Welcome back to another edition of Comic Relief! where we talk about all the goings on in the world of nerd!
To start this piece off I wish to apologize for the long hiatus since my last article. It was not planned, but unfortunately, sometimes life throws curveballs that you've got to handle before you can tackle your hobbies. That being said there have been two big things I have wanted to talk to you guys about 1. Avengers Endgame, and 2 my anticipation (or rather lack thereof for Spider-Man Far From Home, but more importantly how the two are linked together.
Avengers: Endgame is many things: the follow up to last year's acclaimed Infinity War, the culminating point of 11 years and 22 films, and the conclusion of Marvel's cinematic epic: The Infinity Saga. With so much pressure behind a film, you would wonder if it was able to live up to all of that build up and hype. The short of it is that yes it absolutely does, while from an objective point I don't think that Avengers: Endgame is not quite as good as Infinity War in its narrative or pacing, the film more than lives up to the lofty expectations that are placed on its shoulders. While a great deal of this comes from the adrenaline pumping final act that is filled with moments where you will cheer and cry, none of this would have been near as rewarding if the path to getting there didn't earn every second of emotional validation contained within, and the core to this set up can be described in one word: consequence.
The film's first act does something not seen often in comic books (save for a few characters, and one in particular, but more on that later), establish consequences. Infinity War showed us a story where for the first time, the Avengers were not enough. Thanos won, he snapped away half the universe, and within the opening 45 minutes of Endgame the consequences of that failure are made to feel permanent as the Avengers find that restoring those lost with the gauntlet and the stones (at least of the present) is no longer an option, and with the use of a 5 year time jump, the film showcases how the universe has had to deal with that loss. It is because of the pain that is showcased throughout that first act that everything in the 3rd act hits as powerfully as it does. However, even more than that, it established the real world consequence of the snap which is something that even if the Avengers succeed at their plan, is not something that will just go away, or at least it shouldn't.
This is where we get to Spider-Man: Far From Home. As the weeks have passed since the release of Endgame, promotion for Far From Home has gone into full swing. Between all the trailers have been released, interviews with the directors of the movie and Kevin Feige we are starting to get a clearer picture of what to expect from the film, and honestly I am left underwhelmed. Kevin Feige stated in an interview that Spider-Man: Far From Home will serve as the ending to phase 3, essentially making it the epilogue to Endgame, and on paper, this is a fantastic concept. Spider-Man is the neighborhood character, he's the perfect person to put the loss of the snap and the conflict of everyone returning overnight under a microscope. What important people in his life had to mourn his loss? Would May have had to live without Peter for 5 years? Now that he's back would he even be allowed or even want to continue as Spider-Man? So many questions that could be used to create a phenomenal Spider-Man story to follow up Homecoming. However, instead, we find out from the directors that essentially every one of consequence in Peter's life: Aunt May, Ned, Flash, and the rest of his academic decathlon team, NONE of them survived the snap. Don't get me wrong, the law of averages dictates that some people would make out okay during the snap, others would have a bad time and lose everyone, however, who was there to mourn the loss of Peter outside of Tony and Happy? This is actively lazy writing. Infinity War and Endgame established the MCU as a universe of true and tangible consequence, so why on earth would you not explore more of that with the character that was actively designed for that very purpose?
So far in the MCU Spider-Man has been funny, charming, and Tom Holland is just a joy to watch. Spider-Man Homecoming presents Peter with the dilemma between wanting to be an Avenger and wanting to be a normal kid in High School, enjoying this time with his friends. However, there is something missing from the character, and in fact, it's the core piece of his character. There is no consequence for anything he does. Peter Parker, Spider-Man, is a great character because despite his intentions 3/4 of his decisions blow up in his face. All the decisions that the character makes should have weight, and this was a trend started by the first REAL decision he made in the story. After attaining his powers, Peter chooses not to stop an armed burglar when he had the chance. This decision leads to the death of Uncle Ben, the moment that defines Peter as a character for almost SIXTY years of storytelling: "with great power comes great responsibility." Spider-Man: Far From Home had the opportunity to finally bring focus to this side of his character, to focus on the consequences of his decision to join the Avengers, to have characters that mourned him for 5 years all of a sudden have to come to terms with his return. Had Aunt May survived, knowing Peter is Spider-Man, she could have served as antagonizing force and created a phenomenal dynamic as a parent/ guardian who lost their child granted a second chance. Flash Thompson could have been allowed to age up and mature past his petty bullying ways and develop as a character. Adrian Toomes (played by Michael Keaton) is in prison at the time of the snap, have Toomes get snapped away, and upon returning his lawyer gets him off of all charges as he technically served a life sentence in prison! When Toomes tries to find his wife and daughter, have Liz have aged 5 years and want nothing to do with her dad because of his life as a criminal. Then Adrian reaches out to Mac Gargan and they make an alliance to take down Spider-Man AND you have a set up for Sinister Six. The potential of writing a story based solely around this concept is so great that it practically writes itself, and the fact they aren't taking advantage of it is honestly just wasteful.
Consequence is the key to a GREAT Spider-Man story. He chooses to save the bus full of people before Gwen Stacy, as a result, she falls too far too fast and Spider-Man catching her breaks her neck and she dies. That's what makes his stories so good, because similar to us in the day to day, his decisions seldom have the effect they are intended to have. Nothing is certain in life and very seldom is there ever a clear cut RIGHT decision. Spider-Man Far From Home had the opportunity to be this, and after Endgame it felt almost like a promise of what to expect from the future of Marvel storytelling. Instead, we are getting a film that seemingly focuses on Peter struggling with whether or not he should fill the void of Iron Man, and outside the death of Tony Stark, the events of Endgame appear to have no other effect on the story. I do also want to be clear that while my anticipation for this film is no longer as great as it was, I have no doubt it will be an enjoyable, well-made film. I just find it disappointing that it does not appear to live up to the potential this film could have.
This has been another edition of Comic Relief! I hope you have enjoyed and we will see you again soon!
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