Avengers: Infinity War - 9 Reasons It's The Most Important Marvel Movie Yet

5. It Marks The Beginning Of The End For The MCU As We Know It

While we now know that Infinity War didn't come to symbolise a passing of the torch as some had suspected, with the responsibility now falling to the still untitled Avengers 4, it has set those events in motion in a considered and thoughtful way.

Anthony and Joe Russo's film represents the closing of one chapter and the opening of another. Old staples depart, narratives are resolved, and there's a genuine sense of finality to most characters' respective journeys. Important to note, however, is that when the 'snap' did come, it wasn't the universe's older heroes who gave way, but rather their younger proteges instead.

Spider-Man, Black Panther, Falcon and Bucky - the characters often considered to represent the future of this franchise - all pass away in the snap in heartbreaking fashion, and with Strange having likely ceded the time stone to Thanos in order to realise the one potential future where they could beat him, it gears the Marvel old-guard up for one last desperate rescue - one that'll likely see Captain America, Iron Man and more all absent the spotlight for one last time, leaving behind a legacy that'll inspire a whole new generation of heroes in phases four, five, and perhaps even beyond.

It's a long and painful goodbye, but Infinity War has set in motion the biggest change this universe has ever seen. That in itself is uniquely devastating, but it also intimates the film's role in smashing the status-quo and in laying the foundations for the next stage of the MCU.