Trilogies have a bit of a strange existence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With so many different interconnected characters and storylines that play their way through a decade of movies, it’s hard to separate the series into standalone trilogies.
The Captain America movies are a good example of this. They’ve been labeled one of the best trilogies in recent memory, even though someone who only watches these three movies and ignores both Avengers films wouldn’t get the full story.
However, there are still some movies in the MCU that people can watch without having seen every other entry in the cinematic universe. Black Panther stands out as one of these movies, and many of the other origin films in the MCU also fall into this category.
It’s impressive that with all these interconnected characters Marvel can still make films that appeal to the casual moviegoer. However, the only way to truly appreciate what Marvel Studios has done over the last decade is by seeing all the movies. There are moments where different plot threads from different worlds, even different galaxies, come together, and no movie has done this quite like Avengers: Infinity War.
Even setting aside the many other franchises Marvel has launched since their first team-up was released, this movie was under a lot of pressure to be better than the last Avengers film, Age of Ultron. However, this film is a lot more than a follow-up to Ultron. It serves as a sequel to Captain America: Civil War, as the consequences of that film are still felt in Infinity War.
The movie also continues right where Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther left off, and viewers who missed these movies miss out on some pretty important context. Infinity War is also partly a Guardians of the Galaxy sequel, with Nebula’s and Gamora’s ties to Thanos being essential to the villain’s arc.
To put it simply, Avengers: Infinity War is the finale to the Marvel Cinematic Universe up to this point, funneling dozens of characters into one story that shouldn’t be nearly as coherent as it actually is.
The meme aside, Infinity War really is the most ambitious crossover event in history. It combines the multitude of genres that Marvel has ventured into so far: the fantasy and mysticism of Thor and Doctor Strange, the space opera fun of Guardians of the Galaxy, and the more conventional superhero action of The Avengers.
This, of course, results in some choppiness, tossing the audience between multiple different storylines with different characters, all ultimately trying to stop Thanos in different areas of the universe. While there is a lot going on, the story still centers on the Avengers in a way I didn’t expect.
By the end of the movie, lots of characters are dead but Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Captain America, Black Widow, and presumably Hawkeye are all alive. The team failed to stop Thanos from “balancing” the universe, the original team still live to fight another day.
If you look at the Avengers films as a trilogy, there is a pretty evident story arc in spite of the missing information that the other MCU films provide. This is primarily because of Tony Stark, who saves the day at the end of The Avengers, but fears that this won’t be the last time an alien army comes to Earth in Age of Ultron.
When he learns about Thanos’ plan at the start of Infinity War, he realizes that this is what it’s all been leading too. By the end, Tony has to deal with the fact that all his worst fears have come true, and both him and the audience are left wondering what to do next.
You can look at this Avengers trilogy as a story about heroes coming together, but failing in the end. However, this isn’t the end of the Avengers’ story, since we’re getting a follow up next summer. The story is set up for Avengers 4 to be just as much a new beginning as it will be an end for the current storyline. At the very least, the series will end up a "quadrilogy," even though Marvel will likely make more Avengers films after the fourth one.
And that’s exactly what makes the MCU an amazing accomplishment. We were pitched a movie that looked like the end of everything, and certainly delivered on the promise of death and destruction, but can still look forward to this franchise continuing for a very long time.
Marvel was able to create a trilogy, and an entire universe of films, that all led up to a climactic battle, but with the way these movies are going, the end of the universe doesn’t mean the end of the franchise.