Soooo...have you recovered from watching
Avengers: Endgame yet?
We're sure you've been left reeling from the insane finale to the past 10+ years of Marvel Studios movies, but if that ending is bugging you, you'll be glad to know that we're delving into everything that happened to bring you an in-depth explanation - not only of what it all meant, but also how it sets the stage for whatever comes next in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
While this movie has been billed as a finale, Marvel Studios also sets up a lot of future movies and storylines that will either pay off on the big screen or on the Disney+ streaming service.
To check out this recap of
Avengers: Endgame's ending and what it all means for the MCU's future, all you guys have to do is click on the "View List" button below to read the entire article in one go.
Why Iron Man Makes The Ultimate Sacrifice
During the epic final battle, Thanos - from 2014 - arrives in the present day looking to get his hands on the Infinity Stones so he can create a new universe which is perfectly balanced and not one that will suffer from the fallout of half its population going missing.
Iron Man manages to wrestle the gauntlet away from him and snaps his fingers to wipe out not just the Mad Titan but also his entire army, a move which saves both his friends and the entire universe. The strain that puts on Tony kills him, and while some fans have questioned why he would basically kill himself, there's actually a very clear explanation.
During the fight, Doctor Strange tells Tony that they are indeed in the one possible future where they manage to win, and that obviously influences the hero's decision to do what he feels he must to set things right and put an end to Thanos once and for all.
Captain America Fixes The Timeline
In order to avoid the creation of a new, alternate timeline, Steve Rogers travels back in time to return the Infinity Stones (and Mjolnir) to their rightful places. He succeeds in doing so but chooses to travel to World War II and find Peggy in order to live a normal life and get his dance.
The Hulk, Bucky, and Falcon are waiting by the time-travel device for Steve to return but then look into the distance and see that an elderly man has appeared on a nearby bench.
As you know, that is a now very elderly Captain America and it turns out that he got married and lived a long, full life with Peggy. The question is, did that chance the timeline in any way? After all, Peggy was one of the founding members of S.H.I.E.L.D., but would the events of
Agent Carter have ever happened if she was living a happy life with Steve?
The New Captain America
In the comic books, Bucky becomes the new Captain America after Steve Rogers' apparent death, but it's The Falcon who takes over the mantle a number of years later when the Star Spangled Avenger has the Super Soldier serum removed from his veins and reverts to being an old man.
That's the direction the Marvel Cinematic Universe has taken things in, as Steve hands over a repaired version of his shield to Sam Wilson and makes it clear that he wants him to take over the mantle.
It makes sense that he would choose Sam over Bucky, and The Falcon coming to grips with his new role is bound to be the focus of that Disney+ TV series. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say that it will be renamed to
Captain America & Bucky or
Captain America & The Winter Soldier.
Asgardians Of The Galaxy
There have been rumblings of a fourth
Thor movie from Taika Waititi, but it seems as if the God of Thunder will be a little preoccupied with
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 before getting to that. When the movie ends, the past version of Gamora is M.I.A. and Star-Lord's team has a new member who will seemingly bicker with Quill on a constant basis about who the leader is.
That promises to be a lot of fun, as does seeing what James Gunn does with a hero like Thor.
The question is, will the Asgardian keep his new look or return to his usual, ripped self? Marvel Studios could choose to take him in either direction, but now that he's left Valkyrie in charge of New Asgard, it's clear that he wants to head out into the universe and have fun. Of course, that takes him away from The Avengers for a long time as well.
What's Happened To The Time Stone?
One of Doctor Strange's key missions as Sorcerer Supreme is to protect the Time Stone, but that no longer exists. After all, Thanos destroyed all of them so the Eye of Agamotto is no more, and that's bound to have an impact on where things go next for him.
It's also worth noting that Wong was in charge of the Sanctum Sanctorum for the five years Strange was dead and gone, so does that make him the new Sorcerer Supreme or will he happily pass the mantle back to his old friend? There's a lot director Scott Derrickson can do with the character moving forward, and I can easily imagine him struggling to deal with what happened to Tony Stark.
No More Thanos
The Thanos who snapped his fingers at the end of
Avengers: Infinity War is killed off during the first fifteen minutes when Thor cuts off his arm...and then his head.
The 2014 version of the Mad Titan, meanwhile, dies alongside the rest of his army when Iron Man snaps his fingers and turns them all to dust. It's a poetic ending for the villain and one which permanently closes the door on him making another appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
That's a shame, but if there's one issue that's plagued the character in the comics, it's the fact that Thanos has been overused in recent years and watered down as a result. His story ending feels right.
There's No Sign Of The Vision
Heading into
Avengers: Endgame, it's fair to say that most of us imagined the android returning as a greyed out shell with no emotions similar to his comic book counterpart in the
West Coast Avengers series. After all, Shuri performed most of that surgery on him, and we know the android will return in that Disney+ series alongside the Scarlet Witch.
Well, there's no sign of him here and it's safe to assume that he's probably spent the past five years in storage somewhere, especially as he doesn't help out during the final battle.
Iron Man has gone, Bruce Banner spent years working on transforming himself into Professor Hulk, and so perhaps it will be Shuri who is responsible - or even Wanda's magic - for bringing Vision back. Then again, the series may just be set after the events of
Captain America: Civil War...
Stature
By travelling back in time, Earth's Mightiest Heroes managed to bring everyone back from the dead, but the past five years still happened and that means those who have returned will find their loved ones five years older and in very different places in their lives.
In Scott Lang's case, his daughter Cassie is now much older than the last time he saw her and that obviously sets the stage for her to become Stature when a third Ant-Man movie rolls around.
That's something new and exciting to explore, and I'm sure that Hank Pym will have plenty to say about Scott using the Quantum Realm to help Earth's Mightiest Heroes travel through time!
An Alternate Timeline?
Time-travel is a confusing concept so apologies in advance if things get a little convoluted now.
When Steve Rogers travelled back in time to live his life with Peggy Carter, he must have created a new timeline because her life would have played out completely differently as a result of his presence there. It is, of course, possible that things didn't work out for them and he married someone else but that's not exactly a happy ending!
Does that mean everything we see playing out from here takes place in a slightly different timeline, or would Peggy have still helped create S.H.I.E.L.D. while Steve lived a quiet life far removed from all of that? Honestly, this might just be a plot hole that never gets addressed.
Then again, it could also be the start of Marvel introducing a Multiverse with many alternate realities!
The New Avengers
By the time
Avengers: Endgame ends, there are plenty of heroes on Earth but no one left to lead The Avengers. Black Widow - who has clearly been running point for the past five years - is dead, Captain Marvel seems more interested in helping other planets, Steve Rogers is an old man, and Thor has joined the Guardians of the Galaxy.
While Marvel Studios is likely going to give the Avengers franchise a rest for the next few years, there's no way it stays gone and that must mean some New Avengers will assemble down the line.
Who they will be remains to be seen, but there are plenty of possibilities and I can definitely imagine Black Panther leading the team from a base on the West Coast. I guess we'll have to wait and see, but with the New Avengers Facility destroyed and Avengers Tower sold, big changes are coming!
There's No Post-Credits Scene
If you were hoping for a teaser to shed some light on
Spider-Man: Far From Home,
Black Widow, or
The Eternals, guess again. The latter two haven't even started shooting, while the wall-crawler gets an appropriate tease for what comes next when he's reunited with his old pal Ned.
While it's shocking for a Marvel Studios movie to not have a post-credits scene, it seems Endgame chose to forgo one because this is supposed to be an ending, not one big tease for the future. Despite that, there are still some big hints (as you've seen throughout this post) and Phase 4 is going to be quite something...
Continue reading below for a look at what did and didn't work in Avengers: Endgame!
Did Work: The Rules Of Time-Travel, Surprisingly
Time-travel is a confusing concept at the best of times, but
Avengers: Endgame does a good job of establishing some rules that work and aren't overly convoluted. Basically, changing the past doesn't change the future; that past would just become your new future if you stayed there and a different timeline would then be created.
Okay, that admittedly sounds massively confusing! But The Hulk does a great job of explaining it in the movie itself, and I'm now really excited about all the different ways this could be used from here.
While I don't expect time-travel to become a staple of these movies, I would be shocked if it doesn't fact into another adventure somewhere down the line, and the entire concept of creating new timelines and realities is a fascinating one that fans of the comic books will be all too familiar with.
Did Work: Revisiting The Past
Avengers: Endgame revisits the events of
The Avengers,
Guardians of the Galaxy, and
Thor: The Dark World. It also takes us back to the 1970s for a glimpse at that era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
This is fascinating for a number of reasons. For starters, we get to revisit certain movies from different angles and see moments after the camera cut. For example, remember when Loki asked for a drink after being defeated by Earth's Mightiest Heroes? Well, we see what happens next and it's awesome!
Honestly, I can't imagine anyone being dissatisfied with how the Russos handled this.
Did Work: Farewell To Captain America And Iron Man
Alas, with this era of the MCU at an end, we're forced to say goodbye to some beloved fan-favourites.
Iron Man dies using the Infinity Gauntlet to stop Thanos and while it would have been nice to see him get a happy ending, he actually has that before deciding to help his fellow Avengers travel back in time. The fact he sacrifices a happy life to set things right makes sense for his story arc, and he definitely goes out on a strong note.
As for Captain America, he's lucky enough to receive the ending he deserves. Travelling back in time to return the Infinity Stones to their rightful place, Steve Rogers ultimately decides to remain in the past so he can live his life with Peggy Carter. As an old man, he passes his shield on to The Falcon and it's a truly great moment.
Didn't Work: Thanos 2.0
To say this didn't work seems a tad harsh, but the new version of Thanos who is introduced halfway through the movie feels too much like just another standard Marvel villain to me (which is obviously a let down after how layered the character was in
Avengers: Infinity War).
First, let me explain; Thanos is actually killed by Thor fairly early on but when the 2014 version learns of what the heroes are up to, he travels to the present day to get the Infinity Stones and create a new universe in his image.
It's a clever idea, but I think I would have preferred seeing the team face a new threat in the final act rather than reusing Thanos, especially as his story ends in the first act. This is a minor nitpick and he serves his purpose well, but I definitely think there was some room for improvement.
Did Work: Professor Hulk
We don't get to see Bruce Banner's transformation into Professor Hulk as it takes place off screen during that five year time jump, but that doesn't make what follows any less satisfying and fun.
Now the perfect mixture of brawn and brains, the Green Goliath delivers some of the biggest laughs in
Avengers: Endgame and just so happens to be a genuine scene stealer as this Hulk is so different to what we've seen on screen before now. Ruffalo is clearly having fun, and I'm glad he lives to fight another day.
However, with an arm badly injured from using the Gauntlet, who knows what comes next.
Did Work: Some Big Surprises
I've followed
Avengers: Endgame extremely closely over the past year and feel like I know about every toy, rumour, and theory out there. Despite that, I was still surprised by the movie, and it was a smart move by Marvel Studios to keep so much of it under wraps.
There are a lot of cameos from the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe (
find out more about those by clicking here) which I never expected to see, while the Russos deliver a lot of crazy moments I couldn't have ever imagined being brought to the big screen.
It's always nice to be surprised, and there's no getting around the fact it demands multiple viewings because I'm sure there's more to see. Personally, I don't think I'll ever forget the way my jaw dropped when Thor cut off the Mad Titan's head during the first twenty minutes.
Didn't Work: Shortchanged Superheroes
Again, I feel like I'm nitpicking with this complaint but the downside of focusing on the original six Avengers (which is a smart move by the Russo Brothers) is that when those dead characters return, many of them become background extras. That was inevitable and for the best in some respects, but Doctor Strange's screentime is ridiculously short after his importance in
Infinity War.
I guess the aftermath of being dead for five years is something that will be covered in the solo movies of these heroes; glossing over it will be a huge blunder on Marvel's part, that's for sure.
Despite this, I will give the film its due for doing its damnedest to make sure that everyone gets a chance to shine in the final battle - however, I do think we should have visited Wakanda at least once to see how T'Challa's disappearance changed things!
Did Work: Dead Means Dead
While the dusted heroes inevitably return, I have to give Marvel Studios credit for not conveniently bringing back some of the other characters who died. Like Gamora before her, Black Widow makes the ultimate sacrifice on Vormir but The Hulk points out that while he tried to bring her back when he snapped his fingers and used the Gauntlet, he simply could not.
Allowing Earth's Mightiest Heroes to bring back the dead would have been too easy. After all, undoing Thanos' actions is one thing but magically resurrecting the likes of The Vision and Loki would be a lazy move that makes it clear that death doesn't matter in the MCU.
Thankfully, there are still consequences in this world and I'm now far more intrigued to find out if the Loki that escaped from Thor's custody in 2012 is the one we meet in his Disney+ TV series, as well as what comes next for the version of Gamora who hails from 2014 and has none of her dead counterpart's memories.
Did Work: "Avengers...Assemble!"
I'm not going to say too much about this one, but the second Steve Rogers finally says "Avengers...Assemble!" is one you will never forget and a scene I can't wait to watch over and over...and over!
Didn't Work: Captain Marvel's Minor Role
Despite the unnecessary negativity surrounding Brie Larson, she's a fantastic Captain Marvel and pretty much everyone wanted to see more of her in action after her solo outing. Well, while she's present in the first act, the hero has left Earth by the time we jump forward in time and is nowhere to be seen until halfway through the final battle.
Now, she admittedly gets some cool moments to shine there (particularly going head to head with Thanos) but if Ant-Man and War Machine could travel back in time with the original six, why couldn't Carol?
It's almost as if the fact that she's so powerful and hadn't starred in her own movie yet left the Russos unsure of what they should do, but, on the plus side, I think her new costume is amazing as is her hairstyle. We definitely need to see a lot more of both in future movies.