What can we learn from the Avengers: Endgame?

The Avengers: Endgame is the final part of an epic story that was told across 22 movies in 11 years. When Marvel started this project called the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), they had a lot of people criticizing and doubting them. They didn't have the licence to more popular characters like Spiderman which they had sold to Sony, and X-Men and the Fantastic Four which they had sold to 20th Century Fox. They were only left with their B-grade characters - like Iron Man & Thor. Even so, it was not smooth sailing in the beginning. They started the story with Iron Man in 2008, and immediately in Iron Man 2 one of the characters (Rhodey aka Iron Patriot) had to be replaced with another actor (Don Cheadle), because the original actor (Terrence Howard) wanted more money for his role. Edward Norton, who played the Incredible Hulk in his solo movie, also did not continue and needed to be replaced. Some of the early movies received a lot of negative comments ie. too boring, too serious, too slow.

So even though the first few movies of the MCU did well commercially, they didn't really hit massive success until the release of the first Avengers movie in 2012, which was the SIXTH movie in the MCU and FOUR years after the first Iron Man was released. This was the first time they got the formula right, which they improved on in future movies. There's a good story, decent acting, some comedy, a lot of action, which caused more and more people to invest their time (and money) in the characters & stories, until they reached the Endgame.

Who could have imagined that a such a long term & massive project like this could succeed in an industry that reboots their movies every decade, or create prequels or sequels that the public didn't ask for? Other companies with more recognizable characters like Superman & Batman also couldn't even succeed at their level. Twenty-two movies, eleven years, 19.8 billion dollars made in the global box office. It is an absolutely monumental artistic & business achievement.

I hope we can learn from this success from a business standpoint as well. You start with a dream of what you want to achieve, and even though in the beginning there's people doubting or criticizing you, its important to focus on the long term goal and keep taking the right actions. Maybe there is some problems when you start, but if you focus on the right purpose, definitely you will hit the right formula to succeed. For every Marvel movie I've seen, it really feels as if the creators were genuinely & sincerely wanting to tell a good story - which is what making movies is all about. By doing so, they continue to appeal to a massive group of people that is not comic book fans or know a lot about the superhero world, like me. In the end, they were able to tell the ultimate story, created a generation of new fans, and made a lot of money in the process.

For yourself, let me ask these 2 questions: What will be your Endgame moment, and how will you get there?

IDHAM IDRIS is a director of Wealth Vantage Advisory, a financial firm licensed by Securities Commission (CMSL), Bank Negara Malaysia (FA), and Federation of Investment Managers Malaysia (CUTA & CPRA). Their vision is to be the firm of choice by clients and financial advisors, leading the change in the industry by focusing on the right way of doing things. Visit wealthvantage.com.myto find out more.