It’s been ten years since the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). To celebrate, Marvel has released a two-part movie, Avengers: Infinity War. The Avengers series is one of the greatest hits in the entertainment industry, making box office number one every time a new sequel is introduced, This movie will be the third and fourth movie in the Avengers series, and possibly the last one.

The Avengers—a “hero squad” that includes Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, and Black Widow—are teaming up with newer recruits, like Thor, Doctor Strange, Wong, Spiderman, Scarlet Witch, Black Panther, Falcon, and heroes from Guardians of the Galaxy. They are teaming up to battle their worst and most feared enemy, Thanos, played by Josh Brolin.

Thanos is a Marvel supervillain created by Mike Friedrich and Jim Starlin. He first appeared in the Iron Man comic series, and his main goal is to wipe out half of the human species by collecting all six Infinity Stones. Thanos did not have a happy childhood, and later, during his adolescence years, he met with Lady Death, who influenced his way of thinking.

In Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and Hawkeye unfortunately did not make the cut. In the movie, the cast explains that Ant-Man and Hawkeye are still under government supervision after the destruction they caused in Captain America: Civil War. Despite the two not appearing in the movie, Marvel seems to have outdone itself yet again. According to Box Office Mojo, this movie has already made $283 million domestically since its opening on April 27th.  Avengers: Infinity War seems to be an even bigger hit overseas. Marvel earned $443 million internationally, resulting in a $725 million profit in just three days.

One reason why this movie may have been able to succeed is the way it was planned out. Running at almost three hours, it is the longest Marvel movie ever made. The Avengers are “not on speaking terms” since Captain America: Civil War where they were split up into two sides. As a result, the Avengers are scattered in different parts of the world.

The movie starts off with a rather brutal scene, during which Thor has just been defeated by the Thanos clan. Thor gets kicked out of his home planet, Asgard, and as he drops down, he bangs into the ship belonging to the Guardians of the Galaxy. Thor gets saved by the crew, and he warns them of Thanos’s coming. Meanwhile, back on Earth, as Peter (Spiderman) is going on a field trip, he sees a spaceship floating in the middle of Manhattan. He quickly gets out of the bus, and Iron Man joins in. While they are watching, Dr. Steven Strange and his pal Wong appear through a portal, causing the two other groups of heroes to meet.

The movie goes on with Thanos collecting Infinity Stones and some heroes dying, but this movie ends on a cliffhanger, which has caused many fans to sigh and whine about their favorite hero “dying.” However, the cliffhanger ending just signals the start of the actual Infinity War. Three hours is long enough for a single movie, but since the plot is too long, Marvel has decided to split the movie into two parts. The latter part of this movie, Avengers 4 (its name still to be decided) will be released on May 3rd, 2019. That is still 365 days away, or years for fans who are waiting.

Avengers: Infinity War may be the last movie of the Avengers series, since Robert Downey Jr, who has played Iron Man since 2008, has decided that he will soon retire from Marvel. The contracts of Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor, and Chris Evans, who plays Captain America, are ending soon as well, and they, according to an interview done by USA Today, have no interest in playing their characters again.

Contract or no contract, fan or no fan, this movie truly deserves a double thumbs up from everyone and many awards. Fans are already counting down the days to the next movie. The second part better be just as good, Marvel.