#(the mcu can tell us tony and steve are the main heroes all it likes but who does LOKI think he's fighting? exactly.)

[tyrannuspitch]

huge fan of the fact that the name "loki trilogy" basically asserts that avengers 2012 is a thor movie. our city now

[misrepresentedmorallygrey]

PROPAGANDA

Tony Stark

The whole fucking point of this character is that he is an arrogant billionaire arms dealer who realizes that he Kind Of Sucks and consequently spends the next fifteen years trying to Not Suck to mixed but ultimately decent results. On one hand you’ve got the people who act like hes terrible and like I get it I would hate him in real life too but this is a fictional character and you have to admit theres more going here. On the OTHER hand are his legions of fans who insist that he has never done anything wrong ever, he is the smartest nicest little boy who isn’t actually even a little arrogant, and actually everyone who ever went against him even for understandable reasons (incl. very morally upstanding Captain America) is Evil, actually. I say this as a fan of the character: PLEASE you can like this man and have him suck a little at the same time!!!!! I am begging you!!!! Help!!!!

Literally a millionaire who started out manufacturing weapons for the military. Was then chased by the consequences of his actions while not making any sort of reparations. Of course stayed a millionaire the whole time. Then did not communicate with the team about making a sentient "suit of armor" that turned into a massive slaughter bot. People claim that this should be excused as a result of PTSD but is his responsibility to seek out help and he most certainly had access to whatever treatment he could choose as a -in his words- "millionaire playboy philanthropist". Then supported an accords rife with human rights violations that he was of course exempt from - and refused to hear any of the others rebuttals to it - like they were not millionaires and did not have access to entire legal teams that would work to exonerate them. Then exposes Clint's family and farm which he had revealed to Tony in confidence and kept secret from any authority to protect them. Then Tony spends the rest of Civil War trying to straight up murder Bucky - ignoring that it had already been established that Bucky had no agency nor autonomy in his time as the Winter Soldier, in doing so ignored the Accords he had advocated for. He then kidnapped a 16 year old child - who he did not tell why he was taking him - in direct contradiction with the accords and then allowed for Steve's team to be held in a maximum security prison with no trial. He then proceeded to refuse any sort of communication with Steve, resulting in a delay of him defending Earth from Thanos' invasion. After this - despite his failure playing part in the deaths of half the universe, and the child in front of him he treated as a son - he refused to rectify his failure because he had a family now - ignoring the literal entire universe who had lost their families. Upon his death he was treated as a hero and the one who saved the universe, despite his actions being that of hubris.

The Darkling

Okay so this guy is the main bad guy of the series. He made “the fold” this barren wasteland of darkness and monsters dividing the land, causing like hundreds of thousands of people to die. He killed his mom. He psychologically manipulated his girlfriend (like, he caused her to hallucinate and a whole bunch of other crazy stuff). He made one of his followers (a young girl) use her body to slowly poison the king over time. He started a cult. He did a LOT of crazy stuff. However, we do see his backstory of him as a kid, and learn that he did all this in the name of equality, so people would stop torturing and killing the ‘grisha’ or the witches/magic users. Later, he fakes his own death and starts a cult worshipping him and acts as the leader of the cult, going by his old name Aleksander. He is a very complicated character. So tell my why everyone thirsts after him and is like “he did nothing wrong” HELLO?! He is NOT your poor little meow meow he is complies please please don’t sanitize him

[danawinter]

So recently I started getting into comics, and it made me realize one of the things I was missing in Multiverse of Madness, is the personal connection between Wanda and the people fighting her.

I definitely have some mixed feelings about comic book arcs like Avengers Disassembled, but one thing that is very effective is that it's clear that this is a unique type of devastation that was caused by someone with reality-bending powers and a strong personal connection to the Avengers. This happens because of Wanda, and no one else could have caused this amount and this type of devastation.

And Multiverse of Madness does not give off that vibe to me at all. The conversation between Stephen and Wanda in the orchard (before Wanda is revealed as the villain) does not feel like they are meeting for the first time, but we're not given an indication of when they did meet, and to which extent they know each other. Did they meet before Infinity War? Did they meet at Tony's funeral? Did they ever have any close conversations where they really got to know each other? When Wanda mentions Christine, is that because they've talked about her before, or because Wanda just peeked into Stephen's mind to find his weakness? I can guess the answers to these questions, but I would've rather had the MCU answer them, if they want to tell a story like this.

But alright, let's suppose that there is no time to develop the Wanda/Stephen relationship before making her the villain, because of MCU-timeline reasons or whatever. However, there are other universes in this movie. That is the perfect opportunity to bring in some characters with a connection to Wanda, to still give us at least a glimpse of a connection that makes a fight so brutally intimate. But instead the Illuminati is just a set of cameos for us as the viewers, and there is no connection with Wanda. Except if you'd want to make the paperthin connections that Steve might've told her about Peggy, or that Wanda's main ally in WandaVision was Monica, and now she's going after a variant of her mother. But those are not really connections that feel like something incredibly close about Wanda is being explored.

What if this world had a variant of Quicksilver on the Avengers? What if there was a version of Vision, or the Ultron of this universe looked a lot more like Vision? Something like that would've put Wanda in a much more complicated position. We know that she is incredibly powerful, especially with the Darkhold; but putting someone she loves in her way to America Chavez (and thus her children) would be an incredibly difficult situation that I'd find very compelling.

But as the movie is now, Wanda could pretty easily get traded in for another villain, and it really would not make that much of a difference. And I think that is a real waste of a hero going dark.

[dontcallmecarrie]

In Endgame it seemed like the producers wanted Tony dying to be the only way he could be at peace. Like Pepper literally tells him 'Rest now', as if sacrificing himself to destroy the enemy that's been haunting him since Avengers 1 is the only ending where he can be happy.

"Sorry meant to add this to my ask (about Tony's death in Endgame being portrayed as his only possible happy ending): The whole thing makes me want to cry. And scream. Your opinion on what was being portrayed there?"

.

Friend, I...think you're more invested in this than I am, at this point. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I have ranted at length about my feelings on everything related to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. [Note: those are only some of the highlights. There's plenty more— I'm not even including the whole "in an interview, the writers flat-out said they didn't like the characters" thing, even.]

Beyond that, the main thing you should know about me is the fact that I have very, very limited time and energy, and prefer to focus on things I enjoy over dwelling on things I know I'll hate. Because I've seen this road before, and it never ends well, and life's got enough bs without me piling on even more.

Am I going to be forever bitter about what went down? Yes. Am I never going to let go of the fact that the writers prioritized ticket sales over the age-old art of telling a good story and threw years' worth of effort down the drain in the process? Also yes. But I refuse to let it get to me.

The MCU lived in my head rent-free for a good chunk of my childhood and teenage years, and— yeah, I mourn for the potential it once had, but if I cling to the anger I feel about how the writers butchered everyone's character arcs and consistency for *drama*, I will never know rest.

If I let myself, I know I'm capable of being incandescent with rage over how they fridged the only woman in the original Avengers' Initiative, of the way they somehow managed to make Steve "I don't like bullies, also FUCK Nazis" Rogers into someone completely unrecognizable in the span of three movies, and—

I'm tired.

Look: you probably found this blog because of my most famous fic, The War is Far From Over Now. I started writing it because I needed at least one (1) world where Tony Stark got a happy ending for all the bs the MCU kept throwing at him [and only him], and if that meant making it myself, then so be it.

When I first started, I wasn't old enough to legally drink. Originally, it was supposed to be something short and sweet, something funny— but spite made it longer, and the readers' reception meant more inspiration to go into even more detail, and then it turned into a stress relief valve for all the shit that kept going down in my life.

[I try to keep personal life bs separate from my writing, but.

Shit went down.]

So, long story short: TWiFFON started out a fun thought exercise, but ended up becoming my love letter to what the MCU used to be— and later, a eulogy for the same.

Because over a decade of being invested in the world that turned my casual interest in the comics into something more concrete, only to watch as the audience was robbed of just about every sort of resolution there possibly could have been.

This isn't my first disappointment of this type, sure: Harry Potter was the book series I learned to read English with and I'd once thought the epilogue was as bad as things could get in that regard [...boy was I wrong], and Naruto and Bleach both managed to be incredibly ??? in their finales, but.

Of all of the things that made up so much of my childhood, my favorite character was Tony Stark.

The man who tried so, very hard to do his best, and kept getting beaten down for it time and time again. Who, by all rights, should have been the villain— either as the rich white guy who apparently can do nothing right [see: Iron Man 1 onwards], or simply because it makes no sense for him to be on the same side as the heroes who lied to his face and stabbed him in the neck or back time and time again [see: Iron Man 2 onwards, special mention for Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War].

Who was both the Da Vinci and Cassandra of his generation, because for all his accomplishments, nobody ever took him seriously— and never even got an "I told you so", after shit hit the fan and everyone immediately turned to him for answers [see: Iron Man 3, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Infinity War, Endgame and need I go on?]

...I could go on for hours. But I won't.

If the writers won't give it this much thought, I won't either, not anymore.

Same way I refuse to watch another Marvel movie or tv show. I'd only barely been sticking around and gritting my teeth at the writing before Endgame, but that's the movie that made me ragequit the MCU entirely.

I've moved on, trying my hand at other fandoms and hobbies to occupy my brain when I'm not working or studying. At most, I have been poking at old cartoons and comics when I feel up to retreading old ground, but...right now, the main thing I feel when I think about the movies is disappointment.

[starker1975]

Stephen Strange could play around with an apple and make it rot and go back to fresh and unbitten. They tryna tell me he couldn't have done the same glowy time-turning thing for Tony Stark as he was dying of his injuries? Enough so he could be saved? Also the whole team hand-holding thing in Guardians Of The Galaxy, why didn't they try that? People give me the excuse that Quill was a half-god at the time and I'm like ??? Thor is a God! On the Avengers team they also had The Hulk, not one but two fecken super soldiers, A mighty powerful Spider-Man, Dr. Strange and his magic buddies, The Scarlet witch, and mutherfucken Captain Marvel?! They couldn't have done the same thing to save Tony? To stand together in that epic battle against Thanos and his homies? Why were the rUsSos so willing to kill RDJ off, he was like one of the best things in the entire MCU. They could have thought something up to save him if they wanted to. Also I'm PMS:ing hard and I just get so upset sometimes with how they let go of Tony in such a way. Sorry, I just had to vent! ^_^

I think you’re completely right. I even had a seven paragraph rant typed out explaining why; I backspaced it all since it was long winded, but it all lead up to the conclusion that Tony died and sacrificed everything for nothing—for people who didn’t deserve or appreciate it. Not because he had to die, but because they wanted him dead. I went over a few key moments in the MCU where his unfair treatment is revealed, but here are two main ones:

In the beginning, he was originally rejected from the Avengers, and proceeded to save everybody in the battle of NY. Then, Steve Rogers still had his name go first on the memorial placard even though he barely did anything.

And in the end, they cut the scene on the endgame battlefield where every single hero took a knee to honour Tony. (I guess we should be grateful he got a funeral since Natasha got fuck all too. Easy to see who the writers’ favourites are.)

All that to show that he’s disrespected by writers and therefore the other characters themselves. Nothing he did was ever good enough for anybody, and he was consistently written off as an irredeemable douche. They gave him his happy ending and took it away. 😃 (although I would argue over whether an ending with Pepper was ideal since she mostly complained and rejected his identity for their entire relationship—again, a writer issue bc they tend to make women discontent nags. But still.)

I don’t know. It’s just depressing really. Tony didn’t have to die and he shouldn’t have. I mean…he’s iconic and a badass, so him dying while making the ultimate sacrifice and then getting a statue and documentary etc. is an excellent fuck-you to his doubters/enemies. But of course, it’s not as effective as it should be because people STILL talk about shit his pre-IM1 character, and Beck and his minions came for the barf glasses in FFH because they couldn’t let him rest. (Not to mention Toomes in Homecoming was anti Tony too as if he caused the Battle of NY—they even make Spider-Man villains be villains of Tony they hate him so much.) (even the Iron Man trilogy villains aren’t bad people Tony decided to stop himself, they were specifically people who HATED TONY. Stane and Hammer out of jealousy etc., Vanko for something Howard did to his dad, and Killian bc Tony was mean to him once.)

And that’s all just canon bullshit. Don’t get me started on the MCU fandom. I once saw a tik tok where someone criticized the new Captain America bc his intro on the football field with the marching band was too similar to Iron Man and his cheerleaders in IM2, meanwhile Steve Rogers used to have dancers and a play while he toured the front lines??? Like out of all the reasons this fool could’ve criticized John Walker, he chose to compare his MARCHING BAND INTRO to Tony’s Expo cheerleaders. Like what a fucking reach!!! (Meanwhile golden boy Steve can do whatever he wants and still be worthy of mjolnir) That’s how much people hate him lmao. Our king should’ve just snapped Peter back and let everyone else rot.

OOPS I turned it into a long answer again. Hahahaha. Anyways. Fuck anyone who isn’t Tony Stark. That’s my point.

[cblgblog]

I know I’m probably beating a dead horse at this point but I feel like it isn’t talked about enough how the accord do not and will never affect Tony the same way they’ll affect those like Steve & Wanda. Tony can always just blow up all of his suits again & go back to a fully normal life if he wants to. He doesn’t have to wear a tracking bracelet, or submit dna samples, or fear getting shoved into a straight jacket or electroshock collar if he gets arrested. I’ll I just don’t think it’s addressed enough how blatantly privileged Tony & other normal humans like rhodey & nat would be under the accords compared to their other teammates. No wonder they were so supportive of them from the beginning.

Ah, but what is fandom for if not the beating of dead horses?

I agree with you. I generally prefer the film over the comic event (granted I haven’t read it in a few years now), but I do like that the Civil War comic had more time to discuss those civil liberties issues. Like, the damn thing, as with most comics events, is annoyingly massive. Not if you just read the core 6 books of the main CW storyline, but the tie-ins, oh my God the tie-ins. Comic events and their damn tie-ins…

For the sake of telling a fuller story though, I do like that the comics had so damn much. There was much more room for side content, for lesser characters who aren’t in the MCU, or weren’t, at the time. There’s a fuller picture of why various people are taking the sides they do. Some of those reasons make more sense than others, but yeah.

There’s a bit from the comics that I’ve posted before where Tony and Peter (mid 20’s, his own hero Peter, not Frankenstein, Tonky Jesus fanboy Peter) are arguing about the Registration Act—as it’s called in the comics—and talking about the civil liberties being violated. Being a 2006 book, it’s got a very post 9/ll, Guantanamo Bay theme going. The lack of trial, of legal representation, the prison that’s even worse than The Raft. There are several scenes like this as I recall, and yeah, the film is sorely missing them in places. You kind of see it with Team Cap in The Raft, but it’s very much a quick thing in the larger narrative of the film, and that’s annoying.

I’m not exactly advocating for this, because the film version with it’s smaller focus works a lot better in many respects, but I do sometimes think of the alternate reality where Disney Plus existed sooner, and Civil War was turned into a series instead of a film. Say six episodes, match the number of installments in the main comic event, eight eps if you wanted to push it. Then we could get something that delved deeper into what these documents actually say, what the public’s reaction to them is, how they would affect people besides our core Avengers group.

Show some kid like Peter who has abilities but doesn’t want to go out and fight bad guys, just wants to live a normal life. Show someone who can’t reveal their Enhanced nature to friends or family because it wouldn’t be safe for that person. Show the every day or every day-ish people (ala the Netflix shows) and where they stand on this. Wanda talks about people being scared of her after the Lagos incident and you kind of see that, but not really. Actually show that. Show the fears that people have of these Enhanced people, the legit and less legit ones, and show the other side too, the regular, every day people who still look at this and say hey, no, hang on, this is wrong.

Again, not necessarily saying I’d want this over the film, but if the Mouse overlords ever wanted to revisit that storyline and expand on it, I wouldn’t complain.

And yeah, people have talked about this too, but it kind of sucks the way the film handled everyone and their reasons for siding how they did. Steve is all about choice and keeping the government from abusing its citizens ala Hydra, Tony’s got his whole, we need to be kept in check thing, but very few of our other players land where they land because of the actual Accords. Nat doesn’t want her Avengers family to fall apart, and wants to maintain some control over the situation rather than none. Rhodey’s the career military man who (generally) follows orders and hey, if this is what most people want, we don’t get to just decide eh, no thanks. Panther doesn’t care about any of this, dude just picks the team that’s going after Bucky. Peter doesn’t know what the fuck he is actually fighting for, Tony didn’t tell him, Scott and Clint are there because Cap asked, and also, presumably, because of the danger the Accords would put their family in, but that second point is never explicitly stated.

And Sam…I feel like we really got fucking robbed with Sam, especially in light of what we’ve learned about his character in Falcon and WS. The film doesn’t much go into his reasoning, beyond the fact he believes in Cap, he’s Cap’s ride or die, etc. But given the history he has in Falcon and WS, again, we were robbed. Dude is all about making sure minorities aren’t oppressed, aren’t punished for existing. Dude is very much aware of the double-standards in this country. I know that stuff was written in later, but my God did we miss out on a Sam monologue about this in CW. Sam, who’s like Nat and Tony in that he can theoretically hang up the wings and be free of the Accords, but still takes the other side. Would’ve been hella interesting to see Sam and Rhodey’s little argument they have about it be an actual scene, an actual debate. Sam who knows of the US government and it’s unjust laws and abuse of power, knows it long before he hears of Isiah Bradley. Who has those nephews that will have to grow up in a post-Accords world. It just would’ve been super interesting to see Rhodey and Sam, both Black men who joined the military, one who left, one who didn’t, have an actual discussion on why they feel what they feel. Even discounting the finer details of the Sam stuff, the stuff that wasn’t written yet, it would’ve been cool.

And, of course it would’ve been awesome to see Tony and the non-powered on Team Iron Man (but mostly Tony) get called out on their privilege with this issue, but that of course couldn’t happen, because Tony has plot immunity. Let fire and lightning pour forth and destroy all who dare to question the wisdom of Tonky Jesus, praise be to Tonky and all he has given us.

[thetimelordbatgirl]

The MCU has the tendency to go for a plot twist without considering the long-term unfortunate implications on the characters involved. Tony creating EDITH then giving it to a teenager looks bad when you think about it. There are no words for how bad Steve's ending is no matter how you interpret it. If he was Peggy’s husband the whole time, than it means he allowed everyone who cared about him to think he was dead and allowed all these terrible things to happen (Hydra, Thanos, etc) just to play house with Peggy. And even if he did go to an alternate timeline and presumably prevented all of the above, it still leaves another Steve Rogers frozen in the ice and he's stolen that Steve's life. Strange goes straight to casting a reality-altering spell, blames Peter for messing it up, but doesn't consider that maybe just maybe he should have explained how the spell worked first? (There's a reason why when the trailer dropped people speculated it was the Strange from What If because the Strange we've been following with all that character development couldn't possibly be that reckless and stupid). What If showed us Ultron- possessed Vision instantly killing Thanos - so does that mean OG Vision was capable of killing Thanos the entire time? And why didn't the Eternals help out in the fight against Thanos? WAY too many logic failures in this franchise.

I mean, the MCU is owned by Disney and often or not, they love plot twists, the implications half the time not even thought out, so are we surprised the MCU fell down that path? Like, when it comes to E.D.I.T.H, they wanted to somehow make Tony present in Far From Home, so what do they do with him dead? Have Peter get a dangerous technology from him that is never once called out as Tony having made a dangerous technology again with his ego showing in the name ('Even Dead, I'm The Hero') and then having said technology be not only given to a teenager but then said technology is used to ruin said teenager's life at the end of the film as a plot twist/cliffhanger ending that next film would fail to tackle fully. And for Steve's ending....well, next to every single problem you listed with that plot twist, it also means he technically made out with his niece in Civil War (what is it with the MCU and incest???), because MCU wanted to do a ship that was as dead as Peggy that badly that they didn't think through any implications. The whole spell in No Way Home no matter what, is stupid. You could argue that Strange at least wanted to help Peter (because fuck Multiverse of Madness trying to spin it as being like Wanda cause Strange wanted to HELP a child while Wanda wanted to KILL a child), but the way they went about it sooo stupid. He never once tells Peter prior about the spell or check if he wants certain people to remember, he just gets straight to it and blames Peter for the bad aftermath, and again, like Far From Home, we need a stupid plot twist/cliffhanger ending with Peter telling Strange to erase Peter in general from everyone's minds. Like, they were that desperate to now and try to do a good Spiderman, that they did a stupid plot twist whose implications I guess we will see be explored soon with whatever BS Spiderman 4 is.

What If...? is a whole ass mess, but the fact that Vision could just kill Thanos with that much ease this entire home makes Infinity War look completely stupid as dude could just slice and dice Thanos with ease. And for Eternals....in real life? Because MCU hadn't thought of them at the time and only decided to shove them in Phase Four. For in MCU? Who the fuck knows with this team. MCU didn't put much thought into it really. And some plot twists that made no sense really I can name right now: Wanda being completely evil after Endgame cause of robot dick and then children that were never real in the main timeline, Sharon being the main bad guy at the end of TFATWS because for some reason the MCU likes to fuck over Sharon in writing, Sylvie in Loki as a whole and of course its ending, Venom in the MCU because it's clear no one knew what to do with that plot twist in No Way Home given it was dealt with in a end credit scene and the WHOLE bullshit with Taskmaster in Black Widow.

Like, you'd think if they want the MCU to keep going, they'd be more careful with these plot twists and such, but no. They don't. And it keeps happening as a result, with only plot twists being good in films like Black Panther and Shang Chi and Winter Soldier and maybe Moon Knight, but beyond that, MCU just keeps doing logic failures.

[star-spangled-bingo]

Star Spangled Bingo 2021

Purpose of the bingo

The focal characters of this bingo are the three Caps (Steve, Bucky, and Sam). 

- You don’t have to choose one for the entire bingo. You can do one for Steve and the ten for Sam and the rest for Bucky or any combo thereof. You can also only write for two of them or one of them for the entire card. 

- You can pair them however you want - with each other, a reader, an OC or a different character from the MCU or entirely other fandom. You can also write a general fic

- No matter how you chose to pair them the focus must stay on one of the three Caps. So if you write fx. Winterwidow focus still has to be on Bucky over Nat - or you can write a general fic as long as the focal character is fx Sam. 

- The pairing involving one of the three has to be the main pairing. You can’t write Tony x Reader and have Stucky as a side pairing.

- Even if we describe them as the three Caps it’s up to you if Steve, Sam or Bucky hold the mantle in the fic/artwork. Fx. you can have Steve be Cap but still write a Bucky x Reader fic. Or you can write a Sam x OC and have no cap present at all. The focus is on the characters above the mantle.

- You’re fic also doesn’t have to be canon-compliant. You can write an AU if you want or you can make it as close to the MCU or comics as you choose.

OBS: 2021 dates are used in the following - search #round 3 or #rules to find 2021 important dates! 

What you have to do

- Sign up - sign-ups for 2021 are open December 21st, 2020 to January 3rd, 2021 - We will open too late sign-ups late spring/early summer if you missed the window.

- Your submissions must be open to pictures on your chosen Tumblr otherwise we won’t be able to send you your card, and we will for normal signups send out cards between Dec 21st 2020 - Jan 13th, 2021 - if you haven’t received your card by then let us know.

- If you haven’t written any squares for your first, second or third card you got from them 2020 bingo, you can ask to transfer it to 2021. You can only do it with an entire free card and not just selected squares. 

- You can get up to five squares changed (this does not apply to transfers) or a new card. You can only do this for your first card and only once. 

- You can ask for a second card once you have filled the first and a third when you filled the second.  

- You can write as many or as few squares as you would like. There are no scorecards but the one you may or may not choose to keep yourself. If you do choose to keep a score card you will get a badge per card to fill if you submit it to us. More on that later. 

- You can start posting for the bingo Jan 1st and final day to post for this round and have it count towards a badge is December 31st, 2021.

- Last day to submit your masterlist for reblog/badge January 15th, 2022.

FIND MORE IMPORTANT DATES HERE 

What do you get

- A card is 5x5 with one free space. You can ask to get up to 5 squares changed. More than that and you’ll have to ask for a new card. You can get changes once or a new card once. Not both or multiple times. You ask for changes via submit by submitting your card via photos to our blog and telling us which squares you want changed - same goes if you want an entirely new card. You still have to submit the old back to us (that way any of the admins can work on your remake, not just the one that created it for you). 

- If you fill out a card we will create a badge for you. You can fill up to 3 cards per round and get up to three badges. Read more on submission of masterlists for badge here. 

- A lot of prompts to play and have fun with under very few restrictions. 

Restrictions

- No abusive ships are allowed. Some ships like Winteriron can be abusive if you focus on the negative but can also be based on healing, therefore they are a grey zone and fall under think about what you write, if you chose a pairing such as that one. Shipping Bucky with Rumlow will always be abusive and as a rule no villains shipped with heroes allowed. (Loki might be an exception cause he is a grey character, just think before you write with him too).

-No pairing an adult with an underage character. No aging up or down. This goes for side pairings as well so no Starker!

- No incest - that goes for Thorki as a sidepairing as well. Adopted or not they grew up as brothers.

- No non/dub con are allowed either. 

- You can’t write smut if you are under the age of 18. If we catch you doing so you will be blocked from the bingo page and banned for participating.

- You can’t write smut if you are under 18. Everyone can write fluff, angst, crack, etc.

Formats and requirements

- Fics must state what square you fill, warnings, word count and pairing - if no pairing just write general (check the format page for ideas on how to format your post)

- Social Media AUs, Aesthetics, Edits, Fanart, Fanvids, podfics must have square filled, pairing and if needed warnings. 

- Everything you post as a fill must be original and new content - or if you read someone’s fic as a podfic explicit consent from the author must have been given and they have to be credited on your post. 

- Fics must have a minimum of 250 words - fics over 500 must have a keep reading to be reblogged. 

- Use common sense for when posting artworks into long posts. They might need a cut too.

- Aesthetics have a 4 picture minimum and preferably accompanied by a 100-word description or drabble - words are not a must

- Gifsets has a 6 picture minimum.

- One piece of fanart in form of a drawing by hand or a computer program is considered a fill. 

- Social media Aus must be a min of 6 pictures. 

- Podfics must be a min of 3 min.

- Fanvids must be a min of 30 sec. 

- All content can be added via link not to an original Tumblr post if you so choose as long as there is a Tumblr post with the format requirements we can reblog and the Tumblr post must be linked too on the masterlist you create when your card is filled. 

- IF WE FORGOT YOUR TYPE OF ARTWORK SEND US AN ASK AND WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO WORK SOMETHING OUT - we are pretty open to all types of creative outlets but it’s hard to put restrictions of stuff we don’t know or know very little about.

- One square per fic/artwork. If you write a series each chapter can be considered a fill or the entire series can be a fill if you so choose. No combining squares within the bingo.

- You are free to combine our bingo with another bingo with no additional requirements added from our end. Just make sure you follow the other bingos rules too. 

- Warn accordingly. If warnings are spoilers put them in the tags and tell people to check your tags for additional warnings on the post.

- You don’t have to use the same media for the entire card. You can have 3 fics and 1 vid and the rest fics fx.

- Tag us @star-spangled-bingo and make clear the fic is for SSB 2021 and use the #SSB2021 (in one word) on each square you fill.

Sanctions for breaking the rules

- If your post lacks a keep reading we won’t reblog it but it will still count as a fill.

- If you don’t tag us we can’t reblog you and if you don’t say it’s for SSB2020 in your header we won’t count it as a fill until you edited it into the post. This seems strict but we got 2019 floating and it is impossible to know which card what is for if you don’t mark it down for us. 

- If your fill fail to meet the minimum requirements your fill will be reblogged but won’t count as a fill unless you add to it to meet the minimum. 

- If your post doesn’t clearly show square filled, we won’t reblog it and it won’t count as a fill until you edited it in. 

- If we discover you write smut and are under 18 - you will be blocked from the bingo blog and banned from participating in the bingo in the future even when you reach the age of 18. 

- If you break this rule: No abusive ships are allowed. No pairing an adult with an underage character. No aging up or down. No incest and no glorification of non/dub con are allowed either. All of these go for side pairing also so no Thorki and Starker. Your post won’t count as a fill, nor will it be reblogged. You’ll get a reminder of our rules the first time you break it and the second you will be banned from the bingo.

HAVE FUN 

is the most important rule and if you got any questions please direct them at the bingo blog not our personal blogs. We are happy to answer all your questions and we will get to all the asks as soon as we can!

SIGN UP HERE

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About "What If...Captain Carter was the First Avenger" from Marvel Studios' What If...

Salutations, random people on the internet who certainly won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

Back when Marvel Studios announced the new lineup of films and shows, I was admittingly underwhelmed. Nothing we've seen so far has been poorly written, far from it, but during the announcement, nothing really popped out at me as worth getting excited for. That is, except for one series: Marvel Studios' What If... An animated series that changes the canon of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, all through the simple question. The question being, "What if this happened instead of that."

From the get-go, I was sold on this idea. I'm a sucker for hypothetical scenarios, thinking up all the ways of how some of my favorite stories in fiction could be drastically different thanks to one tiny change. Some might call that "Fanfiction the Series," and while you're not wrong, I fail to see how that's a criticism. Because fanfiction can be fun...just as long as you ignore the sick freaks, sure, but it still can be fun! So whether Marvel Studio's What If... is fanfiction or not, it still didn't change how excited I was to watch it. Was it all worth the hype? Well, to answer that question requires spoilers, so keep that in mind as we dive deep into Marvel's most ambitious project yet.

Now, let's review, shall we?

WHAT I LIKED

The Watcher: Gonna get the generals out of the way before I talk about what I specifically like about this episode. Ok? Ok.

Now, using the Watcher as the narrator for this series is just perfect. What If... already has a similar energy to The Twilight Zone: An anthology series that takes viewers to new and mysterious realities all through the guidance of an omniscient narrator. And using the Watcher as that type of narrator might just be the second-best choice...number one would be Stan Lee, obviously, but...he's dead now. May he rest in peace.

I haven't read that many comics, so there's not much that I know about the Watcher's character aside from a ten-second Google search. But something tells me that a character described as a celestial being that observes and records the events surrounding the galaxy sounds like the exact type of omniscience to guide us through the unknown. All added with Jeffrey Wright's performance, who really does convey a character that sounds like he's as old as time and wise beyond his years. Plus, it's pretty cool that such a seemingly odd character now technically plays a major role in the MCU canon. Comics are weird, and if the Watcher proves anything, it's better to embrace that weirdness than deny it.

The Animation: Looks like someone watched Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse.

That really is the feeling I got when watching this. What If... doesn't look as good as Spiderverse (Nothing can be as good as Spiderverse), but the idea is still there as it combines primarily CGI animation with a few hand-drawn elements. It makes certain scenes just pop and, at times, even makes specific shots look like they're straight from panels in a comic book. Besides, while Spiderverse still looks better, that doesn't mean the animation isn't phenomenal in What If... The scenery looks gorgeous, the CGI models moderately match their live-action counterparts, the expressions are fantastic, and movements are as smooth as butter. There was definitely some money that went into this series to make it look as good as it did, and my eyeballs were more than grateful because of it. Especially when it comes to--

The Action: Holy s**t, was it a good thing that this series was animated!

The MCU has had its fair share of great fight scenes in the past, but it always felt restricted to what the big superhero fights could be due to everything needing to look "realistic." That all changes in What If... Because now that this series is animated, we can finally chuck realism out the window and allow these characters to be as epic as they were in the comics. The movements are swift, the blows look like they hurt, and best of all, you actually get to see characters fighting each other! There are no random cuts to hide the stunt doubles or weird camera angles to avoid audiences seeing how ugly the CGIed replacements are. We get to see all of the action with zero restraint, thanks to the fact that animation is limitless and allows writers to get away with literally anything. And shows like this make me wonder, "Why the hell isn't the MCU animated?"

Peggy as Captain Carter: It's here that we get into the specifics, and by golly, do I love me some Peggy Carter making a return. And what a return she made!

Seeing Peggy kick Nazi ass as Captain Carter is as awesome as it sounds as she gives a new definition of a "Strong, independent woman." She took s**t from no one and was more than willing to destroy anybody who said differently. It's a ton of fun for fans (the ones who aren't sexist, at least) and even fun for Peggy as well now that she gets a chance to wreck shop. However, that in itself could cause problems. If you watched Agent Carter (a great show, by the way), then you'll know that Peggy doesn't act as...somewhat meatheaded as she does here. As she said it herself, she's "usually more covert than this." And she is, as she was pretty much the first superspy in the MCU, who's impressive through how she effortlessly infiltrates her way to winning the day with diminutive requirements for fighting. So stripping that away gets rid of a core part of what makes her character so interesting. Although, in fairness, you could blame the fact that the reason she's acting like this is that the super-soldier serum is messing with her brain a bit. We've seen through U.S. Agent the reciprocations of the wrong person taking the serum, and while Peggy is far from the worst pick, there are hints of why Steve Rodgers was the best choice. Still, even though it's not the same Peggy Carter, that doesn't mean Captain Carter is a poor addition to the hero roster in the MCU. She's cool in all the right ways, even though they're drastically different from what made her compelling, to begin with.

Howard Stark: Another character I'm more than happy to see again!

Howard didn't leave that much of a grand of an impression in Captain America: The First Avenger, but in Agent Carter (Seriously, great show), he was a blast. You can just tell he was Tony Stark's father through all the ways he fast-talks in and out of problems and brilliantly comes up with solutions thanks to being tech-savvy. The main difference between Howard and Tony, however, is that Howard prefers to stay on the sidelines, where Tony learned to be more proactive. You get a sense of that in this episode. Because even though he goes to save the day, you can tell that he would rather be anywhere else. And, as a bonus, Howard's just funny. Probably not up there as one of the funniest characters in the franchise (Paul Rudd's Ant-Man reigns supreme), but he still cracks me up more times than not. Howard may be nothing more than a side character, but he'll always win me over no matter how small of a role he has.

Steve Rodgers in the Hydra Stomper: Don't mind me. Just admiring the fact that despite being crippled and skinny, Steve Rodgers still finds a way to fight the good fight, which is who Steve is to me. One of the best things about The First Avenger is that it fully understands the hero that is Captain America. Serum or not, he will do all he can to do the right thing and won't give up despite how many times others tell him he should. So if Steve's going to fly around in a suped-up Iron Man suit that's appropriately named "The Hydra Stomper," then Steve'll f**king soar. Because he is a gosh dang superhero, no matter what name he takes at the end of the day.

Fast-Forwarding Through Events: Some fans might take issues with this. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see all the little changes that Captain Carter makes to the story, but realistically that's not the best choice to make. Let's be honest, there's not that much to show other than what this episode did, and doing a full-on rewrite of Captain America: The First Avenger would have rubbed some fans the wrong way. Besides, from what I can tell, most of the What If... comics are one-shots that very rarely branch out into longer arcs. The primary goal is less to write this large-scale story and more of this self-contained narrative that does what it precisely delivers: Show fans a glimpse of what would happen if this happened instead of that. That's what we were given, and I can't really complain that much. I would have loved to have seen more, but I can learn to be happy with what I got.

Colonel Flynn Taking Credit: This guy is sexist and an idiot, and that's why I hate him...but I'd be lying if I said that I didn't at least chuckle when he said everything was his idea. It's such a scumbag move that I couldn't help but find the humor in it.

(Like, what even was that scene where Peggy was pissed at Steve kissing a girl. THEY WEREN'T EVEN DATING !)nd Steve falling in love inThe First Avenger, which certainly wasn't helped by how they had these dumbass misunderstandings of each thinking the other was dating someone else. Here, they at least get to interact, confiding in one another about their insecurities and offer support when needed. And while it may be a little rushed, I'm more willing to believe their romance in under thirty minutes than I did in over two hours. It could have been better, but it also could have been much, much worse.

(Like, what even was that scene where Peggy was pissed at Steve kissing a girl. THEY WEREN'T EVEN DATING AT THE TIME!)

“I won’t tell you anything.”/”He told me everything.”: That's the Peggy Carter I know and love! Added with a solid joke, too.

Steve’s Pratfall: It's nice to know that no matter what universe we see, Marvel is still funny.

Peggy’s Sacrifice: Much like Peggy and Steve's romance, I buy Peggy's sacrifice way more than Steve's. Several fans already pointed out how it makes no sense for Steve to crash the plane into the icy waters when it seemed like he had enough control to land it or could have easily jumped out after aiming for the crash landing. Here, there's a more legitimate reason why Peggy sacrifices herself. The monster was undefeatable, and the only way to stop it was to push it back through the portal. Peggy, being the only one strong enough to do so at the moment, was the only option, and there was no way where she didn't end up going through with the monster. Even her return makes more sense, as I think her being lost to time and space sounds more believable than Steve surviving being frozen in ice. Something no mortal man should live through. Peggy's sacrifice proves that while the MCU can't change its cannon past, the writers learn from their mistakes and make something better.

WHAT I DISLIKED

The Reasoning Behind Peggy Becoming Captain Carter: So, the idea that one small change can greatly alter the story we knew is a great one, and it's one of the main reasons why I was excited about this series...but how does Peggy staying in the room cause the Hydra agent to detonate the bomb early? I understand the ripples that come from the Butterfly Effect, but I feel like that's too big of a leap to reason how Peggy ends up taking the serum instead.

Colonel Flynn: How is it possible that this guy is somehow even more of a pain in the ass than the general he replaced? At least Chester Phillips had the decency to respect Agent Carter!

Red Skull is Still on the Dull Side: Red Skull isn't an awful villain, but he wasn't really a great one. It's the same here, as he's just as forgettable and wooden an episode of television as he was in a full-length movie. But at least he had a cooler death this time.

Sebastian Stan is Not a Great Voice Actor: He's not awful, but his talent really doesn't shine in this regard. Some people think that being an actor and a voice actor is the same thing, but it's not always the case. Through live-action, actors are given a chance to express emotion through their expressions, movement, and voice. With voice acting, actors still have to convey emotions, but strictly through their voice. Meaning that actors like Sebastian Stan are limited to what they're used to and can stumble a bit when trying to perform in a field of acting they're unfamiliar with. You can tell he was trying his best, but this type of thing can take far more practice for others to perfect.

“Whew. Thanks. You almost ripped my arm off.”: ...hhhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHA! HA HA! Ah...oh man...I, uh...I felt the internal bleeding with that one. Wow. Just...wow.

Bucky Leaving After Steve “Died”: Ok, now that's the biggest bout of bulls**t I've ever heard. BUCKY WOULD BE WITH STEVE 'TILL THE END OF THE LINE AND WOULD NOT HAVE LEFT THAT QUICKLY!

...This episode did Bucky dirty, didn't it?

IN CONCLUSION

I'd say that "What If...Captain Carter was the First Avenger" is an A-. It's still a solid start of what I can already tell will be a great series, but some elements could have used some polishing out. I loved it, but it wasn't as bloody brilliant as it could have been.

(And I meant it: WATCH AGENT CARTER! It's pleasantly surprising!)

[camelely]

TFATWS Spoilers under the cut

Literally the following is my thoughts and opinions, and there are probably some unpopular opinions lol. It's kinda really long lol.

Starting with some positives.

I loved how the two leads had storylines that mirrored each other. Sam needed to become Captain America and gain a title and Bucky needed to move on from The Winter Solider and loose a title.

Sam. Just Sam I loved him before but now I love him more.

Sam becoming Cap.

I loved Isaiah and his story.

I loved Sam's family, how they welcomed Bucky and the struggles Sarah had.

I really liked how they spent time with both Sam and Bucky and didn't forget the show was supposed to be about both of them. Often times shows tend to lean into the more popular or fan favorite lead and this show didn't do that. When Sam took center it felt natural and when Bucky took center it felt natural.

The Wakandans were great. I love Ayo and her friendship with Bucky.

Zemo was fine and fun enough.

John Walker was incredibly done. Wyatt Russell did an amazing job and the scene with the blood on the shield will forever be in my memory. Hands down one of the most impactful MCU moments.

I like the genderbend on Karl/Karli and the direction they took her character. People that go from sympathetic ideas to unforgivable means, make good villains. I think her more boring elements come from the lack of development she got.

Now on to the negatives.

This show could have been like two hours shorter and still told the same story with the same impact. Also earlier episodes, (maybe later episodes too I might have just gotten used to it and stopped noticing lol), had some weird ADR moments. IDK what happened behind the scenes but it was noticeable.

I would have loved it if one of the episodes was a flashback episode. The Sharon twist was obvious from the first episode she appeared in but like they thought it was good enough to save confirmation for the mid/end of the finale? Both her and Karli would have been benefited from a flashback episode.

Karli should have fought Bucky while Sam was focused on Walker. Sam could have had a moment where he tells him he will never be forgiven and Walker would responded with something similar to "I do what is right. I don't need forgiveness." Then when he becomes USAgent it lands more like the next progression in an arc rather than the redemption arc this could be interpreted as. I personally think this is a stepping stone and not a redemption but the MCU (and Disney) doesnt have a great track record when it comes to handling anything with nuance and the fans have an even worse track record when handling things that arent black and white. I guess my point is they could have handled the John Walker set up better.

Speaking of set up, this entire show was set up. This is my main and only real problem with this show. Nothing felt like it was resolved at the end. Karli even says she was part of a bigger movement. Killing her didn't change the fact a lot of people felt the un blip ruined their lives. People always shit on Tony for wanting to bring people back five years later instead of going back in time but like it had been five years, while some like Steve and Natasha hadn't moved on, others had. Some had better lives. Assuming everyone wanted to back to the way things used to be would also be a mistake. This has consequences too, as we see in these shows. But ruining the lives of the people who had bettered themselves would have been shitty too. And yea some people who had been bettered were worsened once again when the un blip happened but my point is going back and erasing the five years would have been shitty too. There is not really a right answer here as the right answer would have been to either stop the snap before it happened or to come to terms with the fact that the snap can never be undone. Leaving everyone as dead might have hurt, but it was the best thing for a community that had five years of mourning and moving on and counseling ETC. Ooof that was a tangent lol and I could probably write an essay so going back to my original point about set up. The flag smashers, or at least people who think the way they did still exist, Sharon Carter is the powerbroker but Sam and Bucky dont know and now shes back as agent 13, John Walker went from war hero to committing war crimes and his journey as USAgent is just starting, Sam has taken the Cap mantle and is ready to begin acting as Cap, and Bucky is both coming to terms with and moving on from his past. Nothing is actually resolved in this mini series. I know it's supposed to make you excited for the next movie/show/season whatever but have six episodes of little to no payoff IMO made for a flat show.

Building off the set up problem. This show had too much going on. Sam and Bucky each had their own personal journey (The A and B plot depending on the episode), Sam and Bucky being friends and their shared journey (C), John Walker and the Flag Smashers (the D and E plot depending on the episode), Zemo and the Wakandans (F), The PowerBroker/Sharon (G), The boat and Sarah which could be considered part of Sam's plot but since if you cut it out the only thing that actually effected Sam's journey would be the bank in the first episode and yet it still went on till basically the end I'm calling it it's own plot (H), Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, which might be part of John Walker's story but since it's all set up for her to take a bigger role in the future and his set up could be completed without her I'm counts her separately (I), then you have the big meeting at the end, the senators and policy makers making choices the vote that they keep mentioning and once again more set up... (J). 10 ideas by my count, all needed their own set up, follow through, and payoff. And yes some stuff like Valentina the pay off will come later but still... It's all too many plots! And thats not mentioning side characters that were new to the show that they wanted to spend time with but couldn't.

Even though I think the shows aren't comparable/two different genres WandaVision had two more episodes (and yes some were shorter but I already mentioned I think FATWS could have benefited from that), completed all the main plots and had Wanda's journey (A), Vision's journey (B), Agatha, Pietro/Ralph, and the citizens of the hex (C), Outside the hex Monica (D), Outside the hex everyone else and sure you can separate Darcy, Jimmy and Heyward but none of them were setting up future stories or had their own distinctive plot outside the hex thing like Monica so she is the only one I am separating (E), the kids who could be counted as an extension of the Wanda and Vision plots since they didnt really have their own arc or story (F). 6 total. And some of those could be combined. Like I think we should separate Wanda Vision and the kids but technically they are just an extension of Wanda. And same with Monica, her story was mostly intertwined with Darcy, Jimmy and the outside the hex stuff. I separated her since I think she had enough moments to herself and she set up secret invasion or whatever, but like Valentina being a part of John's story it is arguable. Of these plots only the missing witness Jimmy thing, Wanda's post credits moment a moment seperate from everything else, Monica's mid credits i think? moment another one separate from everything else, and white vision were unresolved. They gave Agatha an opening ending but it was still an ending. And yes Darcy Heyward etc will probably come back but the plot they had here was finished. So arguably they had 2/6 unfinished plots. And if you don't count Jimmy's witness as a plot and just count it as an unanswered question then 1/6. And technically white vision is just half a vision and the other vision got a complete plot so really it's 0.5/6 At best they completed 92(ish)% of the plots and left 8 (ish) % for future stuff.

In contrast FATWS only finished Sam's journey into becoming Cap, Zemo and the Wakandans, and arguably Sam and Bucky's friendship. You might be able to argue that Bucky had a full circle moment with the guy whose son he killed, but that is one guy and Bucky has been carrying around a list of people like that guy. It's not the end of a story it is the start of a journey. And maybe it is possible to say the boat thing had an ending kinda. 2/10 completed. maybe 3/10 if you wanna push it 5/10. IMO at best they completed 50% of plot set up.

Clearly FATWS is meant to be this way and thats why it bothered me. They want you to watch Cap 4 or whatever they decide to call the theatrical movie that will come after this. I guess I was just expecting it to stand on it's own, and other than Sam's journey into becoming Captain America, which was amazing and deserved in every way, nothing this show did felt like it could have stood on its own. I know it's arguable that was the main story and only story that deserved to end. But I've already pointed out all the other running plots this show had, and I think at least two or three of them should have had follow through in the show.

Someone who plans to never seen an MCU movie after these shows could have watched WandaVision and enjoyed it. That is not the case for FATWS. If you don't plan on watching any MCU stuff in the future you won't know how over half the plots of this show will end. THis isn't even how the movies work. They each tell their own story while also setting up other things, so it is clear they know how to do this.

I can see why Disney decided to submit it as a series and not a mini series. Not only do they not want to compete with themselves (nominating WV as a miniseries) but also this isn't a miniseries.

I guess to conclude I'll say I did really enjoy watching this show. It was fun and there were some great moments. It featured amazing character and amazing actors, but I wish it had bothered to finish more of what it started.

Thank you so much for reading till the end of a post that has surely become unintelligible gloop by now. If you disagree I'd love to hear why!

[lovinlikeloki]

The Lone Wolf (Intermission)

Masterlist // Act I Interview

Word Count: 1.9k

ROSE HARRIS, A COMIC FAN’S DREAM COME TRUE

- “I never thought I would go from Story of Miss Oxygen to this!”

BY FAITH PRICE

Going from small independent films to one of the biggest movie franchises is a dream come true, right? Well Rose Harris could certainly tell you. She went from being someone nearly nobody knew to one of the biggest names on our screens practically overnight. Joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the one and only Fianna MacBhfloscaidh, Harris has become an idol for many people very quickly.

While most people know her for her part in Captain America: Civil War which hit the silver screen only a few months ago on 26 April, Harris has been in a couple of short films like Story of Miss Oxygen and even portrayed the lead character in Daughter. She also has a main character role in a new Netflix series currently being filmed named 13 Reasons Why. Needless to say, Rose Harris is a very busy girl and I was very lucky to get the chance to interview her.

FAITH: WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO JOIN SUCH A FAMOUS FRANCHISE? HOW WAS THE RESPONSE TO YOUR FIRST BIG MOVIE BEING ONE IN THE MCU?

Rose Harris: It was amazing. Joining such a big franchise with a huge cast was very daunting at first, I mean these guys are practically a family so it felt weird and almost intruding at first. But then Lizzie came over and started talking to me, uh she reminded me she was in this place only a year ago and kinda eased me into meeting everyone. As for the response, it was huge, I mean my follower count skyrocketed within like a day. I never thought I would go from Story of Miss Oxygen to this! It was really exciting.

SO I HAVE TO ASK, WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS ON FIANNA’S, AND YOUR, ENTRANCE AND FIRST APPEARANCE IN THE MCU? WHAT ABOUT FAN OPINIONS?

Well, personally I loved it, I mean it was- I think it was pretty cool that, um, they made sure that she knew Wanda and like the Maximoff twins beforehand, that was always going to be a big thing. I really liked it, it was fun and very Fianna, I think. As for the fans? It’s almost a 50/50 split when it comes to their opinions, especially the fans of the original comics.

As you’ve probably seen, Fianna’s entrance has a lot of parallels to Peter Parker’s who is also introduced in this movie, which is what divided fans. For, ah, Spideywolf fans, I believe that’s what they’re called, people who pair Fianna and Peter Parker together, they were ecstatic and love to point out the similarities. But then on the other hand, Silverwolf fans, people who pair Fianna and Pietro Maximoff together, they weren’t as big of fans of this. I think it’s because in the comics they were the endgame pairing.

YOU THINK THEY DON’T LIKE THAT THEY’RE NOT ADHEREING TO THE COMICS?

Oh for sure. I mean as I said, Fianna and Pietro, they... they- in almost every comic series you read with the two, they end up together and Pietro seems to be pretty dead right now in the MCU. He- with all of those bullet holes he looks very not alive [she laughs], at the moment. And so in their eyes this is Marvel and the writers straying from the comics, as you said.

I guess they’re now left wondering how far from the comics we’re gonna go, because I mean she’s already a mercenary. Before the names Fenrir or Lupine is even uttered, she’s a mercenary, with zero Wolves Den, uh, context. So many comics are being ignored at this point, and that’s even disregarding her mutant and X-Men origins.

YOU MENTIONED THE WOLVES DEN COMIC SERIES, WHAT IS YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT STORYLINE? IS IT SOMETHING YOU’D LIKE TO SEE IN THE FUTURE OF THE MCU?

I think that Wolves Den is probably one of my favorites, if not my favorite Fianna comic series. It’s very, I don’t know how to put this, it’s very chaotic. I mean there’s three different storylines to follow, the romantic one, the team one and then the villain one.

You’ve got the romantic one, Fianna and Peter’s storyline, I mean Fianna... she really messes Peter up in this series, emotionally. She does cheat on him, they break up and then she gets together with Harry Osborn, I mean it’s so very messy. Then there’s the subplot where she leaves the Avengers, she breaks off not only from Peter but also from Natasha Romanoff who she is extremely close to in this universe, I mean they’ve got a mother-daughter bond. Instead she becomes a mercenary where she goes by the monikers of Fenrir and Lupine, going between the two to keep the team of heroes off her back.

And while she’s doing this she’s also fighting off a villain by the name of Discord, someone from Fianna’s past, who is trying to take over and attack the minds of people in New York. She does all this at the same time, and it’s just a very chaotic, discordant series.

WHAT DO YOU THINK WAS THE MOST DIFFICULT THING FOR HER IN THIS SERIES?

Definitely the way she has to balance all of this, I mean she has so many different masks and personas and she has got everyone fooled. With Peter she’s the remorseless cheating ex-girlfriend, for Harry Osborn she’s the new rebellious girlfriend, for the Avengers and especially, as I said, Natasha she’s a traitor who abandoned them.

Then she’s also got this act of being a good guy even with the mercenaries. She really walks that tightrope between good and bad in these comics and is really morally grey and quite neutral. And she does all of this because she’s trying to protect everyone, or at least that’s her mindset. She’s leaving the Avengers, leaving Peter because she thinks it would save the heartache if something were to happen to her.

I think this is where we see how different Fianna is from the Avengers, because we see that she has the most self-preservation instincts out of all of the Avengers. She is always about protecting herself, she knows that to take care of others she needs to take care of herself first but it’s getting a little warped in her mind when it comes to how to do that.Most of the Avengers work themselves to the bone, lookat Tony Stark and Peter Parker, their mental health isn’t great at the best of times whereas Fianna doesn’t do what they do. She knows she needs to take a step back sometimes to take care of her before she can do her job.

[Rose then seemed to realise how long she spoke]

Sorry, I sort of went on a tangent, I’m sorry. I just love the storyline. Though some of it is a little too dark for the way the MCU currently is.

DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT, I’M SURE THE FANS WILL LOVE YOUR TAKE ON THE WOLVES DEN STORYLINE.

I’m sorry [she smiles bashfully]

NOW I HAVE TO ASK, WHAT WAS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF PLAYING FIANNA?

The most difficult part? I wanna say the stunts but actually I think it was more the dialogue, more specifically the accent and the language because it is definitely not all in English, you know, some of it was in Irish. Yeah, like learning- well no, I didn’t learn Irish for the movie because it’s... learning a language is difficult and... there’s actually a lot of grammar rules and stuff, to Irish.

I mean it’s crazy, if you’ve ever seen Irish written down and then heard it spoken you will know that it does not sound the way it look like at all. And the same combination of letters can make different sounds based on like- I think it’s the vowel changes the sound, it’s crazy. But it’s really cool, it’s such a cool language.

YOU DID AMAZING AT SPEAKING THE LANGUAGE, MANY FANS WERE IMPRESSED.

I was so lucky to have Ciarraí Quinn, she was, uh, she helped me with the accent, the dialect and the language. She was such a help with the accent because Fianna doesn’t have the accent you think of when talking of an Irish accent she has the Northern Irish accent. It’s kind of like a mix of Irish accent and maybe, some English too? I’m not sure how to describe it. It was very difficult to get down but thanks to Ciarraí I did manage to get it.

Also on the side of the language, it was really hard to not butcher it, like I said pronounciation in Irish is a little strange and I did struggle with it quite a bit. Not only did I have to learn the pronounciation but I had to make sure I had the perfect Native speaker accent from Fianna’s region.

I remember there was a line that Fianna said to Tony Stark while she was in the raft and to get not only the line, but to get the accent and the anger and pain and emotion into it, it took a long time to properly say it and to be satisfied with it. The very specific Native accent was so important because Fianna comes from an Irish speaking home, it’s her first language, and she even goes to one of the few all-Irish speaking schools. I really loved this aspect of Fianna and I really do love playing and portraying such a unique character.

THERE WAS A SCENE AT THE END OF CIVIL WAR THAT YOU HAD WITH CHRIS WHERE YOU BOTH SPOKE IN IRISH. WHAT WAS IT LIKE FILMING THAT?

Oh, yeah, a lot of fans seemed to love that scene and I did too, as did chris. It was really fun to film that scene so it was, we must have run over the lines a hundred times to make sure we’d get it right. This was something Chris and I wanted to make sure stayed in the movie, um... because it was almost cut from the script since the runtime was getting a little long but we fought to keep it in, we felt it was important.

Something a lot of people don’t know is that Captain America, Steve Rogers, he... his mother was an Irish immigrant. Based on the time she would’ve immigrated she most likely spoke the language fluently and would’ve spoke it at home with little baby Steve.

So that short scene, that little bit of dialogue meant a lot to Native speakers, Irish learners and even just second generation immigrants from anywhere. That’s why Chris and I fought so hard to keep it in the movie, the representation.

JUST BEFORE WE GO CAN YOU TELL US ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR FUTURE IN THE MCU?

Anything about my and Fianna’s future in the MCU? Let’s see, I’ve got a contract for quite a few things. Umm... there’s a couple of movies starring Fianna coming soon. She brings with her her own posse of characters and maybe a couple of others as well. Annddd I think that’s all I can say.

THAT’S ALL YOU CAN SAY?

I think that’s all I can say before someone comes in and like forcefully removes me from the room [she smiles widely, holding back a laugh] either that or you’ll end up with recording footage missing or a trained sniper will shoot me through that window [she points, laughing again] Feige will do anything to keep as much quiet as he can for as long as he can.

[chirpingtiger]

Strange’s Plan was a Bit Darker Than We Thought

In Avengers: Infinity War, Dr. Strange looks through the future to see every possible combination of options, and announces that they will only win in one of them.

Now, keep in mind, Dr. Strange is always thinking about the bigger picture.

He knows that even if they succeed in keeping the stones away from Thanos right now - even if Strange were to lock the Time stone in another dimension that Thanos could never get to, and if Wanda Maximoff were to destroy the Mind stone, leaving Thanos with only four - that Thanos will simply build up his army and continue killing half of all life, one planet at a time, just like he has been doing up until this point.

The stones were always a shortcut for Thanos.

In keeping the stones form him, they’ve only slowed down his progress. They’ve done nothing to truly stop him.

Strange is not looking to delay Thanos. He’s looking to make sure that he’s stopped. Permanently.

Strange only sees one way that they can truly win against Thanos, and that is by wiping him out of existence.

That is his plan from the start.

Strange hands over the time stone to Thanos, assuring everyone that this is the way it must be in order for them to really "win” against him for good.

Now, for those who aren’t chess players:

“In chess and chess-like games, the endgame (or end game or ending) is the stage of the game when few pieces are left on the board.

The line between middlegame and endgame is often not clear, and may occur gradually or with the quick exchange of a few pairs of pieces.“

“Many people have composed endgame studies, endgame positions which are solved by finding a win for White when there is no obvious way to win, or a draw when it seems White must lose.”

“The endgame, however, tends to have different characteristics from the middlegame, and the players have correspondingly different strategic concerns. In particular, pawns become more important as endgames often revolve around attempting to promote a pawn by advancing it to the eighth rank.

Usually in the endgame, the stronger side (the one with more material using the standard piece point count system) should try to exchange pieces (knights, bishops, rooks, and queens), while avoiding the exchange of pawns.  This generally makes it easier to convert a material advantage into a won game. The defending side should strive for the opposite”

So Strange calling this the “Endgame” - that was the first hint that he would be sacrificing some key pieces, and promoting pawns to gain the advantage.

Pawns like Scott.

Who becomes instrumental to their quantum time traveling.

Pawns like Wanda.

Who doesn’t draw a lot of attention on first glance, but can spring into the fray unexpectedly and can entirely turn the tide of the fight.

Pawns like Nebula.

Who set off a chain reaction that leads to the downfall of the enemy’s key pieces.

Pawns like Carol.

Who has been out of the picture for years but gets called back to the fight when Fury gets snapped.

Dozens of little characters who start to play big parts, because the main pieces can’t play them on their own.

And even for the end battle, it isn’t just the heroes making a final stand - it is dozens and dozens of little pawns (the armies of Wakanda and Asgard, the Ravagers and the Sorcerers and just about every background fighter the MCU has to offer) who show up as support in the final hour.

Who all Assemble at the King’s command.

But the promotion of pawns is only one aspect of the “Endgame” strategy.

This was also the first hint that Strange would be sacrificing some key pieces in order to assure the win.

Strange knew going into this that the victory would have some costs, specifically in the form of Natasha and Vision and Tony.

Natasha and Vision wouldn’t be an issue for him - they each give their lives willingly for the good of others in every future he sees, Vision to try and stop Thanos, and Natasha to retrieve the soul stone.

Tony, on the other hand, poses a problem.

Strange specifically says that if he tells Tony how they win, that it won’t happen.

Let that sink in.

If Strange tells Tony that he must die in order to save the universe, he knows for a fact that Tony won’t do it.

Out of those millions of alternate realities that Strange looked into, there was not a single ONE of them where Tony would willingly sacrifice himself at that battle, no matter what was on the line.

So Strange doesn’t tell him.

In fact, he goes so far out his way to not tell him, that he instead does just the opposite - he instills a sense of immortality in him.

He makes Tony think that - in this one situation that he has picked - they are guaranteed the win no matter what happens leading up to it.

And Tony takes that bait - hook, line, and sinker.

Why?

Tony’s ego has always been his downfall.

This holds true from the first Iron Man movie where he assumes his money and fame make him untouchable...

To Iron Man 3 where he assumes his reputation as Iron Man and a few sassy comments will be more than enough to shut his enemies down...

To Age of Ultron where he assumes that he’s going to be somehow immune to the staff’s influence despite the fact that almost all others have failed...

To Civil War where he refuses to acknowledge any new information if it means that he might have been wrong...

All the way through to Infinity War where he assumes he can take on Thanos solo and win.

Tony essentially sees himself as being untouchable, because up until this point he has been incredibly lucky, and has not had to face consequences for any situation where his ego led him astray.

He survived the Ten Rings. Pepper wasn’t hurt in Iron Man 3. Nobody that he cared about got hurt by Ultron. He had free reign under the Accords following Civil War. Everyone he cared about survived the snap, and the one person’s death he feels somewhat guilty about can be blamed on Steve and subsequently brushed off.

Tony has faced NO repercussions for anything he’s done, and therefore this is what he assumes being a hero is - doing whatever you want, kicking some Bad Guy (TM) ass on occasion, and going home to relax while the world sings your praises. The end.

Thanos comes as a cold, hard reality check.

This is the first time that Tony realizes that he might not be quite as untouchable as he thought. The first time that it clicks for him that they are dealing with something that very well has the power to kill him.

The first time that he feels like he came out of a “hero” battle as the loser.

And he can’t stand that.

In fact, he rejects that losing status so hard that he winds up throwing a fit following his rescue.

He attacks Steve for “not being there for him” despite the fact that it was Tony refusing to use the phone Steve gave him that led to him fighting alone.

He yells about how they should have all been on board with the long-dead failed Ultron project of his, despite the fact that Vision - who was more powerful than Ultron - was still no match for Thanos.

How this was all their fault.

He grossly twists all the facts around to try and pin everything that happened on the others, regardless of how glaringly illogical it is, because he can’t physically comprehend that a situation exists where he could have made a decision that led to them losing - therefore someone else MUST have sabotaged him.

Going into Endgame, Tony still has his massive ego problems, but he’s (finally) gained a healthy fear of death and consequences.

He doesn’t want to risk disturbing his current happiness on the chance that they might be able to bring everyone back.

Thankfully, Pepper talks him into it, but he still retains the “as soon as it gets dangerous, I’m out” mentality.

This complicates Dr. Strange’s plan.

Tony has been told that there is one single ending out of millions of possibilities where they will win over Thanos.

Now keep in mind, for Tony, “we win” means that they all go home as heroes and the enemies all die.

He’s never been through a war. He doesn’t understand that there is no “clean sweep” in real life.

He doesn’t comprehend that there is always collateral, and death, and tradeoffs.

He doesn’t ever take the sacrifice play into account.

When Thanos gets the glove, Tony starts to doubt, because it seems like they might have picked the wrong ending if he’s going to have to rush Thanos by himself after Thanos wiped the floor with him PLUS Cap and Thor.

He looks at Strange, who holds up one finger. A reminder that they are in the one ending where they “win.” And that gives Tony the confidence to go for what would otherwise be a suicide run, assured that he will make it out in one piece.

Tony only grabs the stones because he is utterly assured in this moment that he can survive this - because Strange told him that this is the one ending where they WIN.

Tony would not have touched that glove if he knew that he was going to die. He would have let Thanos wipe out half the universe again, because Tony knows that at least he and everyone he cares about would make it through the snap.

He would still have Pepper. He would still have Morgan. He would still have Rhody and Happy and his cute little farm.

Tony only snaps his fingers because Strange has tricked him into thinking that he survives it and saves the day.

That he gets to be the big hero.

And Strange lets him run to his death believing that.

In the end, Strange sacrificed Tony to save the universe without an ounce of regret.....just like he said he would.

[sineala]

Civil War: Script Book

I finally read something and have a proper review for all of you! In case you're curious about the contents of the Civil War script book, I have some thoughts on it here as well as some excerpts of the bits that are probably most exciting and/or useful to 616 Steve/Tony fandom.

On the face of it, Civil War: Script Book is exactly what it sounds like -- a book collecting the final drafts of the scripts of the main Civil War comic book series. Issues one to seven. Yep. All of them. "But Sine," you might ask, "why would I want that when I have already read Civil War?" Well, there are a few reasons. One is that you might just be the kind of person who finds it interested to read comic scripts and compare them to the published material, to see what kind of directions and detail the artist is given, and so on. The other reason is that it is interesting from a fannish perspective -- there is a lot of behind-the-scenes commentary, as well as Mark Millar's original pitch for the series and his first draft for Civil War #1.

The book is laid out in a way that is about as visually exciting as you could hope for a collection of scripts to be. The script itself is on the verso pages. Occasional significant lines are highlighted in yellow, with red arrows drawn to the recto pages where they've reproduced the art that goes with those lines. The recto pages also contain commentary from Mark Millar (the author of Civil War) and Tom Brevoort (the editor at Marvel who, relevantly, was responsible for overseeing the entire Civil War event).

And there's a lot in the commentary that fandom might enjoy knowing about. Disclaimer: the commentary is not new; it was all culled from various promotional interviews, but this is the first time it has been collected in one place in this form. And, okay, to be fair, some of the commentary is Millar rhapsodizing about how much he enjoys splash pages with large numbers of superheroes on them, and also how much he likes fight scenes, but there's more than that. For example, we learn -- although you might already have heard this -- that in the very beginning stages of planning, they thought Steve would be pro-Registration, but ultimately decided against it because they didn't think Steve would be in favor of arresting his friends.

(And as another authorial-intent tidbit that may be of interest to a few of you, Brevoort says that Millar -- who is also the author of the original two Ultimates miniseries, as I'm sure you know -- says that, in his mind, if Civil War had happened in the Ultimate universe, Ults Steve would absolutely have been pro-Registration.)

(One more note on authorial intent: Millar says Steve would not have brought the shield down in the final fight.)

It's also interesting seeing both Brevoort's and Millar's opinion on issues that have since become controversial in fandom meta -- the smaller question of what the SHRA actually does, and the big big question, of course, of which side anyone is on. Which side the event is on. Whether it was intentionally slanted in any way.

There has been talk in fannish meta that it's hard to evaluate CW as an event because we aren't given a clear definition in canon of what restrictions the SHRA would actually impose on superhumans -- for example, everyone with powers is forced to register, but are they actually forced to work for SHIELD? Well, in case you were wondering, both Brevoort and Millar seem pretty clear that this is not the case. This is what Brevoort has to say:

The SHRA isn't an organization, it's a federal law. It requires anybody possessing superhuman abilities to register themselves and those abilities with duly appointed agents of the government. Additionally, if an individual intends to use those super-normal abilities as an independent peace officer, they must qualify on a training evaluation, be licensed and submit to some level of oversight in terms of their activities.

I hope that's helpful to someone in fandom, the next time you want to know what the SHRA does. So the answer looks like, yeah, SHIELD has to know about you even if you're the guy whose power is that you can barf up anything you can imagine (I am still not sure why this is the deus-ex-machina ending that Secret Empire went for but that's the subject of another post), but you don't have to join the Initiative unless you actually want to be a superhero.

And then there's the question of the balance of the event. While fandom as a whole generally seemed to perceive Tony as having been on the wrong side, Brevoort says he thinks that they came off as pretty equal in the main series, but that a lot of the tie-ins may have been slanted in favor of anti-Reg because he wanted to let the writers of the tie-ins "tell the truth as they saw it," and that furthermore a lot of the anti-Reg-favoring issues came out early in the event and helped solidify the opinion. He does say that if he were to do it again he would have rearranged the order of some of the tie-ins and asked some of the writers "to perhaps rein in their depictions of Tony a little bit."

So there. That's the word from Marvel, on both of those topics. On to the rest of this book!

The original pitch by Millar, plotting out the whole event, is also an interesting read, in terms of what changed and what stayed the same. They were originally throwing around a lot of ideas with the Hulk, which as far as I can tell mostly got recycled into Planet Hulk/World War Hulk slightly later on. The inciting event (the Stamford incident in the final version, obviously) hadn't been completely settled on, and they knew they'd have to kill someone (so as to make the event have an impact), but they weren't sure who; later on, they obviously decided on Goliath. What's more, it's clear from reading the rest of the commentary that Millar and Brevoort consider Goliath's death the turning point of the narrative, where the stakes are really raised. I find that interesting; in the parts of fandom I hang out with, the big turning points that come up in conversation tend to be pretty much (a) the EMP and (b) the final fight.

The other thing that's really weird is that... Steve doesn't die. What happens in the original pitch is that there's an evil senator with technology to depower all the superheroes, and Steve basically takes one for the team and stops the final fight by destroying the technology and in the process, losing the serum. There is then some discussion about who should be Cap after that -- whether it should be Bucky or Clint, for example. But skinny Steve basically heads off into the sunset at the end as Registration takes hold, and they plan to keep him deserumed for a year or two until the movie comes out, for that sweet sweet MCU synergy.

Is there anything in the pitch I would have loved to have seen? Hell, yeah. Check this out:

The whole situation is getting nuts and there's a clear war now going on between the super heroes, both equally convinced that they're doing the right thing. It all builds up to a big climax at the end of the fourth issue as Tony wakes up in bed to find Cap sitting on his chest and warning him to call off the dogs. He has to release these super-people from prison or Cap will have to take action. This is a last moment of sanity before all hell breaks loose in issue five and, since Tony believes with all his heart that they need licenses, he tells Cap to go [fuck] himself. Thus, the war is on and both sides are playing for keeps.

Would I pay CASH MONEYS for an emotionally-fraught conversation between Steve and Tony that takes place in Tony's bed with Steve sitting on Tony's chest? Boy howdy! I sure would!

So, you know, I'm sad that that didn't make it into the final draft. The rest of the pitch is pretty meh other than that.

The final bit of content exclusive to this book -- other than the pitch -- is the original draft of the script for Civil War #1 and, well, it would have been... slightly different. First off, there's no Stamford incident. There is an inciting event in which the New Warriors are in a fight for the purposes of reality TV and it gets out of control -- so that part is the same -- but it takes place in Bellport, Long Island, and the sole victim is Happy Hogan, who gets shot in the head and dies.

Naturally, you can see how this would bring Tony on board to the pro-Registration side. Also ardently pro-Registration in this draft is Simon Williams (yes, Wonder Man), who is running for political office and is leveraging this to boost his popularity. Being as Wonder Man isn't particularly popular, I have to say I'm glad that they took that out.

The big-impact scene of Steve's confrontation on the helicarrier -- you know, the one where he jumps out the window and rides a fighter jet down? -- is still there, but in this draft, Fury is still running SHIELD, though Hill is present. The commentary indicates that the role was switched to Hill for the final version because they felt that Fury would be too pro-superhero and specifically too pro-Cap to fill the position. I understand why they did this, but I think the first-draft showdown has a lot more impact coming from people who have been comrades as long as Nick and Steve have in 616:

CAPT AMERICA: I AM NOT RATTING OUT MY FRIENDS! FURY: Fingers on your triggers, boys. Any sudden moves and I want the captain tasered. CAPT AMERICA: Damn you to hell for this, Nick. FURY: Damn you for for making me do it.

See? So much more emotional!

The issue wraps up essentially the same way as the published version, with Tony in a Cabinet meeting with the president, explicitly endorsing Registration -- so, yeah, the main themes are mostly there, but a lot of the details are different.

Overall, I have to say that if you're interested in the details of the Civil War event, and you like behind-the-scenes information and extras, this book is worth a purchase, but not necessarily to the point where you should go hunting it down. I think I got mine for $5, which seems reasonable, and I have definitely gotten $5 worth of Civil War informational value out of it.

[sherrybaby14]

Wanted: Dead or Alive

This is for TiltheendwillIwrite’s 6k Challenge (Congrats Lady)

Prompt:  Wanted: Dead or Alive

Pairing:  Bank Robber/Cowboy Bucky x Female Reader

Summary:  A trip to the bank ends up more exciting than you planned. Wild West AU. Lots of background MCU characters

Warnings:  Guns, Illegal Activities, background consensual non-con (not graphic), Bad People, Fluffy Smut (What a weird list of warnings).

                 Ding. The bell sounded as you pushed open the door to the bank.  Your skirts dragging along the wooden floor were the only other sound as the establishment’s eyes came to rest on you.  

                 The folks in this town were quieter than the last, but you still heard their whispers as you waked to the line for the teller.

                 ”There she is…”

                 “Richest woman in the country…”

                 “She’s more beautiful than I heard…”

                 “I heard she’s British, actually a Countess…”

                 “Her dress is worth more than my Pa’s house…”

                 You tried to keep your smile down, but the rumors seemed to grow like a tumbleweed.  

                 “Ahem, ahem.”  You brought out a kerchief as you cleared your throat, then addressed the groups one at a time. “Not a countess, far from the richest woman in the country, and that’s just plain silly.  You can’t live in a dress can you?”  

               “Ah, Mrs. Strange I presume, we have been awaiting your arrival.” A man in a black coat walked out from behind the cage, he was nondescript, looking like any other banker in any other town.  “I received your letters and the people have been bustling since your arrival last night. How have the accommodations been treating you?”  

                 “Like I am tempted to purchase the hotel rather than build a house.”  You held out your hand while the banker placed a kiss on your knuckles.  

                 “Your letters stated you were considering our dear town as a possible home.  Does that mean you’ve decided?”  The banker held his arm out, signaling you toward his desk.  

                 “New York has grown boring, especially since my dear Stephen’s demise.”  You dabbed at the corners of your eyes.  “I want the fresh air, peace and quiet city life lacks now that I am a widow.”  

                 “I will admit, I had never heard of your husband, but you said he was a top surgeon?  What an admirable profession.  I am sure he is missed by many.”  The banker eyed you up and down, no doubt wondering where your traditional black mourning garb was.  

                 “Well, it has been eighteen months.”  You smoothed out the forest green frock as you sat, pushing your arms together and straightening your back to make sure your cleavage was on display for the man.  “Before I pick my future home, I want to ensure my money is protected.  Can you offer those services?”  

                 “Of course.  We have a top of the line vault.”  The man’s eyes were glued to your chest. “We offer safety deposit boxes as well.  Anything you could need to ensure your riches.”  

                 Your eyes looked behind the banker to see another employee nailing a piece of paper to the wall.   You got up from your chair and rounded the desk, going straight for the notices.  

                 There were five men, each their own sign.  Their pictures all showed eyes only, faces heavily covered by bandanas and cowboy hats. The words of the top read the same:  WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE.  Even with the taupe color tone, you could tell the newest addition had big blue eyes.  It almost made you smile.  

                 “That’s the Stark gang.”  The banker was right behind you. “Don’t you worry about them.  They’re far from here.  Last spotted over three hundred miles away.  Federal Marshalls are hot on their trail.  Won’t be long until they’re on the noose.”  

                 “I’ve heard stories.” You tilted your head. “They kidnap a girl from each heist.  Threaten to murder her if the law is called. Nobody ever listens and the women are never returned, probably bones in the desert now.”  

                 “It is a shame, but nothing for you to worry yourself with.”  The banker touched the small of your back.  “Can I give you a tour of the vault?”  

                 You didn’t like his hand on you and tried to step out of the way, but he moved with you so you grinned and bared his touch.

                 “That’s why I’m here, after all.”  

                 He nodded in return and guided you behind the teller cages. When the banker’s hand finally left your back you fought the urge to wipe the spot down.  He pulled out his keys and slid the first one into the vault.

                 “This vault is uncrackable.”  The man swung the door open, proud of his room.

                 BOOM! BOOM!  As if on cue gunshots sounded from the door.  You plugged your ears as you turned to see four men walk in, all with cowboy hats and bandana’s covering their faces.  

                 “NOBODY MOVE.”  He blasted the gun two more times.  “THIS IS A ROBBERY.”

                 Your heart jumped at the realization of what was happening.  You looked at the banker with shock who seemed as dumbfounded as you did.  

                 “NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO BE A HERO.”  The main one spoke.

                 Your eyes snapped back to him, even with the bandana those eyes made it clear that was the legendary Tony Stark.  Two blue-eyed men began attaching ropes to the teller cage. That must have been Steve Rogers and Thor Odinson.

                 A fourth man was patting down the men in the bank, disarming them.  It was Sam Wilson.   That left one of the gang unaccounted for.  

                 “Don’t even think about closing that door, you hear?” The click of a gun made you turn your head to see the newest member’s blue eyes locked on the banker.  “In fact, why don’t you raise your arms nice and slow away from those keys.”  

                 He was inches from you.  This wasn’t supposed to happen.  You took a step to run when A hand gripped your upper arm.  

                 “Now where do you think you’re going you little heathen?” A strong tug pulled you back into the man’s chest.  “Woah, what’s your name Darling?”  

                 “Get your hands off me.”  You pulled your arms, but it didn’t budge from his steely grasp.  

                 He chuckled as he looked down at you.  

                 “Unhand her.” The banker seemed to spark too.  

                 Bucky spun around and twirled his gun, so the butt was in the lead as he smashed it against the man’s head in the exact right spot, sending him falling to the ground with a thud.  

                 You gasped and covered your mouth.  

                 “Relax darling, he’s just taking a little nap.” Bucky winked, still holding on to your arm.  “THAT’s THE LAST WARNING.  ANY OF THE REST OF YA GET OUT OF LINE WE’LL USE THE OTHER END.”

                 Bucky squeezed down harder and you ran to get out of his grip.   He yanked you back with ease.  

                 “You’re a fancy lady.  I can tell, but that doesn’t give you the right to behave so poorly.” Bucky gave a tsk tsk. “HEY BOYS, I’M GOING TO TAKE MISS FANCY PANTS IN THE VAULT WITH ME FOR A QUICK LESSON. She can help empty too.”  

                 “QUICK,” Tony yelled back.  

                 Thor and Steve were tugging on the ropes and the teller cage was seconds from falling over.

                 “What?!?!”  Again you tried to run. “NOOO!”

                 He hoisted you over his shoulder and walked into the vault.  You screamed and kicked, hitting him in the back as he pulled the door almost all the way shut.  

                 “ENOUGH!” He screamed before dropping you on the sack of money.  

                 Your eyes scanned the vault.  There was no safe.  

                 “You’re doing so good baby girl.”  Bucky whispered in your ear.

                 In made you jump, but then his lips were on yours. He opened his mouth and you parted yours welcoming his hungry kiss just as eager.  

                 “STOP!” You screamed.  

                 Bucky pushed his forehead to yours and gave you a wicked smile.  

                 “YOU’RE HURTING ME!” You yelled again with an exaggerated cry.  

                 Bucky turned to the safety deposit boxes and went to the side, using the master key to unlock all of them.  It was such a stupid set up.  What was the point in the things if they could be opened like that?  

                 You turned and started gathering the bags of money, your adrenaline flaring.  

                 SMACK!  You let out a true scream as you jumped forward.  

                 “OH SHE LIKES IT ROUGH FELLOWS!” Bucky yelled out the vault door.  

                 You turned over your shoulder to look at him and rubbed your ass.

                 “Fuck you that hurt!” You whispered.  

                 “Oh, I’m going to fuck you alright.”  Bucky grabbed your waist and spun your around, pulling you against him.  

                 You melted in his kiss, your heart racing from the adrenaline of the robbery.  He reached behind you and pulled out your hairpin, running his hands through it as he made you look more disheveled.  

                 When he pulled away from the kiss he bit your lip, dragging his teeth hard enough to make you wince.  

                 “AHHHH!”  You gave an over-exaggerated scream.  

                 Bucky spun you around and ripped the back of your dress slightly.  

                 “Hey, I like this thing!” You had to push your hand against your chest to keep it up.  

                 “That banker man had his hand on it.  I did not like that one-bit Y/N.”  Bucky turned back to the safety boxes and started emptying the contents into his bag.  “We’re burning it when we get home.”  

                 CRASH!  That meant Steve and Thor had the teller counter’s down.    Bucky waved his hands at you.  You nodded and took a few deep breaths before the tears started to well. You blinked rapidly and they came down, smearing your make up in the process.  

                 “Big finish Y/N.  You ready?”  Bucky beamed at you with pride.  

                 Bucky put his bandana back on and wrapped his arm around your waist. He pulled you next to him while he hooked the bag from the boxes to his belt.  Then he pulled out his gun and held it up to your head as you walked out of the vault.

                 Everyone on the floor looked up at you.  Their fear was soon replaced with pity as you kept the dead-eyed look on your face, trying not to make eye contact with any of them and continuing to sniffle and cry.  

                 “Take a look at this beautiful woman.”  Bucky pushed you out in front of him, keeping his hand on your shoulder.  “Hasn’t she been through enough?  Do you really want to see her dead?  Because that is what will happen if a single one of you notifies the law.  DO YOU UNDERSTAND?”  

                 You brought your arms up and sobbed silently, scared your dress was going to slip and you were about to give the bank patrons a different sort of show.  

                 BOOM! BOOM!  Tony fired two more shots.

                 “My man asked you a question!” Tony fired again.  “If you’re going to rat on us, let us now know and we can put this sweet thing out of her misery.  Or else keep your traps shut and we’ll cut her loose in a few days, better than we found her.  DO YOU UNDERSTAND?”

                 “Yes.”

                 “Yes.”

                 “Yes.”

                 The gargle of yesses came from the bank.  

                 “Why don’t you get our little hostage on the horse and get out of here.”  Tony kept the gun pointed on the crowd.  “We’ll catch up.”  

                 “I don’t want to die.”  You pinched your eyes shut.  

                 Bucky pulled you back against him and put the gun to your head as he led you to the door.

                 “You won’t have to, as long as these people keep their word.” He marched you outside and straight to his horse.  

                 You climbed up with ease and Bucky jumped up right behind you.  

                 In ten seconds you were on your way out of the town. In twenty seconds you felt safe enough to drop the act.  

                 Lips pressed down on your neck, as you both galloped away on the horse.   Bucky’s mouth went next to your ear and he whispered:

                 “So proud of you baby.”  He kissed your ear and you went warm with his praise.  

~~~

               By the time you got off the horse your thighs were quaking and the sun was down.   Bucky jumped off first and then grabbed your waist, lifting you off.  Even in the twilight, you saw the approval on his face. You were finally one of them.  

                 “How did it go?”  Jane was the first to walk outside of the cabin.  

                 You took one look at her pants and almost moaned in jealousy.  

                 “Y/N was a pro.” Bucky wrapped both arms around your waist and pulled your back to his chest.  

                 “I knew she would be.”  Pepper appeared in the doorway.  “It’s kinda fun, right?  I mean the first few times at least.”  

                 “First few times?”  Peggy walked out behind Pepper.  “How long ago was your first time?  Still seems like you have fun to me.”

                 “It’s been so long since we did the rich widow bit though.” Pepper sighed.  

                 “That’s my favorite because of the dress.  And the night in the hotel.” Jane looked up longingly. “The worst is new teacher  because then you actually have to live in the town alone for a month.”  

                 “Do you think the Marshalls would believe us if we told them that the ladies were actually the brains behind this whole operation?” Bucky had a playfulness to his voice.

                 “I think if they spent two minutes alone with our ladies they’d ask where to sign up.” Thor appeared out of the darkness, holding a few bags of loot.

                 Jane went right for the greeting.  Steve, Sam, and Tony appeared behind him carrying money. Steve and Tony each got their kiss.

                 “I’m the only single one?”  Sam shrugged.  “Less competition.  After dinner, I’m going into town.”  

                 “I’m starving.  Did you make dinner?”  Tony put his arm around Pepper.  

                 “You know we did.”  Pepper led him inside.  “And single or not, nobody is going to town. Tradition. We eat, we celebrate, we divide the money, and we go our separate ways until the heat dies down.”

                 “Good job newbie.”  Tony looked over his shoulder at you and gave a nod.  “But what sort of name is Stephen Strange?”  

                 “A guy I dated a long time ago.” You shrugged.

                 “Oooooo.”  Sam and Steve let out exaggerated teases.  

                 You rolled your eyes.

                 “Do you want to change before we eat Y/N?  That dress looks ruined.” Pepper held the door open.

                 “Bucky got grabby.” You raised an eyebrow at him.

                 “Didn’t like the way that bank man was touching you.” He kissed the top of your head. “And I might not have been the first she dated, but make damn sure I’ll be the last.”

                 That brought a round of awwws from the group.  

                 “I can fix it.”  Jane was right behind you.  

                 She gathered the dress together and did some sort of tucking to make it stay in place.

                 “There.  Not perfect, but won’t fall down.”  She sounded pleased with herself.

                 “Thanks.”  You glanced over your shoulder at her.  

                 “Good job today Y/N.”  Thor nodded at you.  

                 It was a strange thing, being good at deceiving and robbing people, messing with their emotions.  But none-the-less you enjoyed the pride it brought you.  You might be going to hell, but at least you were all going together.  

~~

                 “Welcome to the gang!”  Steve downed the last of his drink before standing up to join Peggy. “Again, great job today kid.”  

                 “Really Y/N.”  Peggy beamed down at you. “Happy you’ve decided to join our little family.”  

                 “Thank you.” You looked at the ground, a little embarrassed by all the encouragement.  

                 “Don’t be shy.”  Bucky pulled you closer, the crackling of the fire and the sound of the crickets the only thing for miles.  “You really did do well, especially since it was your first time.”  

                 Peggy and Steve went into the house, leaving you and Bucky alone at last.  Today was dangerous, but you felt safe.  In fact, you never felt anything but kept when you were with James Buchanan Barnes.  

                 “What?”  He smiled at you when you rested your head on his shoulder.

                 “I keep thinking about one thing.”  You spun yourself so that you were facing him, your hands going behind to your split dress.  

                 “Alright fine, I apologize.”  Bucky looked you in the eye.  “I’ll buy you a new dress, hell one-ninth of that money is yours.  You can buy yourself one.”  

                 “That’s not it.” Your fingers undid Jane’s fix and this time you let the bodice fall forward.  “I keep thinking about how you promised to fuck me.”  

                 Bucky’s eyes dropped to your exposed breasts.  That look of starvation crossed his face and he was on you in a second.  Grabbing your hips and lowering you to your back as he climbed on top of you.

                 Your hands went to his hair as he wrapped his lips around your nipple, flickering his tongue until it hardened into a peak. His hand went to your other breast and he began kneading it.

                 “Fuck.” You tried to flex your hips up. “I’ve been wet set the bank.  I need you Bucky.”  

                 He grunted but didn’t stop teasing your breasts. Then he lifted his weight and you wasted no time lifting your hips and shimming out of the dress, undercoats and all, no longer caring about saving the piece of clothing.  

                 Then your hands went to Bucky’s belt and you helped him undo the buckle and pull his pants and underwear down.  

                 Bucky sucked harder without warning and went from kneading your flesh to pinching.  

                 “Ahhh!” You squealed underneath him.  

                 “See?”  Bucky lifted his head. “You do like it rough?”  

                 You pushed at his shoulder and he took off his shirt. When you continued nudging he rolled onto his back.  The only ceiling for the both of you the stars above.  

                 As you climbed on top of him you grabbed the base of his cock and slowly lowered yourself onto his thick shaft.  

                 Bucky reached around and grabbed your waist as he sat up, moaning as he slid deeper inside of you.  

               His mouth was on your chest again and he resumed teasing your nipples, but now it wasn’t a tease as you took more and more of him inside of you until he was buried.  

                 You rocked your hips back and forth, knowing full well this brought you more pleasure than him.  But you’d been turned on all day and were desperate for the release.  With each movement, the tip of his cock brushed your G-spot bringing you closer to the rush you craved.                     

               Bucky urged you on, flexing his ass up every time you rocked forward, making your clit brush against his pelvis.  Soon you were working at the perfect pace and your orgasm began to crest.  

                 It was beautiful, bringing your body to life with a wave of sweet pleasure.  Before you could ride it out Bucky flipped you over.  

                 The missionary position gave him the control to throttle into you at full force.  It turned the sweet orgasm into an overload of pleasure as each thrust brought it back to life over and over again.  

                 Soon you were a mess underneath him and all the while he spoke:

                 “Good girl.  You were such a good girl today.  Made me so proud.”  

                 The praises only made you come further undone until your head and being were nothing but fireworks.  

                 With one final thrust Bucky pulled out of you and ropes of his cum hit your belly.  He pressed his forehead to yours as you both tried to control your breathing.

                 Then he rolled over, so his head was next to your, offering you his shirt to clean yourself off with.  Instead, you grabbed the ruined dress.  

                 “I thought you liked it?”  Bucky opened his arm for you to come cuddle on his chest.

                 “Na.” You took your spot and gazed up at the stars with your beau.  “Bucky Did I really do good today?”  

                 “Na.” Bucky repeated and you popped your head up to see him grinning at you.  He tilted his head to the side. “You did the best.”  

                 You dipped your chin and went back to his chest.

                 “Wanted: Dead or Alive.” The image of the poster came to the mind.

                 “Welcome to the club darling.”  Bucky kissed the top of your head.  

                 You weren’t scared of anything.  Not when his arm was around you. The two of you could conquer the world if you wanted.          

[multifandomultitheories]

Avengers:Endgame theory

Okay strap in because this is a long one. Here’s my theory about who is gonna die and who will survive the next Avengers. 

I will refer particularly to the original 6 and even more specifically to the main 3. That is Iron Man, Thor and Captain America.  I think that there has been a lot of speculation over their deaths with most people believing firmly that they will all die. 

However, I think that all three characters will have some sort of closure that does not include killing all of them off. I think that they will each get one of the following endings: 

-Death

- Abandonment of this timeline 

- Retirement

Starting with the first one: Death. 

I think the one who will face this destiny is the one we least expect: THOR. The reason why I believe this is firstly that MARVEL has to kill one of the three in order to avoid being called out for never killing anyone and I think that Thor is the one we least expect. There are 5 things that I believe point to Thor being the one to die:                                                                                   

1) He wasn’t in Civil War so his life wasn’t at stake then and the lighthearted tone of Ragnarok let us now from the start that he was not going to die. However, right at the end of Ragnarok we see the tone change with the appearance of Thanos.                                                                                            2) Thor is obviously the most powerful avenger and the most capable of causing any damage to Thanos. Also, in terms of power he is the most similar to Captain Marvel who would serve as a valid replacement.                            3)Everyone is focused on either Tony or Steve dying for each other which would mean that Thor being the one that sacrifices himself would be a twist.              4)In Ragnarok we saw Thor loose his father and his home and, in turn, find his power. In Infinity War we saw him loose his people and his brother and use his power to avenge them. He himself has said that he has nothing else to loose which means that he might be the most willing to stand up to Thanos. 

 I think that the destiny of each character will be decided based on how his story would finally come full circle. And how to make their ending less tragic by giving them what they have been looking for. Which brings me to the last point.

5) Thor began his journey through the MCU as an arrogant god who has no feelings for misgardians and through the years we have seen him care for them more and more. 

So I believe that a way to close his arc which involved him going from being arrogant and not caring for misgardians to being powefull and caring as well as selfless would be to have him sacrifice himself in order to allow others to live. 

The next destiny would be: Abandonment of this timeline. 

I think it’s pretty obvious that this ending belongs to Steve Rogers. A man out of his time. I believe that Steve Rogers arc through the movies was mostly related to him becoming a perfect soldier with a belief system who then had to question his beliefs and become a fugitive of the government. There are 3 main reasons that lead me to believe this might happen: 

1) The possibility of time travel. We know that time travel exists in the MCU as it was introduced with Dr Strange. We also know that there is a high possibility of it being used in Endgame to defeat Thanos as seen with the BTS photos showing a shooting of the battle of New York of 2012. This would mean that it is possible for Steve to decide as a sacrifice or as a way of retirement to go back in time to the 40′s in order to avoid going into the ice and thus create a new alternate universe where Captain America never became an avenger and never missed his date with Peggy Carter. 

I believe reason 2 and 3 are related as one involves Steve’s biggest wish and the other his biggest fear.                                                                                     2) Steve’s biggest fear. This is something that was first introduced in Avengers:Age of Ultron with both Wanda and Ultron himself. Wanda shows each of the Main 3 what we think is their biggest fear. However it might end up being an interpretation of their destiny when mixed with what scares them: 

Tony: 

Thor: 

And, finally, Steve:

During this scene we see Steve watching himself going home but being unable to let go of his PTSD and the war which is also shown by Ultron’s words.

This all goes to show that Steve’s biggest fear is never being able to let go of the war while his destiny could be to go back to his own time.                           3) Steve’s biggest wish. If we believe that his biggest fear is never letting go of the war and his biggest problem is that he is literally a man out of his time, then the best way to end his journey giving him and the fans the chance of healing and being at peace with his departure would be to send him back to his own time. Letting him live his remaining days with Peggy and fulfilling a dream that he told Tony in AoU wasn’t for him but for the man he used to be. 

And, finally: Retirement. 

This is partly wishful thinking and partly supported by evidence. It is known that Iron Man’s journey as we know it is certainly coming to and end as RDJ is not set to be in any more Marvel movies and is choosing to step aside. However I think that there are 5 reasons which are also related and which lead me to think that he might survive. 

1) Tony Stark dying in Endgame is probably the most expected outcome. Everybody is going to go into the cinema expecting him to die fighting Thanos, saving Peter or sacrificing himself. However, there are a number of theories that point to him surviving. The main one related to the parallelism between Endgame and the stage of a game of chess by the same name. During which, one is set to make many sacrifices to win. However, in order to win, those sacrifices cannot include killing the king as that means automatic loss and I like to believe that the parallelism between Tony and Thanos is put there in Infinity War because they are each the “king” of each team in the chess game. Therefore, he cannot die as that would mean loosing.                                          2) It is known and has been hinted at by many sources that there is one scene in the movie that includes most, if not all, the cast of Avengers. This has been said by Sebastian Stan in an interview. 

Also, because the actor who played Harley Keener in Iron Man 3 is listed on the cast, many believe that his appearence as well as the scene mentioned by Sebastian are a funeral scene for Tony Stark. However I believe (mainly based on my mental health) that the scene in question is a wedding scene for Tony and Pepper which could be nearing the end of the movie as a way to end it on a positive note, opposite to the Infinity War ending.                                               3) Through all the MCU movies featuring Tony Stark, he has been shown as the most human character. He constantly makes mistakes, he messes up, he can be arrogant and selfish. This leads many to believe that his last redeeming act would be to sacrifice himself. However, what many fail to notice is that he has sacrificed himself time and time again in order to save the planet. The most clear examples are him taking the nuke outside of the atmosphere to save New York and him not wanting Dr Strange to exchange the Time Stone to save his life. However, there is an exchange between Captain America and Tony during the first Avengers movie that might be foreshadowing Tony’s role in Endgame. 

This could mean that while everybody is expecting Tony to, once again, sacrifice himself and “lay down on the wire” his role in the movie will be to find a way to “cut it”, that is to find an alternative way to bring everyone back.          4) It has been foreshadowed through most of the last movies that Tony is set to settle down and have a family. This can be mostly seen in his new-found role as Peter Parkes’ mentor/father-figure which he has taken on voluntarily and is strikingly different to how he treated Harley Keener whom he found before he was ready to settle down. 

This could either mean that marvel wants us to suffer even more by showing us a glimpse of what Tony could have or it means that they are building up to him finally retiring as he has been trying to do since the end of Iron Man 3.

5) Finally, there is the matter of the best way of ending such a beloved character as Tony Stark. I believe that having him sacrifice himself is not what the MCU has been building for the past decade as his arc is mainly involved with him finding a family. This is seen in Iron Man 1 when Yinsen who could be interpreted as the only real mentor Tony had, tells him to not waste his life. This might have been interpreted by Tony at first as Yinsen telling him to do something with his knowledge, become a hero. However, Yinsen clearly cares much more about family 

Which could mean that Tony’s ultimate ending, what his character has been leading up to, is being able to spend the rest of his life, the life that Yinsen saved, with his family. This would explain the idea that Tony hasn’t had a conventional family making the Avengers his family and surrounding himself with people he called family such as Pepper, Happy, Rhodes and even Peter Parker that he felt he needed to protect but that finally, after saving the universe once again, he can retire and expand said family. 

That’s the end of this long theory, please let me know what you think!!

[postmodernmulticoloredcloak]

Okay -- you know what we’re not talking about enough?

How eventually the main narrative of the MCU shows its imperialistic ideology that they have tried to hide under a very fragile façade of “complexity”. (Guess what? Accountability never mattered.)

Don’t get me wrong - I know that the sole purpose of Avengers: Endgame was to bring us all into the movie theater, which it did, and not to be good or make sense, but the way to bring us all into the movie theater was so paint the product with a glittery progressive varnish while the product was still subliminally feeding us conservative messages. And yet Endgame was so badly written that the varnish went off in multiple points...

The movie basically spells out that Tony Stark was right in endorsing security at the cost of freedom (fun fact: outside the shiny attention-grabbing fatherhood arc that got us all like ‘aww’, there is no character development for Tony, who was convinced he needed to develop technology to save the world and died knowing he had needed to develop technology to save the world).

Thanos justifies Tony’s actions all along, and the narrative doesn’t contradict a very simple reading: Steve has been precious about his little fancy morals while Tony was right in Age of Ultron and Civil War.

Again, it also doesn’t do justice to Tony’s character at all because he never learns anything. He starts thinking he needs to save the world with his technology and ends being proven right, while Steve was wrong in breaking up the team because of morals they couldn’t afford to entertain.

Our first mistake was dismissing Age of Ultron as Whedon crap that we could ignore because it was so bad we could treat it as an outlier.

Because now that we have the full picture... it wasn’t an outlier. The narrative has been consistent ever since then, even by switching directors/writers.

Steve: “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.” Pulled us apart like cotton candy. Tony: Seems like you walked away all right. Steve: Is that a problem? Tony: I don’t trust a guy without a dark side. Call me old fashioned. Steve: Well let’s just say you haven’t seen it yet. Tony: You know Ultron is trying to tear us apart, right? Steve: Well I guess you’d know. Whether you tell us is a bit of a question. Tony: Banner and I were doing research. Steve: That would affect the team. Tony: That would end the team. Isn’t that the mission? Isn’t that the “why” we fight, so we can end the fight, so we get to go home? Steve: Every time someone tries to win a war before it starts, innocent people die. Every time.

Don’t get me started on Steve’s “dark side” because you don’t want to pull on that thread. How they managed to simultaneously have a pretty 100% heteronormative picture and paint queerness as toxic while having no queerness in the picture.

But Age of Ultron just spelled it out. We thought that what Age of Ultron put on the table was what was going to be subverted eventually. But it was never subverted.

Tony was the one who needed to come up with the technology to save the world. Steve’s home was the past with Peggy. The story was never about found family, it was about a team that had its reason to exist as long as the fight wasn’t over, then each of them would go home. (If you don’t have a home, you can jump off a cliff.)

Tony: Pfft! I saw this coming a few years back. I had a vision. I didn’t wanna believe it. Thought I was dreaming. Steve: Tony, I’m gonna need you to focus. Tony: And I needed you. As in past tense. That trumps what you need. It’s too late buddy. Sorry. You know what I need. I need to shave. And I believe I remember telling you, Cap. Rhodey: Tony, Tony, Tony, stop! Tony: That what we needed was a suit of armor around the world! Remember that? Whether it impacted our precious freedom or not--that’s what we needed! Steve: Well, that didn’t work out, did it? Tony: I said, “we’ll lose”. You said, “We’ll do that together too”. And guess what, Cap? We lost. You weren’t there. But that’s what we do, right? Our best work after the fact? We’re the Avengers, we’re the Avengers. Not the Prevengers, right?

Eventually they save the world by literally being “prevengers”, going back in time to get the stones before Thanos and (*facepalm*) defeating a Thanos who had no idea who they even were because he had not met them yet. (Let’s not even discuss how bad storytelling that is, regardless of anything else: the final battle is against... a past version of the villain who hasn’t met them or done the thing to them yet, so the “avenging” is purely one-sided and the villain has no clue who the fuck their opponents are before learning about them 3 seconds before and figuring out what happened. Sigh.)

Obviously the time travel is a fantastic element, but it is still a symbol of preventing the villain from operating. The war has started for them, but not for their enemy -- we need to take the weapon of mass destruction before the enemy uses them... (oops.)

At the end of the day, those five years of mourning (and problems that will be caused by half the population “skipping” five years’ worth of life of the other half) and possibly the deaths in the movie... are because Steve Rogers broke the team up because he was being fastidious about his precious freedom and too high-and-mighty to trust Tony’s judgement.

Sure, the scene I quoted is framed as Tony’s desperate venting, but does the narrative challenge that? No, in fact it plays clever and places the avengers as actual “prevengers” through the time travel thing.

Sure, Steve is given flashy moments that tell us he’s “worthy” and has a great ass and whatever. But does the narrative ever challenge the subliminal, subtle villainization of him operated by those few movies? Although of course, Endgame is written badly enough that instead of subtly framing him like some kind of protofascist gay libertarian, he just has no characterization at all except of affected from a severe case of heteronormativity.

I mean, if I wanted to instill a deeply conservative and imperialistic ideology to a bunch of progressive kids, I’d dangle Captain America in front of them and then destroy him by emptying his entire arc of meaning. Among the rest.