Echoes of the Multiverse

Batgirl III wrote: ↑Thu May 03, 2018 2:42 pm The nice thing about the Thanos/Hulk fight is that Thanos doesn’t overpower Hulk, he out fights him. Thanos is using boxing techniques, good footwork, and application of leverage. Hulk smash. Strength-wise they appear to be on par, with Hulk maybe even having the edge, but Thanos is trained and controlled.

Personally, I really liked the consequences. It really looks like Hulk is afraid of reappearing. It ties in nicely with the idea that he's very much a child (or a pre-adolescent based on Ragnarok).

BTW, I've found a really nice article about the fact that "killing half of the universe" was exactly Thanos's plan after Death brought him back one year before the Infinity Gauntlet event.

Possibly my favorite internet-thing related to the movie so far:

HA! Nice!

That does make me remember a conversation I had with my friends though. Assuming Hawkeye wasn't one of Thanos' victims, I think there's a very good chance that his wife and/or kids were victims. If so, I'll be really psyched to see Hawkeye on a warpath.

L-Space wrote: ↑Fri May 04, 2018 7:36 pm HA! Nice!

That does make me remember a conversation I had with my friends though. Assuming Hawkeye wasn't one of Thanos' victims, I think there's a very good chance that his wife and/or kids were victims. If so, I'll be really psyched to see Hawkeye on a warpath.

Personally I really hope so. I'm kind getting sick of memes about how useless Clint is.

...

Granted I usually counter with the fact that Clint actually saved the universe with just two tipless arrows and an old carny trick.

Woodclaw wrote: ↑Fri May 04, 2018 8:46 pm Personally I really hope so. I'm kind getting sick of memes about how useless Clint is.

...

Granted I usually counter with the fact that Clint actually saved the universe with just two tipless arrows and an old carny trick.

Same here. I've told a few people that if Clint had been involved Thanos would have lost. They usually laugh, and even though the movie would have ended same way no matter what, I still believe it. Never underestimate the archer, especially one as stubborn as Hawkeye.

I actually keep having this scene run through my head, that each time Thanos started to drop the Mind Stone into the Gauntlet, an arrow would streak out of the jungle knocking the Stone away. Over and over and over again .
Thanos: Stop that!
Hawkeye (hidden in the trees): Bite me, Barney!

I actually expected the similar, plus, after the arrow knocks the stone out of the gauntlet and it goes flying through the air it vanishes just as it is out reach of Thanos's outstretched hand.

Cut to Pietro, holding the gem, "Bet you didn't see that coming."

Time to recall the old quartet.

Cap's Kooky Quartet is still my favorite Avengers line-up.

Batgirl III wrote: ↑Fri May 04, 2018 11:31 pm Cap's Kooky Quartet is still my favorite Avengers line-up.

The acrobat, the speedster, the archer, and the girl who's more powerful than all of them....

Cap's kooky quartet? Or DC's Fab Four after Shafty replaced Gilhead?

Just got home after seeing the movie, and I loved it. Loved pretty much everything about it. Loved their presentation on Thanos, loved the action sequences, the banter, the dialogue, of seeing all of these characters on film interacting with each other, even if we never truly get to see everyone together at once (maybe next time). I loved how Dr. Strange actually fought like a wizard in this movie. I loved Cap not taking any of Ross' BS. I loved how the heroes came THIS CLOSE to victory. I loved how Starlord was actually willing to follow through on his promise to Gammora. I loved how Thanos' build up for ten years pays off, that he actually accomplishes what he set out to do, and I very much hope that the next few films will actually have to deal with the repercussions of the fact that Thanos just murdered half the universe.

Yeah, I figure it'll all get fixed in the next film, but for the time being, we've got actual consequences to deal with.

I'd say the weakest part of the movie was the Red Skull, who was brought back mainly to finally pay off where he's been all of this time and to act as exposition. There's no real reason given for how he knows what he knows, how he knows who Thanos is, or how he can suddenly float, but eh. I suppose it's too much to hope that he returns to Earth to resume villainy.

I'm also not a fan of them giving Thor his Ultimates Hammer and calling it Stormbreaker, but hopefully they'll get Thor his old hammer back. I have to imagine the next Infinity War film will have some combo of Thor, Cap and Tony using the gauntlet to fix the universe, possibly rebuild Asgard and bring back everyone who died.

My brothers and I all agreed that the Hulk is staying in Bruce because he's legit scared of Thanos. Thanos is the first person who really just completely trashed him in about a minute.

I also figure that Strange gave up the Gem to spare Tony because if they couldn't get the gauntlet off of Thanos, then Tony is crucial to that victory scenario he saw.

Overall I really enjoyed this movie, and felt it was an appropriate pay-off for the last 10 years.

Batgirl III wrote: ↑Thu May 03, 2018 2:42 pm The nice thing about the Thanos/Hulk fight is that Thanos doesn’t overpower Hulk, he out fights him. Thanos is using boxing techniques, good footwork, and application of leverage. Hulk smash. Strength-wise they appear to be on par, with Hulk maybe even having the edge, but Thanos is trained and controlled.

Thanos did seem to overpower the Hulk when they grappled, implying some degree of superior strength, but then cemented that not only was he at least marginally stronger, he was also a much better fighter. It's no wonder he was able to take out both Thor and the Hulk, given he's basically Thor's warrior skill combined with Hulk-like superior strength.

It was funny that Loki got to be the one to say "We have a Hulk", only for Thanos to just no-sell the Hulk.

I do wish Thanos would have kept the Armor and Headpiece on for more of the film, but eh.

Ares wrote: ↑Sun May 06, 2018 2:09 am I do wish Thanos would have kept the Armor and Headpiece on for more of the film, but eh.

I actually thought it was a nice touch that he discarded the armor after he acquired the second Infinity Gem. He had no need of its protection at that point, so why bother wearing it? Thanos was coldly pragmatic throughout the film, ditching the armor was in character.

I absolutely loved this movie, for reasons already well described here. Best Marvel movie yet. I thought I was done being excited about Marvel. I was wrong.

So now I'm going to pick a few nits.

1. Vision should have been able to beat Thanos. This version of Vision incorporates the Mind Stone. WHY THE ACTUAL FUCK is this entity, basically an extension of the Mind Stone, trying to fight with lasers? If you want your enemy to be somebody else, change their mind. In fact, there were very few ambitious, creative uses of the Infinity Stones by anybody in this movie, which seems like just a huge waste. Sure, some Plot Induced Stupidity is necessary to move the plot in the desired direction, but it makes you cringe when you spot it.

2. Shuri instantly pissed me off. "Oh, wow, this is some amazing technology you've got here. I've never seen anything like it before. Why didn't you set it up in this other, superior way? You, the experts, didn't think of it? I did immediately, of course. I know Science. All of it. I'm already in my early twenties, after all. So let's just plug your machine-person here into the equipment I have on hand that lets me restructure and reprogram the same synthetic neurons I'm obviously just now encountering for the first time. Why wouldn't I have this? All real Science buildings have one, obviously."

3. Drax finally meets Thanos. This should have been the moment where it's revealed that Drax, for all the comedy relief he's doing, is one of the few beings that Thanos legitimately fears. That didn't happen. At all. Drax remains an afterthought.

4. I'd really have liked a moment where the Hulk made Thanos work for it. The Power Stone would always win, but Thanos was clearly winning that fight at all times. A moment where the Hulk got a momentary upper hand, and Thanos looked somewhat bewildered at the fact that he really needed to try to overpower the Hulk, would have been great.

And that's it, basically.

Now, back to showing the film some love.

1. Best version of Thanos ever. Everything about him worked. Gave him some real characterization, real motivations, real pathos. Villains you can understand are the best villains. By extension, Gamorra and (to a lesser extent) Nebula really clicked as well. The inclusion of the Black Order - a much more recent set of characters - in a story as classic as Infinity War was interesting, handled well, and served to really unify the old and the new in a brilliant way.

2. Thor's segments were similarly awesome. Sometimes Marvel's entire Asgard thing irritates the crap out of me. The decision to shatter Mjolnir in Ragnarok hurts me. Thor-related writing, both in comics and in movies, can be kind of hit-and-miss, at best. This movie nailed it. Thor felt properly like a mythic hero.

3. Everyone's characterization in the previous movies was utilized perfectly. DC, take some freaking notes. This is how you do a giant event movie. Without the need to establish new characters, you have room for heartfelt, genuine dialogue and epic plot.