Avengers: Endgame — Marvel's finale of The Infinity Saga is a bittersweet reminder that we're all growing old

Warning: This article contains spoilers for  **_Avengers: Endgame_** **. You should ideally watch it** before watching or reading anything on the film. After you have seen the movie though,  **check out our full coverage of** **_Avengers: Endgame_** **.** Animated science fiction sitcom  Rick and Morty’s third season includes an episode hilariously titled  Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender, in which the protagonist Rick — in his own inimitable way — ridicules the character archetypes and tropes commonly seen in a modern superhero film franchise. [caption id=“attachment_6493031” align=“alignnone” width=“1200”]  Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans in a still from Avengers: Endgame. YouTube[/caption] And he is spot on. It is because of an oversaturation of the same old tricks in the superhero moviemaking book that films like  Deadpool  and   _Shazam!_   – which dared to stand out with original, unconventional ideas – were so highly appreciated. Avengers: Endgame, the 22nd  and final film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s  The Infinity Saga, is not free of the flaws parodied in  Vindicators 3. Such flaws stare you in the face when you see how the film treats one of its oldest characters, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), with the   same disdain  that has been consistently   present in the previous movies . That being said, MCU has survived for 11 years and is still thriving because of its ability to recognise the rapidly evolving nature of science fiction and superhero films. The bold decision to keep a gloomy, morose atmosphere for most part of the first half of a movie part of a franchise known for its sense of humour and high-octane, meticulously detailed action scenes is one example of such creativity.  The best example, of course, is how the movie convinces its viewers that Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth) ‘Jeffrey Lebowski’ avatar is still very much a superhero. But the main reason why  Endgame  now holds and  should  hold a place in popular culture as exalted as that held by the likes of  Star Wars  and  Harry Potter  is its bittersweet reminder to the viewers: we are all growing old. Back in 2008,  Iron Man  was the brave new movie which broke stereotypes associated with superhero films. The ‘dude playing a dude disguised as another dude’ Robert Downey Jr then donned the role of a cocky, brash businessman who does not shy away from revealing to the world his superhero identity, traits not common to the onscreen superheroes at that time. It was Tony Stark who, with his sharp comebacks and witty quips, established the action comedy which Marvel films became renowned for. Apart from carrying MCU’s Phase 1 on his shoulders, Iron Man was a major (and sometimes peripheral) character in some of the cinematic universe’s most esteemed films. In fact, throughout the 2010s, if The Joker from  The Dark Knight  became the supervillain which Hollywood was proud to have conceived, Iron Man became the world’s ideal take on the modern superhero. This was a character which was truly owned by the people even remotely interested in comics or stories about superhumans. Of course, in the 11 years since its conception, the character’s popularity grew so much that it became the mainstream superhero, because of which  Endgame  had to deal with the challenge of preventing the character appearing overused and predictable. [caption id=“attachment_6162871” align=“alignnone” width=“1200”]  Robert Downey Jr in a still from Avengers: Endgame. Facebook[/caption] Iron Man’s death in  Endgame  was not really surprising. It was an ending which had been predicted long before and discussed to death. It was how Tony Stark’s character arc was completed with his death that shows what made  Endgame  a classic. While the movie depicted a Stark with many of his usual traits because of which he lashes out at his friends immediately after being rescued from space, it also showed a massive transformation in the character after he becomes a father.  The ‘genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist’ – once reckless and irresponsible – finally gets a sort of closure with his own father after his experiences with his daughter and ultimately sacrifices his own life for a better future for his child. This was MCU’s way of telling its fans that the superhero archetype that the 2010s will be best known for had come to its natural end after exhausting all its transformations it could go through. The same is true for Captain America (Chris Evans), a character which became the second powerhouse of the MCU during the second and third phase. With films like  The Winter Soldier  and  Civil War, Steve Rogers slowly shed his earlier image of the righteous boy scout and became the most rebellious Avenger.  In  Endgame, this transformation is clearly visible in the fight scene between Captain America and his past self from 2012, when he bluntly dismisses the ‘I can do this all day’ one-liner from his past self. Even though  Endgame  completes story arcs for many other characters, and must have been written and directed keeping in mind the final set piece of the fight between almost all the Avengers and Thanos (Josh Brolin), its primary focus was undoubtedly on Iron Man and Captain America. The jaw-dropping special effects, fan service moments, and the detailed action sequences were obviously some of the reasons why this film was memorable.  But what gives  Endgame  a special place in the history of cinema was the perfectly-timed farewell to two of the most loved superhero characters in the MCU and a reminder that no matter how many changes or evolutions it goes through, every idea has an end and must make way for the new. “The defining poles of early 21st-century common culture are forcing their fans to grapple with ideas of closure, absence and interior loss that will probably leave their youngest fans feeling disoriented at best, disconsolate at worst,” this article in   The Washington Post  aptly describes. Endgame  is now a movie which members of this generation, when they grow old and witness huge advancements in cinema and hence much better films, will remember when they are telling their children about pop culture which was the pride and charm of a bygone era. The times they are a changin’. But Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, we will always love you 3,000.