Before Disney owned Marvel, before the Marvel Cinematic Universe, before Captain America and Thor and the Incredible Hulk returned to the big screen, there was an idea. In 2008, director Jon Favreau cast struggling and controversial actor Robert Downey Jr. to play the title role in his upcoming film, “Iron Man.”

Twenty-two movies and three “phases” later, “Avengers: Endgame,” which debuted on April 26, is a powerful, poignant end to one of the most successful and popular sagas in movie history. Directors Anthony Russo and Joe Russo pack the film with intimate moments contrasted with comedic elements and massive CG battles, tying together all of the elements which make Marvel movies well-known.

As a longtime fan of the Marvel movies, I was one of an estimated 100 million fans to see last year’s “Avengers: Infinity War” in theaters, and one of the few to deeply dislike it. As a result, I expected “Avengers: Endgame” to be another exercise in flashy effects and cheap deaths funded by a company that had lost sight of the character focus that made its movies so great.

I was wrong. Granted, the movie has imperfections. At three hours, the longest Marvel movie ever, it’s a major time commitment, and many of the references are too obscure for all but the most hardcore fans. The score is above average but often doesn’t do the events on screen justice.

In spite of these, the movie’s complex exploration of duty, love, loss, heroism, family and sacrifice, coupled with its action-packed final sequence, makes the movie an emotional experience for all the fans who have grown alongside the characters have over the last decade. It’s fan service, which is nonetheless well-written. Fans showed up, resulting in the film earning more than $350 million in North America and $1.2 billion worldwide in its opening weekend.

“Avengers: Endgame” is an emotional movie which kept its tension throughout. It served as a fitting end to the stories of the characters that needed, or wanted, to go, while still keeping the door open to future movies that have been scheduled.

From Stan Lee’s final cameo to the movie’s special credits and a fitting audio tribute to the movie that started it all, “Avengers: Endgame” is an iconic movie that may be the best movie Marvel Studios has ever made. It isn’t perfect, but it far surpasses everyone’s titanic expectations for it: a superheroic act in itself.