Soul Stone Theory

So today was the day we saw it, and we were off social media and everything, avoiding as many spoilers as we could.  In fact, I'd say we were more clueless about this movie than any other Marvel movie at all.  We had no idea what was going to happen as we got to the theater.

We thought we'd avoid a big crowd by going to the 10:15 am showing this morning.  We were so wrong on that one - the theater was packed!  And in fact, that was the trend all weekend all over the world, apparently.  This weekend, this movie made an estimated 1.2 billion dollars, which is a staggering amount of money to make for a movie's full run.  But we're talking that much money over a single opening weekend!

Anyway, we sat in the back, in our usual spots there at dead center of a full auditorium, and there was this energy to the place, all fans, all anxious to see the culmination of ten years.  Consider that a moment:  Madison was adopted in June of 2008, just a month after the release of the first Iron Man movie.  This extended universe has spanned her entire life with us, the story of certain characters within these movies lasting all this time - and ending with this one movie here.  It was a pretty epic cinematic moment.  We had the popcorn and the nervous energy going in!

We can't say much here right now, mainly because spoilers are rampant.  We didn't get it spoiled at all, and managed to see the whole thing.  We are somewhat down about a few things, and possibly confused about a few others - that sort of sums up a lot of the world right now, as much of the world has seen this movie.  But on the whole, it was good.  There were some great moments for all the characters, and again, even War Machine, who doesn't exactly have a arcing storyline, other than the fact that the events in "Civil War" were less than kind to him.

It's hard talking about it without getting into specifics, so we'll move on.  Sort of.  It's funny when you get home, and much of your day is already gone because you went to see a three-hour movie with a ton of trailers (some inappropriate, by the way).  But we did get home, and we ate a nice lunch, and the rest of the day was ours to do was we please as well.  We got a few obligatory things out of the way, namely piano practice and French dip.

We went out to get groceries a bit later, stopping by to get a whole lot of bread.  This is for the stage presentation of the miracle tomorrow where Jesus feeds the 5,000.  Actually, again, it's more than 5,000, as for some reason the folks back then didn't think it was important to count the women and children there.  You'd think at least that would be important, as it would certainly increase the number quite a bit.  Anyway, Madison and Daddy went to the Publix and got a few items there, including bread and Orange Vanilla Coke.  The verdict on this new flavor of Coke:  take it or leave it.  It's okay.  Mommy may actually like it better than we do.

Daddy was working on the message today, the one he's speaking tomorrow.  Also, he was working on the "Acting Up" class tomorrow as well, as we can't just go into these things without a plan.  Tonight, we played a game of Mario Party on the Switch, and that was a lot of fun.  Through sheer luck, Daddy won tonight, but everyone playing agreed it was still a lot of fun.

We went to bed early tonight, still thinking about "Endgame," by the way.  It's one of those final movies that gets you in a certain mood, and constantly thinking about things.  I swear no one has ever spent so much time thinking about the Soul Stone before.  Of all the Infinity Stones, that's the one that winds up being the most notorious of all.  Stupid Soul Stone.  We hate you, Soul Stone!

SOUL STONE THEORY: 

I'm posting this a week later, and there are spoilers below.  We'll see if this theory is close to the mark, or just maybe some hopeful fan fiction.  At this point, it seems pretty logical.  But further thinking about the Soul Stone has led me to this alternate theory, which I'm typing out because it's kind of funny to us:

Captain America goes back to just before Black Widow and Hawkeye debate jumping off a cliff, and hands them the Soul Stone that he’s bringing back from the future.  

He says, “Here, use this one.”  He might even explain things a bit.  

Red Skull is kind of ticked, of course.  But the Soul Stone Cap has did cost a soul.  It’s the real deal.  And… that stone will soon be gone when Hawkeye takes off with it to the future.  Black Widow goes with Cap back to the future, just like Gamora.  And they start the cycle again (they use it, giving it to Cap, who afterwards brings it back to Vormir).

Meanwhile the Soul Stone Red Skull is guiding people to is still there, wherever.  Because I don’t remember there being any rule about multiplying Infinity Stones.

Thanos never shows up to Vormir anyway, because instead of going through the events of “Infinity War,” he instead bypasses all that, and time travels to five years into the future, where he gets dusted by Tony Stark.  

That stone waiting for Thanos... it won’t affect the time line at all, wherever it is, so long as it just sits there, unused.  Which you could trust Captain America to make sure of, if he were to hold on to it later.

That’s my theory and I’m sticking with it!  In fact, here's a script that I came up with that sort of explains it:

MUSIC BUILDING.  HAWKEYE has determined that it is he that will sacrifice himself to save half the universe.

HAWKEYE:  (to BLACK WIDOW) “You win.”

HAWKEYE does a leg sweep, knocking BLACK WIDOW to the ground.

HAWKEYE:  “Tell my family I love them.”

HAWKEYE is about to run towards the cliff, to hurl himself off, but BLACK WIDOW knocks HAWKEYE down.

BLACK WIDOW:  (rising) “You tell them yourself.”

BLACK WIDOW stuns HAWKEYE with a blast from her wrists, shocking him.  BLACK WIDOW turns and starts to run towards the cliff.

SUDDENLY, CAPTAIN AMERICA appears in front of her.

BLACK WIDOW: “Wha?"

CAPTAIN AMERICA:  “Hold up.  Don’t jump!”

BLACK WIDOW: (stunned) “What are you doing here?”

CAPTAIN AMERICA holds up the Soul Stone so she can see it.

CAPTAIN AMERICA:  “I got the Soul Stone already.  You can have it.”

RED SKULL:  “Wait just a minute here!  Where did you come from?”

CAPTAIN AMERICA:  (turning to RED SKULL)  “Oh, hello again.  You look great, by the way. Haven’t aged a day.”

HAWKEYE (rising to his feet):  “What the heck is going on?”

RED SKULL:  “Yeah, where’d you get that Soul Stone?  Don’t tell me I’ve been sitting here guiding people to nothing all this time!"

CAPTAIN AMERICA:  “No, no, no.  Yours is down there.  Mine is from the future. It’s like this.  (to BLACK WIDOW and HAWKEYE) You know how you two traveled back in time to get here?”

HAWKEYE and BLACK WIDOW nod.

CAPTAIN AMERICA:  “That’s what I just did again.  I traveled back in time to get here after our last big battle with Thanos.  I'm here just a little bit later.  (To HAWKEYE)  I can’t believe you let her jump, man."

HAWKEYE:  “She zapped me with those electric thingies.  I was about to knock her down with an exploding arrow.”

BLACK WIDOW:  “What?”

RED SKULL:  “It’s true.  I saw it.”

CAPTAIN AMERICA, BLACK WIDOW and HAWKEYE stare at RED SKULL a moment.

RED SKULL:  “Okay, I don’t make the rules.  I’m not entirely sure why people have to jump, or be thrown off a cliff.  I mean, it all seems sort of dated.  Why not get swallowed up by the stone or something a little more like something you’d see in a comic book?"

CAPTAIN AMERICA:  “It doesn’t matter.  Because I have the stone.  And… it’s time to go.”

RED SKULL:  “I am sorry.  The rules are clear:  a soul for a soul.  You can only earn the Soul Stone that way.”

CAPTAIN AMERICA:  “Which… she did.  Remember?  Oh yeah, you don’t.  But you will.  I think.  Or you would have.  Or… well, trust me on this one:  you did.  Black Widow jumped off, and died.  A soul for a soul.”

RED SKULL:  “You can’t just grab a soul stone without some significant sacrifice!”

CAPTAIN AMERICA:  “Why not?  Thanos just did.  And so did Spider-man, and Captain Marvel, and Iron Man, and now me too.  I have the Soul Stone.”

RED SKULL:  “But… but…”

CAPTAIN AMERICA:  “Don’t worry.  You can keep on watching that other Soul Stone down there.  Or guiding people to it, or whatever it is you do around here.”

RED SKULL:  “It’s an important job.”

CAPTAIN AMERICA:  “Yes, sure, whatever.  But the price for that stone down there…well, that's a little high.  So we’ll keep it down there, if you don’t mind."

BLACK WIDOW:  “That’s perfect.  Now I don’t have to waste my life.”

HAWKEYE:  “And it’s even better, because that leaves the stone in place, and the time line won’t be changed.  Because eventually Thanos will come by, and he’ll…”

CAPTAIN AMERICA:  “Oh, that’s rich.  I just thought something funny."

BLACK WIDOW: “What?"

HAWKEYE:  “He was supposed to come by and get the stone, right?  I think he threw Gamora off this cliff, and got the Soul Stone.  Isn’t that what happened?"

CAPTAIN AMERICA:  “Nope.  Not anymore.  He changed that.  Instead of gathering the stones one by one, he skipped all that part.  He knows what you're doing.  He time traveled, and he's about to attack you when you get back with the stones.”

BLACK WIDOW: “Oh, great."

CAPTAIN AMERICA:  “Don’t panic.  He fails.  And now he and his army are dust.  The point is, he actually never comes by here to pick up the Soul Stone."

RED SKULL:  “Now wait just a minute…!”

CAPTAIN:  “Here.  Take it!”

CAPTAIN AMERICA hands SOUL STONE to HAWKEYE.

HAWKEYE:  “Thanks, Cap!  That would have been awful to see her jump off a cliff.  Now we’ve got the Soul Stone, and we can meet up with the others!”

CAPTAIN AMERICA:  "Well, there is one thing.  I need to take Black Widow to my timeline, where you'll see her again, only when I return later on.  It's complicated, but it's exactly how Gamora jumped to the future, so I know it will work for her Black Widow too.  Don't worry - you'll see her again, pretty much in a couple of days really."

BLACK WIDOW:  “So that won't mess anything up?"

CAPTAIN AMERICA:  “Nope.  In my time line, Hawkeye returns alone.  Just like he's about to do.  (to HAWKEYE) You'll have to lie to everyone about Black Widow dying and stuff.  Everyone will be sad, but you know, there's this big battle to think about and all.  We didn't even have time for a funeral or anything.”

BLACK WIDOW:  (a look of accusation towards HAWKEYE) “Not even a funeral?!?"

HAWKEYE:  “Don't look at me like that!  I have no idea what’s going on.”

CAPTAIN:  “Don’t worry.  We win against Thanos.  And after the battle, I come back in time with all these Infinity Stones to put them right back where they came from, in order to restore the time line.  That’s why I’m here.”

RED SKULL: “I wish you weren’t.  It sort of makes my job pointless."

CAPTAIN AMERICA: “Yep.  (to HAWKEYE) I figured I could just hand this to you, and it’ll be gone in a few moments anyway when you time travel back to your future.  No one will know the difference.”

RED SKULL:  “I will!”

BLACK WIDOW:  “No, don’t you see?  Your Soul Stone is still down there, waiting for someone to hurl themselves off a cliff to get to.”

RED SKULL:  “I am so confused.”

HAWKEYE:  “Let’s just go.  We got the Soul Stone!  Is there anything I can do in the battle, any place where I can be to sort of turn the tide?”

CAPTAIN AMERICA:  “Come to think of it, yes!  Definitely.  The gauntlet will work, so relax about that.  Bruce Banner should do the snap thingy.  He’ll survive.  But have him wait to snap when you get back.  Get out of the building as soon as you can, really far.  Then wait.  When you see Thanos and his entire army show up, that’s when it is time to snap.  Have Banner snap them all away, and at the same time snap back all the population that were snapped away five years ago.  Got it?”

HAWKEYE:  “Got it!”

CAPTAIN AMERICA:  “It’s real important, because it will save Tony Stark’s life in your timeline."

HAWKEYE: “Oh, that sounds important.  Thanks, Cap!"

CAPTAIN AMERICA:  “You'll see me again soon, and tell me this all worked after the snap, so I can return all these stones, and then come back to get Black Widow."

RED SKULL:  "What?  Why does he need to do that?  You're taking her right now."

CAPTAIN AMERICA:  "No, he's telling my earlier version to do be sure to come back and get Black Widow.  Which is what I'm doing now."

HAWKEYE:  "I'm on it, Cap!  I'll remind you to come get Black Widow when I get back to the future."

CAPTAIN AMERICA:  "And then after that, you can visit me as an old man.”

BLACK WIDOW: “What?”

CAPTAIN AMERICA:  “Uh... I’ll have to explain that part later.  Just trust me on that one.”

BLACK WIDOW:  “Uh… okay."

HAWKEYE nods, and look ready to get going.

HAWKEYE:  "Cap, I'll see you in as soon as I get back from this crazy world.  And Black Widow,  I'll see you in a few days."

BLACK WIDOW:  “It goes without saying, but..."

BOTH:  "This is nothing like Budapest..."

HAWKEYE:  “See you later!”

HAWKEYE rushes off with Soul Stone.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: (to RED SKULL) “Well, it’s time for me to go too.  Any messages you want me to bring back from the infamous Red Skull?  I’m heading back to the 40’s, you know."

RED SKULL:  “Yes.  Tell them, I wish to be there back on earth again.  I wish it more than anything.  But unfortunately, I had to lose what I love the most.”

BLACK WIDOW:  “Say, isn’t that the very thing you say you have to do in order to actually gain the Soul Stone?”

RED SKULL:  “Ummm… yes?”

BLACK WIDOW:  "So if you gave up the thing you wanted most to get the Soul Stone, how come you don't have the Soul Stone?"

CAPTAIN AMERICA, BLACK WIDOW and RED SKULL stare at each other a moment, RED SKULL clearly trying to work something out in his mind.

CAPTAIN AMERICA:  (abruptly) “See ya!”

CAPTAIN AMERICA and BLACK WIDOW run off.

RED SKULL: “I really hate this job."

Anyway, we read tonight, and we prayed.  And we went to bed early.  We're getting up early tomorrow, as it's a big day, and an exciting one too!