Happy 2020 everyone! It seems only fitting that the first chapter of the New Year should start off Endgame. Thank to everyone who has stuck with me up to this point. Hope you enjoy he chapter.
Thank you to Aragorn II Elessar for the use of his movie text from his own watch it fic.
Loki: I appreciate the enthusiasm, I do. But please be patient, good things come to those who wait. I don't put when I'm going to update because I don't know, I don't give myself a deadline. Giving myself a deadline takes the fun out of this and when I lose the fun, I lose the drive to continue.
ninjarider1: Glad to hear it. Well, when my work inspires anyone, that's a good day for me.
Kenii: No spoilers.
Jason Hunter: Glad to hear it. No spoilers.
Jinero: Pretty good.
Watson Smith: Glad to hear it.
Matt: Well, to each their own. No, I do not plan to do either of those things.
Zero Absolu: I'm trying to be polite here, so I apologize if I come off as a jerk. But I do not have time for another watch it fic, I've got too many of my own stories to deal with right now. If you wanna watch it fic, then you should write your own.
Guest 1: Either way, it doesn't matter what they do with Luis at this point. The ship is going to crash and burn.
Guest 2: I've seen the scene.
Guest 3: No spoilers.
Guest 4: Huh, interesting.
Guest 5: Why would we have seen that? Why this random woman who none of them know have been at The Compound when Tony got back? With all the things going on in Endgame, why would the Russos have wasted time having May blame tony? If you think she got dusted, fine, I don't agree, but your argument doesn't make much sense to me.
Guest 6: I don't think it works that way. Natasha gave her life to give Clint the stone while Gamora was trying to stop Thanos from getting the stone. There's a difference.
The room was silent as they watched the screen, the losses they felt weighing heavy on their hearts.
At the Barton farm, Clint was teaching Lila archery and she had an arrow drawn.
Clint smiled slightly, his heart bursting with pride. For a moment, just for a moment, he forgot what he'd just learned.
At the same time, Barton wrapped an arm around Lila and kissed her on the head.
"So proud of you kiddo," Barton said and she smiled, leaning her head into his shoulder as she held onto him, knowing what they were about to see was going to be hard on him.
He played a little with her hair, joking if she could see now as she chuckled. His ankle monitor was seen.
In the distance, Nate and Cooper were playing baseball as Nate managed to catch the ball.
"Nate," Clint breathed, a lump in his throat as he saw his youngest, whose diaper he had changed days ago, playing baseball.
Laura asked if they wanted mayo or mustard. Lila asked who put mayo on hot dogs and Clint said it was probably her brothers as he told her they both wanted mustard.
"Who puts mayo on a hotdog?" Tony asked disgusted.
"My wife apparently," Barton joked as he and Clint both laughed.
"That's your wife? Lauren?" Scott asked, trying to recall her name.
"Laura," Clint corrected.
"Huh, she looks more like a Lauren to me," Scott mused.1
Laura asked the boys if they wanted mayo or mustard but Nate said he wanted ketchup, to which Laura replied she had that too. Then Lila fired her arrow and it hit the target. "Good job, Hawkeye!" Clint said as they high-fived and he told her to get the arrow.
Barton gripped Lila tightly but she didn't protest, knowing what was coming. She simply held onto him tightly.
Laura said soup was on as Clint said they were coming but then turned to see specks of dust in Lila's place, confusing him as he called out to her.
Clint had a wounded look on his face, shaking as the realization set in. Wanda took his hand as Natasha reached across, placing a hand on his back. Barton simply held Lila tightly, burying his face in her shoulder as Lila stroked his back and Scarlet reached over, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Clint then called out to Laura and the boys as thunder rumbled overhead. He ran around the farm but no one was there.
Clint looked he'd been shot with his own arrow as they heard Barton's sob quietly into Lila's shoulder. Tactfully, no one said anything as they stared at the two sadly.
After a moment, Barton let Lila go, looking at her and Scarlet gratefully.
"Sorry," Barton said gruffly as he wiped his eyes.
"It's okay dad, we get it," Lila said gently.
In the Benatar, Tony and Nebula were playing table football as Tony made a goal due to her moving her hands from position which Tony said she didn't need to do. They played a bit more as Nebula made a goal and Tony said she'd done it so now they were tied up. Tony then tried to make a goal but failed, saying it was terrible and then she made one, winning as Tony congratulated her on winning and they shook hands, with him saying it was fair game and good sport, asking if she had fun and she said she had.
Normally, the scene would be amusing but after the last few minutes, none of them were in a laughing mood.
Later, Tony was on his knees in front of his broken Iron Man mask. He tapped it and clicked on the recorder before starting, "Hey, Miss Potts... Pep. If you find this recording...don't post it, on social media. It's gonna be a real tear-jerker."
Everyone gave watery smiles at this. Even here, Tony was still trying to cheer Pepper up. It was actually pretty sweet.
Tony continued, "I don't know if you're ever gonna see these. I don't even know if you're still... Oh, God. I hope so..."
"She made it," Parker said softly and Tony nodded relief clearly visible on his face.
"Thank God or whatever deity is out there for that," Tony said with a sigh of relief.
The Benatar was shown stranded in space as Tony said, "Today is day 21... uh, 22. You know, if it wasn't for the existential terror of staring into the literal void of space, I'd say, I'm feeling a little better today. The infection's run its course, thanks to the blue meanie back there." Nebula was shown treating Tony's wounds as Tony said, "You'd love her. Very practical. Only a tiny bit sadistic."
"She's come a long way since she first broke off from Thanos," Parker mused.
Tony and Nebula were shown carrying out repairs on the ship as Tony said, "Some fuel cells were cracked during battle, but we figured out a way to reverse the ion charge to buy ourselves, about, 48 hours of playtime. But it's now dead in the water. We're 1,000 lightyears from the nearest 7-11. Oxygen will run out tomorrow morning. That'll be it. And Pep, I...I know I said no more surprises, but I gotta say I was really hoping to pull off one last one."
The past Avengers all shot a worried look at Tony, hoping he did pull off one last surprise.
The future Avengers, meanwhile, exchanged dark looks. Technically, Tony had pulled off one last surprise as they all thought of Tony snapping his fingers in the final battle.
Tony said, "But it looks like...Well, you know what it looks like."
Tony flinched, wondering if this was how his story would end as Rhodey placed a hand on his shoulder, as if to reassure himself that Tony was still there.
Tony said, "Don't feel bad about this. I mean actually if you grovel for a couple weeks, and then, move on with enormous guilt."
Barton grimaced as he remembered offering Pepper to come here today before they had brought the past Avengers here. With the most wounded look in her eyes he had ever seen, Pepper had told him having Tony back and then him leaving would be like losing him all over again.
Tony said, "I should probably lie down. Go rest my eyes. Please know that... When I drift off, it will be like every night lately...I'm fine, I'm totally fine…I dream about you. Because it's always you." With that, he shut off the recorder.
The room was thick with emotion as everyone stared at Tony sadly. Tony wasn't the easiest person to get along with, but he was their teammate. More than that, he was their friend. It was nothing less than heartbreaking to see this.
Tony then got up and lay down on the floor, slowly passing out. Nebula eventually found him and helping him up, sat him down on a chair. She patted his back sadly before walking off.
"She's a good person," Steve said softly as they all eyed the screen in appreciation.
"Yeah, it just took her a while to get to that point," Lila said.
Then Tony heard a distant boom as a bright light was seen. He slightly opened his eyes before opening them fully. He put his hand in the way to shield himself from the light before seeing what it was. Carol Danvers hovered in the air in front of him, her body glowing.
"Let me guess, Carol Danvers?" Natasha asked as the past Avengers all stared in awe and the future Avengers nodded.
"You found the pager after you got back to New York, she showed up in the Compound and you guys told her what was happening. She went to find Tony after that," Parker explained.
"Cool," Peter breathed as he stared at the screen.
"Eh, I say Thor's more impressive," Tony said and Thor smiled weakly.
"Thank you Stark," Thor said.
In the Avengers Compound, Steve washed his shaver after having shaved his beard clean and wiped his face too.
"Looks like no more beard bros," Tony noted sounding disappointed as Steve smiled weakly.
"Looks like it," Steve said.
Then the building shook a little as Steve realized what was up. Outside, Carol flew down with the ship as Steve, Natasha, Bruce and Rhodey ran to watch and Pepper was there too, looking up in anticipation.
Tony sighed in relief upon seeing Pepper. While he had known that she survived, seeing her had lifted a weight off his chest.
Carol looked at the others as the ramp opened and Tony staggered out. Steve ran up to support him as he said, "Couldn't stop him." Steve said, "Neither could I."
Steve and Tony exchanged an uneasy look. While they had more or less worked through their issues, their on screen selves had clearly not. And they weren't quite sure how they were going to react to one another.
Tony looked at Steve and said, "I lost the kid." Steve looked at him sadly and said, "Tony, we lost."
A hollow feeling settled in the stomachs of the past Avengers. They had failed. They had allowed their personal issues to tear them apart and, as a result, Thanos had beaten them. The entire universe had paid the price for their failure. Each and every one of them had failed.
Tony was going to ask about Pepper when she arrived and he was very relieved as the two hugged while Steve watched. Tony then kissed her cheek as they were led in.
Rocket walked up to where Nebula was and sat next to her as they held hands, mourning their dead team.
Everyone eyed the screen, each of them feeling empathy for the two. Losing someone you cared about was something everyone in the room was familiar with.
Inside later, holograms of the dead Avengers and allies were shown as Rhodey said it had been 23 days while Natasha added world governments were in pieces. The parts that were still working were trying to take a census. She said, "He did exactly what he said he was gonna do. Thanos wiped out...fifty percent of all living creatures."
"God," Steve said as he put a hand to his face.
The others weren't much better. Tony looked like he had when Peter had turned to dust in the recording as Scott put a hand to his face, looking like he was about to break down. Natasha looked like she was on the verge of tears while Thor looked ashamed and guilty. Rhodey simply looked down sadly while Clint put a hand to his face, pain and guilt etched on his face. T'Challa clenched his pants legs tightly, looking like he was resisting the urge to lash out while Wanda put a hand to her face, looking like she was about to start crying. Sam, solemn, put a hand on Peter's shoulder as the boy looked like the weight of the world had suddenly been thrust upon him. And Vision, like always, looked solemn, but if you looked closely enough, you could see the guilt and trauma in his eyes.
"I know this is difficult, but you can stop this," Barton said, his eyes filled with regret. "You can make sure none of this happens. Don't let us down."
"We won't," Tony said his voice thick with emotion. "Whatever it takes."
None of the past Avengers noticed Barton flinch at those words.
Thor sat guiltily in a corner as Carol winced on seeing Fury's hologram among the dead. Tony asked where he was as Steve said he had walked through a portal. Tony looked at Thor and inquired about his condition. Rocket said he was pissed as he thought he'd failed which he had but there was a lot of that going around there.
"I failed," Thor said guilty. "I should have gone for the head."
"We all failed Thor," Steve said sadly but firmly. "We have a chance not to this time. I'm going to take it. You should to."
Tony said he had though Rocket to be a Build-A-Bear until this second and Rocket said he might be.
"Poor Rocket," Parker said sadly.
"What's his story?" Sam asked curiously.
"He was an experiment, captured and experimented on, his genetics torn apart and rewritten over and over until he escaped," Lila said sadly as the past Avengers all listened in horror.
"Good god," Wanda whispered, feeling empathy for Rocket as she remembered Hydra's experiments.
Tony winced, feeling guilty, even if he rationalized that his on screen self couldn't have known.
Steve said they had been hunting Thanos for 3 weeks but had nothing. He was about to ask Tony, saying he'd fought him when Tony said there hadn't been a fight because his face had been wiped by a planet and the Bleecker Street Magician had given away the store. There was no fight as Thanos was unbeatable.
"No one is unbeatable. Not even Thanos," T'Challa said firmly.
Steve asked if Thanos had given him any clues or coordinates as Tony said he'd seen this coming a few years back and had a vision. "Tony, I'm gonna need you to focus," Steve said.
"He just got back from space and you're already pumping him for information?" Rhodey asked an edge of anger in his voice and Steve winced.
"I'm sorry Tony," Steve started but Tony waved him off.
"You're desperate for hope, to bring everyone back. I get it Cap, can't say I'd act any differently," Tony said.
"Doesn't make it okay," Rhodey grumbled and Steve silently agreed.
"And I needed you. As in past tense. That trumps what you need. It's too late, buddy. Sorry," Tony said, now pushed beyond his limit. "You know what I need? I need to shave." And then he slammed the table, shoving items away.
"Some rest would appear to be more beneficial," Vision noted as everyone felt the tension between the on screen Tony and Steve.
Tony then ripped out his tube in spite of Rhodey' protests and said, "And I believe I remember telling all youse, alive and otherwise, that what we needed was a suit of armor around the world. Remember that? Whether it impacted our precious freedoms, or not. That's what we needed."
Even Tony was disturbed by this. He sounded…well, he sounded like a Hydra agent.2
"I would not want to live in that kind of world Mr. Stark," T'Challa said and Tony nodded.
"I'm not sure I do either," Tony muttered.
"Well that didn't work out, did it?" Steve asked. Tony then reminded Steve, "I said we'd lose. You said "We'll do that together, too." Well guess what, Cap? We lost. You weren't there."
Neither Tony or Steve were able to look at each other, the guilt each of them felt too much for either of them to bear.
"But that's what we do, right? Our best work after the fact? We're the Avengers? We're the Avengers? Not the Prevengers?" Rhodey tried to make him sit down as Tony pointed at Carol and said, "No, no. Here's my... She's great, by the way. We need you. You're new blood. Bunch of tired old mills... I got nothing for you, Cap. I got no coordinates, no clues, no strategies, no options...Zero. Zip. Nada. No trust, liar..."
Steve and Tony both flinched and, tactfully, no one said anything as they looked at both sympathetically.
Tony then ripped out his chest piece and handed it to Steve, "Here, take this. You find him and you put that on. You hide." And then he fell down as Steve looked concerned before he passed out as Rhodey and Carol helped him away.
"You both messed up," Barton said after a moment. "The team is at its strongest when you two are on the same side, at its weakest when you two are fighting like an old married couple. So get your shit together, we need you. The whole universe needs you two fighting Thanos, not fighting each other."
Steve and Tony looked at each other before nodding. No words were spoken, but an understanding passed between them.
Later, Tony was on the bed as Pepper and Bruce looked over him. Rhodey arrived and said Bruce had given him a sedative. Carol said they could take care of him while she'd bring him a Xorrian elixir when she returned. They asked where she was going and she said to kill Thanos.
"Really? Just like that? She thinks she can take out Thanos by herself?" Rhodey asked incredulously.
"She reminds of myself," Thor noted. "She's never encountered an enemy she couldn't defeat, so she believes herself invincible."
"How'd you lose that ego?" Scott inquired.
"My father banished me, striped me of my powers, and enchanted my hammer so that I could not pick it up until I was worthy of its power," Thor said simply.
"Well, something tells me we're not gonna get so lucky with her," Natasha muttered.
Natasha said they worked as a team here and morale was fragile. Steve said up there was Carol's territory but this was their fight too. Rhodey asked if she knew where he was and she said she knew people who might.
"So she doesn't even know where he is and wants to go see people who might not even be alive to find out. Great plan," Tony said sarcastically.
"Don't bother," Nebula said as all turned to her. "I can tell you where Thanos is."
"Wait, how does she know?" Wanda asked confused.
"It's explained in a second," Scarlet said.
Later, they all stood in the briefing room as Nebula said, "Thanos spent a long time trying to perfect me. Then when he worked, he talked about his great plan. Even disassembled, I wanted to please him."
"Bastard," Steve said as they all glared at the screen.
Nebula said, "I'd ask, where would we go once his plan was complete? His answer was always the same: to The Garden." Rhodey joked how Thanos had a retirement plan and Rocket showed a hologram of Earth, saying after Thanos' snap it had become ground zero for a power surge of ridiculously cosmic proportions and no one had seen anything like it. He then showed a hologram of another planet, saying Thanos had used the Stones 2 days ago on this planet.
"Wait, why is he using the stones again?" Clint asked as he narrowed his eyes. "He's already wiped out half of all life, what else does he need to do?"
"Nothing good," Barton said darkly in a way that sent chills down everyone's spines.
Bruce said they'd be going in short-handed but Carol said they'd get the Stones and use them to bring everybody back, to Bruce's skepticism. Natasha said, "Even if there's a small chance that we can undo this...I mean, we owe it to everyone who's not in this room to try."
"Whatever it takes," Tony said and everyone nodded.
"Whatever it takes," Steve agreed.
Bruce asked how they knew if it'd end differently than last time and Carol said last time they didn't have her.
"Okay, seriously, she's more arrogant me and Pym," Tony said in exasperation. "Someone needs to take her down a few pegs."
"And when he's saying that, you know it's true," Rhodey joked, trying to ease the tension.
It didn't work.
"We've tried, but she believes herself to be the guardian of the universe. And with her powers, it would take someone like Wanda or Thor actively trying to kill her for her to suffer a defeat that would humble her," Parker said with a sigh.
"It's why we only call her in extreme situations, she's not much of a team player," Lila said.
Rhodey said they were all about the superhero life and asked where she'd been all this time. She said there were many other planets that didn't have them.
"In the last few years, the nine realms have been thrown into chaos twice and I have had to keep the peace. Where was she then?" Thor asked angrily.
"It's like some cosmic being just threw her into the universe for some reason," Steve noted and everyone nodded.3
Thor, who had been stress-eating up till now, got up and walked up to Carol as they sized each other up. He then held out his hand and Stormbreaker flew to it right next to Carol. She smirked and he said, "I like this one."
"Really?" Wanda asked as they all looked at Thor.
"In my right mind, no. But she's given me hope, so I'll latch onto it," Thor mused.
"Let's go get this son of a bitch," Steve said.
"Steve's swearing, so you know he's serious," Natasha joked and Steve smiled weakly as the original Avengers and Rhodey all laughed, the tension broken for a moment.
Later, Steve, Natasha, Thor, Bruce, Rhodey, Rocket, Nebula and Carol flew to space in the Benatar as Rocket asked who hadn't been to space before and Steve, Natasha and Rhodey raised their hands as Rocket told them not to throw up on his ship. Carol laughed as Rocket started the ship.
Everyone couldn't help but chuckle at that, the tension breaking momentarily.
They soon passed a jump point and later, Carol flew down to recon. Steve was looking at Peggy's photo on his old compass.
"You look at that a lot?" Tony asked and Steve shrugged.
"Sometimes," Steve admitted. "It reminds me of who am, what I've become. When I feel lost, I look at it and it gives me hope. It probably sounds stupid."
"No, it doesn't sound stupid Cap," Clint said softly, thinking of the picture of his family that he kept in his wallet. "We get it."
"This is gonna work, Steve," Natasha assured him. "I know it will," Steve said as he turned to her. "Because I don't know what I'm gonna do if it doesn't."
Barton flinched, remembering how it hadn't worked and what had happened after. Seeing the dark look in his eyes that they had come to associate with him thinking of the five years he'd spent as Ronin, Scarlet and Lila each took one of his hands. Barton smiled weakly at them, thankful for them.
Carol flew back up and said there were no satellites, armies or ships. It was just him. "And that's enough," Nebula said.
"Is he that arrogant?" Rhodey asked surprised.
"No," Barton said darkly. "He's that smart."
On the planet, Thanos' armor was arranged as a scarecrow.
"What?" Peter asked shocked.
"Yeah, Thanos decided to become a farmer after he won. Sick, right?" Scarlet asked with a tight smile.
"That's one word for it," Steve said, his stomach full of rage.
"He thought we'd let him rest…after what he's done?" Scott asked angrily.
"He's delusional," Lila said darkly. "Psychotic."
"No kidding kiddo," Clint muttered.
Thanos was walking around, picking up alien berries. His left hand was charred and burnt with the Gauntlet on it while half his face was also burnt.
"Whoa, the stones did that?" Peter asked shocked and the future Avengers nodded.
"Together, the stones have enough power to give unlimited energy to power the planet's electricity for at least a year," Parker said, shocking them. "A normal human would die from using the stones. Only someone like Thor or Thanos has a chance of using them and surviving."
"Son of a bitch," Tony muttered.
He walked into his hut and cooked the berries before carrying his pot to the fire. Then a beam from Carol hit him. He put the Gauntlet in the way to protect himself as Carol leapt inside and tackled him to the ground.
"Kick his ass," Tony said darkly as they all watched, tense, even those who knew what had happened.
He got up when she jumped on his back and held him in a chokehold with her foot on his left wrist. He almost overpowered her and pushed her foot off when the ground burst open and Bruce in the Hulkbuster suit restrained his left arm while Rhodey restrained his right. Then Thor burst in and chopped off his hand with Stormbreaker as he screamed in pain.
"This seems…easy. Too easy," Steve noted, a hollow feeling settling in his stomach.
"Because it is," Scarlet said sadly as the past Avengers all tensed.
Steve, Natasha and Rocket then walked in as Rocket turned the chopped off hand around to see the Stones missing from the Gauntlet.
"What?" Scott breathed as they all stared at the screen in shock. "Where are the stones?"
The looks on the faces of the future Avengers said all they needed to know. The past Avengers exchanged looks, horror settling in their stomachs. They knew whatever had happened, it wasn't good.
Steve asked where the Stones were and Carol asked him to answer the question. "The Universe required correction," Thanos said before revealing. "After that, the Stones served no purpose, beyond temptation."
"What did he do?! What did he do?!" Thor demanded as the realization began to set in.
"You murdered trillions!" Bruce said as he pushed Thanos down. "You should be grateful," Thanos said as Bruce punched him.
"Grateful?! Our friends, our families were murdered and you expect us to be grateful?!" Clint snarled, the faces of his family flashing through his mind.
"Where are the Stones?" Natasha asked. "Gone," Thanos revealed. "Reduced to atoms." Bruce pointed out, "You used them two days ago." Thanos said, "I used the Stones to destroy the Stones."
"That's how they were destroyed, he reduced them to atoms?" Tony asked numbly and Barton nodded.
"Yeah," Barton said a pained look on his face.
"But we brought everyone back," Natasha noted as she looked at Scarlet, Lila, and Parker.
"Not without great sacrifice," Parker said with a haunted look in his eyes.
"It nearly killed me," Thanos said. "But the work is done. It always will be." He then declared, "I am inevitable."
"You bastard," Clint said, his entire body shaking from grief and rage.
Wanda took his hand again, trying to comfort him. Natasha was thankful, as right now, she wasn't in any condition to help him. Like Tony, she just felt numb.
"We have to tear this place apart. He has to be lying," Rhodey said in disbelief. "My father is many things. A liar is not one of them," Nebula spoke up. Thanos looked at her gratefully with regret in his eyes and said, "Thank you, Daughter," He then admitted. "Perhaps I treated you too harshly..." He was cut off when Thor chopped off his head with a roar of rage as they all watched in shock.
Nearly everyone jumped, the scene startling them, too caught up in their own emotions.
Rocket asked what he had done. "I went for the head," Thor said in a hollow and defeated voice.
"But it's too late now," Thor said hollowly as a tear ran down his face. "They're all gone."
No one said anything, all of them bowing their heads in grief and guilt as their failure hit all of them once more.
Nebula had a tear in her eye and kneeling down near Thanos' head, closed his eyes.
"She tried all her life to get his approval, his love. And she finally got it before he died," Parker said sadly.
"Even in death, he still managed to inflict one final blow to her," Scarlet said sadly.
The others simply watched in horror and disbelief, with Natasha looking like she was going to break down. Thor turned away and walked out of the door, feeling defeated.
"What now?" Wanda asked in a voice that was just barely above a whisper.
"Now…life goes on for those of us left behind," Barton said in a hollow voice.
1: Fun fact, long before she was cast as Laura Barton, Linda Cardellini had a small but very significant role in the fifth season of the sitcom Boy meets World as Lauren.
2: Overall, I thought Tony was amazing in Endgame, maybe the best he's been since the first Iron Man. Except in this one scene. I can understand Tony still being upset about what happened in Siberia, I even sympathize with him. But his rant just sounded so very Hydra like that it was disturbing. And I'd like to just put it down to Tony's state of mind at the time, but Far from Home blew that out of the water. How any writer thought that was a good moment for Tony's character is beyond me.
3: Carol's 'there are other planets out there' excuse is just that, an excuse. Because there are so many times where someone should have seen her. For example, in Thor the Dark World and Thor Ragnarok, it's mentioned the nine realms are in complete chaos and Thor has to go around protecting planets. Where was she during that time? And if the Kree were her priority, where was she when Ronan was trying to take over the universe? But the biggest reason that excuse doesn't work is Thanos. Thanos is going around, slaughtering half the population of every planet he goes to, and Carol does nothing? Where was she when Thanos was racking up all those bodies? When you think about it, Carol is to blame for Thanos winning because she did nothing to stop him. This is what happens when a studio executive forces the directors and writers to include a character no one else wants in the film.
Sorry, went on a bit of a rant there.
Now, in remembrance of the 2010's, I am now ranking my top 10 favorite superhero films of the last ten years.
1- Logan: Hugh Jackman's final outing as Wolverine acts as a grim character study of our favorite clawed superhero after he loses everything. Jackman and Patrick Stewart give incredible performances, as does newcomer Dafne Keen in this mix of emotion and brutal action.
2- Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse: Undoubtedly the best Spider-Man movie since Spider-Man 2, Into the Spiderverse returns to the roots of the character after the recent deviations in the Amazing Spider-Man films and the MCU. Miles Morales was the perfect protagonist for this film and the character Arcs of supporting characters like Peter B. Parker and Spider-Gwen were amazing. Best Spider-Man film ever.
3- Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame: I'm counting these two together because they're the same story told by two movies. Both had flaws but what movie doesn't? Infinity War was the greatest cinematic crossover off all time, as well as our formal introduction to Thanos, who is perhaps the greatest written movie villain since Darth Vader. Endgame, on the other hand, was the MCU's Logan, a grim character study of the original six Avengers as well as the culmination of a ten year journey that began with Iron Man.
4- Captain America: The Winter Soldier: A bloated but excellently done mix of an action movie and a spy thriller. This movie made me love Cap, as I was pretty 'meh' on him until this movie and it made me love Natasha as well. And the Bucky and Hydra twists are amazing as well.
5- Batman: Gotham by Gaslight: One of the best animated DC movies, Gotham by Gaslight takes all our favorite characters and puts them in a Victorian setting excellently. The Jack the Ripper twist was amazing and, Bruce/Selina, 'nuff said.
6- Thor: Ragnarok: Thor is finally given the respect he deserves in this movie, able to become something other than a foil to Loki's and the other Avengers. Thor's story Arc in this film was amazing, as was Loki's and Hela was an amazing villain. And Hulk was great in this film as well.
7-Aquaman: A movie that made a character I've always seen as lame and uninteresting into a badass and relatable. And the dynamic between Arthur and Mera was excellently done as well.
8- The Dark Knight Rises: A great way to end the Dark Knight trilogy with themes of moving on from the past. Bane was an amazing villain and the Talia twist was good as well. Plus, while not as well done as Gotham by Gaslight, it has the best live Bruce/Selina and the second best Selina.
9- Venom: I don't care what anyone say, this movie is awesome. Tom Hardy is amazing as Eddie Brock and the theme of redemption that runs in this movie works really well. Amazing action sequences and character development as well.
10- Wonder Woman: An excellently done female led movie that doesn't talk down to you or lecture you on the evil of men. Gal was amazing in the role and the Diana/Steve relationship, as well as Steve's sacrifice, was well done.
But that's all just based on my opinion. If you have a different list, feel free to share.