Why Infinity War Should Be The MCU’s Only Public Catastrophe

Thanos' snap in Avengers: Infinity War may have been reversed in Avengers: Endgame, but it still has lasting effects in the MCU that it should be the franchise's big public catastrophe at least for a while. Marvel Studios' Infinity Saga was years in the making and it all started to culminate in the 2018 Joe and Anthony Russo-directed film which also saw the proper debut of the Mad Titan. In the end, despite a gallant effort against the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and their other allies, the villain ended up winning, accomplishing his goal of balancing the universe with the click of his finger powered by the Infinity Stones.

It seemed like a farfetched idea for the Avengers to rectify the predicament that Thanos put the galaxy in. So for five years, they and all the surviving half of the population lived through it, that's until the idea of the time heist came about. It was a tricky mission that demanded some personal sacrifices from the heroes, but ultimately, they succeeded — bringing back those who perished through Infinity War's snap. Despite this, however, it would take a while before the MCU fully gets over the tragedy as it continues to play a part in their current and future storytelling.

Given this, it should at least be a while before there's another massive public tragedy in the MCU. As seen in WandaVision, the effects of the snap and its subsequent reversal are still wreaking a lot of havoc on the general public. People who survived are still reeling from the trauma of having to go on with their lives, with SWORD direct0r Hayward pointing this out. Meanwhile, those who disappeared are still grappling with what they've been through and missed during the half-decade they're gone. Monica Rambeau is a great point of reference for this as she learned that in the years that she disappeared, her mom, Maria died after her cancer came back. The ongoing Disney+ show didn't really do a deep dive into the implications of Thanos' snap and that makes sense considering that the focus is on Scarlet Witch's grief, but it should be fully explored in other future MCU projects.

In conjunction with the public dealing with the trauma from Infinity War, some upcoming projects should also be focused on managing the lingering ramifications from Thanos' actions. Whether that'd be making sure that nothing like this ever happens again or simply tackling PR for the MCU heroes, the important thing is, it shouldn't be something that's quickly swept under the rug simply because the Infinity Saga is finished. The events of Infinity War and Endgame should continue to be a factor in the MCU's future, at least for a couple of more phases as they rebuild the franchise and set-up another overarching narrative. It's a turning point in the franchise's history and quickly forgetting about it by doing another public tragedy will cheapen its stakes.

This also works in terms of what's known about Marvel Studios' creative direction for the foreseeable future. For starters, there is currently no Avengers movie on the horizon after Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, which means there are holding off any event big enough to assemble Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Instead, characters are mostly scattered and dealing with their own narratives; some projects like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder may have feature additional characters aside from their main casts, but still, their stories are mostly about their adventures at hand.

More: Iron Man Was The Only Avenger To Benefit From Thanos' Infinity War Snap