Avengers: Infinity War Is an Unprecedented Achievement

Back in 2008, I remember getting goosebumps as Tony Stark stepped into his advanced armor during Jon Favreau’s Iron Man and later having my mind explode when Nick Fury made a surprise appearance about the Avengers Initiative. Fury’s cameo made it clear that the superhero movie was part of something much bigger and I couldn’t wait for more. Later that year, I remember being awe-struck as the Green Goliath and Abomination had an absolutely savage slugfest in director Louis Leterrier’s The Incredible Hulk. In 2010, I loved seeing Black Widow effortlessly take down enemies and Iron Man work with War Machine in combat. In 2011, I couldn’t believe I was looking at Asgard in a movie theater and I thought it was so cool that Hawkeye made his big screen debut. Later that year, it was surreal seeing Steve Rogers become a super-soldier and “punch Hitler.” In 2012, Marvel Studios finally brought all these iconic characters together for a movie that was full of amusing banter, exciting action, and plenty of fan service – I wanted to cheer as Iron Man and Captain America used teamwork while battling the Chitauri. And that was just Phase One.

Look, I could go on for a very long time if I wanted to tell you about each time I felt pure joy while watching a Marvel Studios movie. Sure, there’s always room for growth with the movies and there have been some small hiccups along the way as the Marvel Cinematic Universe got bigger and bigger, but what’s really important here is that Marvel Studios has spent a decade successfully exploring different parts of its cinematic universe and leading it all up to a conflict with Thanos in Anthony and Joe Russo's Avengers: Infinity War – let that sink in for a moment because that’s unprecedented.

Even if you’re not the biggest fans of the movies, there’s just no denying that the studio’s had tremendous success building a massive following of fans, earning critical praise, and generating huge box office numbers as it moved forward with a clear vision. The Marvel Cinematic Universe obviously isn’t the only successful cinematic franchise out there, but I’d argue that the other modern hits -  like Harry Potter and Fast and Furious – are nothing like what Marvel Studios has accomplished. The other popular franchises primarily revolve around one group of characters while it expands the world around them. This would be like every Marvel Studios movie being an Avengers movie right from the start, but occasionally new heroes joined the roster and new supporting characters would appear. Instead, Marvel Studios focused on constantly expanding its universe as it gave different characters the spotlight while also having a clear objective for the future.

Watching the new Avengers: Infinity War trailer made me sincerely appreciate Marvel Studio’s extraordinary accomplishment. Seeing Iron Man, the hero who started it all, interact with Star-Lord, one of the newer heroes, felt so rewarding, and it was just as awesome seeing two of the newer heroes – Spider-Man and Doctor Strange – finally chat. There's so much history there and a feeling of excitement about what'll come next. Ten years later, these movies are still giving me goosebumps – how can I not get them when I see Captain America standing against Thanos?! Marvel Studios deserves praise for what its built – it’s an unparalleled achievement.

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