Lord Liaden Posted May 10, 2018 Report Share Posted May 10, 2018 Can we take a moment to appreciate how Tony Stark and Stephen Strange have stepped up their game in this movie? They've obviously been working to upgrade their tech and sorcery (respectively) since we last saw them, and are now nearly on par with their comic-book analogues. Strange's one-on-one duel with Thanos was a highlight of the film for me. TrickstaPriest, Armory, wcw43921 and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted May 10, 2018 Report Share Posted May 10, 2018 19 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said: Can we take a moment to appreciate how Tony Stark and Stephen Strange have stepped up their game in this movie? They've obviously been working to upgrade their tech and sorcery (respectively) since we last saw them, and are now nearly on par with their comic-book analogues. Strange's one-on-one duel with Thanos was a highlight of the film for me. Amen! When Doctor Strange went full on 70s Prog Rock ALbum cover, I cheered! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zslane Posted May 10, 2018 Report Share Posted May 10, 2018 Yeah, I definitely noticed that too. Thor also got another nice upgrade with the new hammer, to go along with his newly leveled-up powers from Thor: Ragnarok. I was also impressed with how effective Spider-Man's webbing was against Thanos. It was strong enough to tie up one of his arms pretty effectively (even before Mantis whammied him). Thanos had the strength to knock out the Hulk without breaking a sweat; anything that can bind up arm strength like that is pretty impressive. BTW, was it my imagination or was Wanda trying--and succeeding to a degree--to heal Vision after they were attacked in the first act? If so, I think that cements the notion that she works "magic" in much the same way Dr. Strange does, and not just wielding some form of telekinesis (her mental illusions in Age of Ultron also support this, I'd say). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted May 11, 2018 Report Share Posted May 11, 2018 death tribble and Old Man 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zslane Posted May 11, 2018 Report Share Posted May 11, 2018 He lost his sister too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlord Posted May 11, 2018 Report Share Posted May 11, 2018 ...and his best friends. ...and most importantly, his hair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattingly Posted May 11, 2018 Report Share Posted May 11, 2018 Armory, Old Man, death tribble and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted May 11, 2018 Report Share Posted May 11, 2018 Damn. That is so... Deadpool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted May 11, 2018 Report Share Posted May 11, 2018 My hammer is named Mike. Lucius Alexander The palindromedary says we also have a post named Emily Armory 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted May 12, 2018 Report Share Posted May 12, 2018 You named your "hammer"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza Posted May 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2018 Oh...the video... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zslane Posted May 12, 2018 Report Share Posted May 12, 2018 Yeah, well, Peter Parker would have died regardless of whether or not he'd come along with them to Titan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted May 12, 2018 Report Share Posted May 12, 2018 I doubt Tony is thinking of it that way right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zslane Posted May 12, 2018 Report Share Posted May 12, 2018 Tony has a savior complex. How he thinks of things is not how we should think of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted May 12, 2018 Report Share Posted May 12, 2018 Never said it should be. Human reactions to personal tragedy are rarely rational. That's what makes them dramatic. Bazza 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zslane Posted May 12, 2018 Report Share Posted May 12, 2018 The thing is, that video is supposed to hit us in the feels, but it presupposes we see some sort of honorable pathos in Tony feeling responsible for Peter's death (by not trying harder to keep him on Earth, I suppose). It doesn't work on me--really, it shouldn't work on anyone who doesn't also have a savior complex--because the whole "that's on me" b.s. is just an extension of Tony's massive ego, and not a poignant foreshadowing of tragic cause-and-effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattingly Posted May 12, 2018 Report Share Posted May 12, 2018 Great fan theory over on Reddit. Quote Watched IW for the 3rd time today and I realized that after Thanos obtains the soul stone, his entire demeanor changes. Even though Thanos needed the soul stone to complete his mission, I believe it ended up crippling him in the process. Before obtaining the stone, Thanos took lots of joy in killing and completing his mission. Ebony Maw telling Cull Obsidian to "let Thanos have his fun" when fighting the Hulk implies that this is a normal thing. Thanos loves overpowering and crushing his enemies. He looked incredibly happy killing Loki, smiled when torturing Thor, smiled while torturing Nebula, and took pride in beating the Hulk. Basically, he takes joy in killing anyone that isn't Gamora. Now, post soul stone, it seems his entire demeanor changes. I know he's sad from killing Gamora and Mantis reads his emotions and says he mourns, but I think theres more to it than that. Red Skull said the soul stone comes with knowledge, and since Red Skull knew of Thanos before he's ever met him, it's safe to assume that the soul stone forms a connection between all the living things in the universe and the wielder of the stone. Not only does it give you knowledge of everyone in the universe, I believe it also gives the wielder insights into the emotions and motivations of those he comes into contact with. Red Skull immediately knows that Thanos isn't crying because he can't complete his mission, but because he loves Gamora. He has barely interacted with Thanos and he already understands what he loves and why he mourns. This is the "curse of knowledge" both the Red Skull and Thanos talk about. Just knowing who everyone is in the universe isn't really a curse, but having to experience and understand their struggle, pain, and emotions is the curse. This is why the battle on Titan is so drawn out. We already saw on Knowhere that Thanos can completely manipulate reality around him, and he can instantly defeat anyone by using the reality stone. But he never once uses this power. Obviously you can say that he didn't instantly defeat everyone because that makes for a boring movie, but that's literally what he did for the first half of the movie. He completely destroys the Hulk in 5 seconds, drags Thor around like a rag doll, and just rolls up and takes Gamora like it's nothing. Even when he is able to close his fist, he unnecessarily prolongs the battle. I think the Russo brothers knew that there had to be a reason why Thanos doesn't just win instantly like he does in the first half of the movie.This is because he is crippled with empathy for the other characters. He still has the will to complete his mission, but his struggle on Titan isn't from fighting the Avengers, it's from fighting himself. Thanos previously had no qualms about killing people who stood in his way. He was perfectly fine with killing Thor and Loki. I think the entire sequence on the Asgard refugee ship would have played out different if Thanos had the soul stone and could read all the struggle and loss Thor has experienced. Why does he suddenly feel empathy for Tony and Cap but he feels no empathy for Thor? Now, onto the Wakanda battle. We saw that Thanos kind of struggles when he's pushing down Captain America. He's struggling because when he makes contact with Steve, he is now feeling all of Steve's desperation. Thanos should be in a hurry, he sees the mind stone being destroyed. If you rewatch the movie, it actually looks like Thanos is holding back tears when fighting Steve. He has the exact same facial expression as when he is dragging Gamora off the cliff. He sees everything Captain America has been through in an instant. The next person he struggles against is Wanda, who is probably feeling the most grief out of anyone he has encountered yet. He could just close his fist and disable her like he did to Drax, but he can't bring himself to do it. He isn't struggling because Wanda is powerful, since he has 5 goddamn infinity stones at this point. He's struggling again because her grief is the same grief he feels when he has to kill Gamora. They both had to kill loved ones to complete their mission. He can't bring himself to easily overpower her because he's again reminded of Gamora. Now, the last piece of evidence. After the snap, he looks around confused and dazed. I think he can actually feel the connection to half the souls in the universe being severed at once. Now, how does this tie into Avengers 4? Maybe Thanos refuses to wear the gauntlet because all he can feel whenever he puts it on is the overwhelming grief of everyone in the universe after having lost their loved ones. He begins to doubt his mission, and to stop himself from bringing everyone back, he won't put on the gauntlet anymore because it's too much to handle. It's the classic part of the heroes arc where the hero begins to doubt himself and what he's fighting for. Infinity War has always been following the arc of Thanos. I really don't want Avengers 4 to just be a rehash of the battle on Titan but with more heroes. It would be extremely disappointing if Avengers 4 was Infinity war but this time the Avengers overpower Thanos. I think it would be a more powerful statement for the avengers to stumble upon Thanos and just finding a broken, hollow man. Maybe the final confrontation happens in Avengers 4 and Thanos is forced to put on the gauntlet in the latter half of the battle, but it's too much for him to handle. No matter what the Avengers throw at him, he is easily defeating them, but the entire time we see him being overwhelmed by all the sorrow he feels when he wields the gauntlet. Maybe the Russo brothers would constantly have him being pulled into the soul stone world where he is haunted by the people he killed. So he shatters the gauntlet, killing himself in the process, and separating the infinity stones believing that no one can safely undo the snap without him. Thanos' arc is over, and instead of just being defeated, he has become the ultimate hero in his own arc and sacrifices his own life for what he believes to be universal salvation. This completes his arc and shows that even though his viewpoint was flawed, it was completely selfless. He truely believed that what he was doing was right and he is forced to kill himself to ensure the snap stays permanent. He worries his will is not strong enough to resist the temptation of undoing the snap for the rest of his life, so in a final heroic act of selflessness, he kills himself, believing it is the only way. This also ties into the fact that he said "I was the only one with the will to do what is necessary". He always believed the culling of the population should be dispassionate, but it is literally impossible now that he has to bear the burden of all the sorrow in the universe. Then we have one of the heroes, maybe Captain America or Iron man, wield the soul stone by themselves and trade their lives for the people who died. This offers a kind of parallel between Thanos and our heroes. Maybe Captain America sacrifices himself and we get a sad reminder of how Cap was originally willing to lay down his life in World War 2. Maybe his life flashes before his eyes and the last thing he sees is Peggy reaching out to him. Maybe Iron Man sacrifices himself and we get a reverse IW situation where spiderman holds Tony as he dies. But this time it's not hopeless, but bittersweet. The Russo brothers did a great job of making Thanos perhaps one of the most empathetic villains in the MCU, so I really don't think they'll go the "ultron route" and have the avengers defeat Thanos by shooting different energy beams at him (god, still feel upset by that ultron ending). They want the audience to feel conflicted about the defeat of Thanos. They see a character who sacrificed the only person he loved in the world and also killing himself, only to have his life mission undone. Obviously most of the audience will root for the avengers, but I think ending this arc on a bittersweet tone really will separate this movie from others. TL;DR Sad Purple Grape man gains the power of mega empathy and basically ends up defeating himself. Bazza, Armory and death tribble 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grailknight Posted May 13, 2018 Report Share Posted May 13, 2018 Just like the original comics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlord Posted May 13, 2018 Report Share Posted May 13, 2018 Bah, this is all about greed for Thanos. Kill off everyone guaranteed for a huge sequel - the GotG, Dr. Strange, new Spider-Man, and Black Panther. Disney stock plummets, Thanos buys all Disney stock cheap and then revive your cash cows. Perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza Posted May 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2018 11 hours ago, mattingly said: Great fan theory over on Reddit. Reveal hidden contents Makes me want to finish mine. Hopefully by end of next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattingly Posted May 13, 2018 Report Share Posted May 13, 2018 Bucky dropped his gun when he dusted. Why did his cyber-arm dust with him? Shouldn't it have fallen to the ground? Christopher R Taylor 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted May 13, 2018 Report Share Posted May 13, 2018 It had become a part of his morphic field. Bazza 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted May 13, 2018 Report Share Posted May 13, 2018 It's neater this way. Otherwise you have to get into the status of clothing. This is Disney after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zslane Posted May 14, 2018 Report Share Posted May 14, 2018 Yeah, but it would have brightened Rocket's day just a little... Armory and massey 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza Posted May 14, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2018 Avengers trifecta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.