For those of us heading into our twenties, the Marvel movies have been around since were children. Sure, our parents had the comics and our older siblings and cousins had the original Spider-Man movies with Tobey Maguire–we had all of these things, too–but everything changed when the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) came knocking.
Fast-forward nearly 11 years after “Iron Man” (the first movie to be considered a part of MCU) premiered: there are 22 movies, countless television shows, millions of fans and a box-office record that was just shattered by “Avengers: Endgame,” which broke $1.2 billion on opening weekend. So, are millions of people just nerds who need to see good people beat up the bad guys? There is some truth in that. However, for Millennials and Generation Zero, MCU means more.
Related: Saying Goodbye To My Avengers
We grew up with these superheroes. Now we have to say goodbye. The characters that we have loved watching since we were around eight years old are finally leaving. They won’t be gone for good, but it is this final movie marks the end of something special to a lot of people.
It isn’t even just nostalgia that makes “Avengers: Endgame” something special.
My younger brother was always obsessed with the MCU. We watched a lot of those movies together, from “Iron Man” to “Captain America: Civil War.” It gave us reasons to hang out with one another, particularly as we both aged and our lives became busier.
The movies gave me a way to bond with others. They gave me great memories of anticipation as the previews rolled into the beginnings of the films, chills during the movies and moments of connectedness with family and friends as we talked about what we had just seen. The MCU has brought people together for the past decade–and “Avengers: Endgame” will be no different.
There are reasons to criticize the movie. I am not sure anyone would consider it an Oscar-winning film, but that is because it wasn’t made for the Oscars. It was made for the fans. Stan Lee really knew what he was doing and the creators of the MCU movies followed in his path: they all made something for people to enjoy.
Can some people take “Avengers: Endgame” too seriously? Yes! I am not saying this is right–there are much bigger things, happening in the actual world, that we should be thinking about–but it isn’t necessarily wrong either. The same can be said about anyone who watches “Star Wars” or anywho who enjoyed “Harry Potter.” Essentially, the fans of any franchise can be mocked for being too intense, but that doesn’t diminish the joy that they have for it.
It is truly the end of an era, but that doesn’t mean it’s over. As cheesy as it sounds, these characters will always be our Avengers. They will always be our heroes.