“We're in the Endgame Now”: Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame as Contemporary Absurdism

Abstract

The Journal of Popular CultureEarly View Original Article “We're in the Endgame Now”: Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame as Contemporary Absurdism Kelly I. Aliano, Corresponding Author Kelly I. Aliano [email protected] Search for more papers by this author Kelly I. Aliano, Corresponding Author Kelly I. Aliano [email protected] Search for more papers by this author First published: 19 June 2023 https://doi.org/10.1111/jpcu.13193Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Works Cited Avengers. Directed by Joss Whedon, performances by Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans. Marvel Studios, 2012. Avengers: Endgame. Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, performances by Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans. Marvel Studios, 2019. “‘Avengers: Endgame’ Has Taken Over the World. Let's Talk About Fan Service and Marvel's Legacy.” The New York Times, 1 May 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/movies/avengers-endgame-critics.html Avengers: Infinity War. Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, performances by Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans. Marvel Studios, 2018. Batman Begins. Directed by Christopher Nolan, performances by Christian Bale and Katie Holmes. Warner Brothers Pictures, 2005. Beckett, Samuel. Endgame. Grove Press, 1958. Beckett, Samuel. Waiting for Godot. Grove Press, 1953. Black Panther. Directed by Ryan Coogler, performances by Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan. Marvel Studios, 2018. Blau, Herbert. Sails of the Herring Fleet: Essays on Beckett. U of Michigan P, 2000. Boulter, Jonathan. “Does Mourning Require a Subject? Samuel Beckett's Texts for Nothing.” Modern Fiction Studies, vol. 50, no. 2 2004, 332– 50. Canis, Laura, and Paul Canis. “ Jean-Paul Sartre Meets Enid Coleslaw: Existential Themes in Ghost World.” Comics As Philosophy, edited by Jeff McLaughlin, U of Mississippi P, 2005, pp. 130– 52. Captain America: Civil War. Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, performances by Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans. Marvel Studios, 2016. Costello, Matthew J. “ Spandex Agonistes: Superhero Comics Confront the War on Terror.” Portraying 9/11: Essays on Representations in Comics, Literature, Film and Theatre, edited by Véronique Bragard, Christophe Dony, and Warren Rosenberg, McFarland, 2011, pp. 30– 43. Esslin, Martin. Theatre of the Absurd. Random House, 2004; originally published, 1962. Iron Man. Directed by Jon Favreau, performances by Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow. Marvel Studios, 2008. Hagley, Annika and Michael Harrison. “The Amazing Renaissance of the Superhero Post 9/11.” The Conversation, 22 April 2014. https://theconversation.com/the-amazing-renaissance-of-the-superhero-post-9-11-25733 McLaughlin, Jeff. “ What If? DC's Crisis and Leibnizian Possible Worlds.” Comics As Philosophy, edited by Jeff McLaughlin, U of Mississippi P, 2005, pp. 3– 13. Sartre, Jean-Paul. “ Existentialism is a Humanism.” The Study of Philosophy, edited by S. Morris Engel, Angelika Soldan, and Kevin Durand, Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2008, pp. 394– 410. Spider-Man: Far From Home. Directed by Jon Watts, performances by Tom Holland and Zendaya. Marvel Studios, 2019. Stevens, Dana. “Waiting for Thanos: Avengers: Endgame is Like Samuel Beckett with Superheroes.” Slate, 24 April 2019, https://slate.com/culture/2019/04/avengers-endgame-review-marvel-movie-samuel-beckett.html Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle. Directed by Michael Kantor, hosted by Liev Schreiber. Ghost Light Films, 2013. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. Directed by Sidney J. Furie, performances by Christopher Reeve and Gene Hackman. Warner Brothers, 1987. Thomson, Iain. “ Deconstructing the Hero.” Comics As Philosophy, edited by Jeff McLaughlin, U of Mississippi P, 2005, pp. 100– 29. Early ViewOnline Version of Record before inclusion in an issue ReferencesRelatedInformation