Avengers: Endgame has now officially released in theaters and provided viewers with a highly-anticipated, emotional conclusion to the epic story which began over ten years ago when Tony Stark announced to the world, “I am Iron Man.”
Since Iron Man launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe back in 2008, fans have gotten the chance to see Earth’s Mightiest Heroes assemble to take on all sorts of threats and challenges, but no adversary compared to Thanos and his all-powerful Infinity Gauntlet. Our beloved Avengers suffered from their first real loss in last year’s Infinity War and watched helplessly as the Mad Titan’s iconic snap caused teammates, friends and loved ones across the galaxy to vanish into ash. Thankfully, Endgame gave the surviving heroes one last chance to make things right and vanquish their greatest foe once and for all.
The three-hour-long blockbuster yet again brought together countless of the franchise’s biggest stars and most unforgettable characters, and provided fans with a nostalgic walk down memory lane as the last Avengers standing traveled through time and relived some of their greatest hits in an attempt to assemble their own Infinity Gauntlet. Endgame had nearly everything audiences could have hoped for, and even casual MCU-enthusiasts should go into theaters expecting to shed more than a few tears. Unfortunately, the brilliance of the film doesn’t quite negate some of the glaring questions and plotholes it left in our minds when the credits started rolling. Here are 30 Unresolved Mysteries And Plotholes That Endgame Leaves Hanging.
THE CONFUSING RULES OF TIME TRAVEL
Some of the Avengers assumed that time travel could work in the same way as it did in Back to the Future, where they could just alter the past to change their present. Bruce Banner quickly shut that mindset down by explaining that it’s impossible to change the present by messing with the past.
Bruce’s explanation of the limits of time travel made sense, but at the end of the film, Captain America changes his whole history by going back in time and living a normal life with Peggy Carter. Instead of this decision creating an alternate timeline, old man Cap appears in the Endgame timeline to let his friends know he’s okay. He clearly changed the present by changing the past, breaking the supposed laws of time travel.
STEVE RETIRED FAR TOO EASILY
After Captain America returned the Infinity Stones to their rightful times and places, he and Peggy shared the dance he promised her several decades ago and got married. It was nice to discover that Steve was able to live the peaceful life Tony Stark had always encouraged him to seek out, but it didn’t quite make sense.
Apparently, Steve just sat at home doing nothing during events like the Battle of New York, the HYDRA infiltration of SHIELD, and the Battle of Wakanda. Sure, intervening in these events or preventing them from happening supposedly would have simply created new timelines and not affected the one he came from, but it’s hard to believe Cap could just stand by as people were losing their lives.
IS LOKI STILL ALIVE IN SOME NEW TIMELINE?
During Tony Stark and Scott Lang’s mission to retrieve the Tesseract, the incredibly powerful weapon fell out of the case it was held in and slid right over to Loki. The God of Mischief then picked it up and used it to escape, forcing Tony and Steve to try to obtain the Space Stone from some other time and place.
Endgame just glossed over this monumental plot point and left Loki’s fate completely unresolved. If he managed to evade capture by the Avengers following the Battle of New York, there may be some alternate timeline in which the fan-favorite villain is still alive.
THE FATE OF PEGGY CARTER’S HUSBAND
In a documentary briefly shown in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, fans discovered that Peggy Carter eventually moved on from Steve Rogers and married a man Cap had once saved from a HYDRA blockade. She apparently went on to live a happy life with this mystery man, but when Steve used the Quantum Realm to go back and reunite with his soulmate, he changed everything.
Steve’s major timeline alteration surely pleased fans who wanted to see him and Peggy get their happy ending, but it stripped Peggy’s husband of his own happy ending. That’s not particularly fair or in character for Captain America.
WHAT HAPPENED TO PETER’S CLASSMATES?
When Bruce Banner used the Avengers’ Infinity Gauntlet to bring back all those who lost their lives after Thanos’ snap, they were revived the same age they were when they disappeared. The half of civilization who survived the snap, however, aged normally during the five years between Infinity War and Endgame.
This raises some serious questions for Spider-Man: Far From Home. Half of Peter’s classmates should have survived the snap, and should thus now be much older than him. Either Ned, MJ, and other confirmed students from the upcoming film were all snapped and thus remain Peter’s age, or Marvel is just hoping fans don’t notice this major plot hole.
PEPPER MASTERED HER RESCUE ARMOR INSTANTLY
Pepper Potts briefly donned Iron Man armor in Iron Man 3, but Tony never had a chance to teach her the ins and outs of how to properly master the technology. She apparently didn’t need his help, though, because when she hopped in her anniversary present Rescue armor in Endgame, she seemed like more of a natural than Tony himself.
Even Tony took several tries to figure out how to use his Iron Man suit, but Pepper instantly picked up how to use her own suit and was a huge help in the Avengers’ massive war against Thanos and his forces. It was awesome to see her fight alongside her soulmate, but she was a bit too good at it.
THE FATE OF STAR-LORD AND GAMORA
Even though Star-Lord and Gamora never made their relationship official, they repeated in Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 that there was “some unspoken thing” between them and finally confessed their love for each other in Avengers: Infinity War. A time-displaced Gamora survived the events of Endgame and will help the character live on in the MCU, but it’s possible she’ll never fall for Peter Quill now.
Gamora and Quill’s shared experiences in the Guardians films helped bring them together and fall for each other, but this Gamora doesn’t have those memories. She harbors no feelings for Star-Lord, so the fate of their relationship is a complete mystery.
HAVE WE SEEN THE LAST OF THE RED SKULL?
Avengers: Endgame seemingly put an end to the decade-long Infinity Stone saga, but according to the film’s directors, one character may still be in pursuit of the cosmic singularities. When answering fan questions on Twitter, the Russo Brothers stated that “Red Skull is free to leave Vormir and he is also free to pursue his desire for an Infinity Stone.”
Johann Schmidt was forced to protect Soul Stone for decades, but when Thanos acquired it, the former HYDRA leader was apparently relieved of his duties. Will he find some way to return to Earth, and will he follow in the Mad Titan’s footsteps and try to assemble all the Stones?
BUCKY SEEMED TO KNOW ABOUT OLD MAN CAP
When Captain America didn’t instantly return from his mission to return the Infinity Stones to the past, Sam Wilson angrily demanded Bruce to bring his friend back. Bucky, meanwhile, stayed perfectly calm and seemed to know exactly what Steve was up to. He spotted an old man sitting on a bench nearby and knowingly advised Sam to go talk to him.
Sam was shocked to discover that the old man was Steve, and that he purposely chose to stay in the past and live a normal life. Steve offered Sam his shield, and when Sam turned back to Bucky for advice, Bucky again seemed to know just what was going on and nodded his head. Bucky was Steve’s best friend, but no friends know each other that well.
KATHERINE LANGFORD’S MYSTERY CHARACTER
When 13 Reason Why’s Katherine Langford was reportedly cast in Endgame last October, fans speculated about who she could possibly play in the star-studded film. Most comic book experts assumed she’d play Kate Bishop, the young archer who would go on to take the mantle of Hawkeye, but her role was never officially revealed to the public.
Langford’s fans were quick to notice after watching the film, however, that she doesn’t seem to appear in it at all. When questioned about this on Instagram, Langford cryptically replied “…,” adding to the mystery of whether or not the rumors of her involvement were ever true.
ARE BRUCE BANNER AND HULK PERMANENTLY MERGED?
Bruce Banner and his giant green alter-ego never seemed to be on the best terms with one another. The Hulk often got angry whenever someone mentioned Bruce’s name or seemed to prefer “puny Banner,” and refused to help Bruce fight for most of Infinity War. Bruce, meanwhile, viewed the Hulk as a liability and didn’t fully trust him.
That’s why it was very surprising to discover in Endgame that Bruce purposefully merged with Hulk so he could have the monster’s strength while maintaining his own intelligence. He stayed in this bizarre form throughout the entire film, and never made it clear whether or not he’s permanently green and massive now.
NEBULA CHOSE THE GUARDIANS OVER GAMORA
The time-displaced Gamora can’t recall her future self’s adventures with the Guardians of the Galaxy, so instead of joining her supposed friends on Star-Lord’s ship at the end of Endgame, she seemingly chose to go off on her own to try to figure out her life now that Thanos is out of the picture. That makes total sense, but Nebula’s presence with the Guardians in that final scene definitely doesn’t.
Nebula’s only real connection with the Guardians was through her sister, and it seems weird that she’d choose to accompany them instead of Gamora. Especially since Gamora needed her, to alleviate some of the confusion time travel forced upon her.
WHO CAN TOUCH AN INFINITY STONE?
In Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel, viewers were led to believe that mere mortals cannot touch an Infinity Stone without practically exploding, and that Peter Quill was only able to briefly hold the Power Stone because he was half-Celestial and because his friends helped absorb some of its power. Yet, for some reason, Clint Barton had no problems holding the Soul Stone in the palm of his hands on Vormir.
Clint wasn’t the only non-cosmic being to directly touch an Infinity Stone in Endgame, but he was definitely the most normal person to pull off the supposedly-impossible feat. Clearly, the Russo Brothers didn’t mind bending the rules a bit to help the Avengers assemble their Gauntlet.
COULD AN A-FORCE MOVIE BE IN THE WORKS?
When Spider-Man handed the new Infinity Gauntlet off to Captain Marvel, he told her that he didn’t know how she could possibly make it through Thanos’ forces alone. His concerns were instantly proven unnecessary, though, because nearly all of the MCU’s female heroes appeared by Carol Danvers’ side to prove that she wasn’t going to have to fight solo after all.
Seeing Rescue, Okoye, Shuri, Valkyrie, Scarlet Witch, Gamora, Nebula, Mantis and Captain Marvel working as a nearly-unstoppable unit made it seem like an all-female A-Force movie would definitely be possible. Based on the success of Captain Marvel and the demand for a Black Widow film, it’s likely that an A-Force film would be a massive hit for Marvel.
WILL THERE EVER BE ANOTHER AVENGERS FILM?
Even though Avengers: Endgame felt like the perfect end to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the MCU will undoubtedly continue to live on for years to come. We haven’t seen the last of characters like Spider-Man, Doctor Strange and Black Panther, but it’s highly unlikely Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. will suit up as Captain America and Iron Man ever again.
It’s hard to imagine an Avengers film without those two leading Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and while some Avengers will continue to exist individually, Marvel hasn’t hinted that another Avengers crossover will ever happen.
WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THE WANDAVISION TV SERIES?
Disney’s upcoming subscription service Disney+ will include a number of original Marvel television shows, and one of them is reportedly going to be titled WandaVision and star Scarlet Witch and the Vision. Elizabeth Olsen told Variety that it may be set “in the ’50s,” which brings up a variety of questions which Endgame certainly didn’t help answer.
Neither Wanda nor Vision were alive in the ’50s, so it can’t be a flashback series, and Vision’s passing at Thanos’ hands in Infinity War was never undone in Endgame. It’s unclear how Wanda will bring her android lover back to life, and while we now know that time travel is possible in the MCU, we’re not sure why the couple would relocate to that particular decade.
IS THOR OFFICIALLY A GUARDIAN NOW?
After Thor handed the theoretical crown of New Asgard over to Valkyrie at the end of Endgame, he left his people in order to discover his true destiny. The God of Thunder soon found himself aboard Star-Lord’s spacecraft, engaging in some witty banter with Peter Quill about who was going to be in charge of the ship.
Thor has great chemistry with the space adventurers, and it seemed like the Asgardian planned on staying with the Guardians indefinitely. Does that mean he’ll be a part of Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3, if that film happens?
WILL FALCON TAKE THE MANTLE OF CAPTAIN AMERICA?
When Sam Wilson told old man Steve Rogers that he’d be bummed living in a world without Captain America, Steve offered his friend his shield and implied that he wanted Falcon to take on his heroic mantle. Sam was reluctant at first, but after some encouragement from Bucky, eventually accepted the offer.
Disney+ reportedly plans on releasing a Falcon & Winter Soldier television series, and that name suggests that Sam will keep his initial superhero name instead of becoming the next Captain America. Will he ever take on the mantle, or will he simply be a shield-wielding Falcon?
HOW DID CAPTAIN MARVEL FIND TONY?
Following their loss to Thanos on Titan, Tony Stark and Nebula got on the Guardians’ ship and attempted to fly back to Earth. Unfortunately, they found themselves adrift in space, and Tony was mere seconds away from losing his life because the spacecraft had run out of oxygen.
Luckily, Captain Marvel appeared at precisely the right moment to save the day. We’re not quite sure how she was able to find one small ship lost in the vast reaches of space and carry it all the way back to Earth in time, but viewers had to choose not to dwell on this improbable occurrence because it meant Tony Stark got to live another day.
HOW DID STEVE ROGERS AGE NORMALLY?
All of the heroes in Marvel Comics age at an impossibly glacial rate, but Steve Rogers actually has an excuse for looking so good despite being created back in 1941. The super soldier serum he took to become Captain America drastically slows down his aging, gifts him with accelerated healing and helps him stay healthy.
That’s why it doesn’t make sense that Steve was able to grow old with Peggy Carter when he went back in time to live a normal life with her. Unless he found some way to drain it out of his system, the serum should have kept him from aging.
