Avengers: Endgame has now arrived in theaters and it's going to be a very interesting few days for fans as they delve into this epic final chapter of the "Infinity Saga." None of Earth's Mightiest Heroes will ever be left the same again after this movie and we're now taking a detailed look at where each of the epic superhero ensemble's leads are left by the time the credits roll.
While we'll have a spoiler-filled breakdown of the movie's plot for you here on CBM a little later today, this article touches specifically on how the stories of characters like Captain America, Thanos, Spider-Man, and more wrap up as we move into Phase 4.
There are definitely some big surprises and the Russo Brothers don't shy away from shaking things up in a lot of very exciting and unexpected ways which either close the door on the stories of certain heroes or kick it wide open for many new and different stories to be told moving forward.
So, to check out this spoiler-filled breakdown, all you guys have to do is hit the "View List" button.
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WARNING: Those of you who share
Endgame spoilers in other articles WILL be banned from CBM]
Captain America
Steve Rogers takes the Infinity Stones back in time to return them to their rightful place and while The Hulk, Falcon, and Bucky all expect him to come back through that same portal seconds later, he's nowhere to be seen. It's then that they look over to a nearby bench and spot an old man sitting there.
It turns out that Steve chose to remain in the past and lived a long, full life and got married. After handing his shield and the Captain America mantle over to someone else (more on that later), a flashback shows Steve finally getting that dance with Peggy Carter.
Iron Man
During the final battle with Thanos and his army, Tony Stark makes the ultimate sacrifice when he wrestles the Infinity Stones away from the Mad Titan and snaps his fingers with the declaration, "I am Iron Man."
Unfortunately, he doesn't survive the toll that using the Stones to put an end to the villain's plans takes and after Spider-Man, War Machine, and Pepper Potts bid him an emotional goodbye (Tony barely responds at this point but seems to recognise his friends), the hero's life ends.
Thor
Deciding that he no longer wants to rule over Asgard, Thor joins the Guardians of the Galaxy (or the "Asgardians of the Galaxy" as he calls them) and proceeds to bicker with Star-Lord over which of them is the team's leader. What that means for both his and the team's respective franchises is hard to say but he definitely feels like a good fit for the group based on the way things wrap up here.
Black Widow
Well, I guess we can now safely say that Black Widow's upcoming spinoff movie will indeed be an origin story. When she and Clint Barton head to Vormir to retrieve the Soul Stone, they learn courtesy of the Red Skull that one of them must make a sacrifice in order for the other to get their hands on that.
They each try to make the leap but it's ultimately Natasha who manages to throw herself off the cliff and, like Gamora before her, her life ends. The movie makes it clear that a resurrection is off the cards too.
Ronin
It's a pretty simple conclusion for Hawkeye as he's reunited with his family after they were dusted during Thanos' initial attack on Earth. There aren't a lot of hints about what comes next for him but we know that the planned Disney+ series will explore him training Kate Bishop as his replacement.
The Hulk
After using the Infinity Gauntlet to bring back the dead, The Hulk's arm is left horribly burned and things wrap up with the Jade Giant - who now has Bruce Banner's intelligence - permanently in that form but with his arm in a sling.
It's not entirely clear whether he'll ever be able to fully recover but there's obviously an awful lot that could be done with this version of the character moving forward so here's hoping the impact the Stones had on him doesn't become a recurring issue.
Captain Marvel
With a new costume, haircut, and sash, Carol Danvers attends Tony Stark's funeral but that's where things end for her. However, considering the fact she spent most of the movie in outer space, it seems as if her future adventures will mostly take place there rather than on Earth.
Ant-Man
Cassie Lang is now five years older than the last time we saw her and clearly ready to become the Young Avenger known as Stature. We'll have to wait and see on that front, of course, but the last time we see Scott Lang, he's spending time with his daughter and Hope Van Dyne, clearly enjoying being reunited with the ones he loves.
Valkyrie
Appointed the new leader of Asgard by Thor, Valkyrie now looks set to rule over "New Asgard" and with the God of Thunder part of the Guardians of the Galaxy now, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if whatever Taika Waititi's
Thor 4 ends up being actually puts the spotlight solely on the female warrior.
Black Panther
We don't learn about what happened to Wakanda in T'Challa's absence but by the time this epic adventure comes to a close, he's back in his home nation and watching over it alongside his mother and sister. Is he still King? That's something which Ryan Coogler will more than likely address in the character's sequel but he's left in a place that gives the filmmaker plenty of creative freedom.
Gamora
Yes, Gamora may be dead but due to
Avengers: Endgame's time-travel shenanigans, the version from 2014 is now in the present. The problem is, she was still working for Thanos at that point in time she was take from and while she quickly realises that her "father" had to be stopped, she has no emotional connection to Star-Lord and the rest of the team.
As a result, she's gone on the run and could be on Earth or in outer space by the time the film ends.
Spider-Man
After attending Tony Stark's funeral, Peter Parker returns to school and is reunited with his old friend, Ned. They embrace, do their patented handshake, and seemingly do their best to return to normality. The next time we see the wall-crawler, he'll obviously be heading overseas on a field trip!
Guardians Of The Galaxy
The Guardians are reunited and while Star-Lord doesn't seem particularly amused by Thor's insistence that he's the team's leader, Rocket, Groot, Drax, Nebula, and Mantis all appear to be loving seeing Quill clash with the God of Thunder.
However, as we learn before Thor boards the ship, Peter seems far more interested in attempting to track down Gamora's whereabouts despite the fact that the woman he fell in love with is obviously dead and gone now.
Loki
Time-travel is confusing at the best of times but what happens in the past doesn't change the future for reasons which are best explained by Bruce Banner in the movie itself.
However, when we return to 2012, a mistake by Tony Stark and Scott Lang sees the imprisoned Loki (who is about to be taken back to Asgard) get his hands on the Tesseract and he teleports to parts unknown with it. Whether that was undone when Steve Rogers went back in time isn't clear but it seems highly likely that the God of Mischief is out there somewhere with that Infinity Stone.
With that in mind, the direction of his Disney+ series may have just become much clearer.
The Falcon
After an emotional reunion with Steve Rogers, The Falcon learns that Captain America - whose shield has been repaired after it was destroyed by Thanos earlier in the movie - wants him to wield that and take over the mantle.
A shocked Sam Wilson accepts the honour as a supportive Bucky watches on and while it would have been good to see "BuckyCap" arrive in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this feels like the right move given the former Winter Soldier's past and we can expect Sam's new role to be explored in the Disney+ series he'll share with Bucky.
Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange doesn't really get an ending as such. He's there at Tony's funeral and presumably the Sorcerer Supreme again despite the fact Wong has been the one watching over the Earth for the past five years. Like Black Panther, the potential is now there for any number of stories to be told with the character and Scott Derrickson would be wise to delve into what impact Tony's death had on him.
Scarlet Witch (And The Vision)
There's no sign of Vision in
Avengers: Endgame (so much for my theory that he would return as an emotionless, greyed out shell like in
West Coast Avengers) but Scarlet Witch is shown mourning for him when the movie ends and we're left to wonder how they'll be reunited in the Disney+ series...unless, of course, that takes place in the past when their romance first started to blossom off screen.
Nick Fury
Nick Fury doesn't really get anything to do here and is simply shown among those attending Iron Man's funeral. On the plus side, we know that his story will continue in
Spider-Man: Far From Home so here's hoping we'll learn more about what he's up to now and how he feels about the way things played out for Earth's Mightiest Heroes during the course of that international adventure.
Thanos #1
It takes no time at all for The Avengers to track down Thanos but after easily overpowering the badly injured Mad Titan, they learn that he's in such a poor state because he used the Infinity Stones to destroy them once and for all so he wouldn't be tempted to unleash their powers again.
Thor then cuts his head off and that's the end for the lead villain of last year's
Avengers: Infinity War.
Thanos #2
You didn't think that was it for the Mad Titan, though, did you?
The 2014 version of Thanos learns what The Avengers are up to thanks to Nebula's brainwaves syncing up with her past self and he then travels forward in time with an army to destroy the team and get his hands on the Stones so he can create a new universe with them. However, after Tony Stark snaps his fingers, the villain - and his forces - are reduced to ash.
This time, The Avengers win.