Summary
Five years after the release of Marvel Studios’Avengers: Endgame, it’s hard to deny that even the most successful movie in theMCUwasn’t without its own problems.Avengers: Endgamepremiered in April 2019 as the penultimate project of theMCU’s Infinity Saga, but is regarded as the true ending of the Saga.Endgamewrapped up the last eleven years of stories in a dramatic, emotional, and intense adventure for the surviving Avengers. However, this doesn’t mean it didn’t include its own awkward moments, introduce strange character choices, and have a problematic impact on the MCU going forward.
Directing duo the Russo brothers did a fantastic job at bringing the arc of theoriginal Avengers teamto a close inAvengers: Endgame, deserving the movie’s whopping $2.799 billion total at the global box office. AsMarvel Studios' highest-grossing movieand, for a time, the highest-grossing movie of all time,Avengers: Endgameis considered by many to be the peak of the MCU.Despite its enormous success and cathartic storyline, there are several harsh realities that viewers must come to terms with when rewatchingAvengers: Endgamefive years after its initial release.
10 Major Realizations I Had Rewatching Avengers: Endgame
Avengers: Endgame remains a critical point in the MCU’s timeline, but rewatching the movie precipitates several interesting realizations.
10There Are A LOT Of Plot Holes In Avengers: Endgame
Avengers: Endgame Didn’t Pay Enough Attention To Continuity & Common Sense
In a project as massive asAvengers: Endgame, it’s no wonder that some continuity errors weren’t caught by Marvel Studios.This created a huge number of plot holes in the movie, some of which are pretty hard to ignore. Most of these were confined toAvengers: Endgame’sepic final battlebetween Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and the Mad Titan, Thanos, including the destruction and rebuilding of Captain America’s shield, the appearance of two Ant-Men on the battlefield, and the fact that Pepper Potts knew how to pilot the Rescue suit without having any prior practice.
It didn’t make sense that Doctor Strange and the Masters of the Mystic Arts could create portals for everyone to joinEndgame’sfinal fight, when there’d been no sign of this being an option duringAvengers: Infinity War. The Ancient One’s discussion of the Infinity Stones with Bruce Banner was also confusing, particularly given the fact that theInfinity Stones were removed from the MCU’s main timeline, and nothing catastrophic has yet happened as a consequence.These plot holes didn’t necessarily detract fromEndgame’sstoryline, but they still created some annoying moments.
Avengers: Endgame - Every Plot Hole & Mistake In The Final Battle
As satisfying as Avengers: Endgame was as the Infinity Saga’s ending, the film’s third-act battle features a string of plot holes and mistakes.
9Black Widow Died Before Her First MCU Solo Movie
Natasha Romanoff’s Black Widow Received Her First Solo Movie In 2021
Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff was one of the MCU’s original heroes, introduced way back in 2010’sIron Man 2. Despite this,she was sidelined repeatedly throughout the Infinity Saga, and the biggest tragedy of this was delivered inAvengers: Endgame. During the Time Heist, Romanoff’s Black Widow sacrificed herself to allow Clint Barton to acquire the Soul Stone. This removed apowerful female hero from the MCUbefore she had received the focus she deserved.
Johansson did reprise the role in her first MCU solo film, but this was only released afterAvengers: Endgame. It’s disputed whether 2021’sBlack Widowgave Romanoff the true send-off she was owed, as it became more of a team-up movie with her surrogate family, rather than an investigation into who she actually was as a character and superhero. It seemsBlack Widow’s journey in the MCUis over, once and for all, meaningAvengers: Endgamemarked her bitter end after several prominent insults.
Scarlett Johansson is working with Marvel Studios on a secret upcoming project, but this is as a producer, and she is not expected to return as Black Widow.
8Every Multiverse Saga Project Has Been Compared To Endgame’s Huge Success
Avengers: Endgame Is The MCU’s Most Successful Movie Ever
Avengers: Endgameset a new and incredibly high standard for the MCU, as the magnitude, production value, and character progression of the Phase 3 movie was immense. In the short term, this was brilliant, but subsequent Marvel Studios projects may have suffered fromEndgame’shuge success.Some viewers compared every new project being delivered in Phase 4 toEndgame, meaning it seemed as though the quality and impact of these stories was less than, which had a detrimental impact on their performance.
Several other MCU projects have suffered under the weight of audience expectations followingEndgame.
Marvel Studios' movies and TV shows that have been released sinceAvengers: Endgamehave been some of theMCU’s most divisive and polarizing installments. Movies such asEternals, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,The Marvelsand several other MCU projects have suffered under the weight of audience expectations followingEndgame. However,it seems the MCU may be building up to something as spectacular asEndgameonce again, so hopes are beginning to rise.
7Avengers: Endgame Made A Joke Of Thor’s Depression
Thor’s Mental Health Struggles Weren’t Handled Correctly In Avengers: Endgame
One of the most poignant and important storylines inAvengers: Endgamewas the exploration of Thor’s troubled mental state. Thor failed to eliminate Thanos inAvengers: Infinity War, meaning he blamed himself for the eradication of half the universe’s population. This culminated in Thor experiencing huge grief and depression, leading to his alcoholism and weight gain. Unfortunately, instead of taking a more serious approach with this powerful storyline,Endgamemade Thor into a parody character, which was disappointing.
Endgamedid include several moments of importance for Thor’s mental health journey, most notably when he realizes he is still worthy when he acquires Mjolnir from Asgard during the Time Heist. However, in the five years sinceEndgame, Marvel Studios has completely ignored this era of Thor’s story, as2022’sThor: Love and Thunderreverted Thor to his muscular build, and seemed to remove any semblance of his depression whatsoever. It would have been great to see Thor changed by his experiences inInfinity WarandEndgame, but this didn’t really occur.
How Chris Hemsworth’s Fat Thor Transformation Was Pulled Off In Endgame
One of the most surprising aspects of Avengers: Endgame is the debut of Fat Thor. Here’s how Chris Hemsworth’s transformation was pulled off.
6Recent Villains Have Found It Hard To Fill Thanos' Shoes
Thanos Is The MCU’s Most Captivating Villain
After being set up with brief appearances in a number of previous MCU projects,Avengers: Infinity WarandEndgamefeatured the culmination ofThanos' universe-threatening plans. The Mad Titan was a significant and terrifying threat throughout the Infinity Saga, and was only defeated inEndgamethanks to the sacrifice of several prominent heroes. In the years since,Marvel Studios has made attempts to introduce the next primary antagonist of the MCU, but Thanos left big shoes to fill, which has made this process difficult.
Jonathan Majors' debuted asKang the Conqueror and his villainous variantsin the Multiverse Saga, but his recent controversies have shed doubt on the future of the multiversal villain in the MCU. There were also criticisms that Marvel Studios rushed into introducing Kang, as the first variant, He Who Remains, had a prominent role in 2021’sLokiseason 1, whereas Thanos only had small appearances beforeInfinity War.Other villains may have debuted who could match Thanos, but it’s unclear exactly what Marvel Studios' upcoming plans are.
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Guardians of the Galaxy
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Appeared in 7 Episodes
5Marvel Tried Too Hard To Set Up A Female Superhero Team
Avengers: Endgame’s A-Force Tease Was Awkward
One of the most awkward moments inAvengers: Endgame’sfinal battle was theteased formation of a live-action A-Force team. While it was great to see the formidable female heroes of the MCU band together to help Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel, this moment made very little sense in the narrative, and, unfortunately, came across as not much more than pandering to fans who had criticized Marvel Studios for not focusing on its women.It would be wonderful to see an all-female superhero team in the MCU, but only if there is actually an explanation.
Marvel Comics' A-Force team first formed during 2015’sSecret Warsevent, so it would perhaps make more sense for the team to form in theMCU’sAvengers: Secret Wars. Having a few female heroes stride across the battlefield to help Captain Marvel, who likely didn’t actually need their help, had very little impact, andit’s a shame that Marvel Studios hasn’t tried to redeem itself from this moment. There is still the possibility for this to happen in the MCU’s future, however.
Marvel Studios has introduced several new female heroes in the Multiverse Saga, making a possible A-Force team even more exciting, as this could include the likes of She-Hulk, Monica Rambeau, Shuri’s Black Panther, the Scarlet Scarab and Sylvie, among many others.
4Bruce Banner’s Smart Hulk Transformation Was A Controversial Choice
Bruce Banner Merged His Human & Hulk Personas During The Five-Year-Long Blip
Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner, a.k.a. the Hulk, is one of the MCU’s most-transformed characters, as he has gone from mindless monster in 2008’sThe Incredible Hulkto the so-called Smart Hulk in more recent stories.This evolution has been a gradual process, all except for one jump inAvengers: Endgame, which saw Banner suddenly reintroduced as Smart Hulk with very little explanation. This was a hugely controversial change for the character, that many havecriticized for “nerfing” the Hulk, weakening to better fit the story.
Bruce Banner merged his human and Hulk personas during the five-year-long Blip with the help of Tony Stark, but this process has only been mentioned, and not actually seen on-screen. This made the debut of theSmart Hulk inAvengers: Endgamevery jarring, and has spurred hopes that the original, savage version of the Hulk will return in the MCU’s future. TheSmart Hulk has given Ruffalo more opportunity to showcase his acting range as the Hulk, but it was perhaps more interesting to watch him battle with the duality of his character, rather than being as one.
3The Status Of The Avengers Has Been Uncertain Since Endgame
There Hasn’t Been An Avengers Movie Since Avengers: Endgame
Currently, rewatching theInfinity Saga’sAvengersmovies, includingEndgame, is the only opportunity to catch up with the MCU’s Avengers team, as Marvel Studios has left the status of the superhero group unclear in the Multiverse Saga.Endgameis the last place the Avengers appeared as a cohesive team, asMarvel Studios has foregone the typical Phase-endingAvengersprojects in favor of having twoAvengersevents conclude the entire Multiverse Saga. This is a strange choice, given thatAvengersmovies have been some of the most profitable and popular installments in the MCU.
By the timeAvengers 5releases, assuming there haven’t been any more major delays, it will have been seven years sinceAvengers: Endgame. This is a huge amount of time to wait betweenAvengersprojects, whenAvengers: Age of Ultronreleased three years afterThe Avengers, andInfinity Warthree years afterAge of Ultron. TheAvengers are presumably inactive in the MCU’s current timeline, which opens the Earth up to all kinds of dangers, but hasn’t really been addressed at all.
MCU Phase 4 & 5’s Lack Of Avengers Movies Repeats An Infinity Saga Mistake
The Avengers' absence between the events of Endgame and Kang Dynasty means that Earth’s Mightiest Heroes aren’t really a superhero team anymore.
2Marvel Has Been Without Some Of Its Biggest Heroes Since Endgame
Endgame Removed Iron Man, Captain America & Black Widow From The MCU
As well as avoiding producing anyAvengersmovies for Phases 4 and 5, Marvel Studios has also failed to appropriately set up replacements for some of theMCU’s biggest heroes who were lost duringAvengers: Endgame.Endgamemarked the end of the road for Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark, Chris Evans' Steve Rogers, and Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff, andthe removal of these prominent heroes has left a huge void in the MCU. Iron Man and Captain America led the Infinity Saga, but the Multiverse Saga has been at a loss.
Marvel Studios needs to fill the gap left byEndgame’semotional deaths soon.
A number of possible replacements have been introduced, but Marvel Studios hasn’t given them enough focus to accurately call them the MCU’s new “big heroes”.Downey Jr., Evans, and Johansson were huge draws for the MCU, but without them, the franchise seems to be floundering a little. There has been speculation regardingTony Stark and Steve Rogers' returns to the MCU, but no confirmation, so Marvel Studios needs to fill the gap left byEndgame’semotional deaths soon.
1Avengers: Endgame’s Storyline Still Feels Unfinished
Several Of Endgame’s Loose Ends Haven’t Been Addressed
WhileAvengers: Endgamedid a solid job of wrapping up several long-running storylines from the Infinity Saga, the movie actually created many of its own loose ends that still haven’t been addressed. These most prominently focus on Steve Rogers, as hisjourney to return the Infinity Stonesto their respective timelines still hasn’t been explored. On top of this,Rogers' return as an old man at the end ofEndgamehasn’t been explained, and his happy ending with Peggy Carter provides the opportunity for his story to continue.
The introduction of Morgan Stark inAvengers: Endgamemay have also debuted the perfect legacy character for Tony Stark, but she hasn’t yet returned to the MCU. Ty Simpkins' Harley Keener also returned inEndgame, following his debut inIron Man 3, but this was seemingly for no reason. Thefive-year-long Blip has barely been touched onby Marvel Studios, despite calls for this period to be explored. Due to this, there are huge gaps in the MCU timeline, meaningAvengers: Endgamemay raise more questions than it answers.
