Marvel’s ‘Endgame’: The definition of epic

Brian Truitt: Culmination of 21-film universe a hugely satisfying tale

If the Marvel superhero movies on the whole are your favorite band’s individual albums, “Avengers: Endgame” is the triple-disc greatest-hits package with the really awesome cover and a slew of familiar, comforting gems inside.

Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, “Endgame” (★★★g; rated PG-13; opens nationwide Friday, though theaters will show it Thursday night) is the yin to the yang of last year’s cliffhanger-y “Infinity War” but also the culmination of the 21 Marvel films that came before it, with callbacks to past adventures and a Titanic boatload of characters. So fortune favors those who’ve put in their homework, whether they’ve just binged the movies ahead of the newest blockbuster or have been hanging tough with the gang since Robert Downey Jr. first said “I am Iron Man” without a touch of irony 11 years ago.

And yet it also is a singular, sprawling and hugely satisfying tale that begins with a brutal, emotional gut punch and takes you on quite the trip with the original Avengers crew: genius inventor Tony Stark (Downey), super-soldier Captain America (Chris Evans), thunder god Thor (Chris Hemsworth), secret agent Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), ace archer Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and rage monster Hulk (Mark Ruffalo).

When last we saw our heroes, they were licking their wounds and mourning lost friends – Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Spider-Man (Tom Holland), we hardly knew ye – after cosmic villain Thanos (Josh Brolin) used six all-powerful Infinity Stones to bring balance to the universe by wiping out half of existence. The good guys now are pretty irked about the whole thing, and

PHOTOS BY MARVEL STUDIOS Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and his fellow Avengers are in epic form in “Endgame.”

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has a score to settle with a certain space baddie.

Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) sets her sights on the Soul Stone.