Avengers: Infinity War – Spoiler Edition

Yep – all the spoilers today.  If you haven’t see it and don’t want to know, get out now.

Obviously, some huge stuff goes down in Infinity War, and the events of the film take their toll on the characters, not all of whom (scratch that – many of whom) don’t come out the other side.  Going in, I kept reminding myself that, with the Infinity Stones, there’s the potential for anyone who was killed to be brought back, and having seen the movie, I’m entirely convinced that the majority of these deaths will get undone.  Even before we get into the specific heroes that are killed – when Thanos gets all six stones, he kills half the universe.  No way that’s becoming the new status quo.

I subscribe to the theory that everyone who gets dusted at the end is coming back, but anyone who died earlier is less likely.  I feel like Loki and Heimdall are probably gone for good.  At least a few of the deaths from the movie are going to have to stick if any of them are going to matter, and they seem the surest candidates.  Loki has brought a lot to the MCU, and I’ll miss him – and man, that death scene is brutal – but if he’s not coming back, I’m at least glad that his final moments are good.  In the end, he doesn’t betray Thor and stands up to Thanos.

I’ve heard theories that, when Thanos sacrifices Gamora to gain the Soul Stone, her spirit is trapped inside the stone, leaving room for a possible resurrection.  I certainly wouldn’t want to lose Gamora from the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, and goodness knows this is the death that frustrates me the most.  While the circumstances of it are devastating – Gamora is so sure that Thanos is thwarted because he doesn’t have anyone he loves – she still gets fridged for the sake of two guys, including the one that kills her in the first place, and Gamora deserves better than that.  At the same time, to go through all that and then bring her back?  I’m not sure if they’ll do it, and whether it’ll work when they do.

Vision is the last of the pre-snap deaths.  It’s the one that I think is done the best, but it’s also the non-dusting death that has the best chance of being undone, so it might not stick.  The film is full of people giving up Infinity Stones because Thanos threatens someone important to them (Loki, Gamora, Doctor Strange,) and they nearly go that way with Wanda and Vision as well.  Even though Vision would sooner have the Mind Stone destroyed, destroying himself in the process, than risk Thanos getting it, everyone spends most of the movie adamant that they won’t do that.  But when they’re backed into a corner with no other option, Vision goes to his end with grace, reassuring Wanda that it’s all right, that she could never hurt him.  Is he gone for good?  It’s hard to say – it’s a fitting sacrifice, but since Vision is a machine, he much more “fixable” than a dead human, especially with Shuri on the case.

That leaves us with those dusted by the Infinity Gauntlet.  Again, these people are definitely coming back.  1)  Half the universe, remember?  That has to get undone.  2)  No way we’re losing these particular heroes for good.  I mean, most of the Guardians?  T’Challa?  Spider-Man?  Even if these guys hadn’t already had sequels announced, there’s no way Marvel’s letting go of that Black Panther money, and they’re not gonna throw Spidey away when they finally got their hands on his film rights.  Ergo, no real suspense.

But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t heartbreaking to watch.  Actually, because of those upcoming sequels, I went into the film with most of those heroes in my “safe” pile – I was much more worried about the original Avengers (which in retrospect is dumb, since they’d be much more likely to bite it in the fourth movie,) and they were the ones I steeled myself to lose.  Instead, I was blindsided with the deaths of these characters, and even if they’re all coming back, that logic didn’t help me in the moment.  Steve losing Bucky again, T’Challa fading as he reaches out to help Okoye, the Guardians turning to dust one by one until only Rocket is left, Wanda welcoming oblivion, no one even seeing Sam go, Doctor Strangee insisting this was the only way…

And poor Peter Parker.  Full disclosure, I was in no way ready to see Spider-Man die.  This is when I started crying, as Peter’s spider-sense kicks in and he realizes what’s happening to him, and then he’s just a scared kid crying in Tony’s arms, begging not to go.  Wrecked me.  Bring on next year already, so the original Avengers (and Captain Marvel!) can save him and all the others.