Why Azula is my Favourite Character in “Avatar: The Last Airbender”

I have always favoured villains over heroes in fictional stories because of how difficult it is to make them “likeable”, if possible. Now that I had the chance to watch Avatar: The Last Airbender twice, I have some thoughts about the best villain and my favourite character in this critically-acclaimed and beloved animated series.

Spoilers ahead for Avatar: The Last Airbender.

She delivers some of the best lines in the show

Her lines highlight one of the aspects that made ATLA so endearing to children and grown-up fans who grew up with the show: Sass.

Since You Can't See I Should Tell You, I'm Rolling My Eyes. GIF - Azula Funny Humor - Discover & Share GIFs

long feng | Tumblr

Azula is the antithesis of Zuko

Azula’s character arc contrasts Zuko’s. While Zuko struggles to earn back his lost honour from his father Ozai, Azula struggles to maintain her honour under the eyes of Ozai because she is the second child.

As a child, Azula witnessed what Ozai had to do to prove himself as more deserving of the Fire Lord position than his older brother Iroh. Not only was Iroh’s defeat at Ba Sing Se ignored, Ozai’s father Azulon seemed more ticked off by Ozai’s disregard of Iroh’s status as the first child. Azula, like Ozai, would live in the shadows of their older sibling unless the latter is eliminated from the picture.

Zuko’s Agni Kai and subsequent banishment by Ozai were wins in Azula’s quest for her father’s affection, but the possibility of Zuko’s return because of the resurfacing of the Avatar remains a threat for Azula. This is one possible reason why Azula is so glad to be given the task to eliminate/arrest Zuko at the end of Book 1. One less sibling to worry about for Fire Lord Azula.

Her successes were unrewarded

ATLA is well-known for crafting characters that may seem relatable for children who may be facing their own “destinies” in real life: Aang the pacifist struggles with his violent alter ego; Sokka is a non-bender finding his place in Team Avatar; Katara trades childhood for responsibility for her family. Likewise, Azula shows an important aspect of reality: Sometimes successes come with no rewards or benefits.

During her vacation at Ember Island, her beach volleyball tactics and eventual wins earned her no respect from the other teenagers. Ty Lee, on the other hand, receives all the attention from the boys and even an invitation to a party – one that Azula got by proxy. In the end, she had to charm a boy by using Ty Lee’s method of “playing dumb” instead of relying on her smarts. All the knowledge she possessed as one of the most cunning tacticians in the Fire Nation could not help her score a win on Ember Island.

Zhu Li vs Azula - Battles - Comic Vine

Despite her victory at the Day of the Black Sun, her father Ozai awards her not with the privilege of being by his side during the world conquest during the passing of Sozin’s Comet, but the useless title of Fire Lord now that he is the Phoenix King. All that Azula did in her life – including abandoning her mother’s love – to win her father’s affections amounted to nothing.

Azula GIFs - Get the best GIF on GIPHY

Her defeat by the hands of Katara was tragic, but well-earned

Evenly-matched in an Agni Kai against his brother Zuko, Azula resorted to striking Katara with a lightning bolt to exploit Zuko’s newfound honour. Underestimating Katara’s strength, Azula favoured powerful strikes over tactical hits to overwhelm the waterbender, eventually resulting in an embarrassing defeat when Katara freezes her.

As a strategist as seen in her tactics at the undertaking of Ba Sing Se and the Day of the Black Sun, it does not seem possible for Azula to lose this crucial fight. But her loss came about because of her distrust: a tragic scar left by her family. In the end, the powerful Azula was brought to her knees because she could not trust anyone else: not Ty Lee or Mai, or the Dai Li, or even herself as a tactician.

Defeated, she writhed in agony on the ground, spitting fire from her mouth like a wounded dragon. In her bid to secure her power and status, she lost her mother, father, friends, subordinates, and now her brother too.

Why did Katara outmatch/defeat Azula nearly all the time they faced against each other in ATLA? - Quora

The Mysterious Great Megalodon [a Creative Essay]

I recently found this essay I wrote when I was 13 years-old. Just keeping it here for archive, and probably journal my continuous growth as a writer and English Language teacher. No grammatical or word choices is altered in this copy.

I vaguely remember this as a creative writing exercise at a tuition center where we are given the opening paragraph “A lone surfer…” to continue the story.

Andy

A lone surfer was surfing in the ocean blue. She was surfing happily before she knew that the sea was shark-infested. Suddenly, a dark shadow appeared in the deep blue sea.

A fin appeared over the horizon. The fin soon circled the surfer. Her face was filled with terror, as if she had seen a ghost flickering. After orbiting for a few moments, the fin disappeared into the water. The surfer heaved a sigh of relief. Not before long, the fin appeared again. But this time, it was charging at the surfer at a high velocity. The fin emerged to be a massive shark with rows of razor-sharp teeth. Poor surfer, she was brutally ‘chewed’ by the ferocious beast. Bit by bit, the slim body was viciously devoured by the man-eating and blood-thirsty shark. The massive killer swam away from the ‘half-eaten’ meal, leaving a trail of red blood behind it. What a gruesome sight!

A few minutes later, a fishing vessel which was cruising on the blue sea, spotted the surfer’s corpse. The captain of the vessel was shocked when the bloated corpse floated nearer to the vessel. His face turned pale and nearly blacked out because of the disgusting look of the decaying corpse. The captain decided to hook up the corpse to bring back to land for investigation. A few minutes later, the corpse was hooked up the vessel and placed into a wooden crate.

Suddenly, a slight push on the vessel. The force of the push grew larger and larger. A few moments later, the ship was beginning to rock, as if it was on a heavy storm. The fin appeared from the water and hit hard on the vessel. Soon, the vessel began to flood with sea water as the vessel had been damaged badly due to the impact of the shark on the vessel. A few of the crew on the vessel slipped into the sea and were struggling for their lives. The dangerous fin appeared again and slowly its body emerged. Its was the killer shark!!! The beast began to pry open its huge mouth and began to attack the poor sailors. Red blood filled the water and rubble of the ship remained floating on the surfaced ocean.

Nearby the tragedy, another vessel was cruising on the ocean and saw the tragedy, the crew got ready their nets to seize the shark. They managed to get hold of the shark but some of the sailors were pulled into the water. The quick-witted captain shot a harpoon and it struck the shark’s head, killing it in one blow. The shark wriggled for a while before it took its last breath and died.

Blood flowed out and the shark became motionless. The captain and the crew celebrated their victory and hooked up the carcass to observe it. They rescued the captain and the crew of sailors of the wrecked ship. When the Shark was hooked onto the vessel, the people on the vessel were shocked to see a thirty-five foot long killer. It was shaped like a torpedo and had grey skin and a white belly. It was larger than a great white shark!!! The vessel began to move back to land for investigation of the massive shark, carrying the corpses of the victims of the tragedy.

Alan and Wei Ling, two well-known Singapore marine experts were called to the harbour to examine the beast. policemen sealed up the harbour to prevent people from entering. The two scientists arrived at the scene and examined the shark. They were shocked by the size of the killer and the strange tooth markings on the corpses of the victims. Shocked, Alan exclaimed, “I have never seen these tooth markings before and such a huge shark before!” Wei Ling replied, “It must be a new species of shark!” After examining it, the shark was brought back to the science laboratory for further investigation.

After having lots of experiments conducted, the two scientists found out that the shark was a cross breed of the ancient shark, Megalodon and the great white shark.  They named it the Great Megalodon. In order to find out more about the mysterious shark, they had to risk their own lives to conduct more research work on the species of a shark.

One afternoon, they went down into the water from a boat, wearing usual scuba diving gear. They saw beautiful coral reefs and fishes of all shapes and sizes. Suddenly, they saw a dark shadow charging at them. It was the great Megalodon! It was larger than the previous and dead one. It swam at a high velocity towards the two scientists. They backed away and found out on the reef there were many pouches with embryos of shark pups in them. They discovered that the shark was not hungry but trying to protect its babies from the potential predators. They quickly rushed up to the boat and speed ashore. They told the police to shut all beaches and harbours at the Eastern side of Singapore harbour. Wei Ling thought that the Great Megalodon was indeed a good mother and a savage hunter too!

The end.

I guess Jaws made a pretty big impression in my childhood?

It is kind of weird reading my own writing from more than 10 years ago, although I am pretty impressed at the writing ability (must have been reviewed by tutor or something).

Looking at this essay again, I think creative writing may have been easier at a younger age, when we are less burdened by factual accuracy and the pursuit for originality. Technology and easier access to other works definitely changed the way we write “for fun”. Writing articles or even creative essays now feels less fun when you’re constantly worrying if your idea was original or because you read about it elsewhere.

Andy

MULAN (2020) [a Film Review]

SPOILERS AHEAD (but honestly, who cares?)

 

Strengths:

  1. Good attempt at wuxia
    • Bringing in an Asian cinematic style to compliment the cinematography
  2. Mulan’s androgenous face
    • Liu Yifei’s facial features could (just barely) pull off as a man
  3. Wide shots
    • Shows off scenic landscapes of New Zealand and China

Problems:

  1. The overemphasis with ‘chi’ or ‘qi’
    • Over-mythologizes a story of a regular being’s struggle against identity
  2. Oversaturation of symmetrical shots
    • The shots look great but grows old fast
  3. A pointless phoenix
    • Doesn’t add to the story, and oversimplifies the meaning of a phoenix in Chinese culture
  4. Forced dialogue
    • Words sound like white people Orientalising Chinese sayings
  5. Rushed story
    • Does not give enough nuance to Mulan’s decision to leave or fight
  6. Mulan’s prodigal talents
    • Gives off the impression that only with talent can you be better than other men
  7. Unnecessary shower scene
    • Unnecessarily sexualises Mulan in attempt to remind audiences of her femininity
  8. Chose to reveal identity
    • Defeats the message about the two hares – that while one is male and other is female, when they run together they are indistinguishable from the other
  9. “I believe Hua Mulan”
    • Political reference aside, the men had not enough interaction to be impressed by Mulan and her honesty
  10. Xianniang
    • Not enough backstory to empathise with her; sole purpose is to die for Mulan to live
  11. Jet Li and Donnie Yen under-utilised
    • Neither of the actors well-known for their martial arts and wuxia roles did much to display their prowess
  12. Fireworks?
    • You have fireworks for display, but not as weapons?

Beautifully shot, but no attempt in improving or complimenting the original poem or its themes.

1 / 5

 

What I Wish For In “Jurassic World: Dominion”

While the next Jurassic World installment, Jurassic World: Dominion, will not hit theatres until 2021, it would be fun to just ponder on where this mixed bag of a franchise could go, now that dinosaurs have been released into the human world post-Fallen Kingdom. One possible way is to flip the entire dinosaur thriller genre on its head and go in a new direction.

Go back to the horror-thriller beginnings of the first film

While a tat unnecessary in an already crowded plot in Fallen Kingdom (2018), the horror-like sequence in the Lockwood Manor is intriguing and could potentially help to reinvigorate the fanbase by returning to the original vision of horror-thriller in the first film. While a good nostalgia-infused entry, Jurassic World (2015) does not offer much except for the idea of hybrids and come off as a kaiju film. Hide the star dinosaur’s appearance for most of the film, play with confined spaces, use shadows and mis-directions to throw viewers off, just like the Velociraptors in the first film. Dinosaurs are scary enough on their own. Seeing one in front of you with nowhere to go should be the last image you’ll see.

Remember that the stars of the franchise are the dinosaurs, not the humans

Many franchises forget that in creature films, the non-human casts are the leads. Yes, Chris Pratt and Jeff Goldblum bring star power to the game, but Jurassic fans are more concerned about the fates of Rexy and Blue than Owen or Ian Malcolm. Make these dinosaurs the focus of the presumably-final entry of the Jurassic franchise (at least till Universal decides to milk this cash cow again in 2030).

Let the JP and JW cast feed off each other’s energies

Now that Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern and Sam Neill are confirmed to return for a more significant appearance than the former’s brief cameo in Fallen Kingdom, it is getting a little crowded with two eras worth of characters. Having them work closely with their pseudo-twin would be interesting: Owen Grady (Pratt) clashing with Alan Grant (Neill) over their thoughts about Velociraptors; Claire Dearing (Howard) and Ellie Sattler (Dern) sharing a mutual passion of dinosaurs; and Ian Malcolm to the kooky ‘voice of reason’ to everything.

Show us an actual Jurassic WORLD (not just a park)

At the end of Fallen Kingdom, dinosaurs have been released into the human civilisation: Rexy wanders into a zoo, the Mosasaur rules the seas, Blue overlooks a buffet of suburban homes. With multiple warlords and syndicates owning dinosaurs auctioned off during the Lockwood incident, InGen (the original genetics developer that gave life to the dinosaurs) is no longer the only corporation capable of creating life. With rumours of Biosyn (the rival genetics company to InGen) returning in Dominion, this seem more than likely. As they said in the closing statements of the last film, genetic power has now been released. So show us how dinosaurs are now created to solve/ hinder human problems. Horse-betting replaced with Gallimimuses, an Allosaurus death pit, dinosaur meat created to solve hunger issues, dinosaurs should be more rampant than ever before.

The Jurassic franchise has had a long and prosperous (while not always critically-appreciated) life in the realm of pop culture. Irregardless of whether the dinosaurs portrayed in the decades worth of storytelling are scientifically accurate or not, this franchise has generated much interest for these magnificent creatures and the field of paleontology. Along with Star Wars, this franchise dictated much of my childhood: the TV reruns, the plastic toys, Walking with Dinosaurs, the library encyclopedias, the LEGO models, the dream of becoming a paleontologist. If Dominion is to be the end of the franchise (for now), then let it go out not with a bang, but with a majestically deafening, nostalgia-filled T-Rex roar as an ominous-yet-celebratory banner falls into frame.

Images from FANDOM.com.

MK11 is the “Endgame” of MK Lore

The third installment of a rebooted trilogy of Mortal Kombat video games, Mortal Kombat 11 continues the story from the epilogue of 2015’s Mortal Kombat X (itself a sequel to 2011’s Mortal Kombat). The game finds a creative excuse to bring back old and familiar characters whilst promoting new-gen characters introduced in this new trilogy of games by introducing the time-travelling villain Kronika who had masterminded the events in this new timeline of Mortal Kombat lore. However, with almost every world-ending trope explored in its lore and an over-saturated roster of ninjas, monks, monsters and ghouls, the video game franchise might be running out of excuses to make another game unless another lore reboot is on their mind.

Spoilers from Mortal Kombat 11 and MK11: Aftermath ahead.

A second-gen character headlines the sequels

Defeating Shinnok, an Elder God and final boss of Mortal Kombat X, is not something you do everyday unless you’re destined for greatness. No, we’re not talking about being a ‘Chosen One’, but headlining the franchise lore. Cassie Cage, the daughter of Sonya Blade and Johnny Cage, outshines her legendary parents by doing the impossible and earning her family’s legacy.

With her mother dead and her father incapacitated early into the latest game, Cassie Cage’s story in MK11 is a figurative ‘passing of the torch’ with her trying to find her own legacy outside of her family name, even becoming a representing leader of Earthrealm’s forces in the climatic battle against Kronika’s army. Cassie Cage’s importance may give way for other second-gen characters to debut or return (like Takeda and Kung Jin from MK X).

Legacy characters exit From ‘main’ timeline

Many legacy characters from the early Mortal Kombat games have died or been left out of the latest game’s roster.
– Kano: Cassie Cage killed past-Kano to eliminate present-Kano from existing
– Sonya Blade: Died early into the game to pave way for Cassie Cage’s story
– Johnny Cage: Incapacitated early into the game and seemingly made amends with his past by inspiring past-Johnny to be a better man
– Kenshi: Revealed to have died some time between MK X and MK11
– Ermac: Revealed to have died some time between MK X and MK11
– Goro: Revealed to have died some time between MK X and MK11
– Jax Briggs: May have ‘passed the torch’ to his daughter Jacqui
– Raiden: Sacrificed himself to break the cycle of vengeance against Liu Kang
– Liu Kang: Merged with Raiden to become a God of Thunder and Fire and the Keeper of Time

That said, the outcomes of these characters remain unknown since ALL ‘time’ has been wiped out during the final battle between Kronika and Liu Kang.

The realms may actually be at peace with each other

By the end of MK11, forces from Earthrealm and Outworld have united to fight against Kronika and her Netherealm army commandeered by Revenant Liu Kang and Kitana. With Revenant Liu Kang merged with past-Liu Kang and past-Raiden to form the God of Thunder and Fire and all Kitanas wiped from existence due to the final battle between Kronika and Liu Kang, the Netherrealm army may be leaderless and powerless as a result. With Shao Kahn dead, Outworld may never go to war against Earthrealm again. If the timelines are to be written similar to the past ones, the realms may be at peace with each other for once.

Liu Kang and Raiden’s exit may make way for a major reboot

At the end of MK11, Liu Kang is seen at a void meant to represent the ‘beginning of time’ crafting ‘time’ with his new found powers while Raiden serves as a Force Ghost-esque guide to Liu Kang. With these two remaining in the void of time, it is unlikely that we would see them return to the main roster of characters again. With these two important pieces gone from the proverbial chess board of MK lore, we may be a significant reboot of the roster and the lore moving forward. Like Tony Stark and Steve Rogers in Avengers: Endgame , their exit made way for new characters to take the center stage and inherit the ever-expanding empire that is the MCU. 

While it is unlikely that NetherRealm Studios (the creators of the MK series) would go with a total and complete revamp of the design and backstories of the many fan-favourites and legendary characters, a significant amount of retconning and rebooting is necessary to keep the lore from tearing itself apart once again. Once you have time-travelled, you can’t go back to doing the same thing ever again.

 

Images from FANDOM.com.

Joker [a Film Review]

joker-2019-poster-5

Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line, Her) pulls a Joaquin Phoenix on Todd Phillips’s Joker, the latest media controversy and new film about a reimagined supervillain origin story starring the infamous archenemy of Batman.

Famous for his method acting, Phoenix’s unique portrayal of Arthur Fleck, who embodies the tortured soul of Joker, brings out the tormented laughter that calls out for empathy for the mentally-ill and victims of societal subjugation. Backed by director Phillips’s surreal vision of a city torn between the rich and the poor (something very familiar these days), Joker is more than just a film based on a comic book supervillain but a dark commentary on our reality: What makes someone happy? What circumstances drive us to the brink of insanity? At times, you forget that the film is set in Gotham, and that’s entirely fine.

It’s a supervillain origin movie

It is no spoiler that Phoenix’s character Arthur Fleck takes up the mantle of Joker by the end of the film, but something feels awfully familiar, yet fresh at the same time. Fleck’s story in the film parallels that of any other superhero origin film. Just like how the murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents led to the eventual christening of the Caped Crusader, Batman, it takes just one bad day for Fleck to descend into the depths of depression, helplessness and murder (instead of enlightenment and commitment). Arthur’s first act of crime parallels that of Batman; the media calls him a ‘vigilante’, drawing both critics and fans alike. All these leads up to the final confrontation with his enemy, exposing a larger problem within Gotham. Meanwhile, the ramifications of that exposure leads to the unexpected rise of an archenemy.

More than just a “glorification of violence”

Lately, the conversation about this film has been about whether this dark drama inadvertently promotes violence and anarchy. Yes, the film does end with a triumphant birth of a murderer and the city’s descent into anarchy, but the film’s commentary is so much more than just the violence. The film brings out an underlying problem within our real society that some actions come with desperate motives and unheard cries of help. A large part of Joker focuses on Arthur’s relationship with his mother, whose fate is somehow tied to the Wayne family. The rich and powerful, like the Waynes, have the support of the media and government, while the Flecks, who live a bleak life of poverty, are ignored and left to scuttle for scraps in the depths of Gotham City. To focus on the violent aspects of the film, is to once again, ignore the voices and the desperate cries of the helpless and the subjugated. Of course the film has to be violent, for one, the fans demand it; for another, it is the only way the silent majority can be heard through the bangs and crashes of subjugation.

Joker is both your typical comic book origin movie but also not the typical sort that ends in hope and a better world. In this case, the world burns, and will continue to do so with the fire crackling in a maniacal laughter of a tormented soul.

4/5

Spider-Man: Far From Home [a Film Review]

Spider-Man: Homecoming director Jon Watts swings back into action with Spider-Man: Far From Home: a great second entry to Tom Holland’s run as Peter Parker and his superhero alter-ego which ends off the decade-spanning “Infinity Saga” perfectly to usher in the next phase of Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, Peter Parker is offered a chance to return to the high-school life he missed out on when his class goes on a school trip around Europe. When Nick Fury introduces Quentin Beck, a superhero going by Mysterio, and brings information of a new world-destroying threat, Parker must decide between living his life as a normal teenager or living up to Tony Stark’s legacy as an Avenger.

Far From Home keeps the Spider-Man franchise fresh by opting for a road-trip format instead of keeping the high-school, bildungsroman style of 2017’s Homecoming. Not only does this new style display the global presence of Spider-Man and the Avengers in a post-Endgame future but it ups the ante on Spider-Man’s heroism and failures. While it remains unspoken in the MCU films, the iconic Spider-Man theme of ‘with great power comes great responsibly’ is clearly portrayed through the hero’s trials and tribulations in this film. However, the twists and false conclusions in the film can feel stretched and long-winded as the film enters its second hour.

Tom Holland and new-to-MCU actor Jake Gyllenhaal plays Peter Parker and Quentin Beck convincingly as they bounce off each other’s charisma on screen, making every scene they appear together in the best in the film. While the overuse of computer-generated images (CGI) can hinder the realness of a film’s premise, the CGI in this film is cleverly used in specific action scenes – in particular, Spider-Man’s dream sequence – to portray the dangers faced by Spider-Man while simultaenously poking fun at the ridiculousness of the MCU’s storylines.

Arguably the main reason fans flock to the theatres for, Far From Home‘s ending is delightfully unexpected and teases many possible stories for the next sequel while the post-credits scenes tease where the MCU might be heading. Fans of Spider-Man comic books and past films will enjoy the familiar faces and themes teased at the ending.

Closing the MCU’s third and final phase of the “Infinity Saga” is not an easy feat. Bogged down by a draggy plot across several action sequences in different Eurpoean countries, Spider-Man: Far From Home is far from being the best Spider-Man or MCU film, but it does a decent job of closing a decade-worth of storytelling while opening up a new chapter in the MCU.

3.5 / 5

“Avengers: Endgame” Speculation

With Endgame approaching in less then a month, it’s time to put on our tinfoil hats and speculate, purely based on what we know thus far from the Marvel Cinematic Universe canon and my personal opinions.

  1. Nebula delivers the fatal blow to Thanos

    This is partly based on old Marvel Comics storylines, but the tension between Thanos and his daughter Nebula has been developed over several films: Nebula struggles to impress his father in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014); she vows to go after his father for all the abuse to Gamora and her at the end of GotG Vol. 2 (2017); and she works alongside the protagonists to take down Thanos on Titan in Infinity War (2018). With her sister and only person she cares for dead by Thanos’s hands, it would be fitting for Nebula to end this family feud by killing Thanos. Let’s face it, it’s highly unlikely for Thanos to survive the next Avengers film.

    Edit: While Nebula did not get her revenge on her father, the act of killing the alternate Thanos-worshipping self is a nice nod to show her character’s progress from Thanos’s weapon to righteous Guardian of the Galaxy.

     

  2. Captain Marvel’s “Mary Sue” powers will be dampened by the damage on the Infinity Gauntlet

    Carol Danvers’s seemingly-almighty photonic powers will be hindered by the damage the Infinity Gauntlet endured due to the Decimation. Since Danvers’s powers come from her exposure to the experimental energy-core, which itself is derived from experiments on the Tessaract (the Space Stone), her powers may be less effective as it is 20 years ago in the franchise’s canon since we see the vessel of the Infinity Stones damaged after Thanos’s infamous snap.

    Edit: Captain Marvel’s powers remain inconsistent throughout the battle, especially in the final battle (she can punch through Thanos’s mothership but falls when he punches her with the Power Stone), ultimately making her appearance in Endgame seemed forced and tagged on. That is what happens when you film the character’s later appearances before her own solo film.

  3. Captain America takes Gamora’s place as the sacrifice in the Soul Stone

    GotG Vol. 3 seems unlikely to move forward without Gamora, a fan-favourite of the sub-franchise. Perhaps undoing the effects of the Decimation, requires another sacrifice to ensure that the bearer of the Soul Stone understands its price (as mentioned by Red Skull in Infinity War). Who better to take the place than the hero with the purest of heart and soul, Steve Rogers aka Captain America. A nice way for Chris Evans to exit his role while providing possible returns in the future.

    Edit: While I did not get this correct perfectly, I am glad to see another original Avenger taking the fall (pun intended) instead. Perhaps the assassin-turned-hero Natasha Romanoff is more suited for the redemption arc than the goody-two-shoes Steve Rogers.

  4. Tony Stark (Iron Man) dies at the end of Endgame

    However you may want to see this, this Infinity Saga (according to Marvel Studios) revolves primarily around Stark: his revelation and hero-origin in Iron Man (2008) and The Avengers (2012); his trials and fall in Age of Ultron (2015) and Civil War (2016); and his mentoral role and hero-redemption in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Infinity War. While it is unclear of Robert Downey Jr.’s future with Marvel Studios, his death in Endgame would be bittersweet. An end of an era, one brought about by a previously-B-list superhero in the comics.

    Edit: My first correct guess, and it was a big one. “I am… Iron Man” and “I love you 3000” are going down as some of the most epic and emotional moments in the MCU.

  5. One, if not all, of the 6 original Avengers exit the film franchise in Endgame

    Hypothesis 3 and 4 may present grim ends for one of the 6 original Avengers from the first Avengers film, but this hypothesis speculates a more hopeful ending for the 6 Avengers. Perhaps it is purely coincidental for all 6 of them to survive the Decimation? Whether they die by the hands of the villain, exit in a coffin or ride into the sunset saving the day, the departure of Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, Hulk, Thor and Hawkeye leaves more space for a new roster of Avengers.

    Edit: With two dead (IM & BW), one retired (CA), one MIA (HE), one benched by injury (H), and one off-world (T), it is good to say that the Original 6 are not returning to the roster any time soon. Not like they have 50+ others waiting for the call to join…

  6. The “endgame” does not take place on the original timeline.

    In Infinity War, we learnt from Doctor Strange that out of the 14,000,605 timelines and outcomes he saw, only one timeline has triumphed over Thanos and presumably prevented the Decimation – the “Snappening” – and it is not this timeline that we’ve witnessed over the past decade of films. Since the quantum realm and even time travel have been speculated, WHAT IF by travelling to the past to stop the Decimation from happening, the protagonists help create an alternate timeline where Thanos is defeated. This could potentially be one way to bring back supposedly-dead characters like T’Challa, Star-Lord and Bucky, or even Loki and Gamora. This could explain how Spider-Man is alive in Far From Home (although the film could still take place pre-Infinity War).

    Edit: The time travel element of the plot is interesting, so is revisiting key moments of MCU’s history, but the ramifications of loosy-goosy explanations for time travel is going to mess with your plot structure.

  7. Endgame ends with two Avengers teams – Earth-bound and Space-exploring

    No matter if the Decimation is prevented or not, moving on, the protagonists will split into at least two teams: one consisting of street-level heroes like Spider-Man and Black Panther to act on Earth-based threats; and another consisting of cosmic-based heroes like Thor and Captain Marvel to fight off extra-terrestrial threats. Speculation of who is on each team requires a whole other list.

    Edit: While not confirmed, we do see Peter Parker returning to normal life on Earth while Thor joins the Guardians in space. With the post-credits from Far From Home, this seems more than confirmed.

  8. The actions of Endgame will give rise to another franchise-spanning villain

    Numerous science-fiction film franchises rectify their time travel paradoxes of changing the past by introducing another problem that threatens the protagonists once again. Whether Endgame takes place on the original timeline or not, the franchise will need a new villain moving forward. BUT this new villain will not be teased in one of Endgame‘s post-credits scenes. They’ll probably hide it in one of the future films to accommodate filmography changes after the Fox-Disney merger in early 2019. Again, speculation of who this villain is requires a whole other list.

    Edit: Right about Endgame not teasing a new villain but the ending does tease possible routes that the MCU could head down. West Coast Avengers, Cosmic Avengers, perhaps?

While I personally hope Hypothesis 6 to happen in the upcoming film, it is of utmost importance to speculate responsibly and to respect whichever decision the filmmakers decide upon. Too many film fandoms have been torn apart because of toxic arguments between passionate members of the fan community. My purpose of this article is not to gain attention or fame from my ideas, but to facilitate healthy speculation and discussion in fan conversations. Just because the film does not work out the way you anticipated, does not mean it is “bad” or “ruined”. Each filmmaker has his own take on the franchise, just like every fan. The only way for the fandom to thrive is the harmony between fans and creators.

Images from FANDOM.