Hey, writers. So, it’s Monday night. I hope you’ve all seen Avengers Infinity War because today I’m going to discuss with it tons of spoilers. Let’s get to it.

Hit the jump, writers, and let’s discuss.

First thing’s first. The part where Vision is being stepped on and the stone is being ripped from his head. Or the scene where he’s with Wanda. Or the scene where he’s with “fighting” with the bad guys.

I wanted more Vision. I wanted the guy who “can’t miss” and could phase through matter. It wasn’t a very good showing of Vision.

Anyway.

Needed to make sure that the stuff before the jump didn’t ruin anything for the people who hadn’t seen the movie yet. So, let’s get to it.

Ten years of movies

When Avengers one came out, I asked my friends if the movie would have had the same effect if we didn’t get all the stuff before it. (IIRC, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger).

For instance, what if we just met Black Widow and Hulk for the first time when we go from her tied up in a chair to the “talk” they had where Banner was hiding. Would that have been the same?

I believe that chunks of the movie would have held up quite well. However, it would not have been the same.

A good friend of mine had a solid point: If we didn’t have the previous movies, the death of Agent Coulson would not have been the same. I could only agree. I really cared for Agent Coulson.

I mention all that because I asked myself the same question going into Infinity War. Given the ridiculous number of characters in AIW, I knew I already knew the answer but I ran the exercise in my head anyway.

Honestly, aside from my friends who are comic book nerds and people who diligently watched all the movies, I wonder how many times the average movie-goer said, “Um…who’s that?” whenever a new face appeared on the screen.

For instance, the Iron Spider is something that I’ve read about in the comics. I really enjoyed seeing it on screen. Did the “average” person just think to themselves, “Oh cool. New armor. Meh.”

Specifically, writers, there was a scene that “took me out of the moment.” The part when Thanos and Gamora go to retrieve the Soul Stone. There’s a voice talking and I remember thinking, “Who is this? Why does that voice sound familiar?”

Then it hits me. Oh wow, that’s Red Skull.

So…um…what the–…what the heck was Red Skull doing there? Did I miss something? I’m something of a completionist and I’m pretty sure I’ve seen everything in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe).

If you can explain it to me, please do.

Scalpel please

Alright, writers, let’s talk about that scene a bit more. My gut reaction is to rip Red Skull out of the scene. It made no sense to me and I can’t explain what he was doing there. There was no explanation. Being totally honest here, I do not remember the transition that brought him to this place.

Keep in mind, there’s spots in the movie where we see people meeting for the first time.

Groot: I am Groot.
Captain America: I am Steve Rogers.

That wasn’t the only one either. There’s that part where Thor says, “Who the hell are you guys?” to the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Anyway. Let’s say that I forgot how Red Skull got there (which, to be honest, just feels more likely than the alternative).

From a writer’s perspective, why was he there? Well, both Thanos and Gamora didn’t seem to quite know what was happening on Vormir. Naturally, like when normal humans go to a new location, they benefit from a tour guide. So, it makes sense to place a “tour guide” here though I would ask why Red Skull instead of someone else, but I disgress.

Not having a tour guide there would have been worse. In a movie that was already quite long, a scene or even two lines of dialogue resembling confusion like “Where are we?” and “What if we need a sacrifice? You think? Really? Nah…”

All of that would have been really awkward.

It reminded me of the battle between Sasuke and Itachi where the brothers are using their powers. Zetsu was there. Given the confusion of fighting in the real world as well as in the world of two pairs of Uchiha eyes, that entire scene would have been incredibly confusing. The reader/viewer benefits from the inclusion of a “tour guide.”

Zetsu, just as Red Skull, is there out of necessity and it’s weird, but for the sake of pacing it just makes sense.

Dust to dust

I have heard people saying that many of the deaths didn’t touch them. Honestly? I could say the same. I can’t really list all of the people that vanished with the *snap* of fingers.

Having said that, I thought (Tom Holland) Peter Parker/Spider-Man’s final scene was well done. I cared when he died.

I think some things had to happen first though. For instance, (Sebastian Stan) Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, had to die first. We needed to see what was happening. Compare Buck’s death to Peter. If I remember correctly, Bucky says “Steve…?” and then he fades away. Literally one word was spoken.

Peter, of course, had more to say.

Also, in the case of Bucky, we didn’t have time to feel his death. The process starts…then bam, he’s gone. Just like…well, just like *snap* that.

Also, we need to see many other people die. We have to feel like half the population is vanishing. Writers, I’m not going to pretend like I remember everyone that died. So I’m going to look it up. One sec.

Death by a snap of the fingers: Bucky, Dr. Strange, Black Panther, Mantis, Groot, Drax, Star Lord, Wanda, Falcon, Maria Hill, Nick Fury, Spider-Man

So one: Volume. We need to see many people die. For better or worse, this was the final list.

And two: We need to create a crescendo at the end. Who could it be? It couldn’t be…say…Drax. Think bigger, writers. Imagine a board meeting or maybe an investor talking to the writers. “Guys, if we’re really gonna do this deal with Sony, we have to make it work. How are we going to fit Spider-Man into the Avengers movie?”

One of the writers: “What if he has one of the most touching scenes in the entire movie?”

Everyone in the room starts brainstorming. And they spend a lot of time on the script.

Was it worth it?

Mr. Stark, I don’t feel so good, I don’t know what’s happening, Mr. Stark. Please, I don’t wanna go please...

Yeah…yeah, it was worth it.

The good, the bad, and…

Alright, writers, let’s talk about Thanos for a bit. I’ve read comics on and off for many years. I’ve encountered Thanos before, but this movie easily doubled or tripled my Thanos knowledge. I’m going to be honest here, I didn’t actually think I’d learn so much about the villain.

The question for me becomes, “Did we need to know all that?” Or, as I’ve posited before, “Who’s the better villain: The Joker or Darth Maul?”

In the comics, Thanos did a lot of his killing (all?) in order to impress a lady. Literally, Death in this case, but either way it was very simplistic. I’m very, very glad we didn’t see Death personified in this movie. There was no place for it.

In this movie, I learned that Thanos “believes he is the hero” because killing half the universe’s population is going to lead to the universe’s salvation. I also learned that Thanos is capable of “love” because that was the only way he was going to get the soul stone.  (One of the keys to a better villain is that he/she believes everything they’re doing is the proper course of action.)

Someone else stated this, and I have to agree: It’s actually frightening when you realize that “the universe” does believe that he loved Gamora. The girl/woman that he tortured and had engage in combat with her sister for years. That those actions somehow equate to “love.” It sounds odd, but hey, Thanos did get his hands on the stone.

This feels like a trope being built around me. Given the grief that Justice League got for the “flat” villain in that movie or any other villain that “just wants power” I imagine that future movies will have more of this background build up.

Just as sure as you can expect a countdown in an action movie, I think future Marvel movies will have thorough backgrounds for their villains. By the way I loved the Mantis countdown. She said something like, “Everyone, hurry. I can’t hold him for long.”  I also loved the simultaneous countdown of getting the gauntlet off of Thanos’s hand before he is able to use his powers. It was a solid scene.

I’m going to refrain from saying my thoughts on the actions of (Chris Pratt) Peter Quill/Star-Lord. Ugh >.>

Anyway, I still maintain that “mindless” villains have a place in our stories though, writers. The Aliens Xenomorph is still one of my favorite characters.

Regardless, I would say that if spot a trend that you have to embrace it, or consciously step away from it. Don’t get ensnared in it. As for me? Let’s just say I’m seriously considering rewriting chunks of my villain’s scenes in my current novel.

Spotlight

Alright, writers, I’ll end today’s article with a question: What scene in the movie affected you the most? Could be one of the deaths or it could be one of the action scenes.  Sound off in the comments!:-)

Aloha,
Alvin

P.S. Everything above the AlohaAlvin divider? I didn’t plan to write. My original plan was everything below. It’s more of a collection of topics. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to talk about a comic book movie with me, continue scrolling down 🙂

 

 

(Chris Evans) Steve Rogers / Captain America
<> I know when Cap gets his shield back it'll be a big deal, but I was hoping it was going to happen in this film. Having said that, it was a long film, so I didn't expect it. Sure hoped though.
<> You can see in the trailer that Cap gets the smaller black shield thing. I theorized correctly that it was going to come from Wakanda. SMH. I really hoped that the shield would have had special tech associated with it. As Black Panther says in the trailer, "And get this man a shield." I was hoping for some really "out there" tech that Cap could have been wielding. Could have been epic.

(Mark Ruffalo) Bruce Banner / Hulk
<> Okay, much to say about Banner. So first of all, the "performance anxiety" that he experienced. Fascinating! So they're going to delve into the idea that Hulk has his own ideas of when he should or should not appear.
<> Okay, remember the first time we see Super Saiyan? Back then it was just a legend. People weren't even sure it was possible without a tail. Well, then we see Frieza murder Krillin. Gokuu sees his best friend murdered in front of him. Then he gets "encouraged" to go Super Saiyan. I thought...hm...Hulk can't perform right now. Well, what would it take to pull him out of his shell? Then I imagined Black Widow getting killed in front of him. That...would have been crazy.
<> However, just like Gokuu, we need to wait to see Hulk really go full Beast Mode. I imagine it'll be in the second movie.
<> Hulkbuster armor! Yes! Honestly, I wasn't sure what the circumstances were going into this movie. Also, I'm glad it wasn't mind control (again). Loki did it, Wanda did it, and it didn't happen again. Good.
<> So I really like Juggernaut/Cain Marko/Xavier's brother. Sadly, I have noticed the trend as others have that he was just being wheeled out as a measuring stick. For instance, "How strong is this new villain?!" Well, he just slapped around Juggernaut. "No way!" I really got that feeling when we saw Hulk get beat up in the beginning of this movie. *sigh* Oh well.

(Tom Vaughan-Lawlor) Ebony Maw
<> Sweet crap I loved seeing this guy in action. There was something about seeing his telekinetic powers on screen that was just cathartic for me. It was like seeing the female Kryptonian, Faora, tearing it up in Man of Steel. So much fun to watch.

(Chadwick Boseman) T'Challa / Black Panther
<> I legit thought they were going to change chunks of this movie after the insane success of Black Panther. Having said that, I kind of like that his role was so...muted.

(Letitia Wright) Shuri
<> I expected much, much more from the little sister of Black Panther. Just like in the Avengers movie where Stark and Banner are discussing how to track an energy source, I really wanted to hear Shuri's thoughts on...say...Iron Man armor or maybe something they could add to a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier.

(Chris Hemsworth) Thor
<> Man...Thor's a jerk! Haha. Go onto someone else's ship and start taking their things. 
<> Stormbreaker is an interesting weapon. I never followed Beta-Ray Bill. Is the Stormbreaker supposed to just straight up be stronger than Mjolnir? 
<> My friend pointed out to me that Thor swinging Rocket around was actually the exact same thing he does with Mjolnir. I guess the Asgardian only knows one way to fly. Haha.

(Benedict Cumberbatch) Doctor Strange
<> Bruh. Dr. Strange, what were you doing out there? Why on earth would you get so close to Thanos? You would think someone who trained the way he has and with the abilities that he has that he would never intentionally get that close to a brawler.
<> And yes, I know that if he "fought smart" we would have had an entirely different movie. But yo, even that stuff at the end with the "shattered mirror effect" could have been used sooner. Oh well.

(Danai Gurira) Okoye
<> Girl power scene with Black Widow. Very often. I still think of that line "Move, or you will be moved." I want to see Black Widow dance with one of the "ladies in red" from Black Panther. It would make for awesome scenes.

(Scarlett Johansson) Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow
<> I am a big Scarlett Johansson fan. Having said that, I like that her role was so reduced. Given the cosmic nature of everything going on, she would have been really out of place.

(Tom Hiddleston) Loki
<> Loki dying so soon. Unexpected, but I think it made for a better story. Let's be real here, if Loki survived he would have been calling the shots on everything. I think the Strange/Stark scenes were spot on and if they were Loki/Strange/Stark scenes...*smh* No.
<> Also, I believe he is legit dead. I don't think when everyone is resurrected that he will return. But we shall see.

(Sebastian Stan) Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier
<> Bucky had one of my favorite interactions. When Rocket asked him how much for the gun? Fit perfectly. 
<> Just like Cap's shield, I thought Buck was going to get an incredible arm from Wakanda. I mean, if that one guy can shoot lasers out of his fake arm, why couldn't Bucky do the same?

(Idris Elba) Heimdall
<> When Heimdall teleported Hulk away...could he have teleported someone else along with him? I realize that it was a dire situation and perfect bull's eye would have been asking a bit much, but let's face it. Heimdall not teleporting himself guaranteed that he would die.

(Peter Dinklage) Eitri
<> Bruh. Peter Dinklage? That was unexpected. Good to see him though.
<> Also, wasn't Thanos's glove, in the comics, just a normal glove? I like that in the movie it was "Mjolnir-class" in design/power.

(Tom Holland) Peter Parker / Spider-Man
<> Hey...right next to Spider-Man is...the guy in the chair! Yes! Can't wait for--Oh, gone already. Oh well. Glad to see a local boy on the big screen :-)

(Pom Klementieff) Mantis
<> So there's a severe lack of actual Xavier-level telepathy in the MCU. Mantis...I'm glad Manti was there.

(Vin Diesel) Groot(voice)
<> I know that Groot was already beyond "baby Groot" status...but man, it would have been fun to see the little one running around.
<> It has been confirmed that the Groot in this movie isn't actually Groot, and is instead, the "son" of the original Groot. When Groot was being turned to dust, I did wonder if he could spout a baby out real quick. Oh well.