One of the biggest critiques in regards to Avengers: Infinity War is that all of the character deaths seem meaningless because the viewer knows that there are going to be future movies featuring those characters. Thanos winning is a big deal and a bold move, but the audience can just hand-wave it with the sentiment of "There's going to be another movie, so why does it matter?"
Well, why does life matter when you know everyone is going to die?
Sure, in a meta sense you can just say you know what's going to happen anyway, but does an inevitable conclusion devalue everything that happens leading up to that point?
Moviegoers knew well going in that there would be plenty character deaths, and knew that not all of them would be permanent because at least 90% of the actors are signed up for future films, yet Infinity War still broke records with over 678 million at the box office in the US and Canada, and over 2 billion worldwide, with unbridled praise from critics and a general audience alike. So I'm going to just take a shot in the dark and say no.
And I just want to remind everyone that this sort of thing happened in the comics all the time. In Secret Wars, all of the Marvel heroes were killed due to Dr Doom's paranoia that they would attempt to overthrow him after he absorbed the Beyonder's power (long story, I recommend reading the comic though, it's great). Of course, the readers knew that they would return somehow, because that occurred in issue 11 in a 12-issue event, and Marvel was obviously going to continue making comics with these characters. But it's still a well-written event with plenty of suspense, the readers are still kept on the edge of their seats with the anticipation of what happens next. Once you start reading, you're in it for the long run. You have to know what happens next. There's not just the question of how the characters return, but how will they deal with the situation? How do they win? Can and do they still win? What happens after the villain is defeated? How do they cope from the experience? How does it impact them for the rest of their lives?
And that's exactly what's happening here, just on a cinematic scale.
Again, you could just be a cynic and still say that the character deaths have no real consequence, but not only is that notion objectively wrong, it's also missing the point. The movie isn't just about superheroes dying. That's just silly. If you pay attention to the overall themes and character arcs, this movie is about loss, and how the characters deal with loss. It's not just the characters who die, but the ones who survive. They are the ones who are impacted the most by all of this.
The video above is probably the most important scene in the entire movie, because Thor is one of the characters who has lost the most in recent events, and here he explains to Rocket that he will enact his vengeance because fate wills it so, it's the only way he knows how to cope with his tremendous loss. And if he's wrong, he asks what he has left to lose. Rocket then reflects on how he could still lose a lot. And the same can be said for Thor, because even though he has no family left, his drive for vengeance is what allows Thanos to escape. Rather than killing him instantly, he would rather drive the axe into his heart slowly as he looks into Thanos' eyes and proclaim that he told him he would die for what he did in the beginning of the film, only for Thanos to reply that he should have gone for the head and go through with the snap. This teaches Thor that vengeance is not his only reason for surviving, just as Rocket still has "a lot to lose", Thor still has much to live for and plenty to lose.
Every character learns from what they lose in Infinity War. Even Thanos.
And while we may be lucky enough to be aware of the meta of the MCU, or can speculate or theorize that everyone is really all safe and cozy in the Soul Stone or that everything will be fixed with reality bending or time travel shenanigans, from the perspective of the characters, they have no idea there will be "another movie". For them, this is real, and even if everyone is revived and everything turns out fine and dandy, they will still carry this experience with them for the rest of their lives.
Now, I could be biased because I grew up around the same time that the Star Wars prequels hit theaters, and I was already clued in on most future events due to the Original Trilogy and all the parodies and pop culture references that were all over the place during the 90s and 2000s. Thanks Toy Story 2, for spoiling Empire Strikes Back and the greatest movie twist of all time for me.
So as soon as Anakin Skywalker was introduced in Episode 1, we all knew he was going to eventually become Darth Vader. But as a kid, I didn't care. I saw a movie with space wizards and laser swords, so I was entertained. Even now as an adult I have a deep appreciation for the prequels, because even being aware of Anakin's fate, the final battle between him and Obi-Wan in Revenge of the Sith is still as epic as it is tragic. And heck, fans are excited as ever for the return of Clone Wars despite being aware of what happens to all of the characters.
In fact, this is a literary device called Dramatic Irony, which refers to when the audience is aware of certain events but the characters or a certain character is not. With this knowledge, certain phrases or actions can mean different things and have deeper implications. (Watch this for an example). It has been used in Shakespearean dramas and even dates back to ancient Greek legends and early folklore. When a new character is introduced in a Star Wars prequel, we know it's most likely this character is going to die because they don't appear in the OT. Does this mean they can't be a compelling character? Of course not, I personally find Jin Erso and K2-SO far more compelling than anyone in the sequel trilogy. When Vader appears aboard the ship in Rogue One we know Leia is going to receive the Death Star plans in the end because that's how A New Hope begins. But it's still considered among the fans one of the most memorable moments in the entirety of Star Wars movies in spite of that.
And in Infinity War, Thor forging the Stormbreaker, The Avengers vs Thanos on Titan, the battle at Wakanda, and the character deaths all still hold very strong significance, and will leave a lasting impact on not just the characters, but the fans as well.
This has been Hero's Shade, and thanks for reading.
