Stage 1: Shock and Disbelief — Black Widow
The first movie launched as half of Phase 4, Black Widow comes at a troublesome time, narratively, for the franchise. The world — and certainly the whole universe — remains to be reeling from the occasions of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame and followers are nonetheless reeling as nicely. Endgame noticed the deaths of two main heroes, Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) and Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson).
Both losses are nonetheless prime of thoughts as we head into Black Widow and in some ways the movie displays that. The movie takes us into Natasha’s life each as a toddler and as an grownup earlier than The Snap (the movie is about in 2016), giving viewers a window into the occasions that made her into the hero that sacrificed herself for the Soul Stone. It is not precisely a narrative centered in denial however one in shock and disbelief. It’s troublesome to imagine that Natasha is de facto gone as you watch the movie, particularly with the movie ending with Natasha heading off to free the imprisoned Avengers.
The stage of shock and disbelief is usually characterised by individuals behaving usually and with no lot of emotion as a result of the realization that somebody is gone hasn’t totally sunk in simply but and that is one thing that matches the invoice right here: we’re watching Natasha as if she’s alive and nicely and that is simply one other chapter of her story. It is not till the finish that we actually have to begin processing that she’s gone.
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Stage 2: Denial — Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
As the phases of grief go, denial is one which just about everybody agrees on and it is also the stage that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings most exemplifies. The movie introduces us to Xu Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), however Shang-Chi is himself in a kind of denial of self. We discover him dwelling in San Francisco, having run away from his father Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung) the place he is dwelling as “Shaun”. As Shaun, Shang-Chi is making an attempt to keep away from his father and his future in the movie, however as is usually the case, each come knocking. He in the end finds himself embracing who he actually is.
The stage of denial is usually characterised by the feeling that they know one thing occurred, nevertheless it would not appear actual — or that they will keep away from coping with that factor that feels “wrong”. It’s a stage that may be mixed with shock and disbelief, one thing that we see a bit of on this movie.
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Stage 3: Anger — Eternals
Another stage of grief that’s universally agreed upon is anger, although in phrases of how the MCU’s Phase Four incorporates it, this one could be rather less agreed upon. Characterized by emotions of frustration and in addition by being the emotion that many usually really feel that they should most decrease or cover from others, anger is usually a complicated feeling as one grieves loss. How Eternals greatest exemplifies this stage of grief is much less in direct expression of anger, however extra in the sense of disorientation and confusion, although there are moments the place real anger come by means of.
The movie sees the Eternals Sersi, Sprite, and Ikaris journey to South Dakota to reunite with their chief, Ajak after an assault by the Deviant Kro solely to seek out Ajak lifeless. Sersi is chosen to be the new chief of the Eternals and discovers the reality of their mission to Earth. Ultimately, this discovery sees the Eternals fracture as a bunch as they uncover that Ikaris knew the reality and killed Ajak because of this. One might argue that Ikaris’ motion in main the Deviants to Ajak and inflicting her dying in addition to his actions later in the movie in opposition to Sersi and the others’ makes an attempt to cease the Emergence as soon as they know the reality are literally basic manifestations of anger in that he’s looking for management of the scenario and setting. It’s an advanced stage of the grieving course of — and Eternals is an advanced film.
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Stage 4: Bargaining — Spider-Man: No Way Home
This could be the most direct correlation between the phases of grief and Phase Four of the MCU. In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter Parker desires only one factor: he desires everybody to overlook he is Spider-Man and it is a fairly direct embodiment of the stage of bargaining. The stage of grief is often characterised by the sense of making an attempt to plead with the universe that in case you simply do issues otherwise or higher, issues might be set proper which is one thing that may take completely different types together with the promise to vary behaviors, intervene in numerous methods, and even perform extraordinary acts to proper wrongs all in the purpose of someway discovering a motive for the loss and even reversing it.
In No Way Home, Peter (Tom Holland) initially makes an attempt bargaining by asking Doctor Strange to solid a spell to make individuals overlook he is Spider-Man and when that finally ends up going awry and leads to villains from different universes arriving on this one, prompts Peter to attempt to treatment them and save them from their deaths, thus altering their fates. Interestingly, whereas No Way Home is itself an instance of bargaining in the MCU, it’s also an instance of most of the phases of grief full inside the movie itself. The movie sees the tragic dying of Aunt May in addition to Peter in the end shedding his buddies and help system who find yourself with no reminiscence of him, although Peter is ready to save the multiverse. Instead of being crushed down by this, the movie ends with Peter beginning over and transferring ahead and past his losses.
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Stage 5: Depression — Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness
It’s virtually inaccurate to name despair a “stage” of grief. It’s virtually one thing that one feels all through the entirety of the course of, a sense that may ebb and movement as we work by means of the complexities of the expertise. For some, it may be a short lived expertise that manifests in questioning the which means of life or a sense of disappointment that’s an excessive amount of to bear. For others, it may be a way of nervousness or a sense of hopelessness that causes one to withdraw as an alternative of letting others assist you. And it is that latter half — the withdrawing and never letting others assist you throughout your time of want — that largely helps land Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness on this record as the Phase Four movie that greatest embodies Depression.
Like many of the Phase Four movies, Doctor Strange 2 might match a number of phases, nevertheless it most closely fits right here as a result of each Doctor Strange and Wanda Maximoff are each characters who’re struggling loss — albeit in numerous types — and are unwilling to achieve out to others for assist till it’s too late. The movie picks up after the occasions of WandaImaginative and prescient and sees America Chavez chased into the essential actuality by a demon who’s looking her as a result of she will be able to journey by means of the multiverse. Doctor Strange, upon recognizing some runes, reaches out to Wanda for assist however discovers rapidly that she’s behind the assaults and it is revealed that Wanda, who has develop into the Scarlet Witch, is making an attempt to reunite along with her misplaced sons, Billy and Tommy who exist in one other multiverse. She desires to take management of her different actuality self. Strange and Chavez undergo the multiverse in search of assist and all the things culminates in Wanda being proven the error of her methods and bringing down Mount Wundagore, stopping the insanity.
This is, clearly, simply the excessive notes. So much occurs on this movie, however the large takeaways listed here are that Wanda is deeply grieving and as an alternative of reaching out to individuals who she ought to be capable to discuss to about the ache of shedding her kids — even when they’re kids she created in Westview — she isolates and goes down a darker path. For Strange, he is nonetheless in lots of respects coping with the finish of his relationship with Christine in addition to having misplaced the function of Sorcerer Supreme and is making an attempt to cope with the Wanda scenario largely by himself. It’s solely when he realizes that he has to belief America and her skills — and encourage the younger lady in utilizing them — they can attain Wanda. Strange remoted himself otherwise than Wanda did however the isolation was virtually simply as catastrophic.
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Stage 6: Acceptance and Hope — Thor: Love and Thunder
At some level in each grieving course of, one reaches a spot the place they’ve to just accept the loss and the hope for therapeutic can start. It’s the second when you realize you’ll be able to’t change issues, however you are prepared to begin engaged on discovering your new regular. In the MCU’s Phase Four, that second is Thor: Love and Thunder.
Thor has been by means of it in the previous few years. he beat himself up over not with the ability to stop Thanos from wiping out half of the universe’s inhabitants. He had unresolved emotions about his ex, Jane Foster. He even had physique picture points and nervousness and a myriad of complicated emotions and understandably so. It’s half of what sends him off on his adventures with the Guardians of the Galaxy at the finish of Avengers: Endgame. Thor: Love and Thunder sees Thor getting again in the sport, because it have been, when he receives a misery sign from Sif and is knowledgeable that Gorr is attacking and killing gods — and that New Asgard is his subsequent goal. He finally ends up teaming up with Jane — who’s now the Mighty Thor and in addition affected by terminal most cancers — Valkyrie, and Korg — to cope with Gorr and save the kidnapped Asgardian kids. The movie resolves with the dying of Jane in addition to Gorr, however very a lot on each characters’ phrases. Jane dies in Thor’s arms permitting each characters closure and acceptance whereas Gorr’s dying permits his misplaced daughter, Love, to be introduced again to life. Love is in the end adopted by Thor and the pair go off finishing up heroics collectively. It’s a reasonably clear instance of Thor accepting the issues he is been by means of and choosing up the items to maneuver ahead into a brand new life formed by his experiences, one that’s hopeful and optimistic.
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Stage 7: Reconstruction — Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
This remaining section is much less a section and is extra the spine of the whole expertise. It’s the concept that grief is a course of that may take many types, can take time, and may range as we rebuild. I’m additionally going to roll the idea of guilt into this stage as a result of it’s not unusual after we really begin transferring ahead with our lives after loss that we really feel responsible for doing so and it is necessary to know that not solely is it fully regular to really feel responsible, however it’s also fully regular to wish to transfer on and that we deserve to take action.
As I’ve stated earlier than all through this piece, virtually each movie in Phase Four of the MCU has held elements of the whole a number of phases of grief. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever isn’t any exception and is in some ways maybe the MCU’s most stunning expression of what it means to endure loss and grieve — each on display screen and off. The movie inhabits a really distinctive area in that the solid and crew have been coping with real-life loss resulting from the tragic dying of Chadwick Boseman as they have been making the movie which depicted the dying of T’Challa. As such the story captured a really trustworthy grieving course of, however in phrases of the way it matches this “final” stage of grief, that facilities round Shuri. We see Shuri cope with each stage on this course of. She offers with an onslaught of shock, disbelief, anger, denial, and bargaining virtually instantly in the movie when she frantically tries to discover a treatment for her brother’s sickness and is unable to take action. We see her denial at its peak when she refuses to burn her mourning clothes — and we additionally see her despair there as nicely. We additionally see her anger when her mom dies resulting from Namor’s assault and it prompts her to lash out towards Namor and the Talokanil just for that anger to morph into a form of acceptance, an acceptance that turns to hope when she discovers that her brother had a son. It’s the remaining picture of Shuri in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever that very a lot encapsulates the expertise of grief. She’s visibly exhausted and emotional and hopeful and cautious and relieved and even confused, however there is a energy there, virtually a clear slate because it have been. A chapter is closed, prepared for a brand new story to be written.
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What do you suppose? What movie do you suppose greatest matches every stage of grief? Let us know your ideas in the remark part.
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