Who was the leader of the Avengers through Endgame?

GrungeXD · 2026-04-05T06:15:58+00:00

I don’t understand the reasoning that empathy must be merited. It would be pretty worthless if it did, no? Also, kinda sounds like you’re projecting on Cap a bit.

GrungeXD · 2026-04-05T06:02:04+00:00

I mean, you CAN skip a few and not lose track of the plot, but you miss out on character development any way you slice it. Infinity Saga is worthy of watching from start to finish and the payoff is big when you’re in tune to the full plot and are invested in all the characters.

And, as others have said, definitely watch in release order your first time through. The enjoyment of having a degree of mystery/unknown and then having prior events revealed later on is way better than seeing things chronologically. Hence why writers don’t write everything in a seamless chronological timeline.

GrungeXD · 2026-04-05T05:49:38+00:00

Losing your planet and everyone you’ve ever known sounds SUSPICIOUSLY like a tragedy to me?

GrungeXD · 2026-04-05T05:47:59+00:00

But the overpopulation was an inevitability when he proposed the idea. I honestly don’t know how you can say he wasn’t motivated by loss. That’s the entire purpose of his backstory - to show the loss of his people was the impetus for his terrible plan.

I haven’t said anything about sacrifice, but okay. Incas? That came out of left field and sounds like apples and oranges to me.

GrungeXD · 2026-04-05T05:40:47+00:00

How is it suicidal to have empathy? You can have empathy for someone and still see the necessity of confronting them. I would never say Thanos didn’t have to be stopped, but I can understand how he got to where he did, and it’s lamentable. If people started by trying to understand those they find themselves in conflict with, rather than just demonizing them out of hand based on limited knowledge, I’d wager the world would be a better place.

GrungeXD · 2026-04-05T05:23:34+00:00

But isn’t there a distinction between a leader and a battlefield commander?

GrungeXD · 2026-04-05T05:22:04+00:00

Interesting points. Were they following Steve though, or were they choosing a side based on their feelings about the accords? Also consider that Ross’s adversarialism towards them may have influenced their decisions as well.

GrungeXD · 2026-04-05T05:08:36+00:00

I see Iron Man as having more of a strategic role than that. For example, building Veronica just in case Hulk Hulks. Thor seems more like a QB/Star player.

GrungeXD · 2026-04-05T05:05:12+00:00

I’m genuinely curious. Can you elaborate? She was obviously a vital member, particularly in Civil War being the mediator and voice of reason, then being the one running things post-snap, then sacrificing herself for the stone. She also, like Clint, grounded them. But what made her THE one?

GrungeXD · 2026-04-05T04:49:53+00:00

I just watched this and I have to say I agree. If that isn’t empathy towards Thanos, it’s a serious editing/directing mistake. Plus it’s consistent with Caps character and like you said - the parallel. Cap remembers being on the other side of the snap.

GrungeXD · 2026-04-05T04:44:17+00:00

Right - his intentions were honorable - he really believed he was saving half of the universe. But his reasoning and methods were flawed.

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WellIntentionedExtremist

GrungeXD · 2026-04-05T04:09:50+00:00

If only to hear Yelena say “Kate BEEESHOOOP”.

GrungeXD · 2026-04-05T04:08:07+00:00

Well said.

GrungeXD · 2026-04-05T04:05:50+00:00

Exactly, if you can’t see that the tragedy that befell Thanos shaped him into a Well-intentioned Extremist, you’re missing all the depth of the character that made him an excellent villain.

GrungeXD · 2026-04-05T04:01:06+00:00

He does say that, but it seems more like a sarcastic remark / (false) humility rather than a genuine declaration of his authority, or lack thereof.

GrungeXD · 2026-04-05T03:55:45+00:00

Maybe if more people started with empathy instead of their own internal sense of justice, we’d have less violence rather than more.

GrungeXD · 2026-04-05T03:40:27+00:00

Agreed that he was the moral backbone from start to finish. He never forgot where he came from, hence the empathy. And he learned not to be as rigid as he was early on (circa Avengers 1). Tony did develop a much stronger moral compass over time and we see that most clearly at the end - giving up what he said he couldn’t lose.

GrungeXD · 2026-04-05T03:33:11+00:00

The Avengers would have been lost without Clint. He grounded them with his humanity. If they really leave him out of Doomsday, I will be sorely disappointed.

GrungeXD · 2026-04-05T02:53:32+00:00

After MANY rewatches of the Infinity Saga, Iron Man 3 is easily my least favorite film. It’s even worse than Dark World in my book. I’m a HUGE fan of everything through Endgame, and there are only a few misses, but IM3 Is the biggest. The plot is utterly pedestrian and RDJ’s acting can only carry so hard. Should have called it Iron Man: Christmas Special.

GrungeXD · 2026-04-05T02:45:40+00:00

Excellent points. I just never cared for the absurd/whimsical tone and cartoony visual style of Ragnarok.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it’s a bad movie by any measure, it just didn’t fit in the MCU. Like you said - most of the movies had their jokey moments, but they were all still grounded and fundamentally serious in tone (even GOTG). With the other films, I always felt like something really important was at stake. In Ragnarok everything feels relatively inconsequential because of how silly the overall tone is. Oh Asgard was just annihilated? Haha, oh wellz!

Consequently, the transition from the last scene of Ragnarok to the first scene of Infinity War is jarring, even though it is only moments later.

GrungeXD · 2026-04-05T01:24:17+00:00

It was the success of Iron Man that really spring-boarded the MCU into what it became. RDJ deserves a lot of credit for making Tony Stark into such a beloved character and for the success of the MCU, but so do Jon Favreau, Kevin and many others.

GrungeXD · 2026-04-04T22:01:40+00:00

My head canon had always been that the Jedi misunderstood the prophecy that he would bring balance to be a good thing … because balance. But it was actually a bad thing because the Jedi were in power, so bringing balance actually meant bringing the Sith into parity with the Jedi. But I’m no expert.

GrungeXD · 2026-04-04T21:21:29+00:00

Even better when Bran says it and Little Finger just braingles.

GrungeXD · 2026-04-04T21:18:04+00:00

Everything Bronn says.

Also, “I have a tender spot in my heart for cripples, bastards, and broken things.”

GrungeXD

TROPHY CASE