And let the dust settle (unironically as we aren’t at Infinity War yet).

This week’s newest episode was an addition to our replay series, taking on Thor: The Dark World and Iron Man 3. The biggest thing both of these films have in common is how they tie directly into the aftermath of the Battle of New York. The other thing they both have in common is that they are typically the more overlooked of the films in the MCU and of their respective franchises (which I mean, makes sense). But before I break into some of our points from this podcast, make sure you listen to the whole episode, linked below, or press the button to find your preferred listening platform!

Let’s begin with Iron Man 3. Personally, out of all three of the Iron Man films, I think this one was both my least and most favorite one, but I have to explain this fully. For one, it holds merit because for once Tony had a villain he created, not his father. He was fighting a fight for a reason that wasn’t beyond him and was actually based on who he used to be. Granted, the villain was weak and didn’t quite fit in the realm of the other two films of who Iron Man’s villains were characterized by, but he was at least Tony’s problem. Two, I love the show of suits. I think seeing all those suits were amazing and Marvel actually did us quite a disservice by not giving us more, especially because they chose to blow them up at the end of the film (I’m facepalming here). So I can say that one of the main issues I had with the previous two Iron Man films were fixed and the show of suits was just amazing. But I think we need to break down some of the issues that plagued this film, especially as we watch it now post Endgame.

A big one I mentioned was that of the main villain being weak. Obviously, the concept behind A.I.M. comes out of the comics, but for the Iron Man that was created for us on screen, the idea of people essentially making themselves fire people felt, I don’t know, almost too weird? And then there was the weird aspect of bringing The Ten Rings back into this, which now having seen Shang-Chi, feels a little random as well. I know something Taylor and I talk about in the podcast is how Tony really just saved the world from aliens and now Iron Man 3 wants us to like that he’s going back to terrorism. In reality, the main reason he went after the terrorists in the first film is that he wanted his own weapons out of their hands, not for the sake of going after them. So to wrap up his trilogy with this slightly strange villain and scapegoat felt a little off.

Since I’m talking about fire people, I also always feel so thrown off about the fact that Pepper becomes an Extremis and then they just like undo it. There’s no other way to summarize that really. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believed the whole Extremis project had to deal with altering parts of the brain’s functioning. As my not yet qualified psych minor has taught me, that is a big, dare I say, commitment, which usually is much harder to just undo. Now, I’m not a doctor or surgeon or anything of the sort, but something like that has always felt, no matter how many times I watch the film, like something that shouldn’t have just been able to be reversed no problem. The best part is the film didn’t even need Pepper becoming an Extremis to move the plot along and would have stood totally fine had that not been included.

As I talk about plot, let’s talk about the arc of the Big Three throughout their trilogies. I want to first preface everything I am about to say with the fact that Iron Man is the first trilogy to conclude, so I do give it the credit it deserves for reaching the finish line first and what goes into being the trailblazer. Yet I have one major issue with the final film. Marvel follows a theme in their trilogies, in which the character loses something but perserveres without it. Tony loses his suits, and the whole idea of losing the suits is that he is supposed to learn he can live without them. My issue is that once he blows up his suits he goes on to make the Iron Legion, Hulkbuster, eventually the Iron-Spider and various other, well variations of suits. It feels very empty, him blowing up his suits just to continue to make them and have them be such a huge part of his life, while the whole lesson was to set boundaries and he could exist without the suit. I mean, we even get the Nanotech by Infinity War. Now don’t worry, I will have this complaint for other films too, so it isn’t just Tony’s that make me angry. Obviously, he isn’t Iron Man without the suit, but the lesson doesn’t seem to stick when he goes right back to his endless tinkering.

But I want to talk about some things I did like about Iron Man 3, since a replay is not meant to only see the parts of the film that are weird or didn’t age properly with the rest of the MCU. As I mentioned before, I loved, LOVED, the suits. The biggest thing I hated about Iron Man 3 was that Tony got rid of them since I think they would have been cool to see again in Endgame. Especially with the outcome of Endgame, having all of Tony’s suits show up would have really been I think a powerful moment. I also think the movie does a great job showing the effects the Attack on New York had on Tony specifically. To be fair, Cap, Nat, and Clint have seen some weird things, Hulk is a weird thing, and Thor is from space, leaving Tony to be really the only one who experienced the weirder of the weird stuff first hand, specifically with the wormhole. It showed the negative effects on Tony’s mental health, something I think they messed up horrendously in Endgame with Thor (we will get there though, don’t worry I have a lot to say about Endgame). Overall, it isn’t one of my favorite films to rewatch, but it definitely is still great and has some hilarious moments between Rhodey and Tony.

Moving to Thor: The Dark World, I want to first mention something said during our last replay episode. Whether you like or dislike the Thor trilogy, especially the first two, they single-handedly carry the Infinity Saga the furthest. Thor: The Dark World shows, yet again, how true this is. Now for a film that is seen as literally one of the worst MCU films to exist, I have to say upon rewatching it, it really isn’t as bad as I remember nor how people paint it. I will say it has plenty of issues, but it is a really interesting film and shows depth to both Thor and Loki that we see only a little of in the first film. It also does a great job in connecting Avengers and then later Ragnorak perfectly and ties it all in a little bow.

To start, something the rewatch left me pondering over greatly was that of the Infinity Stones. We have gotten several explanations of how the stones were created and one comes from this film. The explanation is that it comes from the Dark Elves, while later we are told they were created with the universe. Of course, this could be possibly written off by saying people like Wong and Strange don’t know the Dark Elves created them (since the Thor storylines can fit weirdly in and out of the rest of the MCU). But then there’s the issue with the fact the Aether can only be in liquid form, driven pretty deeply home in TDW. How is it a stone later on? Maybe there’s an explanation later that we have to wait for, but for now, it seems a little awkward.

Speaking of the Aether, I have to say, out of all the people on Earth it chooses to take hold of, of course it’s Jane. I get it, of course, that it was needed for the plot, but I just have to shake my head a little. One of my bigger issues with the first Thor was that Thor is continuously linked (very strongly) to Jane in both of the films and is the main reason he chooses to act. It can just be a little more difficult to see his growth when it is tied directly to another character. But essentially, Thor: The Dark World isn’t inherently bad per se. It definitely has a weaker villain also, but it helps to set up more in Infinity War and the next Thor film. So while it can be a more difficult film to work through, especially on a rewatch when it isn’t your first time, it is a critical film to the rest of the Infinity Saga.

Lastly, I have to bring up the weirdest question that has formed after all of these years (if the fact the Aether being liquid then magically stone shouldn’t have been my weider and main question). How the heck did Loki survive? Now don’t get me wrong, as a Loki stan and a follower of his dying then living trope, I get he’s a trickster and it’s supposed to be part of his character. But how exactly did he manage to live? He couldn’t have been doing an illusion, as his illusions are projections of himself not his actual being, but he was very clearly stabbed through the chest. And now it’s possible he wasn’t killed there and figured a way to shake his injury in order to live, but it certainly feels a little weird. Then when he was posing as Odin, he mentions conversations that Thor and Odin had when Loki was nowhere nearby. It’s a little unclear on how he knew any of this conversation took place and he did almost too good at being Odin that you nearly have to think it makes no sense how Loki managed to do it.

If I am being quite honest, it isn’t unheard of that there are various debates based on which of these two movies is the worst in the MCU. So I guess I have to give all of you the same question to answer.

I hope everyone is enjoying the replay series and are continuing to keep up with it as new episodes come out! We are less than two months out from MoM and MoonKnight and Morbius will be here in about three weeks. With all this exciting content coming, remember we will be going back to our weekly release schedule, with even some weeks with two episodes. There will be so much coming your way, so try your best to keep up, as Marvel just blew your mind, so let’s talk about it.

Image: “Thor: The Dark World and Iron Man 3”, Celebrity