Ummm… yeah, because on a rewatch you catch things like:
HULK EATING A PINT OF BEN & JERRY’S HULKA-HULKA BURNING FUDGE!!!
I did go in wanting more Captain Marvel and can’t say I’m not a little disappointed that there wasn’t more of her but… seeing how the story of this film functions as a wrapping up of the overall story we’ve been watching the familiar characters arc through for years, I think that it was a better choice to have her gone for most of the movie and to allow the big hero moments to go to the characters we’re saying goodbye to.
I do think her fights with Thanos were the worst kind of “variable powers depending on what the plot needs”. One thing I’ll pay attention to on my third viewing: Thanos’ use of his weapon in his fights with Carol.
Thanos has that airplane propeller-looking weapon that he uses. This is, I believe, the first time we’ve seen it. He really didn’t need any other weapon in Infinity War because at the start of the film he already has the Gauntlet AND the Power Stone (and very soon has the Space Stone as well).
His airplane propeller weapon is clearly a very powerful weapon, perhaps even imbued with some comic book “space magic”. Even if it’s not a “magic” weapon, it is still a very powerful weapon that he is extremely skilled at using. When I watch it again, I’ll pay more attention to how much trouble he’s giving Carol specifically through the use of his weapon.
(Of course, if the weapon allows him to fend off Danvers then it certainly should have allowed him to kill Cap and Tony and maybe Thor.)
The final time Carol faces him, he doesn’t have the weapon.
He does have the Stark Gauntlet but she is preventing him from closing his fist or snapping. Without a weapon, he seems unable to overpower her. We even get that beautiful headbutt that doesn’t even mess Carol’s hair (and the look on her face is priceless!). Thanos has to remove the Power Stone from the Gauntlet and punch her with the Stone (which should kill anyone but even that only tosses her across the field leaving her temporarily concussed.
On the topic of Tony “pick-pocketing” the stones…
We’ve known the MCU Tony Stark for 11 years. This version of the character has been in 10 films. We the audience know this guy. I really don’t think it even needs to count as a “fan wank” to suggest that since he designed the new Gauntlet with his own tech that he would have had a safeguard allowing him to recall the stones from one piece of Stark tech to another piece of Stark tech.
If they had included a line of dialog “And I’ve programmed the Stark Gauntlet to allow me to recall the stones as needed” it would have be a horribly clunky bit of forced foreshadowing.
Although the idea of killing off a few c-listers isn’t a bad idea, I can’t get behind your list.
Hope/Wasp very well may be my current favorite MCU character and she’s barely had a chance to come into herself yet. I have been loving Paul Rudd as Ant-Man but the character doesn’t have the superhero gravitas to really go much further. Wasp is far more interesting because she actually understands the science of the tech she is using, is capable of making advancements, and (most interesting of all) hasn’t really shown much interest in being a “good guy” yet. In the first movie, she participates specifically in a plot to bring down a dangerous man who she and her father have reason to view as “a monster of our own making”. In the second film, she’s really only serving her own interests. There’s no greater good, she’s really not a hero. So, with as much as I already love the character, I can’t wait to see her develop even further.
Valkyrie immediately became a major fan favorite.
Her place at the end of Endgame seems to me to indicate that the Studio doesn’t quite have an idea yet as to what to do with her next but they know that fans love her. When Thor left her on Earth it definitely felt to me like “Stick a pin in this one, we’ll come back to her later.” Maybe they’ll get distracted and end up letting the character fall by the wayside but, for now, I think they’re very aware of how much fans love her.
Bucky is the one who I don’t really see having much of a future in the MCU.
Killing him in battle, however, would have significantly hurt Cap’s happy ending.
Characters who I think are known and loved enough to have an effective noble death scene but, commercially speaking, wouldn’t be wasted here would be:
*) M’Baku
*) Rhodey (but maybe too much of a toll on the “Iron Man Family” given the loss of Tony).
*) For me personally, I could say Scott Lang. Again, I have love Paul Rudd and the character of Scott so far but that would have just made his death that much more emotional. And, although I have loved his character so far, I just don’t think he has much to offer going forward. I would much rather see a solo Wasp movie than to continue on with Scott.
*) Wanda. Commercially speaking, I think she has potential going forward but I just think the writers and higher-ups haven’t figured out yet who she is or what they want to do with her. We met her four years ago, have seen her in four films, and I still don’t feel much of a connection with her.