#endgame hate

People I thought were on the same Marvel Cinematic Universe ride with me since Phase 1 suddenly revealed themselves to not understand the main characters, like, at all, and now that a solid finale to a superhero group (Guardians Vol. 3) has come out, they’re just…saying all the same stuff again.

Please let me just say it again.

Steve Rogers leaving Bucky Barnes in the present while he put down to shield and chose to have a normal life was the resolution of character growth. He went from “The Man Who Doesn’t Know Who He Is Without a Fight” to “A Good Man With a Life.” And guess what? By doing that, he took the pressure of the fight away from Bucky, who would always have followed Steve into every battle if he’d stayed or inherited the Shield.

Tony Stark sacrificing himself to save the world was the resolution of all his character growth. He was taking the consequences he started and ending it. And if you have any other character take that glove and snap those fingers, Tony Stark doesn’t resolve the character arc that started when he tested the Jericho missiles in Iron Man 1. He was the man who always almost sacrificed everything to make up for his past mistakes. “Always a way out.” Always planning to stop the next problem before it starts. In this moment of decision where he snaps his fingers, he finally has to choose not just to sacrifice himself, but effectively sacrifice control over protecting the world. That’s why Pepper says “you can rest” when he dies. Jeez.

Natasha Romanoff sacrificing herself to save the world, and more immediately Clint, was the resolution to all her character growth. She was a character who thought only of self-preservation thanks to her upbringing, turned penance-warrior, turned loving family member. In Civil War her motivation was to keep the Avengers family united, but it cost them all the safety of the world anyway. All she had left was to sacrifice everything for everyone—that proves that she’s moved on from needing herself, to needing others for herself, to giving for others regardless of herself. It might make you sad and it might make you foam at the mouth about feminism, but there was no alternative narrative to wrap up her character growth.

And then we have Black Widow, which explores how devastating it was to Natasha and Yelena when their family (even a non-conventional family that was never meant to be one and became one by circumstance) came apart. We saw Alexei and Melina develop genuine affection for the children they were temporarily raising, and we saw them realistically express that in fucked-up ways because broken people often become broken parents even when they mean well. We saw them come back together to repair those bonds because in the end they can't help but think it's worth it. And Natasha parts with the others at the end, on her own and with no romantic interest, saying, "All this time I thought I had no family. Turns out I have two."

I am still salty.