Thanos' Snap & The Blip Killed The MCU - Viral Marvel Fan Analysis Explained
Thanos (Josh Brolin) turns the Marvel Cinematic Universe on its head in "Avengers: Infinity War." The Mad Titan collects all six Infinity Stones in his Infinity Gauntlet, using their power to snap his fingers and eliminate half of all life in the universe. For five years, the effects of the infamous Snap are left unresolved, that is, until the remaining Avengers take a stand. In "Avengers: Endgame," they travel through time, collect the Infinity Stones themselves, and return to the present to bring back all of those lost five years ago — an event known as the Blip.
While the Blip is seen as largely a worthwhile story element, some MCU fans feel it has done major harm to the franchise's narrative. Redditor u/Mavrickindigo brings this up in a thread, explaining that the Blip was such a big, story-altering event that future MCU projects are hampered by it. "It's such a major universe-shattering event that it has to be addressed and when it isn't, then the projects feel incomplete," they wrote. At the same time, other commenters, such as u/N8CCRG, feel that if every post-Blip MCU project discussed it, that too would come to the detriment of the narrative. Thus, there's no good way to tell a post-Blip story.
In the eyes of many, the Blip has effectively killed the MCU and its ability to push forward with new stories. Fans believe it could've been handled in a variety of better ways but simply wasn't.
Many MCU fans think the Blip could've been handled better
In the aforementioned Reddit thread, MCU fans came together to not only agree and disagree with the original post, but to also offer ideas on how the Blip could've been better handled.
"They could have had a whole set of stories contained to immediate post blip, and a set for after that period, whereby the characters stories converge for an Avengers themed event. But alas we have the mess we have now," commented u/Drop_Release, pitching a more Blip-oriented direction for the MCU after "Avengers: Endgame" rather than the messy Multiverse-centric one we've gotten. Another fan, u/jadedflux, concurred and expressed the belief that post-Blip stories should've been more grounded and emotional rather than typical action-packed, universe-expanding blockbusters largely devoid of actual stakes.
As for u/optimus2861, they think the Blip itself shouldn't have happened at all, writing, "I believed that the resolution to the Snap should have been that the Avengers prevented it from ever happening via time travel." This way, there's still a strong, high-stakes story for audiences to invest in, but the minds at Marvel Studios don't have to write around the Blip in the aftermath. Meanwhile, another Redditor believes the Blip could've at least set up the MCU introduction of mutants and, therefore, the X-Men.
At the end of the day, the fact remains that the Blip is woven into the fabric of the MCU. Hopefully, those behind the franchise can figure out how to work with it and utilize it to its fullest potential — or at least use it better than it has been since "Avengers: Endgame."