Avengers: Endgame...
May. 11th, 2019 08:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatFinally saw it. (I gave up on movie buddy, who to be fair let me off the hook when he told me he'd have to reschedule due to a prior family commitment on May 18. It's May, people with small children tend to become increasingly unavailable.)
Got my hair done first -- color and cut. (I've found an amazing colorist, she's Russian and does a color treatment that has actual highlights in it, it looks better than my natural hair color.) And the stylist is cool as well, has tattoos up her arms.
Anyhow, Avengers: Endgame
First off, I saw it in RPX. Which is about three to four dollars more than standard. Will I do it again? No. RPX isn't worth it. I honestly didn't see much difference, if it's there, it's lost on me. Yes, the movie screen is better and the seats better quality -- leather as opposed to vinyl or whatever they are in the other theater, but they aren't recliners. Please, it's a City Theater, recliners do not exist in City theaters. Yes, we pay more for less, this fact is not lost on me.
And you have to do the reserved seat thing. Which is ridiculous when the theater is NOT packed, like this one. There were empty seats. Why? On the other hand, I sort of like the fact that I can get up and not worry about anyone snagging my seat. My mother and I discussed this and decided it is so people can pop in at the last minute. And not worry about losing their seat or good seats while standing in the concession line.
The screen was slightly bigger and curved, also a bit more clearer than normal. Although I didn't really notice all that much. This stuff is sort of lost on me. I'm not entirely sure I need to see it in IMAX, although if I see it a second time -- I may go that route. There are some big beautiful images though. And the F/X is worthe the price. But if I were to do this again? I'd pick IMAX or regular, I think?
Do like the less crowded theater experience. The audience is less chatty, and you can hear what's going on. Also there is audience participation in places.
There were about 10 movie trailers, including Spider-man Far From Home, which aired after the credits. There is no tag to the credits -- since this is the final film of this particular series.
The movie itself? Did I enjoy it? I loved it, for the most part. There were moments where my jaw just dropped in awe and a chill went down my spine. Others that well, made me want to shake certain characters -- come on, get a move on. It's highly suspenseful in places -- I honestly had no idea where they were going with it at one point. And it does a great job of referencing every film that came before it (so, it works a lot better for people who saw all 21 previous films, and know those characters than for folks who hadn't). There are a few...character centric moments that seemingly go on forever. (More on that under a spoiler cut.)
I went in cold. All I knew was it involved Time Travel, Captain Marvel is in it, and Captain America says goodbye. That's it. (Yes, I did a very good job of avoiding spoilers.)
The movie does wrap up the franchise well. But it is a character driven piece not a plot driven one. And there are places in which it gets bogged down a little with plot mechanics. That said, the plot for the most part is rather tight, and it skirts the mistakes most time travel films and stories make or the traps they fall into.
Marvel generally speaking is rather good with time travel -- should be, they've done it enough.
And there are a few surprises -- particularly in how they manage to maintain continuity and reference previous films.
Like I said -- it works better if you've seen all 21 of the previous films.
I found it funny -- hilarious in spots, but I admittedly have an off-beat sense of humor. I also cried in various places. So it worked for me emotionally. Not sure it will for everyone. Depends on whether you share my snarky and absurdist sense of humor.
The film centered on Hawk-eye far more than I expected. It also has an interesting thematic and narrative structure, focusing heavily on family dynamics.
It opens with Hawk-Eye and his family having a family picnic, when suddenly without warning, they are rendered to dust. And it ends with Captain America dancing with Peggy Carter in her home way back in the 1960s. He goes back in time to return all the stones, then decides fuck it, I'll stay in the 1970s and lives a life with her...then returns to the current time period at the ago of 90, old and happy.
That's the beginning and the end of the movie.
And the opening line? Hawk-eye to his daughter, Lila, "It's not the end that is important it is how we get there." He's talking about aiming an arrow at a target, but he might as well be talking about the story as a whole.
The main characters or focal point of the story are: Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, and Hawk-Eye, with Nebula also playing an important role.
Everyone else is more or less in the supporting category.
It's the last film for Iron Man, Captain America and Black Widow...Thor could potentially pop up again.
I was fascinated by the two sacrifices. While one was heavily foreshadowed and I pretty much knew, the other surprised me. I honestly thought Nebula was going to sacrifice herself. But they took Nebula a different route. No, it was Black Widow who sacrificed herself for the soul stone. Hawk-eye fought her on it.
That's one of the best sections in the film. It's funny and tragic and painful all at the same time. Particularly if you understand the depth of their relationship.
And the choices of both characters.
Natasha only has the Avengers. No other family. When Thanos destroys everything. Natasha and Steve set up shop in the Avengers headquarters and try to restart things, try to find a way of struggling forward. Both are rather hopeless at this point.
Hawkeye unlike Natasha had chosen to retire and raise his family, when they die, he goes vigilante and kills the bad guys without remorse. A dark killing machine.
When they go off to get the soul stone, not understanding the price initially -- and upon learning it choose to sacrifice themselves. They realize they are in disagreement. Hawkeye believes he should die. While Natasha is insistent that the sacrifice should be hers...they fight over it, in an amusing fashion -- until Natasha wins. And he ends up with the soul stone as his prize. Of course he had to win -- because when the stones are used to bring everyone back again -- it's his phone that rings, and his wife on the other line.
The surprises?
* They don't undo time. They merely bring the stones forward, and bring everyone who turned to ash back five years later, as is. Those who died who were not turned to dust by the Infinity Gauntlet, stay dead. Gamora, Loki, all of Thor's family on the ship, Black Widow, and the Vison - stay dead.
* Somehow they managed to put Stan Lee in the final film -- he's in the 1970s sequence, when Cap and Stark go back to get the Infinity Stone from Shield and more quantum devices from Hank Pym.
* Natasha died instead of Nebula...although more fitting in a way, I guess. That does not mean there can't be a Black Widow film -- it will just be in the past.
* Captain Marvel was under-used. She's used and she makes a difference, but she doesn't really become part of the team. Nor are Okwe, and various others left alive after Infinity War. Don Cheadal's War Machine plays a major role, but a lot of the others remain largely in the background.
*Mixed feelings about the depiction of Thor...
The movie does a good job of being less about "avenging" a wrong, then undoing it as much as they can, and about self-sacrifice. There's a lovely bit between Stark and Rogers regarding the word "avengers" and how pointless it is.
It also does a good job of completing a few key character arcs, Captain America literally comes face to face with his aw-shucks, naive, solider boy self and whips his own younger self's ass. Wizened and weary, he no longer sees things quite so black and white as he once did. Iron Man manages to finally confront and make peace with his father, the version that is oh slightly younger than he is when he reunites with him back in the 1960s. He also manages to have the life he wanted with Pepper, along with a child. A daughter. (I'll get back to that later.) In many ways his arc is closing. He finally does what his father couldn't do, which is choose others over his own self-interest. Before now, it was still about him, about being a superhero, about proving something....now, it's about something more. He takes the risk, goes back in time, picks up the stones, not once but twice, putting his life with his family at risk and himself. Then in the final chapter, when he is given no other choice -- he learns from his past mistake with Thanos and doesn't take the gauntlet but removes the stones, so when Thanos attempts to snap his fingers again, this time nothing happens. Tony has the stones. And Tony snaps, and in a moment, Thanos and his army and his legions are no more. Tony of course won't survive, but he knew that the moment he picked up the stones and put them in a new guantlet. His final act is to save everyone. And the symmetry works well -- because Tony Stark unmakes an army, destroys the War-Lord, when he himself was once the creator of War Lords. A weapon manufacturer -- whose prior legacy was weapons of mass destruction. Now, with a snap of his fingers he turns Thanos and his weapons to dust and sacrifices himself by doing so.
He almost dies several times in the film. There are multiple false deaths. The first in the ship floating aimlessly through space, until Captain Marvel rescues him (as predicted). The second, when he has Ant-man stop his heart briefly. The third, in the Avengers headquarters -- when Thanos hits it with all he has. His death is foreshadowed. This is clearly his final rodeo. And if you think about it -- he almost died in the first Avengers Film fighting Thanos, and in the second, fighting his own creation, and in the third fighting Thanos again -- Strange saves his life that round sacrificing the Time Stone instead. The many deaths of Tony Stark -- who finally runs out of lives. The series has been his journey, he's been in the most films -- 8 of the 22. Iron Man (the first film in the series), Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, Avengers, Avengers Age of Ultron, Captain America Civil War, Spiderman: Homecoming, Avengers Infinity War, and Avengers Endgame. Only Thor and Captain America come close to that number, and possibly Nick Fury. So it's fitting in a way that it is his sacrifice the ends the series. Or the series ends with his sacrifice, and funeral.
What I also loved about the movie -- was the passing of the torch to the women. At one point we only have men. Mostly white, with the token black guy. But after the Hulk snaps his fingers, all that changes. Black Panther pops up and helps with the guantlet, which is then passed over to Spiderman, and finally Captain Marvel. And it is Captain Marvel who decimates Thanos ship, and Captain Marvel that makes it possible for Tony to take the stones away from Thanos. Captain Marvel, Pepper as Iron Woman, the Wasp, Valkerie, Shakira, and Okiewa take on Thanos after the guys fall down, as does Scarlet Witch.
A clear sign that Marvel is shifting from the white male superhero era to the a far more diversified one.
How was it slow? Ah, the need to linger, perhaps a bit too long on Thor's Mommy issues, and Stark's Daddy issues. I was like, come on guys, you have a world to save -- stop putting said world in danger by spending quality time with the folks.
Also, Thor as a big drunk beer belly Viking, was annoying after a bit. I felt sorry for Rocket who wanted to shake him.
And the whole Neblua brings Thanos back to the future ....didn't quite work and was hard to follow. I get why it was there, but it drug. And yes, it gave the movie it's big end battle. (A battle heavily foreshadowed in Age of Ultron, it's the battle that Iron Man sees in his vision, or nightmare, which leads to him building Ultron.
And coming to odds with Captain America. So it's needed, but it felt clunky.
The science behind the time travel and the explanation of it -- I found hilarious and adored. Mainly because I knew the references and Stark basically said everything I was thinking, rather well. Which is no, it doesn't work the way it does in the Back to the Future films. If you do that time can fall in on itself or you set up a parallel reality or risk fracturing the current one. The only way it can work is if you go back only to bring back the stones, don't do anything else, don't interact with yourself in any way, and then when you are done, go back and put the stones back exactly where they were. Not an easy thing to do, by any stretch of the imagination. They almost screw it up. Hulk is tasked with convincing the Supreme Soceress, Tilda Swinton, to give up the Time Stone -- this surprised me. I thought it would be Strange. Clever. And he convinces her by stating that Strange gave it to Thanos to save Stark. Iron Man and Captain America are tasked with the Space Stone and Mind Stone. They get the mind stone, but Loki manages to take off again with the Space Stone -- so they have to go back to the 1960s to retrieve. I honestly thought they were going to get from Fury after the cat vomited it up. But alas no. They probably didn't know about it -- since Captain Marvel isn't involved and Fury is ash.
So overall? A much better flick than expected. I went in with low expectations. I always do. Some surprises, some good, some disappointing (I really did want Captain Marvel more involved than she was, oh well, perhaps next time.). But overall, I did love it and will most likely see it a second time, at some point in the not to distant future. It is a fitting ending to the current series, and a nice stepping off point for future films and new stories.
Got my hair done first -- color and cut. (I've found an amazing colorist, she's Russian and does a color treatment that has actual highlights in it, it looks better than my natural hair color.) And the stylist is cool as well, has tattoos up her arms.
Anyhow, Avengers: Endgame
First off, I saw it in RPX. Which is about three to four dollars more than standard. Will I do it again? No. RPX isn't worth it. I honestly didn't see much difference, if it's there, it's lost on me. Yes, the movie screen is better and the seats better quality -- leather as opposed to vinyl or whatever they are in the other theater, but they aren't recliners. Please, it's a City Theater, recliners do not exist in City theaters. Yes, we pay more for less, this fact is not lost on me.
And you have to do the reserved seat thing. Which is ridiculous when the theater is NOT packed, like this one. There were empty seats. Why? On the other hand, I sort of like the fact that I can get up and not worry about anyone snagging my seat. My mother and I discussed this and decided it is so people can pop in at the last minute. And not worry about losing their seat or good seats while standing in the concession line.
The screen was slightly bigger and curved, also a bit more clearer than normal. Although I didn't really notice all that much. This stuff is sort of lost on me. I'm not entirely sure I need to see it in IMAX, although if I see it a second time -- I may go that route. There are some big beautiful images though. And the F/X is worthe the price. But if I were to do this again? I'd pick IMAX or regular, I think?
Do like the less crowded theater experience. The audience is less chatty, and you can hear what's going on. Also there is audience participation in places.
There were about 10 movie trailers, including Spider-man Far From Home, which aired after the credits. There is no tag to the credits -- since this is the final film of this particular series.
The movie itself? Did I enjoy it? I loved it, for the most part. There were moments where my jaw just dropped in awe and a chill went down my spine. Others that well, made me want to shake certain characters -- come on, get a move on. It's highly suspenseful in places -- I honestly had no idea where they were going with it at one point. And it does a great job of referencing every film that came before it (so, it works a lot better for people who saw all 21 previous films, and know those characters than for folks who hadn't). There are a few...character centric moments that seemingly go on forever. (More on that under a spoiler cut.)
I went in cold. All I knew was it involved Time Travel, Captain Marvel is in it, and Captain America says goodbye. That's it. (Yes, I did a very good job of avoiding spoilers.)
The movie does wrap up the franchise well. But it is a character driven piece not a plot driven one. And there are places in which it gets bogged down a little with plot mechanics. That said, the plot for the most part is rather tight, and it skirts the mistakes most time travel films and stories make or the traps they fall into.
Marvel generally speaking is rather good with time travel -- should be, they've done it enough.
And there are a few surprises -- particularly in how they manage to maintain continuity and reference previous films.
Like I said -- it works better if you've seen all 21 of the previous films.
I found it funny -- hilarious in spots, but I admittedly have an off-beat sense of humor. I also cried in various places. So it worked for me emotionally. Not sure it will for everyone. Depends on whether you share my snarky and absurdist sense of humor.
The film centered on Hawk-eye far more than I expected. It also has an interesting thematic and narrative structure, focusing heavily on family dynamics.
It opens with Hawk-Eye and his family having a family picnic, when suddenly without warning, they are rendered to dust. And it ends with Captain America dancing with Peggy Carter in her home way back in the 1960s. He goes back in time to return all the stones, then decides fuck it, I'll stay in the 1970s and lives a life with her...then returns to the current time period at the ago of 90, old and happy.
That's the beginning and the end of the movie.
And the opening line? Hawk-eye to his daughter, Lila, "It's not the end that is important it is how we get there." He's talking about aiming an arrow at a target, but he might as well be talking about the story as a whole.
The main characters or focal point of the story are: Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, and Hawk-Eye, with Nebula also playing an important role.
Everyone else is more or less in the supporting category.
It's the last film for Iron Man, Captain America and Black Widow...Thor could potentially pop up again.
I was fascinated by the two sacrifices. While one was heavily foreshadowed and I pretty much knew, the other surprised me. I honestly thought Nebula was going to sacrifice herself. But they took Nebula a different route. No, it was Black Widow who sacrificed herself for the soul stone. Hawk-eye fought her on it.
That's one of the best sections in the film. It's funny and tragic and painful all at the same time. Particularly if you understand the depth of their relationship.
And the choices of both characters.
Natasha only has the Avengers. No other family. When Thanos destroys everything. Natasha and Steve set up shop in the Avengers headquarters and try to restart things, try to find a way of struggling forward. Both are rather hopeless at this point.
Hawkeye unlike Natasha had chosen to retire and raise his family, when they die, he goes vigilante and kills the bad guys without remorse. A dark killing machine.
When they go off to get the soul stone, not understanding the price initially -- and upon learning it choose to sacrifice themselves. They realize they are in disagreement. Hawkeye believes he should die. While Natasha is insistent that the sacrifice should be hers...they fight over it, in an amusing fashion -- until Natasha wins. And he ends up with the soul stone as his prize. Of course he had to win -- because when the stones are used to bring everyone back again -- it's his phone that rings, and his wife on the other line.
The surprises?
* They don't undo time. They merely bring the stones forward, and bring everyone who turned to ash back five years later, as is. Those who died who were not turned to dust by the Infinity Gauntlet, stay dead. Gamora, Loki, all of Thor's family on the ship, Black Widow, and the Vison - stay dead.
* Somehow they managed to put Stan Lee in the final film -- he's in the 1970s sequence, when Cap and Stark go back to get the Infinity Stone from Shield and more quantum devices from Hank Pym.
* Natasha died instead of Nebula...although more fitting in a way, I guess. That does not mean there can't be a Black Widow film -- it will just be in the past.
* Captain Marvel was under-used. She's used and she makes a difference, but she doesn't really become part of the team. Nor are Okwe, and various others left alive after Infinity War. Don Cheadal's War Machine plays a major role, but a lot of the others remain largely in the background.
*Mixed feelings about the depiction of Thor...
The movie does a good job of being less about "avenging" a wrong, then undoing it as much as they can, and about self-sacrifice. There's a lovely bit between Stark and Rogers regarding the word "avengers" and how pointless it is.
It also does a good job of completing a few key character arcs, Captain America literally comes face to face with his aw-shucks, naive, solider boy self and whips his own younger self's ass. Wizened and weary, he no longer sees things quite so black and white as he once did. Iron Man manages to finally confront and make peace with his father, the version that is oh slightly younger than he is when he reunites with him back in the 1960s. He also manages to have the life he wanted with Pepper, along with a child. A daughter. (I'll get back to that later.) In many ways his arc is closing. He finally does what his father couldn't do, which is choose others over his own self-interest. Before now, it was still about him, about being a superhero, about proving something....now, it's about something more. He takes the risk, goes back in time, picks up the stones, not once but twice, putting his life with his family at risk and himself. Then in the final chapter, when he is given no other choice -- he learns from his past mistake with Thanos and doesn't take the gauntlet but removes the stones, so when Thanos attempts to snap his fingers again, this time nothing happens. Tony has the stones. And Tony snaps, and in a moment, Thanos and his army and his legions are no more. Tony of course won't survive, but he knew that the moment he picked up the stones and put them in a new guantlet. His final act is to save everyone. And the symmetry works well -- because Tony Stark unmakes an army, destroys the War-Lord, when he himself was once the creator of War Lords. A weapon manufacturer -- whose prior legacy was weapons of mass destruction. Now, with a snap of his fingers he turns Thanos and his weapons to dust and sacrifices himself by doing so.
He almost dies several times in the film. There are multiple false deaths. The first in the ship floating aimlessly through space, until Captain Marvel rescues him (as predicted). The second, when he has Ant-man stop his heart briefly. The third, in the Avengers headquarters -- when Thanos hits it with all he has. His death is foreshadowed. This is clearly his final rodeo. And if you think about it -- he almost died in the first Avengers Film fighting Thanos, and in the second, fighting his own creation, and in the third fighting Thanos again -- Strange saves his life that round sacrificing the Time Stone instead. The many deaths of Tony Stark -- who finally runs out of lives. The series has been his journey, he's been in the most films -- 8 of the 22. Iron Man (the first film in the series), Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, Avengers, Avengers Age of Ultron, Captain America Civil War, Spiderman: Homecoming, Avengers Infinity War, and Avengers Endgame. Only Thor and Captain America come close to that number, and possibly Nick Fury. So it's fitting in a way that it is his sacrifice the ends the series. Or the series ends with his sacrifice, and funeral.
What I also loved about the movie -- was the passing of the torch to the women. At one point we only have men. Mostly white, with the token black guy. But after the Hulk snaps his fingers, all that changes. Black Panther pops up and helps with the guantlet, which is then passed over to Spiderman, and finally Captain Marvel. And it is Captain Marvel who decimates Thanos ship, and Captain Marvel that makes it possible for Tony to take the stones away from Thanos. Captain Marvel, Pepper as Iron Woman, the Wasp, Valkerie, Shakira, and Okiewa take on Thanos after the guys fall down, as does Scarlet Witch.
A clear sign that Marvel is shifting from the white male superhero era to the a far more diversified one.
How was it slow? Ah, the need to linger, perhaps a bit too long on Thor's Mommy issues, and Stark's Daddy issues. I was like, come on guys, you have a world to save -- stop putting said world in danger by spending quality time with the folks.
Also, Thor as a big drunk beer belly Viking, was annoying after a bit. I felt sorry for Rocket who wanted to shake him.
And the whole Neblua brings Thanos back to the future ....didn't quite work and was hard to follow. I get why it was there, but it drug. And yes, it gave the movie it's big end battle. (A battle heavily foreshadowed in Age of Ultron, it's the battle that Iron Man sees in his vision, or nightmare, which leads to him building Ultron.
And coming to odds with Captain America. So it's needed, but it felt clunky.
The science behind the time travel and the explanation of it -- I found hilarious and adored. Mainly because I knew the references and Stark basically said everything I was thinking, rather well. Which is no, it doesn't work the way it does in the Back to the Future films. If you do that time can fall in on itself or you set up a parallel reality or risk fracturing the current one. The only way it can work is if you go back only to bring back the stones, don't do anything else, don't interact with yourself in any way, and then when you are done, go back and put the stones back exactly where they were. Not an easy thing to do, by any stretch of the imagination. They almost screw it up. Hulk is tasked with convincing the Supreme Soceress, Tilda Swinton, to give up the Time Stone -- this surprised me. I thought it would be Strange. Clever. And he convinces her by stating that Strange gave it to Thanos to save Stark. Iron Man and Captain America are tasked with the Space Stone and Mind Stone. They get the mind stone, but Loki manages to take off again with the Space Stone -- so they have to go back to the 1960s to retrieve. I honestly thought they were going to get from Fury after the cat vomited it up. But alas no. They probably didn't know about it -- since Captain Marvel isn't involved and Fury is ash.
So overall? A much better flick than expected. I went in with low expectations. I always do. Some surprises, some good, some disappointing (I really did want Captain Marvel more involved than she was, oh well, perhaps next time.). But overall, I did love it and will most likely see it a second time, at some point in the not to distant future. It is a fitting ending to the current series, and a nice stepping off point for future films and new stories.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-12 08:01 pm (UTC)I completely agree. The more you knew about them, the more you would catch.
Speaking of Hawkeye, I thought it was a smart decision the way that they had Clint and Scott out of the first story, especially since this provided continuity from Civil War. It's much like how in Avengers 1, Clint had a small role but he had a more central one in Ultron because he's the one character we got to know the least. For example in IW, Natasha was there but her role was not particularly important. In Endgame it was crucial.
And the opening line? Hawk-eye to his daughter, Lila, "It's not the end that is important it is how we get there." He's talking about aiming an arrow at a target, but he might as well be talking about the story as a whole.
Yes, I noticed that on this second go-round. It was nicely done, as was the whole issue of preparing the next generation.
I understand that Stan Lee tended to film his cameos in batches, so he had finished various of them before his death. I'm curious if he will be in July's Spiderman, and whether they'll continue to do that in some way or not.
Similarly they filmed the Cap Marvel scenes in this movie first and only later her solo film.
And the symmetry works well -- because Tony Stark unmakes an army, destroys the War-Lord, when he himself was once the creator of War Lords. A weapon manufacturer -- whose prior legacy was weapons of mass destruction.
Wonderfully put, yes!
But after the Hulk snaps his fingers, all that changes. Black Panther pops up and helps with the guantlet, which is then passed over to Spiderman, and finally Captain Marvel. And it is Captain Marvel who decimates Thanos ship, and Captain Marvel that makes it possible for Tony to take the stones away from Thanos.
I also really like this observation. Quite a few people carped about who got left after the snap. But besides the fact that these films are our farewell to that team, I agree that that choice allows for this message to be sent. Even the fact that it's Bruce -- I mean, that makes perfect sense plotwise. But I think that metaphorically one can read more into the fact that he is a man who has reconciled the two sides of himself that hated one another.
I honestly thought they were going to get from Fury after the cat vomited it up. But alas no. They probably didn't know about it -- since Captain Marvel isn't involved and Fury is ash.
Haha, that would indeed be funny. But then again, you're right, chances are very good that none of them knew enough about that part of the Tesseract's history that it would make sense. Although the whole issue of the Tesseract being gone for that whole period in the 90s did make me wonder about Loki's disappearance with it in the film. I suppose one could say that with Howard dead, the Tesseract was released to someone else for research. And then it came back into Fury's (and SHIELD)'s hands.
However it does make me wonder why weapons research on it took so long or why Hydra didn't steal it away sooner. Fury mentions in Avengers 1 that the reason the Tesseract was being experimented on was because of Thor's appearance the year before, making everyone aware of aliens. But Fury has known about aliens for more than a decade -- if not SHIELD as a whole.