$UCCESSFU! FILMS SERIES: The Marvel Cinematic Universe, To "Infinity" and Beyond . . .

You think you're the only superhero in the world? 

You've become part of a bigger universe. 

You just don't know it yet. 

~Nick Fury (Iron Man)

The first official trailer for Avengers: Infinity War was released last December, and it easily became one of the most mind-blowing and anticipated releases on the horizon (a la The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King). I mean, they've practically brought together just about every character they've been bringing to the screen for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)--even by crossing over different storylines--for the last ten years. Infinity War has been out for almost two months now, and it's already (not surprisingly) become one of the most popular films in history (despite the fact that it's only Part 1 of a two-film story).

At the time of its release, the first Avengers (being the 2012 feature helmed by Joss Whedon) culminated in characters and plot lines established and expanded in previously-released feature films from an ever-growing Marvel Studios, and all (to quote film critic Peter Travers) "for the price of one ticket." Beginning with the better-than-expected release of Iron Man (which also relaunched the career of Robert Downey, Jr.) and continuing with The Incredible Hulk (2008), Thor and Captain America (both 2011), the superhero genre has exponentially improved with quality and risk-taking in terms of storytelling, visual effects, and of course, certainly, casting. Other rising stars have included the Chris's Hemsworth (as Thor), Evans (as Cap) and Pratt (as Peter Quill/Star-Lord); Scarlet Johannson (as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow), and Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton/Hawkeye).

While it could have been a mere mash-up with colorful costumes, explosions and fight scenes, The Avengers smartly took its time with each of its main characters and gave each of them their shining or key moments. Tony Stark (Iron Man) successfully started as a spoiled-playboy-turned-reformed-hero, but seems to have subsequently been taking a somewhat backwards route since his feature film debut, although his definition of "accountability" subsequently proves flawed, as it does for other characters. Bruce Banner (Hulk) represents a modern day Shakespearean tragic hero (Mark Ruffalo portrayed the best on-screen rendition of the character and stole the show). Thor (a.k.a. "the God of Thunder") represents another figure with Shakespearean undertones, but with redemptive qualities as Stark had. And Steve Rogers (Captain America) is a World War II hero who becomes culture shocked by the world's shift in ideals and issues of trust.

Did I mention these are characters we see without masks half the time, if not most of the time?

The Avengers really began turning on each other in Captain America: Civil War

Audiences and critics have since followed the continued adventures and conflicts of these characters, including some new ones introduced over time like Scarlet Witch, Vision, Falcon, Ant-Man, Black Panther, Spider-Man, and the Guardians of the Galaxy. As one character says, "Everyone's got a gimmick now!" From alien invasions and battles in New York, to government conspiracies and shocking cover-ups revealed in Washington, D.C., to artificial intelligence running amok, to divisions amongst characters and sides due to impending governmental supervision, these films arguably represent the Saturday matinee serials of the 21st Century. The latter theme (as seen in 2016's Captain America: Civil War) represents real social and ethical commentary never before achieved in this kind of a film (not to mention one of the most unforgettable battle sequences of any Marvel movie), building on an ever-growing, complex, and tense partnership-relationship between Stark and Rogers.

The question of what kind of role these "heroes" should play, even as they question each other, their definitions of what is "right," and their trust or lack of it, is another smart and thought-provoking element in this franchise, echoing what director Christopher Nolan successfully did with his Dark Knight trilogy. "We're not a team," argues a mild-mannered Bruce Banner, " We're a time bomb." After all, this current era is no longer a black and white one, but a very gray one, something that Steve Rogers (found frozen in an ice cap for seven decades since World War II), again, finds very hard. Cap's character arcs and standalone plotlines have arguably been the strongest and best part of the MCU (with 2014's The Winter Soldier being the pinnacle of them all).

In addition, there have been underlying references throughout this franchise, not only to other "worlds" in the universe (as Loki has seen before Avengers, Rogers has seen in the 1940s, Thor and Banner glimpse in space, and as Stark fearfully illudes in Age of Ultron), but also to six separate entities called Infinity Stones, each of which deal with space, mind, reality, power, time, and soul. And now, on the heels of adversaries who either want to destroy our colorful heroes (like the Nazi-inspired HYDRA, which was "founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom," the mischievous Loki, or the menacing robot Ultron) or want them to destroy each other (like the psychological Baron Zemo in Civil War) based on what they are respectfully misguided into believing is a "path to peace," we have the ultimate Marvel villain in Thanos (who first appeared briefly at the end of each Avengers film, and more specifically in Guardians of the Galaxy), who seeks to combine the Infinity Stones into his infamous gauntlet for ultimate power and destruction of half the universe.

Guide to the Infinity Stones

Josh Brolin as the menacing titan Thanos

Avengers: Infinity War becomes another unprecedented benchmark in cinema, as well as for comic-book/superhero films (a kudos to Marvel CEO and producer Kevin Feige, screenwriters Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely, and directors Anthony & Joe Russo, for taking risks). IMDb states that the film includes about 60 main Marvel characters. At the same time, it would be impossible to really talk about this movie without spoiling it. That being said, while the film does have the typical bantering, mind-blowing character entrances, and visual phenomena and spectacle that have come to define the MCU, this will be a very hard (and even polarizing) experience for many viewers, especially young fans, considering the potential or possible fates of some of our central characters.

The good news, perhaps, is that there's still another half of this story to tell a year from now, after the anticipated releases of next month's Ant Man and the Wasp (which will reportedly explore the Quantum Realm that the first film briefly did) and next year's Captain Marvel (the first female-led MCU film, with Brie Larson in the title role, set in the 1990s with returning characters and connections to Guardians). Not to mention several other films on the studio's release schedule.

I recall S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson (a prominent character--and fan favorite--from Phase 1 of the MCU) and his faith in heroes from the first Avengers, including those who choose to fight and finish the job when no one else will, even/and in the face of impending conflict and destruction, as well as his belief that adversaries will lose simply because they "lack conviction."