The Defining Moments of Avengers: Endgame

WARNING! Major spoilers ahead for Avengers: Endgame. We are literally going to spoil the very last moments of the movie in this piece. So, if you are not one of the people that has contributed to its insane box office numbers, consider yourself warned. Beyond this point there are massive Avengers: Endgame spoilers.

Thor “kills” Thanos

Thor begins Avengers: Endgame despondent over his failure to stop Thanos during Infinity War

Picking up after the devastating defeat of Infinity War, our heroes are in a distraught state of mind. Half the universe - people they love - has been wiped out by Thanos and they are not taking it well. Thanks to Tony, who is stuck in space, we know 23 days have passed since the snap. After Captain Marvel saves him and Nebula from their deserted ship and brings them to Earth, they hatch a plan to confront Thanos and try to find a way to reverse his doing. They find his locations thanks to Nebula and realize he is completely alone, no army, nothing. Thanos himself is in a weak state after having used the gauntlet’s power. He is wearing ragged clothes and picking space fruit at his farm which we see at the end of Infinity War. Our heroes waste no time and attack him, pinning him down to try and remove the gauntlet. Unfortunately, it’s seemingly melded to his hand causing Thor to cut it off. Thanos then explains that he used the power of the stones again, but this time to destroy them. He tells our heroes that they’ve lost, and they have to live with that fact - that he is inevitable. In a fit of rage, Thor decapitates Thanos with one quick swing of Stormbreaker, in a pretty dark scene but one that makes sense given how the characters feel in that moment.

5 Years Later…

After Thor pulls the guillotine on Thanos, our heroes as well as us in the audience are left in a place of confusion. What could possibly happen next? The screen ultimately cuts to black and in big white font, one by one, appear the words, “5 Years Later.” Wait… what? We see the aftermath of the snap in effect, causing political turmoil, inspiring monuments to honor those who were dusted, but most importantly how it shapes our heroes. Some are trying to do the best they can with what’s left. Captain America leads group talks with civilians, while Black Widow organizes what remains of the Avengers to defend what's left of life both on Earth and throughout the universe (thanks to Captain Marvel). Not all the heroes are taking it so well. The one hero who seemingly finds a rare solace in the aftermath is Tony, having a daughter with Pepper and starting a family. So it makes sense that when the team arrive and ask for his help, he pushes back, though we all knew Tony would come through in the end.

Time Heist!

Scott’s arrival at Avengers Headquarters sets the team in motion on the Time Heist

When Ant-Man finally escapes the quantum realm and meets up with the rest of the team, he proposes a pretty risky plan. Those rules are extremely grey, so we won't try to explain time travel in Endgame, but it happens and it allows for some epic moments of reflection for both viewers and heroes alike. We go back to key moments from the Marvel Cinematic Universe: New York during Avengers, Asgard during Thor: The Dark World, and Morag/Vorimir during Guardians of the Galaxy. Through this, we get to relive moments from the MCU like the original Avengers circle and also get some interesting interactions with our past and present heroes. Captain America fights his old self, says, “Hail, Hydra” (just like the comics!) to fool what he now knows to be Hydra agents, Tony Stark and Ant-Man almost get the Tesseract, but thanks to old Hulk, Loki takes it and escapes (to his Disney+ series?). Elsewhere, Nebula and War Machine see a dancing Peter Quill on his way to get the Power Stone but stop him short. Thor and Rocket land in Asgard on what Thor realizes is the day his mother will die. The time heist provides a series of great moments to look back as the Marvel movies move forward.

Black Widow’s Sacrifice

The final part of the time heist is retrieving the Soul Stone from Vorimir. As we learned in Infinity War, that isn’t an easy task. Having Clint and Natasha go to retrieve this stone is perfect given their history and because, even if you remember what happens on Vorimir, you have to wonder what sort of trick the movie might pull to allow them to succeed without someone falling to their death. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. After a back and forth fight, it seems like Hawkeye takes the leap just before he’s saved by Natasha, who then sacrifices herself for the mission. This was definitely one of the most shocking moments of the film, as few predicted Black Widow’s death. Hawkeye seemed like a much more likely candidate. But, in hindsight, it makes sense for her story. While at the top, she tells Clint that for the last five years since the snap she has been waiting for a moment to make a difference. The impact her death has on the rest of the team is very powerful, especially later when Bruce says he tried to get her back with his snap.

Cap is Worthy

Captain America attempts to lift Mjolnir in a scene from Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

This was a moment that’s been built up to since Avengers: Age of Ultron. Comic fans know that Cap has wielded Mjolnir, and it was teaser in the party scene during Ultron - but many thought that would be it. Let’s set the scene: Thor and Iron Man are battling it out with Thanos, who gets the upper hand, tosses Iron Man to the side and counters Thor by grabbing Stormbreaker  and slowly driving it towards Thor’s chest. Then, just as you think Thor is a goner, Mjolnir comes flying through the frame, hits Thanos in the back of the head and returns to the hand of - who else but - Captain America. “I knew it!” yells Thor out of, 1) relief he didn’t die, and 2) happiness over the realization Cap is worthy of wielding his famed weapon. If your audience did not erupt into mass hysteria than I feel sorry for you because that moment should solicit the biggest single cheer of the movie. It’s both visual eye candy as the fight with Thanos is legendary, but also a great character moment for Steve.

Avengers, Assemble

While Captain America wielding Mjolnir will produce the loudest cheer in my audience, having all the heroes walk out of portals to Steve finally uttering the words “Avengers, assemble” produced the longest cheer. As they all begin to appear, you get chills and they don't go away until the end of the fight. If you thought the first Avengers, or Civil War or Infinity War portrayed a comic book come to life, this final fight of Endgame blows them away. Almost every character gets a moment to shine: Iron Man and Pepper have an awesome moment, there’sfunny banter between Thor and Cap about the hammer, and Spidey gets a heartwarming embrace with Iron Man in the middle of all the carnage. Captain Marvel comes a little late to the party but makes an entrance for the ages leaving Thanos with his jaw-dropped as his ship is taken out in the blink of an eye. This leads to another incredible scene when all the female heroes come together to take the new Infinity Gauntlet to the time machine. This is the fight to which the infinity saga has been leading. That’s why we don’t hear Cap say the famous words in any other Avengers movie. It wasn’t time yet. This was their last stand and having every major character actually together prompted the phrase as a final hurrah to save humanity

I am Iron Man

Tony Stark reveals his Iron Man identity at the end of 2008’s Iron Man, the movie which began the MCU

The final lines from Tony Stark echoed his final words in the film that started this all: 2008’s Iron Man. Who knew those same words 11 years and 22 movies later would mean so much. As Tony sees Dr. Strange lift one finger, he knows this is his one chance to do what's right. At that moment, when he transfers the infinity stones from Thanos’ hand to his, I believe he is thinking about how far everyone has come. He's thinking about Morgan and Pepper, and even though what he is about to do will kill him, he'd rather live in a world where Morgan knows her dad went out a true hero. Earlier in the movie he could have ignored it all and stayed in the comfortabe reality he knows. Pepper tells him that he could go to bed - but he wouldn’t be able to rest with his decision. In his final moments, as Peter and Pepper rush to his side, she looks down at him and lets him know he can finally rest.

The Dance

Another moment years in the making was the final shot of this 22 movie journey. All Steve Rogers ever wanted was to be with the woman he loved, Peggy Carter. His natural good heart and willingness to sacrifice himself for the greater good forced them apart. At the end of Endgame, however, he has to time travel once again in order to return the infinity stones to the exact location they took them from to make sure those realities remain intact. Cap uses the opportunity to take a slight detour and live the life he never got to experience, with the woman he loves. Seeing him return as an old man is bittersweet. So while he didn't die like many people had predicted, this is the end of the run for Chris Evans as Cap. He does get the chance to pass the mantle on to his good friend Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) aka Falcon. Avengers: Endgame ends with Steve Rogers dancing with Peggy to “It's Been A Long, Long Time” (Harry James and His Orchestra) which perfectly wraps up his story as well as our story having been on this 11 year, 22 film long journey.