Last weekend Avengers: Endgame rampaged through multiplexes like an angry Hulk as it smashed its way to a record-breaking box office take. Now that everyone has seen the film it’s time to talk spoilers. This final entry in Marvel’s initial Avengers saga features enough surprises to easily double this list. But we went with quality over quantity, and we will touch on Avengers: Endgame’s eight biggest spoilers and why they matter.
If you haven’t seen the film and don’t want it spoiled stop reading right now. No, I mean it… stop reading right now. Ok, you asked for it. Thor: Ragnarok fan favourite Korg makes a cameo. Consider yourself warned!
Avengers: Endgame spoilers start now.
1 A — The Avengers defeat Thanos in the first 20 minutes
MCU fans spent the last year waiting for an Avengers versus Thanos rematch and Endgame delivers it much sooner than expected. Twenty minutes into the movie, the remaining Avengers use the Infinity Gauntlet’s energy signature to track down Thanos who is now all about simple life. In a scene that looks like if Terrence Malick directed a Green Lantern movie, we find a hobbled Thanos living in a quaint little hut and picking fruit in a field. He’s banged up, and not at 100%, and the Avengers get the jump on him and take him down.
1 B — The Avengers kill Thanos in the first act
The Avengers learn Thanos destroyed the Infinity Stones with a second snap, so Thor loses his cool and lops off his head with Stormbreaker. It’s a callback to when Thor almost kills Thanos at the end of Infinity War, and Thanos tells him, “Next time aim for the head.”
Why it matters:
Great films subvert expectations. And Avengers: Endgame starts the story by zigging when you’re ready for some zags. Most impressive is how Marvel kept the plot secret for the past year. There weren’t any major leaks, and the trailers were exceptional at not revealing the film’s major plot points. We may have expected that the snap would be undone, but the way Endgame reaches its epic conclusion makes for quite a ride.
2 — There’s a five-year time jump
With The Mad Titan dead and the Infinity Gauntlet wiped out of existence, the world puts their past behind them and attempt to move on. And move on is just what they do. A heart-breaking title card appears to tell us that Endgame’s timeline picks up five years after the snap.
Why it matters:
Thanos won the Infinity War. Even if our heroes manage to undo the snap, they must still live with the trauma of their grand defeat. What’s most shocking is how much Endgame makes our heroes suffer. The five-year time jump means they had plenty of time to ruminate over Thanos’ victory. Thor morphs into an out-of-shape alcoholic, Tony becomes a family man, and Hawkeye becomes a Punisher-like vigilante.
3 — A trip through memory lane
Scott’s travels through the quantum realm teach him that time travel exists. With this knowledge, Tony and Bruce figure out how to travel into the past. The Avengers then put together an elaborate plan to go back to numerous points in time and steal the Infinity Stones.
Why it matters:
The Avengers jump into several periods in the past where they know they can find the Infinity Stones. Lucky for viewers, these points are spread throughout previous Marvel movies. We re-visit scenes from The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World, Doctor Strange, Guardians, and Infinity War. These flashbacks work as fan service. Each one feels like love letters to the characters while reminding us all how far the MCU has come.
4 — Black Widow Dies
Endgame takes us back to Vormir, the planet where Thanos sacrifices Gamora for the Soul Stone. Once again, a sacrifice is required to take possession of the stone. Natasha and Clint arrive to claim the stone and both Avengers are willing to die for their cause. Clint’s soul is heavy after losing his family, and he’s spent the last several years going all Death Wish on the criminal underworld. But Natasha refuses to let him be the one to die. They begin an acrobatic fight to the finish with Natasha taking one for the team and plunging to her death. Afterwards, a heart-broken Clint returns with the Soul Stone.
Why it matters:
Natasha is one of the OG Avengers. Like Hawkeye, her past still haunts her, and her sacrifice is the price she pays for all the lives she claimed. It looks like poor old Bruce will never get that date we all expected.
Black Widow’s death also stands out because there is a Black Widow flick coming down the pipeline. There are a few roads for Marvel to go down with the character. One, the film is a prequel. Two, they bring Natasha back from the dead. And three, a new character takes on the Black Widow mantle. Speaking of follow-ups, Disney is producing a Hawkeye TV series. And it looks like Natasha’s death and his five-year killing spree will loom large over the character.
5 — Captain America wields Mjölnir
With time travel in play in this story, all bets are off regarding plot continuity. When Thor returns to Asgard (during the Thor: The Dark World period) to snatch the Infinity Stone, he also steals his old hammer Mjölnir. It was destroyed by his sister Hela in Thor: Ragnarok. But this time travel loophole doesn’t only work in the Avengers favour. Thanos from the year 2014 discovers the Avengers plan and time jumps into their present. He once again whoops the Avengers ass and the battle comes down to Thanos and Steve. In one of the movie’s best Holy S#it! moments, Steve grabs Mjölnir, calls on some lightning strikes and pummels Thanos’ big purple ass.
Why it matters:
Captain America grabbing Thor’s hammer is a fun callback to the scene in Avengers: Age of Ultron when Steve is the only Avenger who comes close to lifting Mjölnir.
6 — Tony Stark Dies
During the film’s giant climax, when the earth’s mightiest heroes are down and out, Tony pulls a fast one on Thanos and steals the Infinity Gauntlet. And as he snaps Thanos and his army out of existence, the power surge ravages his body leaving him on death’s doorstep. He has a few moments to say goodbyes to Pepper and Peter before dying a hero.
Why it matters:
We all knew that Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, and the rest of the Avengers can’t play these roles forever. And Endgame finds the best way to say goodbye to the character. Tony’s big moment isn’t defeating Thanos, though. It happens earlier when he travels back to 1970 and runs into his father, Howard Stark.
Watch the film a second time and look at the joy in Tony’s eye when he gets to tell his father about his daughter. You can see Downey Jr. giving the scene his all. It’s a moment that heals Tony’s daddy issues and gives his emotional journey closure. You can call Endgame a silly, CGI-fuelled, superhero flick, but that moment between Tony and Howard is truly beautiful – and hits even harder the second time you watch Endgame.
7 —Steve Rogers rides off into the sunset
The film’s directors the Russo brothers once again defy expectations by not killing Steve at the end of the story. After the dust clears from defeating Thanos, Steve brings the Infinity Stones (and Mjölnir) back to the points in time where they were taken from. But… he never returns from the mission. While trying to bring Steve back with their time machine, Bucky and Sam notice an old man sitting on the bench behind them.
After delivering the final Infinity Stone, Steve decides not to return to the present. Instead, he settles down in the 1950s with the love of his life, Peggy Carter. And he lives what we assume is a normal life to a ripe old age of… Really old.
Why it matters:
Tony Stark kicked off the MCU, but Steve Rogers remained its heart and soul. Even before Steve received his super abilities, he was someone who would give his life for others. Steve’s ultimate sacrifice came at the end of Captain America: The First Avenger when he crashes his plane into the ocean and gets frozen in ice.
In what may be the MCU’s biggest tear-jerker moment, as Steve is about to crash his plane down in the water, he promises Peggy a rain check for a dance. Even in a universe featuring alien invaders, Norse gods, and a giant green brute, nobody expected that dance to happen. Seeing Steve and Peggy happy together sharing an embrace is the perfect way to close out the Avengers series. Its only fitting to see the MCU’s ultimate hero ride off into the sunset.
8 – There is no post-credits scene
Avengers: Endgame closes out with a very long credits sequence. Most MCU films have a mid-credits and post-credits scene, but not Endgame. Not really.
If you stay to the very end of the credits you hear a hammer striking iron. This noise comes from the original Iron Man movie when Tony found himself trapped in a cave and built his Iron Man Mach 01 suit of armour to escape.