I was reading an article about why Strange knew Tony, specifically, needed to survive. And it was fine. Of course, my brain being what it is hit one bit that annoyed me.
“A futurist is a dangerous force, as the MCU has made clear. Believing another alien invasion was on its way, Stark attempted to create a global defense system – Ultron. In Captain America: Civil War, Stark was so focused on the fact the United Nations would push further measures that he sacrificed the Avengers’ unity in the short-term.”
Believing another invasion was on its way… But there WAS another one on the way. And he was focused on the UN pushing further measures… BUT THEY WERE. He wasn’t wrong about either of those things. Why do people act like he was being unreasonable? Why does no one admit that what Ultron turned out to be wasn’t exclusively Tony? Why do people ignore that the issues brought up in civil war were legit. He wasn’t the reason the avengers unity dissipated. He was the one who was willing to try to compromise! It was the other one who refused to try to meet halfway, refused to hear the people they’re supposed to be helping.
So this has been an idea rattling around in my head for a while, but I didn’t exactly know how to write about it, but I think Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 are drawing on some major chess metaphors.
The first hint of this is in Age of Ultron. Near the end, Thor says this:
“The Mind Stone is the fourth of the Infinity Stones to show up in the last few years. That’s not a coincidence. Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us. But once all these pieces are in position…”
My suspicion is that this is a game between Thanos and Tony. They’re the two Kings.
Why? They’ve been referred to as the “big two.” Their conflict was the longest one in Avengers: Infinity War. The two are parallels to one another. They have an “existential connection” (per Joe Russo). They have discordant color schemes (Thanos is blue/purple, Tony is red/gold). And, what’s more, a great cost was paid to keep Tony in the game.
In chess, the king (♔,♚) is the most important piece. The object of the game is to threaten the opponent’s king in such a way that escape is not possible (checkmate). If a player’s king is threatened with capture, it is said to be in check, and the player must remove the threat of capture on the next move. If this cannot be done, the king is said to be in checkmate, resulting in a loss for that player. Although the king is the most important piece, it is usually the weakest piece in the game until a later phase, the endgame. Players cannot make any move that places their own king in check.
When Tony’s life was directly threatened (aka he was put in “check”), Strange (a player on Tony’s side) sacrificed not only himself, but several other players to keep Tony in the game.
When Tony asked why Strange did this, Strange replied, “We’re in the endgame now.”
“Endgame” is a term used to label the late stage of the game where there’s fewer pieces on the board (post-snap); and the King becomes far more powerful.
@starkgirlfriday This is an incredible observation. I hadn’t link that before, but that does add to the imagery of Tony as the “King” in the game. Him Knighting Peter was a way of indicating Peter had ascended in rank.
Also to add, here’s some parallels between Thanos and Tony, indicating the two are eerily similar:
Both foresaw the destruction of their homeworlds, and offered cataclysmic solutions:
Tony: “I see a suit of armor around the world.”
Thanos: “And when we faced extinction, I offered a solution.”
Both can’t tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it:
Wanda [about Tony]: “Ultron can’t tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it. Where do you think he gets that?”
Thanos: “With all six Stones, I could simply snap my fingers. They would all cease to exist. I call that mercy.”
Both were mocked for their foresight:
Clint [to Tony, mockingly]: “The Futurist, gentlemen! The Futurist is here! He sees all! He knows what’s best for you, whether your like it or not.”
Strange [to Thanos, mockingly]: “Congratulations. You’re a prophet.”
Both are driven by a strong will to “make things right”:
Wanda [about Tony]: “He will do anything to make things right.”
Thanos: “It needs correction. […] I’m the only one who knows that. At least, I’m the only one with the will to act on it.”
Both dream of resting/retirement once their missions are done; Thanos is even on a farm of his own at the end of Avengers: Infinity War:
Tony: “Maybe I should take a page out of Barton’s book and build Pepper a farm, hope nobody blows it up.”
Thanos: “I finally rest. And watch the sun rise on a grateful universe.”
Both were called “mad”:
Tony [to Bruce]: “We’re mad scientists. We’re monsters, buddy. You gotta own it.”
Thanos: “And they called me a madman.”
Both have a “Destiny”:
Tony: “[…] so it’s a little tough for me to digest when you’re telling me [Howard] said the whole future was riding on me”
Thanos: “I ignored my destiny once. I cannot do that again.”
Both have disturbing left arm imagery:
Tony’s left arm keeps getting injured. It got caught on fire in IM2; he injured it and had to wear a sling in CA:CW; “My left arm is numb, is that normal?”; the Hulkbuster’s left arm got ripped off in AoU (and in A:IW but Bruce was piloting it).
Even at the end of Infinity War, Tony’s left arm is covered in blood and black ash as he cradles it.
Thanos’s left arm is burnt and scarred after using the gauntlet.
BUT – what separates them is literally heart. Compassion. We see direct contrasts.
Thanos has little concern or care for his “children.” He tortures Nebula, says destroying her would be a “waste of parts.” He tries to control them. Says what’s best for them. He kills Gamora by hurling her off a cliff.
Whereas Tony? He tries to save everyone. He spends the whole movie looking out for his friends and allies (he picks up a random woman on the sidewalk, looks after Bruce during the NYC fight, immediately checks on Strange, etc.) He is a-okay with Vision (a child of Tony’s in a sense) going out and seeing Wanda (he makes no attempts to stop him and even seems proud because he says “he’s evolving!”). Tony has Dum-E and U who he loves and hasn’t bothred to upgrade since they were created (whereas Thanos rips Nebula apart to make her “better”). While Thanos hurled Gamora off a cliff, Tony promised Peter he would catch him when he fell.
@starkravinghazelnuts My only objection here is to Wanda’s observation about Ultron’s inability to tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it. Ultron was not Tony’s alone (Wanda and Bruce all had a hand in his creation), and the murderous instincts he felt can, arguably, be rather attributed to Wanda’s influence than Tony’s.
As for the rest – brilliant analysis as always!
So I was reading a book – a cheesy romance thing with a polyamorous endgame. And now I’m mad at myself.
The first two characters we met were best friends of forever, one male and one female, who came back to their home town and had to pretend to be married (why they needed to pretend this was never explained…). Through most of the story the one who would bring up them not being really married was the girl. The one we followed the most and got the most pov from was the girl. During the internal bits we mostly got her feelings for the other guy (the one she and fake!hubby both wanted). At some point hormones became a thing, and girl and fake!bae slept together. She was doing all the wifey things the next morning, cooking breakfast wearing nothing but in of his shirts, climbing on him, laying it on *heavy*. He told her she didn’t have to do all the extra wifey stuff because they weren’t really married. She got angry at him and left.
Fake!bae ended up being chewed out by her and by Grams for joking about not being really married. Grams even lectures him that “women never joke about the word ‘wife’.” … WTF author? THE MARRIAGE WAS FAKE!!!! Author wrote chick to be the most adamant about telling everybody it was fake (like, seriously she told so many people.) The only person she’d ever spoke about having feelings for was the Other Guy – “the one that got away” or whatever – but somehow bestie/fake!hubby is supposed to know that she caught real feelings for him too? And HE had to apologize?!?!
Smile It Won't Suck Forever 