Avengers: Endgame exceeded everyone's expectations at the worldwide box office this past weekend, so you probably won't be surprised to learn that the critically acclaimed Marvel Studios movie has been granted a glowing A+ CinemaScore.
In contrast,
Avengers: Infinity War received an A- (which more than likely had something to do with the way it ended).
Endgame is only the third movie set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to receive an A+ with the previous two being
The Avengers and
Black Panther. It's also the fifteenth consecutive Marvel Studios movie to receive an A rating.
Talking of The Avengers (the movie which brought Earth's Mightiest Heroes together on the big screen for the first time), writer and director Joss Whedon has taken to social media to share his thoughts on this epic finale and it appears as if he was suitably impressed.
It's amazing to see just how far the MCU has come since Whedon brought together Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and The Hulk for the first time, and while he no doubt had some different plans for Thanos when he introduced him, the filmmaker is clearly happy with the way the Russo Brothers wrapped this story up and their handling of the Mad Titan.
Click on the "View List" button to check out some images of
Hot Toys' Captain America figure from Avengers: Endgame!
Captain America's journey in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been a fascinating one. We met him during the dark days of World War II and have watched him enter the present day, join The Avengers, bring down a corrupt S.H.I.E.L.D., and even go to war with Iron Man over some fundamental differences about freedom.
After taking a backseat in
Avengers: Infinity War, it's said that Steve Rogers is finally going to be given the opportunity to step up in this movie and that's definitely cause for celebration.
The trailers haven't given much away about what he'll be up to, but we know that Steve will be the one who leads the team against Thanos and he'll have his trusty shield back by his side. Reading between the lines, that must mean he makes things right with Tony Stark but can their friendship be saved after everything that's happened?
Taking a closer look at this costume, it's quite clearly based on the suit he's worn in the MCU for a while now but there are some notable improvements, including making the red a little brighter.
After removing the shield and Avengers logo from his suit in
Infinity War, they're back front and centre here and that clearly means Steve is ready to embrace his role as Captain America. What's that in his hand? It's Steve's compass which contains a photo of his one true love, Peggy Carter.
Despite the jokes about Cap being a virgin, it's kind of sweet that he's never gotten over losing Peggy and most fans are going into
Avengers: Endgame keeping everything crossed for a reunion. If that were to happen, good luck to him explaining what happened with her niece Sharon, eh?
According to the official description,
"Famous for his superhuman strength and an indestructible shield, Steve Rogers who born with the will to carry on, finds himself called into action to complete a mission with the universe’s entire existence on the line."
"The Super-Soldier will need to bring together his surviving Avengers companions and the World’s Mightiest Heroes," it continues.
"As a war hero, national symbol, enemy of oppression and a key member of the Avengers, Steve Rogers has proved his great leadership and importance throughout all these years in Marvel Cinematic Universe productions, and continues to earn hearts of Marvel fans in this remarkable journey."
The highly-accurate collectible figure is expertly crafted and features a newly painted helmeted head sculpt with three interchangeable lower faces capturing Chris Evans' facial expressions and an un-helmeted head sculpt.
It also has a muscular body which naturally portray Captain America’s muscularly toned body, a meticulously tailored outfit with star emblem on the chest, Cap’s star-spangled shield, a delicate compass, a signature helmet and a specially designed movie-themed figure stand.
So, sounds pretty cool, right? These figures tend to be pretty expensive but they're a must-have for collectors, especially as it's rare to find any which are as detailed as these. With this one, however, there has reportedly been some backlash about Cap's head not being updated by Hot Toys.
According to the bookies, Captain America is a firm fan-favourite to meet his maker in
Avengers: Endgame but Marvel Studios never shies away from surprising us and that doesn't feel like the right end to his journey. However, with so much talk of a new MCU moving into Phase 4, will there be room for a patriotic superhero like this?
There have been a lot of great Captain America moments in the MCU and it will be interesting seeing how the Russos attempt to top those. After all, we know the filmmakers have a soft spot for Cap as they started off working on the character with 2014's
Captain America: The Winter Soldier!
In the trailers and TV spots for
Avengers: Endgame, Cap is clearly mourning the death of so many of his friends (both The Falcon and Bucky met their makers thanks to Thanos) but he seems determined to set things right...whatever it takes.
It's certainly going to be an adventure which has its challenges for Steve as he'll be heading into outer space, a setting he's unfamiliar with despite taking on Gods and sentient androids.
Regardless of whether those white suits are used for time-travel, heading into space, or into the Quantum Realm, it's an interesting new look for Cap and the rest of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. How he handles that will be fun to watch and it would be awesome if he ends up back in World War II face to face with the Red Skull again. We'll see, I guess.
The detail here is phenomenal and that definitely looks like Chris Evans' Steve Rogers!
Chris Evans made headlines when he took to Twitter to seemingly bid farewell to Captain America but both her and the Russos have since pointed out that his message simply mark the end of filming and that we shouldn't read too much into it. Either way, it was clearly a heartfelt response to the time he's spent suiting up as Cap.
That's something that very nearly didn't happen as he had his doubts about playing the character but he thankfully changed his mind and quite possibly saved his career in the process.
After all, he had been stuck starring in a lot of mediocre action movies and romcoms before being cast as Steve Rogers and while his acting future isn't clear (there's talk of him retiring or becoming a director), his future both in and away from the MCU promises to be very interesting indeed.
Something we do know is that Evans will reprise the role for the What If? animated series of Disney+ that looks set to explore the possibility of Peggy Carter becoming Captain America while Steve Rogers suits up as Iron Man. That's gonna be a lot of fun...
What do you guys think of this Captain America action figure? Are you excited to see Steve Rogers in action in Avengers: Endgame? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below.