How Infinity War Should Have Ended Gets Sweet Revenge on Thanos

[Black Panther]

 

The latest video from How It Should Have Ended showcases five ways that the heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe could have won the battle with Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. The methods vary wildly, but all of them seem Thanos getting his just deserts in some form or fashion.

First premiering in 2007, How It Should Have Ended is one of the most popular video parody channels on YouTube. The series presents animated cinematic parodies which demonstrate how various films could have been handled differently to deliver more satisfying or logical conclusions. The series has inspired two spin-offs - Super Cafe and The Villain Pub - which are set in a unique shared continuity, where the heroes and villains of various films get together to talk shop at the end of a rough day of saving the world or failing to conquer it.

Surprisingly, the Avengers: Infinity War video (above) is far less comedic in tone than is typical for How It Should Have Ended. The five ways in which Thanos might be defeated (all of which are based on popular fan theories) are played decidedly straight. What humor exists is appropriate to the Marvel characters' behavior in the movies, such was when Tony Stark attempts to call dibs on the Infinity Gauntlet once it is out of Thanos' grasp.

Naturally, the heroes all retire to the Super Cafe and a ludicrously over-sized table once the battle is won. It is here the comedy begins in earnest, with Superman - ever quick to continue the Marvel vs. DC rivalry - asking nit-picky questions, like where Hawkeye was in all of this and Rocket finally stealing the Winter Soldier's new arm. Even Batman joins in the cheerful mood, dancing The Batsuit when Korg from Thor: Ragnarok (who it turns out is not dead) shows up to play some music on the jukebox.

The video closes with a sudden shift in tone, as we cut to The Villains' Pub, where all the baddies are comforting a one-armed Thanos on his defeat. Suddenly, the villains all begin to crumble into dust - the result of Thor snapping his fingers while enjoying the music across town. In a callback to the final post-credits scene of Avengers: Infinity War, we see Emperor Palpatine - the owner and bartender of the pub - rushing to retrieve and activate an ancient pager before he too is erased from existence. The person he is trying to message will be no surprise to longtime fans of How It Should Have Ended and promises big things in their next video.

While it's easy to look back and determine what the film's heroes could've done to prevent Thanos from winning in Wakanda, everything that happened was meant to set up Avengers 4 as well as the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Avengers: Infinity War was merely the beginning of the end of the MCU's first saga that began a decade ago.