialist reasoning rules, and you get the conclusion he in fact comes to.

Vision seems to express a quasi-Nietzschean attitude in his conversation with Ultron toward the end: “Humans are odd. They think order and chaos are somehow opposites, and try to control what won’t be. But there is grace in their failings. ... A thing isn’t beautiful because it lasts.” It’s interesting to me that Vision uses aesthetic terms in defense of humanity rather than moral ones. That’s another theme you find throughout Nietzsche’s writings. In The Birth of Tragedy (1872) he claims (under the influence of Wagner), “it is only as an aesthetic phenomenon that existence and the world are eternally justified”; by The Gay Science (1882), he has retreated to “As an aesthetic phenomenon existence is still bearable for us.” The world is not and cannot be good by the standards of the morality of compassion; suffering and exploitation are woven into its very fabric. The same is very likely true of humanity (and Nietzsche also thinks we wouldn’t like the result if humanity ever became entirely “good” in that sense...). If we judge them only by the standards of morality, they will always fall short; we must conclude that they are, on the whole, bad things, things that should not be. But humanity and existence can still be aesthetically interesting, even beautiful, in their mix of good and evil, smart and stupid, order and chaos.

The metaphysical question is: in what sense does the replacement of carbon-based human animals by robots count as an “evolution” of humanity rather than simply its extinction and the ascendance of something completely different? The movie encourages us to think about inheritance and legacy in nonstandard ways, most obviously by framing Ultron as Tony’s “child”: Ultron has learned some things from Tony and inherited some things from him via programming -- and we are now accustomed to thinking of genetics as a kind of natural “programming.” Tony even calls Ultron “Junior” and says “You’re going to break your old man’s heart.” By extension, then, AI is the “child” of humanity in general, its “brainchild” -- an expression that reflects how common procreation and childbirth metaphors are in talk of intellectual creativity (that’s all over the place in Nietzsche’s writing, btw). But the extreme difference between biological humanity and its AI “descendants” highlights a distinctively Nietzschean theme: the idea that success, for a species, is not a matter of its persistence in the same form, but of its “self-overcoming” (that’s an ideal that comes up a lot, for individuals as well as cultures and species). Often this means that the majority will have to perish, while only an unusual few survive: the mutants, the evolutionary vanguard (LOL, there’s another Marvel franchise...), the ones who are better adapted to changing conditions rather than the old environment that the species had previously been adapted for. The successor species might look very different from its progenitor species, even unrecognizable, but the former is still the legacy of the latter. What’s important is the survival of a lineage rather than the persistence of a type.

#avengers infinity war spoilers #infinity war spoilers #infinity war discussion #thanos in infinity war #thanos #ultron #thanos vs. ultron #thanos and ultron #avengers age of ultron #age of ultron discussion #age of ultron #aou #nietzsche #mcu #consequentialism vs. deontology #consequentialism #deontology

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rhaenyra--targarvyen · 6 years

Text

Pizza

A (belated) birthday gift for @the-crazy-lemonade-lady ! Sorry it’s late!

Inspired by a post I saw a couple days ago that I just couldn’t not write a full fic for...

Peter hasn’t seen a mess this large since that unfortunate day in chemistry last year where Marcus Stone (accidentally) almost blew up half the lab.

Of course, it’s awesome too. Every superhero he’s grown up aspiring to be like, raised on stories of their bravery and self sacrifice in the face of impossible odds, are all in one place. Not fighting each other. And Wakanda is amazing. So he’s not exactly surprised that things are so crazy, but really-it’s just pizza toppings.

Tomorrow they all go their separate ways to fight Thanos (or, as Mr. Stark likes to call him, the giant space grape) but for tonight they feast like champions. Apparently, that means the best pizza that Wakanda has to offer.

“Spider-Man, give us a headcount,” Mr. Stark says, and Peter complies: there’s Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, Hawkeye, and Dr. Banner, along with the New Avengers War Machine, Falcon, Vision, and Scarlet Witch. There’s the Winter Soldier-or the White Wolf, now. There’s Doctor Strange. There are the ‘good’ aliens: Other Peter, Gamora, Drax, Mantis, the talking raccoon, and the talking tree. And then there’s King T’Challa and Princess Shuri and a bunch of the Dora Milaje who are watching the chaos and trying not to look entertained. “How many pizzas are we going to need?”

Peter is pretty sure that a few of them could eat a pizza or two on their own. “We have twenty. Do we want leftovers?”

“Yes,” Shuri pipes up.

“So...thirty?”

Other Peter is talking about how he hasn’t had real pizza in twenty years. Apparently they don’t have it in space. Poor aliens-they’re really missing out.

“Better make it forty.” Tony jots this down. “You never know when pizza is going to come in handy.” He raises his voice so he can be heard above the general clamor of introductions and half joking arguments. “What does everyone want for toppings?”

There’s no (definable) response: either no one hears him or no one cares.

Tony gestures towards the fray. “Do some mingling, Spiderling. Introduce yourself while you’re at it.” Of course. Because Peter’s only here to be the errand boy. He had to fight hard to even let Tony allow him to go to space. He hates to see all that effort go to waste now.

Okay Peter, he thinks as he approaches the first knot of people: Captain America, Dr. Banner, War Machine, and Black Widow. Be cool. Still, his voice squeaks a little bit when he says “Mr. Stark wants to know what toppings you want on your pizza.”

Dr Banner raises his eyebrows. “When Tony said he hired a kid I didn’t realize he actually meant-”

“I’m going to be eighteen in October.” But he’s used to the jabs about his age-another reason why he’s glad he’s not an actual Avenger. The jokes would be unbearable.

Black Widow rolls her eyes. “He’s a good fighter. And we need all the help we can get.” He feels himself stand a little bit straighter, buoyed by sudden praise. “Black olives.”

“Half cheese, half pepperoni and sausage.” Dr. Banner shakes his hand. “Nice to meet you-”

“Peter. I’m Peter. It’s good to see you, Dr. Banner. Although I’m glad you’re not a giant green rage monster.”

He laughs. “Call me Bruce. And I’m glad too, Peter.”

Captain America wants all sausage. “How’s Queens?”

“It’s...Queens.” He’s tempted to ask how is life being a wanted fugitive but he worries Cap might take that the wrong way and he would rather not have an Avenger pissed off at him, especially Captain America.

“I’ll take meat lover’s if they have it,” Colonel Rhodes says. “Tony should know that.” They nod at each other. Peter has been interning at the Avengers base for Tony the last couple of summers, so they see each other pretty often. It’s nice to see another familiar face, in the middle of all these super people.

He writes all of this down and says his goodbyes before he moves onto the next group: Thor and the aliens. “Do you guys want pizza?”

Thor nods very seriously. “I would like all the toppings on my pizza.”

The raccoon swears. “You can’t be serious. That’s disgusting.”

Gamora rolls her eyes. “Leave him alone, Rocket.” She turns to look at Peter and he realizes offhandedly that she’s kind of hot, green skin and all. “Pepperoni and black olives.”

Other Peter looks like a little kid at Christmas. “Half pepperoni, half canadian bacon. That’s what I always used to get when I was a kid.” He looks at Peter in confusion. “Aren’t you kind of young to be an Avenger?”

“Yeah. I’m not, actually. Technically. I got an offer, but I turned it down. I’m a friend of Mr. Stark’s.” He gets the feeling they’ve already stopped listening.

“I hear you’re going to space with us,” the talking raccoon says. “How long can you hold your breath?”

Other Peter steps on his foot. “Rocket, be nice.”

“It’s a fair question-”

“Just order your pizza toppings.”

“Pineapple.”

“That’s gross, no one gets pineapple on their pizza-”

The raccoon responds with a series of words that Peter is pretty sure he’s not allowed to repeat, so he moves on to the other three aliens instead.

“What is this ‘pizza’?” Drax says, looking like he wants to break Peter’s spine. Or maybe that’s just his normal expression.

Peter is just panicking over how to explain pizza to an alien when Mantis says “It’s like...a pie, except instead of chocolate and whipped cream it’s sauce and toppings.”

Drax still looks confused but Other Peter seems to realize what’s going on so he says “Just order a couple cheeses and a couple pepperonis. We’ll figure it out.”

Peter goes to the talking tree next, who’s playing Angry Birds on a cell phone that looks like it saw its heyday ten years ago. “I am Groot,” he says, without looking up.

“Hi Groot. I’m Peter. Do you want-”

“I am Groot,” the tree says a little louder in a tone that Peter knows well: shut up I’m trying to concentrate.

In the spot next to Groot’s name Peter writes I am Groot. Tony can figure that out.

Falcon and the Winter Soldier are arm wrestling and they don’t look happy to see Peter. They both place insanely complicated orders: one eighth black olives (“No wait,” White Wolf says, “make them green”), pineapple, canadian bacon, sausage, buffalo if they have it, and then Falcon orders a dessert pizza.

“What’s that?” Peter asks.

Falcon narrows his eyes. “You don’t know what a dessert pizza is? You haven’t lived.”

He writes that down too, with two question marks after it. Maybe it’s an Avengers thing. Maybe there are team perks that he doesn’t know about.

He accidentally walks in on Scarlet Witch and Vision making out in a side hallway so he backs away slowly and doesn’t write anything down for them. He’s going to have to watch a lot of b-99 to get that image out of his head. Not that he’s against it or doesn’t ship it or whatever but...he was not prepared.

Hawkeye is talking with the royals. He barely even notices Peter when he says “Canadian bacon.”

The King is a little bit nicer. “I would like pepperoni and antelope meat, if possible. And order several more for the Dora Milaje if you could. They would like some but are too polite to say so.”

He scribbles that down. “Thank you for letting us stay at your palace, your highness. It’s...nice.” Which is the understatement of the century, but words aren’t his strong suit.

Shuri doesn’t look up from her tablet. “I’d like what my brother has.” She smiles at him. “I’m almost finished with the new updates to your suit.”

“Oh...um, you didn’t have to-”

“All of your tech is horribly outdated. Maybe in your country it helps you, but it won’t here. I took in the effect that zero gravity might have on it and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.” She grins at him and he can’t help grinning back even though he still isn’t quite sure how she accessed his suit when it’s hanging up in the closet in the guest room. He’s lucky; some people had to share.

He comes back to Tony with the finished list, exhausted. Tony finishes the phone call; from what Peter can hear of the other end, the pizza worker sounds vaguely terrified.

Tony raises his eyebrows as he scans the list. “What’s a dessert pizza?”

Peter shrugs. “I guess we’ll find out.”

With the Avengers, there’s never a dull moment.

So I played with the timeline a little bit so I could get all of them in Wakanda-hope it’s enjoyable anyway lol.

#fic #avengers #infinity war speculation

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decimusquartus · 7 years

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Thanos the Rad Titan - Can someone hotspot me?

Chapter 1 or ( Part One ) Chapter 2 or (Part Two) Chapter 3 or (Part Three) Chapter 4 or (Part Four)

Chapter 5 or here

That’s me (and also here)

Here we go: Chapter 6 and it's down to making space-surfboards and personalising them. Also there's a sitcom idea about Thanos and Thanos but they're not there yet. Help a Titan out! With internet or superpowers. Everything's acceptable

Chapter Six

I’ll tell you something: I know the basics of physics, and other than the 101s of engineering on combustion engines, I have nothing. But Thanos’s room of “Toys for playful and horrid death” (his title, I swear) has the stuff.

It’s big enough to rent it out as as a spaceship graveyard. And there actually are two shuttles, ripped apart, deconstructed to various points. This room is so big, there is enough space for an army to dress up and go around doing drills. This room is so big… it’s so big… hell, it’s so big it makes Thanos look small.

‘So, are we goin’ to be makin’ the hover-skate-surfboards here?’

‘Yes, but let’s start with you backing up for a second. It would be a shame to dismembered and die, before you had that wish of yours,’ he muses with grim cheeriness.

My jaw drops loud enough to make a sound in space. ‘You mean you can actually express something else than contempt, malice and scathing bile on everything that crawls? Colour me impressed.’

Thanos growls past me with a look of controlled exhaustion. ‘Follow me.’

We proceed by cutting the boards to our size. I must tell you, if it weren’t for my telekinetic precision, I’d definitely chopped something off.

‘So, the way you described it, we are going to need a complex fusion of stabilising technology and sufficient thruster engines,’ Thanos rants keeping his faraway eyes in the deep end of the room.

‘Yeah sure. What you said. How are we gonna do this?’

‘I shall send the drones to get the majority of the components and pieces necessary so we can assemble that joyride vehicles of yours.’

‘Well, good luck with that,’ I say, whipping out my phone. ‘You know if I can get any reception here? You have wi-fi? Data? Can you hotspot me?’

‘Are you not going to be the one to construct your own board?’ His body shits enigmatically in a small turn.

‘No. Of course not. I mean I can try, but chances are I’ll blow up a big hole somewhere in up here.’

He breathes out heavy and condescending. ‘How do you bear the name of Thanos and not excel in the sciences of your world and the cosmos?’

‘It ain’t that hard really. I’m more of a literature kind of guy. You know. Read. Ponder. Contemplate. Discover the nothing that is being in life, through the greatest works of the most inspiring minds of the world,’ I say overenthusiastically and sit on something that looks like a chair.

This time his eyes are prickling my skin, like he’s skewering me with them. Like he is trying to unravel what I’m thinking under there. Strangely there’s no hostility or malignance there. Only deep-rooted curiosity.

‘So, you believe in nothing and hold no hope for the meaning of life or existence?’ He chooses his words carefully and precisely. He has stopped tweaking and fiddling around.

‘Word. My friends and I from the university go around readin’, analysin’ and debatin’. Grouch please, I wanna snap a selfie.’ I take the picture with Thanos looking evil enough to shake the Green Goblin back to sanity.

‘And so far, I’ve decided that pretty much nothin’ matters, other than the nihilism that pervades everything.’

I keep taking photos and I'm telling you, I think I took one where Thanos is kinda smiling and I just can’t not consider this a win.

‘What’s the name of that institute of knowledge and how can I support it?’ Thanos growls as he turns his attention once more to my board.

‘I study the humanities. And I plan… No, kept plannin’ to continue my studies there. The funniest thing is how such a field takes away the will to live.’

Thanos keeps me busy talking and using my telekinesis passing him. To be candid it’s strangely fulfilling. Using my brain, my hands, my power all at the same time. Even though this all is such a novel experience, Thanos is apparently a master on physics, engineering and all these stuff, so he puts the intricate design together in no time.

Despite the momentary satisfaction, this task still poses some kind of a challenge in the whole. So, testing the capabilities, the limits and the survivability of the boards does take some time.

‘This is simply wasteful. Why would you be interested in this hobby anyway?’ He spits out the word thick with condescendence.

‘It’s a decent workout,’ I say, playing pilot in a dilapidated cockpit. I’m even making the laser-cannon sounds. Which technically shouldn’t be there. But you can’t take this away from me. ‘It’s also helped a lot gettin’ around the finer, less obvious applications of my powers.’

I cannot shake this energised vibe I am getting. By now, I’m more than well in terms with the fact that there’s no getting out. I can’t pilot and have no idea how to contact the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy or even order some inter-galactic junk food which I must have, as a food-lover.

So, I’m going to try and be more open to whatever’s happening. I mean sure I might die in some hours, days or whatever but damnit I’m in space and about to go thrashin’ and surfin’ around with Thanos. I'm feelin' it the charnel viewpoint that's broadening my perspective of life. Really gets the bantering going. But I'm still making the laser-cannon sounds.

‘Skateboardin’ is a mess of a skill. And if you’re a slacker like me, you’ll be wantin’ to be done with it, the easiest way possible.’ I shrug, feeling the old memories brushing all over me.

‘I used to get down 'cause it helped me get a grip on my powers. Keepin’ me on board, propellin’ me forward, doin’ all the flips and every now and then, maybe throw on of the jerks over their board, ‘cause they were pushin’ everyone out of the skatepark.’ I grin, recalling the very first days.

‘Ah, so it was some tenuous learning. Taxing but it paid out,’ Thanos suggests grandiosely.

‘What? Dude, no. I was doing it to be accepted. And I told you, it was a solid workout for body and mind.’

‘You truly are Thanos the Lesser Titan,’ he replied instantly.

‘God, I hope you never have children. They’ll end up hatin’ you for sure,’ I mumble under my breath, but Thanos’s sideways stabbing glance is a fair warning.

‘Try your board, whelp,’ he says hostilely, presenting me with the hovering piece of metal. It makes the humming sound of a vacuum cleaner and its motor and turbines are shooting off violet flames.

I step on it and keep my balance with some telekinetic support. Then I squint and one mental push later I’m slowly flying around, feeling out the weight. Which is non-existent. It’s like there is a stable cloud, right under my feet.

Or should I say nebula, to be in context?

I wink at Thanos, who proceeds with activating his own board. Still, there’s some heaviness marking his face.

‘Go on. Step on it,’ I encourage him, bringing my board right next to his. He doesn't move. His frown deepens and there is constant shifting of his weight.

‘Alright. I’m not sayin’ you’re afraid or whatever. But the sooner you try it, the sooner you’ll kill me.’ I wrap my argument with a cheeky smile. It brings out all the exasperation he has for me. And it might be the weirdest thought occurring in the universe right now, but Thanos and Thanos would make a perfect duo for a sitcom.

‘Maybe we can get Medusa and Thor as recurring characters. Oh, and together we can take shots at Black Bolt and M.O.D.O.K.’

When I realise I’m talking out loud, I stop because Thanos falls off his board and lands gracelessly.

‘Boy, you’ll do anythin’ for this to be over and kill me, huh?’

‘Well I need some real satisfaction, don’t I?’ he shoots back with a killer’s smile.

‘Look, just step on it and I’ll provide the balance telekinetically. Worked for me. So, I'm sure I help a Titan out.’

I step in and keep him on the board but it’s one dreary task, even with my powers. But couple of hours later, he is crossing the workshop’s space like the purple light beam of death and getting-there-sass he is.

‘Maybe this vehicle has some recreational properties,’ he admits amused, as he tinkers with the engine.

‘Word. Maybe Thanos the Lesser is the real deal, huh?’

‘Not really,’ he shoots me down. ‘Let us get all the gear you need to survive out there and get one with the surfing and skating.’

Thanos takes me to chamber where he hands me a tiny box with incandescent lights. He straps it on me, instructing me how to turn it on. It’s going to encase me in a survival film, which will provide me with oxygen and keep my vitals stable. It’s also a gravity adjustor. I strap it on my pocket.

‘Are ready to go now?’ Thanos squabbles, looking out to the stretching and rolling space.

‘Look, Mauve Mayhem. I’ve got mad respect for you. You’re a stand-up guy. Even when you’re sitting. What? No laughter?’ I expect that the more I keep talking the more his line will keep getting deeper.

‘But I want you to let me add my personal touch to all this.’

‘Which is?’ Thanos asks wearily, with careful interest painting his eyes.

‘Well, first of all, appropriate threads,’ I start listing things. ‘Some speakers for the air-bubbles, on our boards.’

‘This is space, whelp. No one will be able to hear us, even if we play music,’ Thanos replies, dragging out the words extensively.

‘Still. Music is important. We need to get the full-rollin’ experience. Also, I need a fresh haircut. Can we meet in an hour? Two, tops? I need a way to get to my Spotify.’

His face grows more oblivious and confused by the words. It ends up expressionless, like the cosmos itself.

‘What is it with you and earthly music?’ Thanos grinds his teeth, giving an idea of the sound of dying patience.

I guess everything must be dying when it comes to Big T.

‘Look, just lemme do this and I’ll make Purple Rain your main theme.’ I have to bite my tongue to hold back.

There’s some approval ebbing down his face and he takes me to a room full of speakers and other stuff.

‘One hour, whelp. Ask anyone of my stuff for whatever paraphernalia you will be requiring.’ Before he goes out he gives me a glance over his shoulder. ‘After I’ve seen what you’re wearing, I might consider putting on something… of matching fashion.’

Alright, hearing this makes me smile brighter than any cheap, witty shot I’ve taken at him all day.

Still, how am I gonna get internet up in here?

#thanos #Thanos the mad titan #marvel #marvel fanfiction #marvel fandom #the mad titan #the rad titan

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ninetyfivepercentdantomasik · 7 years

Text

Captain America: Civil War

Had a great time, an absolutely amazing time at this film. All started at movie theater I used to frequent in college. Was in the area, decided to stop by and check out Civil War. At the door, saw a family coming up behind me, held the door for all of them. Basic good manners. Chatted with them while in line to get tickets, talked about Kevin Hart’s new movie, shared some thoughts and opinions. Got tickets, went to theater, wouldn’t you know it, they were there for the same movie. Sat with them. They shared snacks and we all went crazy for Black Panther every time he came on screen. Movie was awesome, just perfectly done and realized for all the stuff it had to do, including a twist that actually shocked me.

Even more amazing, I switched sides from the start of the film to the end. Going in, I was Team Captain America, freedom all the way! Now, I’m actually Team Iron Man, Team Tony Stark. I love the Cap, but he just can’t keep acting like he can resolve everything. That he can always save the day. Thanos is coming, the Cap is outclassed and he doesn’t even know it yet. Tony is the one looking to the future, he’s the one looking at all the pieces, not just one or two.

Here’s the movie that Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, tried and failed miserably to be. This is how it’s done. Every example of failure in Dawn of Justice is shown the right way in Civil War.

Superhero military operation that goes wrong

Introducing new characters

Enigmatic human villain playing two heroes against each other

Hero vs Hero

Moral dilemmas

Character dilemmas

Freedom vs Responsibility

Idealism vs Real World

Fast, hard-hitting action throughout

Exciting chase scenes

Hero fights

Diversity

Setting up future films

Humor

Plot Twists

Betrayal

Hope

A big part of the reason I switched to Team Tony Stark is that we have a great return to form for the character. Lately, it seems we’ve been watching to see Robert Downey Jr. be Robert Downey Jr., with little actual development for the character. This movie brings us back to the Tony Stark from the first Iron Man. A man who believes himself to be on top of the world, until the collateral damage of his greatness comes before him. He may think he’s saving the world, but his heroics have a staggering body count, and it’s the realization that he still has so much to learn that humbles the man. Tony shut down the weapons sector of his company and made “being responsible” his new direction. That’s what he’s been trying to do, and he seemed to be doing it, with style. But he’s responsible for some of the worst threats the planet’s yet faced.

Associates who seek to use his technology for war (Obadiah Stane in Iron Man, Justin Hammer in Iron Man 2), inventors who seek to dethrone/destroy him (Ivan Vanko in Iron Man 2 and Aldrich Killian in Iron Man 3), and, most recently, a renegade defense program that tried to wipe out the planet (Ultron from Age of Ultron). For all the personal progress Tony’s made, the results haven’t changed much from his war monger days. And the worst is yet to come. That was startling for Tony to see. Perhaps scaling back, letting the Avengers take orders from a United Nations Organization, and focusing on making the world better is the best thing to do. His opening bit at MIT, funding every thesis, every project from his alma mater, these brightest young minds of their generation, that’s a good first step to real change.

Then there’s the Cap. I love Steve Rogers, I love his old-fashioned values that the world seems to have forgotten, but Steve can be a fool. Sometimes you can’t save everyone. He couldn’t save Bucky in WWII, and he may not be able to save him now. The Winter Soldier stands to destroy everything the Avengers have built, just because of what he is. Not Bucky personally, but the Winter Soldier Program was designed to be subservient. 11 words of Russian, that’s all it takes to make Bucky into a compliant soldier. It’s not something just anyone will be able to figure out and use, but it’s out there. As we see, those 11 words can make Bucky do anything, whether he wants to or not. Bucky can never have that freedom the Captain so highly values, he will always be the Soldier.

Also making great impact is the personal conflict of Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff. Since the events of Age of Ultron, we see her adapting to life as a covert op in the Avengers. She shows great promise, with her powers an extension of her capability, not her only move. The problem is while those powers can save, they can also harm. The movie does great work selling the damage that still lingers inside Wanda. Not a fear of weakness, but a fear of power she can never control. With worldwide tensions centered on superhumans, Wanda Maximoff becomes an unwilling argument for locking them all in cages. People fear what they don’t understand. As much as the other Avengers want to protect her, they also want to protect the people. Wanda played no small part in the Hulk’s rampage in Age of Ultron, she’s a foreigner, she’s a superhuman, and she’s a strong female figure. Can there be a more terrifying threat for some of the most powerful men in the world?

Now let’s talk some Black Panther. I’ve been dying to talk about Black Panther. Having only ever seen him as a supporting character with the Avengers, the exact extent of his abilities and power was never made clear. What areas he excels above others in, what deficiencies he has, what he can do, and who he is. We get all of that in about 15 minutes of movie. A beautiful setup with the Wakandan Prince speaking with Black Widow, as his proud father listens in. We get that important sense that T’Challa is a little unfamiliar in these kind of settings, preferring a warrior-like approach. That he still pushes for peaceful negotiation when he could go the way more suited for him shows personal growth in a character we’ve only just met. His father’s pride at seeing this new side of him tells us everything we need to know about T’Challa. But when a rogue superhuman assassin bombs the negotiations, killing the Wakandan King, we see the side of T’Challa that has always worked. Captain America was the Ultimate Soldier, the Winter Soldier is nearly his equal in some areas, and even his superior in others, and has operated unchallenged for decades. The Black Panther can keep up with both, be it in speed, strength, or fighting skill. With or without his suit. Black Panther is friggin’ amazing. Chadwick Boseman introduces us to Black Panther through actions, not words. A skilled warrior, a proud son, an insecure king, and an individual of conviction.

Also joining Tony’s team is another new(?) addition, our new Spiderman! It’d feel forced if the character didn’t fit so perfectly into Tony’s character. “With great power comes great responsibility”, maybe we’ve forgotten what those words mean. “When you can do the things that I can, but you don't, and then the bad things happen? They happen because of you.” Okay, little more wordy, but trust me, the kid makes an impact as both Peter Parker and Spiderman. And I’m going to friggin’ love Marisa Tomei as Aunt May. There’s also the way he fits into the whole “Queens vs Brooklyn” bit with Steve Rogers, which provides a few hilarious moments. Each new trailer for Spiderman: Homecoming raises my hopes higher. God, Marvel just has their sh*t figured out! And I love it!

Now let’s talk some diversity, because here’s another model for other movies to follow. We have strong female characters, enhanced and human, Scarlet Witch, Black Widow, Sharon Carter. We have strong African-American characters; THREE FRIGGIN’ AFRICAN-AMERICAN HEROES. Falcon, War Machine, and the new badass known as Black Panther. We have a brief but powerful glance at an African-American female warrior, the member of Black Panther’s entourage who tells Black Widow to “move, or be moved” and sells it. I just keep getting more pumped for Black Panther. We have a kid in Peter Parker, we have a foreigner in Vision (Paul Bettany, a British android in a sweater and dress pants, can not stop laughing at how cool/funny that is), and we have a superhero fight that is primarily hand-to-hand combat. Out of all these heroes, here’s the breakdown:

CGI Suits

Iron Man, War Machine, Ant-Man

Super Humans

Scarlet Witch, Spiderman, Vision

Enhanced Humans

Captain America, Winter Soldier

Normal Humans

Hawkeye, Black Widow, Falcon, Black Panther

Most of this ultra mega-fight is stunt-based fight choreography. Not heat beam laser eyes, not knocking down buildings like cardboard, not giant CGI shockwaves that level cities, and generally not flying more than 50 feet off the ground. Managing all of the little fights going on into one massive team battle, supervising every element of each character, smoothly shifting from opponent to opponent; this is a masterpiece of action and choreography. From start to finish. Best of all is the limited use of CGI. We see Tony go in with Winter Soldier with nothing more than a portable Iron Glove he keeps in his watch (which, by the way, is awesome). Even the very last fight with Tony versus Captain America and Winter Soldier is still effectively a fist fight if we count Tony’s blasts like punches.

Basically, I guess what I’m saying is Captain America: Civil War is wall-to-wall awesome. Every character, every plot twist, every new introduction, every piece of character development, every detail of every scene is done thoughtfully and awesomely. I’d put this in the Top 3 Marvel films, with Iron Man and Avengers. Better than Age of Ultron, better than Winter Soldier, and I can keep going on.

#marvel civil war #civil war #marvel #captain america #iron man #scarlet witch #black panther #greatest marvel movie yet it could be #team iron man #winter soldier #so much awesome #can't get enough #too much awesome to fit in one review

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