By Abbey Kinzel, ’22

Staff Writer

A lot of Gen-Z movie-goers have said that the most iconic franchises are Pirates of the Caribbean, the live-action Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and The Avengers. The Avengers saga, part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is by far the most successful of them all. I personally have seen all four movies in theaters with either my friends or my family, and each one tops the previous installment.

The Avengers (2012): Even though this is the first movie of the saga, it doesn’t have the highest score on Rotten Tomatoes. Disregarding that fact, it’s an amazing movie. Marvel was setting up these characters in stand-alone single movies that filled in their backstories and who they are as individuals. Having these six characters come together and defeat a common enemy and a giant space army was game-changing — and a little funny. Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, The Hulk, Iron Man and Thor have to defeat Thor’s brother Loki and throwing a big ol’ space army into the mix was good for the runtime and for the consequences when The Avengers fail their mission. This movie has a 91 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, setting a goal for future Marvel movies. This is a modern classic, and I wouldn’t doubt that when Gen-Z become adults and have families, they are probably going to show this to their kids.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015): This was the most anticipated sequel in the summer of 2015. Avengers: Age of Ultron was a near direct sequel to The Avengers. Everyone’s the same, character-wise, but Iron Man made more of his suit of armor to combat different situations. They begin to show off  two new characters that might be added to the gang, “enhanced individuals” named Wanda and Pietro (they can’t call them mutants since FOX owns the X-Men franchise). The team has to defeatUltron, a rogue robot made by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. And Ultron has a very elaborate plan to kill off the world population. That’s all I have to say about this movie without spoilers. It earned a score of 76 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, the third best in the saga. This movie was very exciting but there is always the feeling deep down that they will save the day. The same cannot be said about the next movie.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018): I believe this is the first movie that made me cry in theaters. I can’t say too much due to spoilers. After many events in some movies that began with the name Captain America, the newly separated Avengers team up with some runaways, criminals and new heroes to fight some big purple man’s armies. This big purple man’s name is Thanos and he is trying to collect the “Infinity Stones” little rocks with different powers that have been referenced or featured in the different MCU movies. A lot of people die and there is a lot of sadness in this one, which has a score of 85 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Avengers: Endgame (2019): Not surprisingly, this has the highest score on Rotten Tomatoes, and for many good reasons. One is that a lot of fan theories are confirmed in this movie; two, is that it references many storylines from the comics; and three, the CGI in this movie is downright gorgeous. Thanos returns in this movie and the same sadness and death are in this too. This movie has a 94 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and lays the groundwork for the next phase of the MCU.

Featured image: https://www.seventeen.com/celebrity/movies-tv/g31672673/marvel-moves-in-order/