r/MarvelCave

I know many fans still feel Kang should have been the big bad of this saga as Majors was "brilliant". Some strongly believe he should have been at least recast.

But although Majors was a good actor, I think his Kang interpretation was a bit "forced" and artifical.

For example, his Victor Timely stuttering speech was downright annoying and made me switch off. The scene with the army of Kangs had a similar feel as some of the variants he was trying to pull off were just not menacing. Some felt like parodies.

I know Brolin had to only play a single variant of Thanos (well, 2, if you count the Endgame one as different) but his delivery, mannerisms, and aura were on another level.

In Quantumania specifically, Majors was trying real hard to look cool, calm and intimidating but it felt misplaced. Maybe it was his lines and the writing was bad, but it felt like an angry person in a helmet. He didn't have the cunningness of Loki, the intensity of Thanos, the eeriness of Ultron, or the brutal grit of Gorr.

I also don't know who else in the industry could have played many versions of Kang and pulled it off in Kang Dynasty to close the saga on a high note. It would have been a crazy ask. Maybe the choice to not recast was more to do with a lack of potential replacements and mainly because the lore of Kang didn't resonate with audiences as much on the big screen.

In a way, Majors or not, maybe the move away from Kang was still the right decision?

It really sucks Doom has literally no build up though (FF was such a big missed opportunity to introduce him properly) but looking at the trailers, he already looks far more menacing.

Am I the only one who thinks Marvel dodged a bullet with Kang Dynasty being sunset?

I’m talkin the one you will rewatch every year a few times.

Honestly, when you look at what happened to the six original Avengers, I think Bruce Banner has ended up with the saddest fate of them all.

And I don't mean that Bruce has suffered more than everyone else throughout his entire life. Natasha was raised and abused by the Red Room, Thor lost almost everyone he loved, Steve spent decades displaced from his own time, Clint lost his family during the Blip, and Tony ultimately sacrificed his life.

But when you look at where each of them ended up, Bruce's situation is genuinely depressing.

Tony died a hero. He sacrificed himself to save the entire universe, knowing that Pepper and Morgan were safe. His story ended with him finally becoming the person he had been trying to become since the first Iron Man.

Natasha also died a hero. Her entire life was basically about trying to escape the person the Red Room had turned her into, and she ultimately made the ultimate sacrifice so Clint could return to his family. Her death was tragic, but it gave her life a meaningful conclusion.

Steve arguably got the happiest ending of all. After spending his entire life sacrificing his own happiness for everyone else, he finally went back and lived the life he always wanted with Peggy. He got to grow old. He got his dance. He finally got peace.

Clint lost almost everything, especially Natasha, but he got his family back. After everything he went through as Ronin and as an Avenger, he can finally step away from the superhero life and retire.

Thor has suffered an insane amount of loss, but he's still moving forward. He's traveling through the universe with Love, and for the first time in a long time, he actually has someone who gives him a reason to keep going.

And then there's Bruce.

Bruce spent basically his entire life terrified of Hulk. He couldn't control him, couldn't live normally, and couldn't even be sure that the people around him were safe.

Then Endgame happened.

For the first time, Bruce seemed to have finally found peace with himself. He didn't have to hate Hulk anymore. He didn't have to constantly suppress him. Banner and Hulk had essentially become one person. He had finally accepted the part of himself that he had spent years running from.

And then Brand New Day basically takes that away from him.

The inhibitor is destroyed, Hulk comes back, Bruce loses control again, and now he's left questioning what he might have done while Hulk was out. He ends up in a psychiatric hospital, trying to deal with the fact that the thing he spent his entire life trying to control has once again taken over his life.

That's what makes it so tragic to me.

Bruce wasn't just defeated. He regressed.

He went from:

"I have to control the monster inside me."

to:

"Maybe I can live with the monster."

to:

"I've finally accepted myself."

And now he's back to:

"What if Hulk hurts someone again?"

It's especially cruel because Bruce was the one who literally saved half the universe with the Snap. Tony gets remembered as the man who made the ultimate sacrifice, while Bruce's sacrifice and achievement are barely treated with the same emotional weight.

He literally destroyed his own body saving everyone.

And now, years later, he's sitting in a psychiatric hospital because he can't trust himself anymore.

That's a horrible fate for someone who finally thought he had beaten his biggest personal demon.

The other Avengers either got peace, family, retirement, a heroic death, or a new purpose.

Bruce got his worst nightmare back.

And honestly, that's why I think Bruce Banner currently has the saddest ending of the six original Avengers.

Not because he lost the most.

But because he finally found peace... only to have it taken away from him.