pacific rim really went OFF with drift compatibility. like, there was absolutely no reason the jaegers couldn’t be piloted by a single person; a bunch of teenagers managed it just fine solo in evangelion, but guillermo del toro was like “nah, we’re gonna reinvent the concept of soulmates with mecha and kaiju” and then went and did just that, the absolute madman,
And they also did that without making it inherently romantic
that’s like my favorite thing about the drift comparability concept tbh
siblings? drift compatible. married couples?drift compatible. parents and their kids? drift compatible. two folks who just met but trust and respect each other a lot? drift compatible, babey.
it ties in perfectly with the idea that jaegers are an effort made by the entire world coming together to fight a bigger threat. all kinds of relationships are valued in Pacific Rim, because what matters is people supporting people.
yo treasure planet was literally the best 2d disney film ever made like the setting? the colors? the flawless transition? the gorgeous world building? the three dimensional characters? a main character who’s never pressured to get into anything remotely close to romance? complex relationships? an antagonist who has layers to his character? the soundtrack? i could go the FUCK on,
I’ve boiled down my thoughts to how Avengers: Endgame might end to three (3) theories (note: all of them contain death speculation).
#1. “Perfectly Balanced”
Outcome: Three (3) of the original six (6) Avengers will die. [Steve, Natasha, and Bruce]
The only real supporting proof I have of this theory is circumstantial, but overall I think this theory makes a weird amount of sense. First, here’s the thing that kicked it all off:
The Avengers: Endgame wrap party cake.
This cake featured four hands bursting out of the ground to take down Thanos: T’Challa, Natasha, Hulk, and Steve. The baker of the cake said that the cake did have some symbolism to it–and seemed surprised that the Russos posted it to their instagram, which is what first piqued my interest and made me look at it closer.
T’Challa’s presence is unusual, since he turned to ash, but Black Panther was coming out in theaters in a few weeks. His presence was most likely promotional. As for the other three hands? I’ve been alarmed by the odd choices ever since. Hulk is a no-brainer as I can see as he has very unusual arms, but Natasha and Steve’s arms are very bland and a lot of people didn’t even recognize them at first. Wouldn’t it have been more apt to use Iron Man? Who’s gauntleted arms are very unique? Or even Spider-Man or Winter Soldier?
Why, on the final wrap party cake for this big movie event, did they choose Hulk, Widow, and Cap? Then, it hit me–they’re the ones whose deaths allow Thanos’s defeat (hence their hands taking him down from beyond the grave).
Three of the six dying fits the ominous motif present throughout IW: perfectly balanced. Half of life will still exist. Half the Avengers will still be alive.
If those three characters live/die, then it also shatters established pair-ups: Tony-Steve, Clint-Nat, Thor-Bruce. Which fits again with what we saw happen in IW.
As for other little tidbits that could support this theory? Mark Ruffalo has referred to playing the Hulk in the past tense in a recent video (”I was the Hulk”) and Chris Evans has publicly stated he is done with the role (and RDJ gave Chris Evans a specialized Captain America sports car, which seems a lot like a farewell present). Together, these things seem to hint that these two could, in fact, be done. (Though I know not everything is as it seems as well).
Three dying would also fit what the Russos have told us about the cost of victory in this next film being very high, but given three also live, it takes the sting off. Yes, we will lose some, but we will also have some who survive.
It would make for a bittersweet ending.
#2. “Phoenix Redeemer”
Outcome: Only one (1) of the six original Avengers will die. [Tony]
Tony is heavily associated with phoenix imagery and also Christ-like imagery, which could allude to only one (1) dying for the collective. Throughout the MCU, Tony has lived under this specter of “don’t waste your life,” as in–don’t throw it away so needlessly. But if Tony’s life brought back half the life of the universe? That’s more than a fair trade. It could be what he was spared for all those years ago. This is it. This is what his life has been building towards: saving the universe.
Phoenixes burn themselves to death to ensure the survival of their species–and Tony has a penchant for being the master of his own destruction only to raise from the ashes. Only, this time, his death will bring others back from the ashes.
Jesus Christ, whether mythic of real, is a figure tied heavily with the idea of sacrifice of the self for the salvation of others–and we’ve seen Tony associated with this imagery too (ex: holding his hands out as though crucified on the IW poster; getting pierced in the side during his fight with Thanos).
Tony is also the character most heavily associated with Thanos and, by extension, the symbolism of the Infinity Gauntlet. We’ve been warned that this artifact takes a tremendous amount of power and energy to wield and will more than likely kill anyone who tries to use it. Thanos survived because he’s an anomaly, a truly otherworldly powerful force, but Tony? He’s just a man. If he uses the gauntlet (which I feel strongly he will), it will surely kill him.
Imagine Tony uses a powerful piece of tech to resurrect everyone, but it burns him alive. He turns to ash, but everyone else comes back from the grave. It would be poetic as hell.
Tony’s vision in Age of Ultron was a warning about what would happen if Tony didn’t do enough–and that’s that he needs to sacrifice his life to ensure the safety of not only the Avengers, but the whole world.
That’s why his personal life is so rich right now. The wedding. The baby. It’s to give Tony’s potential sacrifice all the more weight. It raises his value–and a great price must be paid. Because would anyone care if he had nothing to live for? His sacrifice wouldn’t nearly hit so hard if he had nothing left to lose.
Tony can’t be the sole survivor. He needs to be the sole loss. He’s the great cost to win the war and him alone.
#3. “The Odyssey”
Outcome: Five (5) of the six (6) original Avengers die. [All of them die except Tony]
It’s very possible Tony’s vision from AoU is a terrible future that cannot be avoided. It’s as Thanos warned at the beginning of IW: “Dread it, run from it, Destiny arrives all the same.” No matter what Tony does, there’s no stopping the fact he will have to watch all his friends die.
Many have noticed comparisons between Tony and the Greek figure Odysseus. The Odyssey was the tale of Odysseus’s 10 year journey back to his home (Ithaca), which is appropriate with the heavy emphasis on this being Marvel Studios’ 10 year anniversary. Think about it: Tony Stark has literally been “away from home, fighting the fight” for a decade now. Like Odysseus, his journey began in a war zone–
–but now it’s time to return home, and there has been a lot of narrative emphasis on Tony’s desire to build a home: he wants to get married, to start a family. He entertains building Pepper a farm (something Odysseus does as well when he finally returns). He’s really the only Avenger who has actively been making plans for the future!
The tragedy of The Odyssey is that, while Odysseus made it back alive and well, his whole crew perished. This was a curse he could not avoid (literally–it was a curse). It was written in the stars he would lose everyone.
This fits with the theory that Tony, on his journey home, will lose the Avengers (his “crew”), becoming the sole survivor from his vision in Age of Ultron. His Destiny will arrive no matter what he does to prevent it.
Looking at the chess metaphor, Tony is definitely typified as the “King” of the board, and, in the “endgame,” major players will be sacrificed in order to 1) protect the King (Tony) and 2) checkmate the opponent’s King (Thanos). The King is the only piece who cannot be lost or the game is over. Tony, by that position alone, is privileged with necessary survival.
The parallels between Tony and Thanos (of which there are many) also hint that Tony will be the only one to survive. Thanos is weighted down with the guilt he could not save his people. He’s the only Titan left. Likewise, Tony will be the only Avenger left when all is said and done.
Even with the worrying “phoenix” motif associated with Tony, the thing about phoenixes is that they survive. They’re symbols of death, yes, but also rebirth. If Tony “dies” while using the Infinity Gauntlet, his death won’t stick. Just as he always does, he’ll get back up again. Maybe with some permanent injuries (bye-bye left arm), but he’ll be alive–alive enough to live out the rest of his personal “endgame” with Pepper Potts.
After all, if Thanos survived using the Gauntlet (although it crippled him), so will Tony, because they’re existentially connected.
Thanos lived to see the “sunrise on a grateful universe,” and I would not at all be shocked if Tony lived to see the “sunset on a grateful universe” as a sort of narrative bookend to this story.
An interesting observation is that there were technically six Children of Thanos (Ebony Maw, Cull Obsidian, Proxima Midnight, Corvus Glaive, Gamora, Nebula). During Thanos’s run to power, five of the six of them died so Thanos could fulfill his goal. If Thanos is the dark parallel to Tony Stark, then that indicates it will cost Tony a great deal in order to fulfill his goal as well.
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