Endgame – The One Path to Victory

One of the criticisms of Superhero movies is that they always have happy endings in which all the superheroes survive. It is rare that any of the heroes die. There is also the fact that in the comics, most of the time, death isn’t permanent. Maybe a hero will die (or appear to die), but it doesn’t carry much weight because we know they are going to be brought back. Personally, I have never liked this criticism of the genre. As a Superhero fan, I want the heroes to survive and I don’t mind if the heroes come back from death. As long as the story is good, it doesn’t bother me that comic deaths are not permanent.

Avengers Infinity War and Avengers Endgame have a lot of death. If you follow comic movie news, you already had a hint that many of the deaths from Infinity War were not going to be permanent. Several of the characters who died already have sequels in the works. Even if you knew that, the deaths were still significant because of the emotional impact. The Marvel storytellers had built emotional connections between their characters and the audience. We felt sad by the deaths because we loved these characters.

Endgame opens with the aftermath of Infinity War. We first see Hawkeye lose his family. We see Tony Stark lost in space trying to make it back to earth. He almost dies before being rescued. When Tony returns he is angry with Steve Rogers because years before, Tony had tried to warn everyone about something like this but people opposed Tony. When the heroes discover that they can’t reverse what Thanos did, the movie jumps forward 5 years. We feel the impact of a world that lost half the population. There are survivor support groups. We see Thor dealing with depression. The remaining heroes are trying to help but they still are deeply affected by what happened.

The more I thought about it, the more this situation made me think about our world. In our world, we don’t always have happy endings where everyone survives. Death and destruction happen. People deal with grief, anxiety and depression. Our world can be a very difficult place to live in. In the movie, a massive amount of death came into the world because of Thanos’ snap. In our world, a massive amount of death came into the world because of something else. Because of the fall into sin, back in the Garden of Eden, death entered the world. Everything will eventually die. Death, disease, injury, suffering and everything related to those came into the world because of sin. All this happened because Adam and Eve took the forbidden fruit. We feel the weight of sin as we look around this world.

Back in the movie, the heroes discover that they can use time travel to collect the Infinity Stones and change the Snap. There are many events that could be mentioned but I think the key detail is this: everything that happens was the only path to victory. Doctor Strange told Iron Man in Infinity War that letting Thanos do the first Snap was the only way. Doctor Strange had seen millions of possible futures and there was only one path to victory. And yet, Iron Man didn’t realize that this was the one path until the end of the movie. Doctor Strange never told Tony what he had to do. Tony dealt with all kinds of grief and suffering during the 5 years between the Snap and the victory. Only at the very end did Tony realize what he had to do to complete the one path to victory. He had to do one last snap to defeat Thanos. Tony used all the Infinity Stones to win. Unfortunately for Tony, the power of the stones took his life. It appears that Tony’s death is permanent.

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This idea of one path to victory focuses my attention on the one path to eternal victory. I think again about the fall into sin and how death has affected this world. In the movie, the terrible result of the Snap was only around for five years. In our world, the terrible result of the fall into sin has been around for thousands of years. There are people that wish that God would interact differently with this world. Some people wish that God would stop all the death and destruction that we see. Couldn’t he use his power to do that? While I agree that God is all-powerful and can use his power to do many things; I also understand that his focus isn’t on making this world completely peaceful. His focus is on the eternal plan of salvation. God isn’t like the superhero who rescues someone from falling off a building. God isn’t even like all the heroes who worked together to reverse the Snap in Infinity War and Endgame.

God’s plan is about sending Jesus as our Savior. Galatians 4:4-5 says, “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son to be born of a woman, so that he would be born under the law, in order to redeem those under the law, so that we would be adopted as sons.” Jesus came at just the right time. It was thousands of years after the fall into sin. It was prophesied throughout the Old Testament and there were many people who grew impatient waiting for it. Jesus finally came to deliver this world from sin. He did what we could never do. He obeyed the law perfectly. He never sinned. He didn’t fight epic battles. He didn’t conquer armies or nations. He humbly obeyed the law and proclaimed the good news that he was the Messiah.

He fought the battle on the cross. From a worldly perspective, he looked like he was being defeated. He was tortured in horrific ways and he died a terrible death on the cross. But this was the one path to victory. This is how he bought us back from the devil. He paid the price for our sins. And his death was not permanent. He rose from the dead on the third day. He was victorious. Because he rose, all who believe in him will rise from the dead and inherit eternal life. Jesus’ one path to victory has conquered death. My death will not be permanent. Together with all other believers, I will inherit heaven.

Maybe this is why I don’t mind that comic deaths aren’t always permanent. In the greatest event in history, death wasn’t permanent. Because Jesus conquered the grave, many deaths will not be permanent. When I look at Superhero stories, I don’t think that the heroes are god-like figures to be worshipped. Rather I think that they are people like me. They also would need the salvation given by Jesus. If Tony Stark was a real person, his death would be more tragic because it looked like he did not believe in Jesus. Even though he referenced Jonah in the first Avengers movie and he talked about the Prodigal Son in Iron Man 3, the rest of the story doesn’t lead me to believe that he had faith in Christ.

If I was in Tony’s shoes in Endgame, my death would have been less tragic. Certainly, people would have been sad. I see this all the time as a pastor. At Christian funerals, there is plenty of sadness. We miss our loved one. But we also know about the eternal joy. If I had been in Tony’s shoes, I would have inherited heaven. Could you imagine how awesome that ending would have been? The snap happens, Thanos is defeated, and the hero enters heaven to see Jesus. I would have loved that. Because of Jesus’ one path to victory, that is what believers look forward to. Jesus, our Savior, did all that was necessary to earn us forgiveness and eternal life.