Thanos’ snap in Avengers: Infinity War is one of the most important moments in the MCU, but it also created a big problem for Phase 4.
Avengers: Infinity War saw Thanos finally fulfilling his mission of wiping out half of life in the universe. This was one of the most tragic moments in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far, but it created a big character problem for Phase 4. Since Phase 1, the MCU had been leading up to the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgameas it introduced the Infinity Gauntlet, the Infinity Stones, and established Thanos (Josh Brolin) as the main antagonist of this universe.
The MCU reached its peak with Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgamewhich brought together all the active superheroes in the MCU to try to stop Thanos from getting rid of half of life in the universe and later defeat him and his armies once the “snap” was reversed in Endgame. Avengers: Infinity War saw the MCU’s heroes divided into two teams to prevent Thanos from mounting the Stones on the Gauntlet, with one team fighting against him on Titan and the others facing the Mad Titan on Earth. Unfortunately, all their efforts weren’t enough and Thanos was able to snap his fingers and vanish half of life in the universe, so Avengers: Infinity War ended on a very dark and tragic note.
Many beloved superheroes vanished at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, such as Groot, Bucky Barnes, Scarlet Witch, Black Panther, and Spider-Man, the latter delivering one of the most memorable and heartbreaking scenes as he told Iron Man that he did not want to go. Luckily, the surviving heroes teamed up five years later to plan a time heist in order to get the Infinity Stones before Thanos did and thus reverse the snap. The time heist was successful and the vanished heroes returned and joined the Battle of Earth against Thanos and his armies, which concluded with Iron Man’s sacrifice. The MCU continues to explore the consequences of the “blip” in Phase 4, but Infinity War created a big character problem, as the snap can now be used as an excuse for many things.
Thanos’ Infinity War Snap Gives The MCU Several Easy Excuses
When Avengers: Infinity War came out, the only characters known to have vanished were those who turned to dust on-screen, so it was unknown if characters like Shuri, Captain Marvel, and Ant-Man also disappeared. It was later revealed in Ant-Man and the Wasp that Scott Lang did not vanish and instead was trapped in the Quantum Realm, but Hope van Dyne, Hank Pym, and Janet van Dyne were snapped, and Avengers: Endgame revealed Shuri was snapped but Captain Marvel survived. As the MCU moves forward, it keeps adding characters to the list of “snapped”, as happened with Peter Parker’s friends and classmates (except for Brad Davis) and Jane Foster, thus avoiding the problem of the characters not aging and having to recast them . However, the snap has become an easy excuse for the MCU, as it can be used as a cheap way of justifying a character’s return and even some plot holes.
Why The MCU Using Thanos’ Snap To Justify Or Explain Too Much Is A Problem
The first question that comes to mind when a character returns to the MCU post-Infinity Saga, and even with new characters like the Eternals and Shang-Chi, is whether they were snapped or not, and with good reason, as Thanos’ snap was a turning point in the MCU. However, and as mentioned above, the MCU keeps adding characters to its list of “snapped” in order to explain why they did not age and to carry on with their stories as if nothing happened, which is pretty much what has happened with Spider. -Man’s friends and Doctor Strange as well. As the MCU continues to expand and brings back popular characters like Jane Foster, Shuri, M’Baku, Wasp, and more, and introduces new characters like the Fantastic Four and Blade, it should stop using the snap to justify their role in this universe. , as it has become an easy way out for the studio.
Overusing the excuse of Thanos’ snap to explain the return of certain characters or the place of new characters in the mainstream timeline will end up taking away the impact and value of the snap in the MCU’s history, turning it into an easy way out rather than respecting its place as one of the biggest, most tragic and important events that this connected universe has seen. As more and more characters return and are added to the MCU, it’s better to explain what happened to them during those five years between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame than to turn them into victims of the snap, that way their stories can be expanded and Thanos’ snap will keep its relevance in the MCU.
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- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever / Black Panther 2 (2022)Release date: Nov 11, 2022
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)Release date: Feb 17, 2023
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)Release date: May 05, 2023
- The Marvels / Captain Marvel 2 (2023)Release date: Jul 28, 2023
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