Gel Jose

An immersive coffee experience at Starbucks Reserve Roastery, Seattle

Seattle, WA is the birthplace of Starbucks. My love affair with this coffee brand is well-known among my nears-and-dears (and well-documented on this blog, too!)

Well, on my second visit to the Evergreen State, this time with my family in tow, I made sure to drop by the mecca for coffee lovers right here in Seattle: the Starbucks Reserve Roastery.

Located just nine blocks from Starbucks’ original store near the Pike Place Market, it is one of the largest Starbucks outlets in the world, occupying 15,000 square feet of space, all dedicated to the company’s pursuit of coffee innovations.

Here, visitors can look forward to a unique and immersive combination of coffee experiences, such as witnessing the on-site brewing of rare Starbucks Reserve coffees, tasting an ever-evolving beverage menu, watching, tasting and learning eight distinct coffee preparation methods, perusing an expansive library of coffee-related tomes, and chatting with a staff of Certified Starbucks Coffee Masters who simply love talking about their craft.

The experience starts in the Main Bar where you can order your cup of choice or allow the Coffee Masters to recommend a perfect handcrafted drink for you, made with the store’s freshly roasted, rare coffee beans.

Here, the kids and I enjoyed 12oz glasses of Cold Brew Malt, a treat from my bro. This drink is a thick malted milkshake made with Starbucks’ cold brew coffee spindle-blended with Mora’s vanilla ice cream and chocolate bitters.

Bro-in-law, on the other hand, a Matcha Teavana Tea Latte, one of the store’s non-coffee drinks.

Next, at the Scooping Bar, a Coffee Master can advise you on which Starbucks Reserve coffee best suits your taste and you can take home a freshly scooped bag.

At the Handpicked at the Roastery, your inner Starbucks fan can truly come out and play. With a plethora of carefully curated merchandise from Starbucks’ artisan partners, from coffee-brewing equipment from all over the world, coffeeware ranging from quaint-kitschy to posh and wearables that proudly announce your love for coffee, you can take a piece of Starbucks home with you.

At the Mixology Bar, get a shot or two of signature cocktails and spirit-free drinks inspired by Starbucks Reserve coffee and Teavana teas. I’ll probably return here – sans the little one – for a more spirited coffee experience.

Starbucks partnered with Rocco Princi to bring a taste of the Spirito di Milano to its customers. At Princi, you can treat yourself to artisan breads, freshly baked pastries and pizzas, as well as delectable desserts which are best enjoyed with your cup of Starbucks Reserve coffee.

Want to get lost in your own coffee story? Head on to the Experience Bar where you can go on themed coffee tasting flights, guided tours by Starbucks’ Coffee Masters where exploratory brew methods and immersive storytelling will only deepen your love for your favorite brews.

For a bookworm like me, the Coffee Library is a destination in itself. Climb up the steps so you can pore over 200-plus books dedicated to coffee. It also offers a great view of the entire roasting operation.

A trip to the Starbucks Reserve Roastery is always a worthwhile activity for coffee lovers who find themselves in Seattle. I plan to return before my trip ends to have a more leisurely journey across the bars and stations.

This Starbucks Reserve Roastery is located at 1124 Pike Street, Seattle, WA, 98101, open daily from 7am to 11pm. For more details, call (206)624-0173 or visit www.starbucksreserve.com.

Check out my previous posts on Starbucks:

Check out the other restos I’ve tried in the Washington state area:

Morning Sweets from Top Pot Doughnuts, Bothell

This morning, bro decided to rush over to the Bothell branch of Top Pot Doughnuts for our breakfast.

Top Pot Doughnuts is one of Seattle’s homegrown coffee and doughnut shops. It came about in a small brick storefront in north Capitol Hill, and now boasts of several branches in Washington and Texas.

The store’s interiors blend the vintage aesthetic with a cozy feel, a nice and quiet place to enjoy your morning sweets.

If, however, you feel like munching on your doughnuts while enjoying the brisk morning air and the beginnings of the day’s sunshine, head on outdoors.

Today, however, bro had the doughnuts to-go, so a dozen of these freshly-made treats were waiting for us when we came down for breakfast.

The ones I was able to taste include:

Raspberry Bismark Filled Doughnut. A decadent doughnut plump and heavy because it’s filled to bursting with raspberry filling.

Salted Caramel Old-Fashioned Doughnut. One of Top Pot Doughnuts most popular variants, this doughnut is crumbly on the outside and moist on the inside, which sets off its salted caramel topping quite nicely.

Pink Icing Feather Boa Doughnut. One of the store’s signature cake doughnuts, this has the exotic combination of sweet pink icing and coconut shavings.

These lovely treats were a sweet start to the day!

And here’s a cute bit of trivia for you: Top Pot got its name from an old, rusty vintage neon sign that the owners bought from a boarded-up Chinese restaurant named “Topspot.” After years in storage before being repaired, the “S” fell off, leaving the words “Top Pot.” They decided to adopt this name, as a way of blending the old with the new.

This Top Pot Doughnuts branch is located at 18001 Bothell Everett Highway, Bothell, WA 98012, open weekdays from 6am to 6pm and weekends from 7am to 6pm. For inquiries, call 206-631-2061.

Other branches are located at:

609 Summit Ave E, Seattle, WA 98102 (Tel: 206-323-7841)
2124 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98121 (Tel: 206-728-1966)
6855 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115 (Tel: 206-525-1966)
325 West Galer, Seattle, WA 98119 (Tel: 206-631-2120)
10600 NE 9th Place, Bellevue, WA 98004 (Tel: 425-457-7440)
1235 Maple Street, Issaquah, WA 98027 (Tel: 425-270-6161)
720 Third Ave, Seattle, WA 98104 (Tel: 206-454-3694)
1416 NW 46th Street, Seattle, WA 98107 (Tel: 206-454-3767)
590 Terry Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109 (Tel: 206-995-8296)
16095 Cleveland St, Redmond, WA 98052 (Tel: 425-497-8002)
815 N 10th Street #F, Renton, WA 98057 (Tel: 425-291-7483)
1206 Madison Street, Seattle, WA 98104 (Tel: 206-708-7244)
888 Western Avenue Suite E, Seattle, WA 98104 (Tel: 206-466-1729)
11701 97th Lane NE, Kirkland, WA 98034 (Tel: 425-307-1540)
2758 Alki Avenue SW, Seattle, WA 98116 (Tel: 206-466-6839)
101 Stewart Street, Seattle, WA 98101 (Tel: 206-269-5066)
2724 N Proctor Street, Tacoma, WA 98407 (Tel: 253-433-3852)
150 Sunset Ave S, Edmonds, WA 98020 (Tel: 425-582-2579)

For more details, visit www.toppotdoughnuts.com.

Check out the other restos I’ve tried in the Washington state area:

Ramen dinner at Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, Bellevue

I’ve been going through my #RamenPhase for several years now and it shows no sign of abating.

And why should it?

Slurping on some tasty, steaming-hot ramen is one of the most comforting things to do, specially on a chilly spring evening in the first week of my family’s visit to the Pacific Northwest.

That night, we ventured out to the beautiful city of Bellevue for dinner after a round of malling. From the mall, we walked across the Bellevue Downtown Park to the local branch of Hokkaido Ramen Santouka to enjoy the crisp spring air and to work up our appetites.

This ramen restaurant is quite familiar to us as it has several outlets in the Metro Manila. It has become one of go-to ramen places because of its tasty ramen and katsu dishes that fave become family favorites.

The restaurant was founded in Asahikawa, Hokkaido in Japan by Hitoshi Hatanaka when he produced the tonkotsu (pork bone) soup, the flavorful base of the restaurant’s ramen dishes. The soup is made by hand in all of the chain’s outlets in Japan and abroad; the process involves simmering the pork bones for twenty hours, then adding in vegetables, dried fish, kelp and other savory ingredients as well as seasonings, resulting in a mild but tasty broth. Hokkaido Ramen Santouka’s bowls are also specially made, with a specific thickness that slows the cooling down of the broth, allowing diners to enjoy their ramen in steaming-hot soup for as long as possible.

Upon arriving, we entered our name in the tablet provided so that we can be part of the wait list, one of the innovations that we haven’t yet encountered back home.

The place was cozy and frenetic with activity, from new customers being ushered in and the orders and requests being called out.

For tonight’s meal, our group got for ourselves several orders of our favorites:

Shio Ramen. The restaurant’s signature dish featuring a milky white salt-based broth, firm hand-pulled noodles, slices of marinated chashu pork belly and more.

Neginanban Ramen. The resto’s spiciest ramen variant topped with chashu, fried onions, onions and jalapenos.

Karamiso Ramen. A miso-based ramen with bit of red chilis to spice it up.

Tonkatsu. Deep-fried pork cutlet covered in crispy panko breadcrumbs and served with a tangy katsu sauce.

With our ramen and katsu orders, we also availed of sides such as the aji-tama (soft-boiled egg marinated in a soy-based sauce) and gyoza (pan-fried dumplings filled with minced pork).

With our dinner at Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, the fam was able to enjoy some of the flavors we love back home right here in Bellevue.

This Hokkaido Ramen Santouka branch is located at 103 Bellevue Way, NE, Suite 3, Bellevue, WA 98004, open daily from 11am to 9pm. For inquiries or reservations, call +1 425 4620141.

For more details, visit www.santouka-usa.com.

Check out the other restos I’ve tried in the Washington State area:

Ice Cream Time at Diamond Knot, Mukilteo

One afternoon, after sightseeing at the Mukilteo Lighthouse Park, my bro treated the fam to ice cream at the nearby Diamond Knot Brewery and Alehouse.

Diamond Knot first made a name for itself for its craft beers made by the company founders Bob Maphet and Brian Sollenberger. It was named after the cargo ship the Diamond Knot which was wrecked in 1947 and is now a renowned dive sites in the Pacific Northwest. The company serves as a tribute by the founders – both of whom are avid divers – to the salvage crew of the original Diamond Knot, for their perseverance; they aimed to replicate the tenacity of salvage crew in their own struggles in educating the local market about craft beer.

For our late afternoon sweet treat, the focus was on the hand-scooped ice cream that can be ordered to-go through one of the restaurant’s windows, which include:

Huckleberry. Smooth and creamy ice cream that features the sweet and tart taste of local huckleberries.

Chocolate Chip Mint. The rich sweetness of chocolate chips mixed into a fresh minty ice cream.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. A yummy ice cream mixed with chocolate chips and bits of cookie dough.

These yummy frozen treats are priced USD3 for single scoop and USD5.5 for double scoops, with additional USD0.5 for a sugar cone and USD1 for a waffle cone.

These frozen goodies were just the right treats for the fam to enjoy on that beautiful sunny afternoon.

Diamond Knot Brewery and Alehouse is located at 621 Front Street, Mukilteo, WA 98275, open weekdays from 10am to 1am and weekends from 8am to 1am. For inquiries, call (425) 5128080.

For more details, visit www.diamondknot.com.

Check out the other restos I’ve tried in the Washington State area:

Breakfast Takeout at 85C Bakery Cafe, Lynnwood

Yesterday, the second day of our family in the Evergreen State, my brother took us to his favorite pastry shop, 85C Bakery Cafe.

85C got its name from its belief that coffee holds its flavor best at a steady temperature of 85 degrees Celsius. Its name is a statement of the cafe’s commitment to serving handcrafted coffee of the highest quality.

Each 85C store has its own in-shop bakery with a wide variety of pastries baked fresh every hour.

These pastries were the reason for our visit yesterday afternoon: the plan was to buy some of the store’s freshly baked goods for our breakfast the next day. Our loot included:

Milk Toast (USD3.00). A loaf with a fresh and natural milk taste.

Taro Puff Pastry (USD2.50). This puff pastry is light, flaky, and layered with delicious taro filling inside.

Milk Pudding (USD2.00). A traditional Japanese style soft bread with vanilla custard inside.

Garlic Cheese (USD2.00). A soft textured bread topped with our signature garlic spread, mozzarella cheese, and sprinkled with fresh parsley.

Cheese Dog (USD2.20). Soft bread wrapped around a hot dog, with cheddar & mozzarella cheese. Baked with ketchup, light mayo, black pepper and dry parsley.

Marble Taro (USD3.00). A sweet bread made with mixed grains and filled with signature taro filling.

This morning, I had the Milk Pudding and Taro Puff Pastry for my meal while I was enjoying the crisp morning air.

While it would be optimal to consume the pastries as soon as bought but they still tasted great with my morning coffee this morning.

This 85C Bakery Cafe outlet is located at 18700A 33rd Avenue W Lynnwood, WA 98037. For inquiries, call (425) 6722885.

Another outlet may be found at 501 S Jackson Street, Seattle, WA 98104.

For more details, visit www.85cbakerycafe.com.

Dimsum time at Jade Garden, International District, Seattle

Touchdown Seattle!

After three years, I’m back in the Evergreen State for a much-needed and well-deserved (if I do say so myself) vacay! And even better, I’ve got the whole fam with me in this US adventure.

And being Jellybeans (see what I did there?), the family’s vacay will not be complete without some food trips here there.

So which Seattle establishment did the brood try on our first few hours in the city?

Well, my bro treated us to one of his favorite Chinese dimsum haunts: Jade Garden in the International District.

Having stepped out of the airport quite late last night, we were lucky that this restaurant was still open. It’s a small casual dining Chinese restaurant where, for a relatively large party such as ours, the food is served on the lazy susan on the lazy susan on top of the table. Hot tea was also provided while we waited for our orders.

Our meal consisted of:

Minced Beef Soup Westlake Style. Traditionally, soup is served last during a Chinese meal but we requested that it be served first. This soup is made of tofu, minced beef, thinly slice shiitake mushrooms and coriander in a steaming hot starchy broth. Quite a wonderful way to warm our tummies this chilly spring evening!

Salted Fish and Chicken Fried Rice. A flavorful rice dish that complemented the viands we ordered. Did you know that the earliest record of fried rice appeared in the Sui dynasty? Stir-frying rice in garlic and soy sauce with meat and vegetables was thought to be a way to re-use leftovers from previous meals into a new hot dish.

Mongolian Beef. Strips of tender beef sauteed in a mildly spicy (as we requested) sauce of onions and chilis.

Fish Fillet with Roast Pork Hot Pot. One of the resto’s off-menu daily specials, it has quite a lot of everything: fish, pork, tofu, mushroom and veggies.

Deep-fried Stuffed Shrimp Tofu. A variation of Hubby’s favorite crispy-on-the-outside, creamy-on-the-inside battered tofu dish, this one has a plump piece of shrimp that adds to the flavor and texture of the dish.

Steamed Pork Siumai, Steamed Shrimp and Scallop Dumplings and Steamed Pork Buns. These steamed dimsum fare are quite familiar to us since they have counterparts back home.

The food was served promptly by friendly and helpful wait staff. The servings are quite large and we had some leftovers which we heated up for an unusual yet still tasty breakfast the next day.

All in all, it was a nice welcoming meal for the fam!

Jade Garden is located at 424 7th Avenue South, International District, Seattle 98104, open Mondays to Thursdays from 9am to 2.30am, Fridays to Saturdays from 9am to 3.30am and Sundays from 9am to 1am. For inquiries and reservations, call +1 206 6228181.

For more details, visit www.jadegardenseattle.com.

Take a sip of summer at Jack’s Lemonade, Ayala Malls Feliz

If the sweltering heat outside is any indication, then we are all caught in the claws of midsummer.

That’s no reason to let your body (and your temper) overheat, however.

Oh, what to do?

Cool your body and your spirit with the refreshing and invigorating drinks from Jack’s Lemonade. Fortunately, there’s a stall nearby at Ayala Malls Feliz which features the store’s newest Rose Blossom flavors which are based on rose tea.

Rose tea is brewed from dried whole rose blossoms or rose petals. This tea variant has Middle Eastern origins but has grown in popularity in many parts of the world. Its known health benefits include its use as a treatment for menstrual discomfort and sleep disorders, improving mood, digestion and respiration, as well as bolstering the immune system.

Add it to the freshly squeezed lemon juice at Jack’s Lemonade and you’ve got yourself a tasty and healthy drink!

I got myself a nice big cup of Creamy Rose Lemonade (Php150), whipped up by adding rose tea and lemon juice to condensed milk and powdered milk in a blender then pouring the mixture into ice with some fruit-flavored poppers. There are bursts of tangy fruitiness and rich sweetness in every refreshing sip!

So cool your jets and take time off for a well-deserved lemonade break by checking out your nearest Jack’s Lemonade branch.

This Jack’s Lemonade stall is located at Food Choices, Fourth Floor, Ayala Malls Feliz, Dela Paz, Pasig City.

Other branches may be found at:

Ground Floor, Trinoma Mall, Bagong Pag-Asa, Quezon City
Cinema Area, Third Floor, UP Town Center, Katipunan Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City
Level 6, Shangri-La Plaza, Ortigas, Mandaluyong City
Third Floor, Glorietta 2, Ayala Center, Glorietta Complex, Makati City
Fourth Floor, Market! Market!, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City

Second Floor, Market! Market!, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City

Disclosure: This drink is sponsored by Jack’s Lemonade through gift certificates I received prior to the visit.

Check out my previous posts about Jack’s Lemonade and its sister store Jelly G Milk Tea:

Refreshing lemon drinks at Jack’s Lemonade, UP Town Center Healthy Thai Milk Tea at Jelly G, UP Town Center

Immerse yourself in the world of Westeros at the SKY Alive at SM MOA until April 28

If your weekly dose of Game of Thrones episodes is not enough to fill your craving for your favorite TV show, why not enjoy your favorite scenes and characters in the flesh at the SKY Alive Tour at SM Mall of Asia Atrium.

Envisioned by SKY as a way to bring its exciting shows to life for its subscribers, the SKY Alive Tour, organized in cooperation with SKY’s channel partners, has been spotted in various malls throughout the country since 2015. This current SKY Alive Tour ongoing until April 28, is organized together with HBO, as part of the activities to promote the final season of the mega-hit TV series Game of Thrones. The show is slated to air its final episode on May 20.

At the SKY Alive Tour, attendees can look forward to Game of Thrones-inspired activities and attractions which include:

Riding the Dragon.

A GOT Pop Quiz.

Playing the Game of Faces.

Sitting on the Iron Throne.

Here, attendees will be serenaded with GOT tunes by the 4G String Quartet. They can also interact with cosplayers of GOT characters.

So head on to the SM MOA Atrium and immerse yourself in the World of Westeros.

New episodes of the eighth and final season of GAME OF THRONES will air in Asia same time as the U.S. every Monday at 9am, with a same day encore at 10pm, exclusively on HBO GO and HBO (SKYcable ch 54 SD | 168 HD in Metro Manila).

Based on the popular book series “A Song of Ice and Fire,” by George R.R. Martin, this hit Emmy®-winning fantasy series chronicles an epic struggle for power in a vast and violent kingdom. Members of the ensemble cast for the seventh season included Emmy® and Golden Globe winner Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Aidan Gillen, Kit Harington, Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams. Season seven credits: executive producers, David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Carolyn Strauss, Frank Doelger, Bernadette Caulfield; co-executive producers, Bryan Cogman, Guymon Casady, Vince Gerardis, George R.R. Martin.

HBO GO is HBO’s online streaming service that gives subscribers a chance to watch and enjoy the world’s best movies, HBO Originals and more through the website or the mobile app. Subscription to the app also gives SKY subscribers free access to cable channels – HBO Hits, HBO Family, and HBO Signature. To register your SKY account and subscribe to HBO GO, visit mysky.com.ph/hbogo.

Disclosure: I work for SKY and part of my job is promoting its products and services, especially the content it provides to its subscribers. I consider being able to share my love for TV shows and movies and the experience of watching and talking about them with like-minded people some of the biggest perks of my job.

Video Credits: SKYcable on Youtube

Photo Credits: Gail Dupalco of SKY for the pictures of cosplayers and the 4G string quartet.

All other images are mine.

Check out my other recent posts on Game of Thrones:

SKY treats subscribers to exclusive Game of Thrones events

Sisig your heart out at Sisig Society, Fisher Mall

The Sisig. (bow)

It is a traditional Kapampangan dish made from parts of pig head and chicken liver – the livestock parts that are normally left behind by mainstream diners. Well, at least before this dish became popular.

It is a testament to the Pinoy cook’s ingenuity that meat from seemingly unpalatable animal are made into a savory and scrumptious dish.

Sisig Society – the establishment behind the cheekily controversial sisig lip balm – has made it its mission to proclaim the glories of this dish beyond the token inclusion in a Filipino restaurant’s menu.

To this end, the resto has crafted several ways to enjoy sisig which my officemates and I were able to sample during one of lunchtime forays using the GCs I received from Sisig Society. These sisig meals are served sizzling, together with rice, egg and sinigang soup.

These include:

Classic Pork (Php179 for solo | Php275 for sharing). The sisig that’s dear and familiar, with tender pork cheeks, crunchy bits of chicharon, caramelized onions and flavored with Sisig Society’s secret sauce.

Bacon and Cheese Chicken (Php179 for solo | Php275 for sharing). Chicken bits cooked sisig-style together with bacon pieces, sprinkled with grated cheese and a cheddar cheese sauce. Cheese, for me, is always a good bet; however, I found this dish just a tad too salty for me.

Suman Turon Ala Mode (Php89). The classic rice delicacies wrapped in lumpia wrapper, fried to a crisp golden brown, drizzled with mango puree then topped with a dollop of vanilla ice cream. This sweet treat is a great counter-balance for the salty-savory sisig variants we tried.

So the next time you have a craving for sisig, why don’t you drop by your nearest Sisig Society branch and get a taste of the dish from the resto that knows and loves it best?

This Sisig Society branch is located at Third Floor, Fisher Mall, Quezon Avenue, Del Monte. Quezon City, open daily from 10am to 11pm. For inquiries, call +63 908 4693015.

Other outlets are located at:

East Capitol Drive, Kapitolyo, Pasig City
Food Gallery, Third Floor, Ali Mall, Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City
Ground Floor, Ayala Malls Marikina, Liwasang Kalayaan, Marikina Heights, Marikina City
Unit 12, The Fort Strip, 28th Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
Ground Floor, One World Square, Ma

East Capitol Drive, Kapitolyo, Pasig City

Food Gallery, Third Floor, Ali Mall, Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City,

Calle Bistro, Ground Floor, Ever Gotesco Mall, Commonwealth Avenue, Old Balara, Quezon City

Ground Floor, One World Square, McKinley Hill, Taguig

Third Floor, Circuit Lane, Ayala Malls Circuit, Olympia, Makati

Ground Floor, Dela Rosa Carpark 2, Legaspi Village, Makati

Ground Floor, Fisher Mall, Navotas-Caloocan Junction, Longos, Malabon City

Disclosure: Part of this meal is sponsored by Sisig Society through gift certificates I received prior to the visit. The remaining balance of the bill was paid for.

Notable character developments leading to the Avengers: Endgame

Seven years after Earth’s mightiest heroes assembled in one epic movie in Avengers, band together again against another global threat in Avengers: Age of Ultron and were then left to face the aftermath of The Decimation at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, many of the team’s character arcs may be considered completed by the conclusion of Avengers: Endgame.

With this, I thought a review of characters’ initial appearances and growth over the course of the franchise quite fitting.

Warning: This post may contain spoilers on previous MCU movies, but no spoilers about Endgame. I promise.

So here’s what the original Avengers have gone through so far:

Clint Barton aka Hawkeye

Played by Jeremy Renner

During his first appearance in Thor, he was a wise-cracking deadshot agent of SHIELD. In his later appearances, we learned that he was the one who decided against eliminating Black Widow and recruited her as a fellow SHIELD agent instead. Their shared adventures and strong bond outside the Avengers include the “Budapest Incident” and Nat’s familiarity with Clint’s wife and children.

Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow

Played by Scarlett Johanson

Nat has certainly come a long way from her first outing as Black Widow in Iron Man 2 as a SHIELD operative under cover as Pepper Potts’ stunningly gorgeous assistant. Her kick-ass fighting ability was apparent from the get-go, but we got glimpses of her dark past such as her training as an assassin in the Red Room, her loyalty to Nick Fury and Steve Rogers as they revealed Hydra’s infiltration of SHIELD, as well as her budding romance with Bruce Banner which was cut short when Hulk decided against returning to the fold after the events of Age of Ultron.

Bruce Banner aka The Hulk

Played by Mark Ruffalo

The Hulk’s origin stories were told in teo movies that came prior to the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, played on-screen by Eric Bana and Edward Norton, respectively. Throughout the movie franchise, Banner’s disdain for his alter-ego is apparent, referring to the Hulk as “the other guy,” and always seeking ways to suppress him. After serving as a gladiator in Sakaar, helping in the Battle of Asgard in Thor: Ragnarok, he was soundly defeated by Thanos at the start of Infinity War, owing to Thanos’ possession of the Power Stone. The Hulk has since then refused to join the fray in succeeding battles, explained by the Russo brothers as stemming from his resentment of Bruce Banner, and how he is disdained despite always being called upon the save the day.

Thor

Played by Chris Hemsworth

The favored son of the Norse god Odin Allfather, Thor has experienced epic losses in the course of the films such as the death of his mother in Thor: The Dark World, the death of his father and the destruction of his home Asgard in Thor: Ragnarok, and the death of his adoptive brother Loki at the start of Infinity War. Throughout the franchise, he has displayed his earnestness and tenacity; despite being left for dead by Thanos, he pursued the forging of a weapon capable of defeating the Mad Titan.

Steve Rogers aka Captain America

Played by Chris Evans

Considered the First Avenger, Steve is the “man out of time.” Woken up from decades of cryostasis into modern times, his struggle is to find his place in today’s world after losing most of the people from his past.

Tony Stark aka Iron Man

Played by Robert Downey, Jr.

The man who started the MCU, Tony Stark dealt with his father’s death and legacy, the consequences of his billion-dollar empire built on weapons manufacturing and his self-assumed responsibility to protect the Earth from all possible threats.

I’ve just gotten home from watching the movie and I can say that it ended well. To avoid spoiling it for those who haven’t watched it yet, I won’t write about how these character arcs played out in Endgame. Instead, I’ll update this post after a week, which will also give me some time to digest the experience.

For over a decade, the Avengers have been a part of my life, taking me along on their adventures and letting me peek into their family. For me, the Avengers saga is not just superhero movies: it is comprised of stories about love, family, friendship, sacrifice and hope.

I’m happy to be alive at a time when a movie based on comic books can have such an impact, not just on pop culture, but on me personally as well.

Relive the adventures of the Avengers by streaming the MCU movies on your mobile device. Join Amazon Prime, to have unlimited access to shows and movies which include:

Avengers

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Avengers: Infinity War

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