5 things standing between Avengers: Infinity War and total failure
Still from Avengers: Infinity War trailer (2018). Image via Marvel/Disney
The status quo must be tossed out the window
At the end of the day, you can generally walk into a Marvel movie and feel reasonably confident that the headlining hero is going to survive whatever the big bad has to throw at him. If major characters went around dropping like flies, then it would be much harder to make high-grossing franchises about them.
Not only do the characters generally have to survive to fight another day, but they have to remain recognizable and understandable to people who haven’t seen or don’t remember the previous films. Marvel has been trying to walk a line between crafting a universe which changes and grows with every new movie, and not alienating paying viewers who haven’t kept careful track of every MCU plot event.
Even when Marvel movies try to break the mold, in the end it all comes back to the status quo: Tony destroys his suits at the end of Iron Man 3, yet is back at it again within his very next appearance. The Avengers gain and lose members like valence electrons, yet ultimately the team endures. Loki dies in Thor: The Dark World — but oh, wait, no, he’s just faking it.
Ultimately, the MCU superheroes are required by their very concept to continue doing the same things over and over, because those are the things that people go to see a Marvel movie for. Though personally, I would love to see Marvel look beyond making action blockbusters and start weaving other genres, as it seems it might be attempting with New Mutants. How about a spy thriller featuring Natasha Romanoff? A rom-com with Sam Wilson? A Scarlet Witch horror movie? When you leave behind the action formula, there’s much greater potential to take things in a different direction.
Infinity War has the potential to be a game changer. It proclaims to be the gateway to Phase 4 of Marvel’s evil plan, which suggests that it plans on introducing some real and lasting changes. Having Infinity War seriously shake up the lasting MCU status quo could set the stage for Phase 4 to be much less formula-driven. If Marvel proves they’re willing to start destroying their own status quo, then the stakes in Phase 4 will automatically feel higher.