By Ronald N. Guy Jr.
The view from the bleachers is melancholy, but
satisfied. It is also hopeful that the sheer
majesty, and both the regretful but exhilarating feeling manufactured by this
climatic event, didn’t blur or diminish the great end to the most spectacular superhero
experience – ever.
With the spoiler prohibition now lifted discussing “Avengers:
End Game” is fair game. Although, if you
are still clinging to ignorance, worry not – this is more about what we mere
mortals can take from this departing franchise than any particular “End Game” scene. Oh, and it has nothing to do with traditional
sports.
I have come to appreciate my generation, the
relatively small and overlooked Gen-X, for this fact: We will be the last
generation to remember a pre-internet/information age and were its first
navigators. That said, the humble comic
book was my introduction to superheroes.
It was a good day when I could talk my folks into buying me a pack of
Topps baseball cards and a comic book from the old High’s store in
Leonardtown. I vividly recall the
anticipation while holding a new comic in my hands. What overwhelming challenge would the hero
defeat? How would the world…or the
universe…be saved? Beautiful
artwork. Suspenseful storyline. Humanity’s fate in the balance. All of it for just 35-cents.
That probably sounds antiquated (or altogether lame) to
today’s kids, who have grown up on adrenaline-inducing blockbuster superhero movies. It’s a fair assessment, but I’m still glad to
have a connection to comic books, for that is how superheroes first captured
our imagination.
I am equally grateful for the technology that has
enabled comic book heroes and villains to properly transition to the big
screen. That technology brought the
Marvel Cinematic Universe to life - and what a ride it has been. Starting with “Iron Man” in 2008 and now culminating
with “End Game” in 2019, Marvel has taken us on a decade-plus, 20-ish film
adventure that would have been unimaginable to my 10-year-old self while
flipping through an early 80s Spider-Man comic.
Now the future is uncertain. More movies will be made, of course, and the
franchise and the remaining characters will evolve. But this run by Marvel, and the Avengers
movies in particular, was a cultural apex for comics and superheroes that will
be difficult to repeat. The coalescence
of heroes allowed for complex storylines, seemingly omnipotent forces of evil
and I-can’t-get-enough-of-this, keep-you-coming-back-for-more battles – and the
big screen was the big stage it all needed.
Even I’ll admit that a modest comic book would never have done it
justice.
Beyond the struggles between good and evil (a
predictable plot), what Avengers always got right, and what should be its
lasting legacy, is the power of collaboration.
It took a lot for all these powerful characters to coexist and adopt a
common cause. I would imagine (because
that’s all I can do), that if you can fly, possess great strength or are
legitimately a god, it’s hard to check your ego and operate within a team
structure.
The Avengers story line always included that struggle
and, ultimately, their collective realization – sometimes at the passionate
urging Nick Fury - that they were far more powerful united than separated. The diversity of the heroes - in skill-set,
background, generation, nationality, race and gender (and even life-form) - was
certainly no mistake either. The immediate
message: No one is strong enough, not even Thor or Hulk, no one is smart
enough, not Tony Stark or Shuri, and no gender or race is singularly adequate
to defeat the challenges ahead. The
lasting message for the mere mortals: We all need each other.
The choice Avengers leaves us with is simple, yet
enormous. It is a question for all humanity. Are we going to do this together? Are we going to unite and solve global issues
like climate change and national issues like income disparity, racism, sexism,
homophobia and gun violence? Or will we
close ranks and cordon off society based on petty differences? If we choose the latter, a “Thanos” of some
sort will ultimately win our end game, for unlike the comics, real life doesn’t
guarantee a happy ending.
No comments:
Post a Comment