Avengers: Endgame is bringing together 10 years of storytelling - across 22 Marvel Studios blockbusters - in just a few weeks' time. Sure, there will be more movies after this, with Spider-Man: Far From Home coming out this summer (what are they going to do, not make money?), but this, is in its own way, the end of an era.
Seeing as the plot of this movie is such a big deal to fans, Marvel's marketing has had to hold a lot back. Basically, they know that they're getting butts in seats (probably beating Avengers: Infinity War's $2 billion box office total in the process), so they only need to give us a few glimpses of what we're going to get to keep us hyped for this latest instalment.
Part of this ramp-up in the marketing has led to an extensive list of character posters being released. With some characters blacked out (the ones that bit the dust in Infinity War) and some in full colour (the survivors), people have already gone a little crazy over the new images.
There were even some revelations - such as the confirmation that Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie is alive, and will likely turn up to lend a hand to the team in their time of need.
While most fans were happy with the posters, one detail has come to light in the days since those promotions first landed. Instagram user @katieantoniou recently posted a photo of several of the main players, comparing the female characters with their male counterparts.
She suggested that the women have had their images airbrushed, while the men are left in their natural state. "I love The Avengers…. But these photos have made me so mad. Spot the difference," she wrote.
“Women: literally no facial lines- foreheads completely airbrushed. Men: every single one (even the gods/aliens/people who don’t physically age) you can see lines on their foreheads. And there’s about a dozen more characters I haven’t included, all the same. What’s the deal Marvel Studio?”
While there are definitely some users who left angry comments claiming she was over-reacting, others joined were on her side of the argument. "That has really pissed me off," @archieandtherug wrote. "You're so very right!!" @_bettyandrews added.
Meanwhile, however, some argued that it was more about the facial expressions the male actors were making, or, as usually happens in internet debates, others called the original poster an attention seeker.
The practice of airbrushing photos of women more often than men has been criticised in the past. Jameela Jamil, the Good Place actress, activist and creator of the 'I Weigh' campaign, has been outspoken about the prevalence of this disproportionate attitude in the entertainment and beauty industries.
Recently, Marina Diamandis (best known as Marina & the Diamonds) called out one designer for photoshopping her legs to look like "literal sticks" when they posted a photo of her onto Instagram, calling it "internalised misogyny in full action".
