Thread by @firstpost

11 years and 21 films later, #AvengersEndgame is just a few days away. So, here’s presenting the #UltimateMarvelMarathon, where we watch every film in the #MCU, in the greatest Marvel Studios throwback you’ve seen.

Join us, won’t you?

Here's what we are watching on the first day of #UltimateMarvelMarathon.

Which one is your favourite?

#UltimateMarvelMarathon | And so we begin with #IronMan !

"I can’t help but think about how Tony Stark's Iron Man suit has evolved over time. In every film sees the suit change subtly. In #AvengersEndgame it looks like the sleekest it has ever been" | @pradeep_smenon

#UltimateMarvelMarathon: bit.ly/2PciRHd

@RobertDowneyJr is perfect as #IronMan. Watching him all these years later is a revelation, for how intricately he has created the character. All you need is him in the frame, & the machines seem to be infused with life.

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2PciRHd

Whoa! One hour in, after Tony’s suit ices at higher altitudes, Jarvis suggests they should upgrade the suit incase he wishes to visit "other planets." Who would’ve thunk how deliberately that line was placed?! | @pradeep_smenon

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2PciRHd

Did you know? In Stan Lee’s first appearance in the MCU ( #IronMan ), Tony Stark confuses him with Hugh Hefner! | @pradeep_smenon

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2PciRHd

@Marvel films have been criticised for having the same plot. In that regard, #IronMan has actually aged rather well. The Tony Stark-Obadiah Stane battle is more personal than global. And Jeff Bridges made for a decent villain.

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2PciRHd

We discovered something pretty cool in the end credits. The first #IronMan film was scored by none other than Ramin Djawadi, the man who scored #GameofThrones ! What a small world, indeed.

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2PciRHd

First MCU end credits scene seems like a blatant plug for what they were planning to do. Nick Fury says, "Mr. Stark, you’ve become part of a bigger universe". And yes, he uses the word ‘Avenger'.

One down, 20 to go!

Next up: The Incredible Hulk (2008)

The Incredible Hulk is gripping from the word go! There’s a long, thrilling rooftop chase sequence with Edward Norton that leads to the reveal of the Hulk for the first time. | @pradeep_smenon

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2PciRHd

We finally have the answer to who's a better #Hulk.

Edward Norton is great where he’s the vulnerable Bruce Banner. But the Hulk is a humourless character & the few times Norton attempts Hulk jokes, you miss Mark Ruffalo sorely.

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2PciRHd

Stan Lee has a great cameo in #TheIncredibleHulk as well. A bit of Banner’s blood goes into a bottle of soda, which ends up in Lee's hands. He has a sip of it, and... well, they don’t show, but imagine a Hulk Stan Lee!

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2PciRHd

We're back with our third film for the day: #IronMan2

Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko/Whiplash makes for a fearsome villain & he’s introduced early in the film. Meanwhile, Tony Stark is still a bit of a prick.

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2PciRHd

Stan Lee’s appearances in every film are a story in themselves. In #IronMan2, Tony Stark mistakes him for Larry King! | @pradeep_smenon

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2PciRHd

“I’ve successfully privatised world peace,” exclaims Tony. An iconic line if there ever was one. Not too many people can pull of that sustained level of arrogance on screen. RDJ is on another level of d-baggery™️ in #IronMan2

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2PciRHd

Tony Stark's emotional troubles escalate with every film he has a proper role in - #Avengers #AgeofUltron #IronMan3, Civil War & #InfinityWar. Whenever he breaches tipping point, he goes back to basics — he designs and builds.

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2PciRHd

#IronMan2 packs in much @Marvel significance — Natasha Romanoff’s entry, the appearance of vibranium for the 1st time (though not by name), a cubical object in Howard Stark’s notes that looks suspiciously Tesseract-like and more!

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2PciRHd

And now, it is time for the fourth film of the day. It is #Thor time.

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2PciRHd

#Thor is just as arrogant as Tony Stark. In fact, all 4 films so far are about guys with fragile egos & anger/daddy issues, finding purpose because a woman comes along to clean up the mess.

#NotAllSuperheroes, anyone?

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2PciRHd

.@Marvel has created some great anti-heroes over the years, but #Loki is just top drawer. What a fine actor Tom Hiddleston is, switching from sincerity to deception with ease in #Thor | @pradeep_smenon

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2PciRHd

#Thor isn’t an outright bad film, it just takes itself too seriously. The deft touch of comedy we saw in MCU once Joss Whedon came in is still far away.

Thankfully, there’s the first ever spotting of an Infinity Stone!

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2PciRHd

And we're down to the last film of the day — #CaptainAmerica : The First Avenger!

If all the MCU films were to be arranged in chronological order of their events, this would be where it all began.

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2PciRHd

Hugo Weaving as Johann Schmidt/Red Skull is one of the all-time great MCU villains. Adolf Hitler’s dreams of dominating Europe seem like playschool tantrums compared to Johann Schmidt’s terrifying plans.

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2PciRHd

More than anything else, #CaptainAmerica The First Avengers works because of how @ChrisEvans became him. The bit where they establish why a tiny asthmatic fellow was considered worthy, drips of old-school American goodness.

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2PciRHd

So much in #CaptainAmerica: The First Avenger has far-reaching consequences in the MCU. Bucky Barnes disappears here, only to resurface in and as The Winter Soldier, before going on to become the pivot of the plot in Civil War!

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2PciRHd

Final thoughts: #CaptainAmerica is naive, old-school & suffers from a saviour complex. But in many ways, he sets the moral tone for MCU far more than #IronMan does.

*

That's it for today, tune in tomorrow for a new slate of MCU films!

And we're all set for Day 2 of the #UltimateMarvelMarathon!

Team #Marvel, are you ready?

#Avengers has just begun & shit is getting real! This, really, is where everything suddenly began to have a larger meaning in MCU. This is the film that sealed the fate of the hitherto unattempted, ambitious franchise!

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2GsyqId

#Loki is the most impactful character in #TheAvengers. He drops truth bombs about how wretched humankind is & how we crave subjugation, with only the illusion of freedom. His words are so relevant today, don't you think?

#UltimateMarvelMarathon: bit.ly/2GsyqId

#Hulk and #Thor have chemistry from the word go in #TheAvengers. We always needed a Thor-Hulk film, even if we didn’t know it back then! | #AvengersEndgame

#UltimateMarvelMarathon: bit.ly/2GsyqId

The #Avengers is a holistic film. Every character gets space, and so do the events that bring them together. That epic extended battle in New York is the first truly great action sequence in the MCU! | #AvengersEndgame

#UltimateMarvelMarathon: bit.ly/2GsyqId

The New York battle sequence in #Avengers never ceases to amaze. But true movie magic is in a scene shortly after, where seemingly in one single take we jump from one Avenger to the other, pummelling the Chitauri.

#UltimateMarvelMarathon: bit.ly/2GsyqId

We're at the end of The #Avengers & who do we meet in the mid-credits scene? Thanos! Josh Brolin wasn’t signed on yet, so he looks a little different from the Thanos we know now. | #AvengersEndgame

#UltimateMarvelMarathon: bit.ly/2GsyqId

Second film of the day: #IronMan3

While #Ironman has PTSD post New York, Ben Kingsley as Mandarin is in epic form. There’s a reveal still to come, but we’re now in the 7th film, and every villain so far has been superb!

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2GsyqId

#IronMan3 With the backdrop of global terrorism primarily targeting America, these ‘comic book superhero’ films constantly revel in their real world messaging.

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2GsyqId

#IronMan3 | Every single time Tony Stark has had a grandiose suiting up sequence, he’s had a silly mishap shortly after. It’s a gentle prod to remind you of how even superheroes can be fallible people. | #AvengersEndgame

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2GsyqId

We're down to our third film of the day: #ThorTheDarkWorld

The villain Malekith is introduced in the first minute, & he’s probably one of the most lacklustre villains of the entire franchise. Even so, the film is fun so far!

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2GsyqId

Early in #ThorTheDarkWorld, we encounter the third Infinity Stone, the red Reality Stone. So far, we’ve only seen the Tesseract, which contains the Space Stone, & Loki’s sceptre in The #Avengers, which contains the Mind Stone. |

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2GsyqId

A #NataliePortman appreciation post: She’s radiant in the #Thor films & we love how smart her character is! | #AvengersEndgame

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2GsyqId

#ThorTheDarkWorld ends with the Reality Stone being handed over by Asgardians to the Collector in mid-credits scene. The term ‘Infinity Stone’ was used for the 1st time, along with it being established that there are 6 in total!

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2GsyqId

Next up: #CaptainAmerica The Winter Soldier!

Guess who made their MCU debut in the film? Joe and Anthony Russo! Also, #WinterSoldier has a quietly intriguing air about it right from its opening frame. | @Russo_Brothers

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2GsyqId

The opening action sequence of #CaptainAmericaWinterSoldier is just stellar!

A mix of wide sweeping shots and up-close, hand-held combat, it also has the fog of mystery over it because of SHIELD’s involvement.

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2GsyqId

“The last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye,” Nick Fury exclaims, to #CaptainAmerica — well, the last time Fury trusted someone, it was a cat!

( #CaptainMarvel should have come much sooner)

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2GsyqId

In #CaptainAmerica Winter Solider, there’s a pertinent debate about the nature of the surveillance state — security at the cost of freedom. It all boils down to the fact that humans can’t be trusted. |

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2GsyqId

There’s very little to complain about in #CaptainAmerica The Winter Soldier, & it ends on an absolute high!

What a great villain the Winter Soldier is, pipped only because Steve Rogers is such a good guy and great friend.

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2GsyqId

Last film of the day: #GuardiansOfTheGalaxy!

Even with all the self-aware humour in the previous films, Guardians of the Galaxy takes the cake for hilarity. It’s intriguing and funny from the beginning. | #AvengersEndgame

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2GsyqId

Everyone in the film seems to be after the mysterious object known as the Orb.

But of course, the one who covets it most is none other than the Mad Titan, #Thanos. He has a longer appearance in #GuardiansOfTheGalaxy

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2GsyqId

The last few films have had rather forgettable #StanLee cameos. In #GuardiansOfTheGalaxy , he appears as an old perv on Xandar (at least according to Rocket the raccoon).

#UltimateMarvelMarathon : bit.ly/2GsyqId

Rocket the Raccoon's sheer attitude is one of our favourite things from all of MCU. And #BradleyCooper voices Rocket’s personality as well as @RobertDowneyJr J plays Tony Stark (or as Vin Diesel plays... a tree.)

#UltimateMarvelMarathon: bit.ly/2GsyqId

Peter Quill's dance in the middle of the climactic fight with Ronan in #GuardiansOfTheGalaxy pretty much sums up the nature of the film. It’s a film that fits in beautifully into the bigger puzzle! | @Marvel

#UltimateMarvelMarathon: bit.ly/2GsyqId

It's a wrap on Day 2 of the #UltimateMarvelMarathon! Come back right here tomorrow for some more MCU madness!