Scarlet Witch showed the Avengers some of their biggest nightmares and fears in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and some of these ended up coming true. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is currently preparing for a new era of films and TV series that will continue expanding this connected universe after the Infinity Saga came to an end. The MCU began in 2008 with Iron Man and has since produced 22 more films, with Spider-Man: Far From Home closing phase 3 and the Infinity Saga as well.
The first three phases of the MCU were led by the Avengers: Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Hulk, and Hawkeye. The team went through many ups and downs and started to break in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and by the time Avengers: Infinity War happened, they were all scattered. After the success of The Avengers, expectations were high for Avengers: Age of Ultron, and sadly, it fell short. The film is regarded by many fans as one of the weakest entries in the MCU and the worst Avengers film, but thanks to Avengers: Endgame, Age of Ultron has more relevance in this universe than it had before.
Avengers: Age of Ultron followed the efforts of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to stop Ultron, an AI android created by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner in order to help the Avengers protect Earth from any extraterrestrial and domestic threats – but it went wrong. In addition to that, the Avengers met the Maximoff twins, Pietro (Quicksilver) and Wanda (Scarlet Witch), who had some unfinished business with Tony Stark (and, by association, with the rest). Though they eventually changed sides and joined the Avengers’ fight against Ultron, Scarlet Witch did her part in breaking the team from within by implanting visions into them – and some of these actually came true in subsequent films.
Captain America’s Broken Shield
The first victim was Tony Stark. When he was approaching the scepter at HYDRA’s base in Sokovia, Scarlet Witch tried to stop him with a nightmare/vision. In it, Tony saw his teammates dead or dying during a massive Chitauri invasion. Right next to Captain America’s body was his broken shield, something that caught the attention of fans not only because of what the shield represents but because it’s made of vibranium, which is very hard to destroy, raising the question of how or who could have been strong enough to break it. The answer arrived in Avengers: Endgame, when the shield was destroyed by Thanos (with the help of a sword) during the Battle of Earth. Given that Cap went back in time at the end of the film, he kept the shield from the timeline he created by staying in the past and passed it down to Sam Wilson.
Black Widow’s Death
As mentioned above, Tony Stark saw his teammates dead, and the camera even stopped to give viewers a closer look at Black Widow’s dead body. Black Widow was the only one from the original Avengers to die before the big battle against Thanos and his armies, as she sacrificed herself in order to obtain the Soul Stone in Vormir. Because her death was not caused by the decimation, the Hulk couldn’t bring her back when he undid the snap – but Marvel fans will get to see her one more time.
The first film in the MCU’s phase 4 is Black Widow’s solo adventure, which is a prequel of sorts as it’s set between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. Black Widow will see Natasha confronting her past and will introduce new characters to the MCU, like Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) and Alexei Shostakov a.k.a Red Guardian (David Harbour) – and, hopefully, it will solve some plot holes as well, like what happened in Budapest.
Massive Alien Invasion
The deaths of the Avengers in Tony’s vision were the result of a massive alien invasion, bigger than the one in The Avengers. This also ended up coming true in Avengers: Endgame, where Thanos (from 2014) arrived with the Black Order and the armies of Chitauri, Outriders, and Sakaarans. Though in Tony’s vision it was only Chitauri ships (like the ones in The Avengers) and they were coming through a wormhole, it was foreshadowing a massive alien invasion that was not only going to put the team at risk but also the planet, and one that was going to require as much help from others as possible.
Captain America and Peggy Carter’s Dance
Later on in the film, Scarlet Witch got to the rest of the Avengers (except Hawkeye, he already got his dose of mind-control in The Avengers). Captain America’s vision saw him at a celebration of the end of the war, with many of his former comrades. There he came across with Peggy Carter, who told him the war was over and they could go home. Cap knew this wasn’t possible, and the vision cut to an empty dance floor, with him standing there alone, and then to Peggy and him finally having that long promised last dance. Avengers: Endgame also made this moment possible by sending Steve Rogers back in time to return the Infinity Stones to their original timelines and him choosing to stay in the past to live the life he always wanted to next to Peggy Carter. The final shot of the film is him and Peggy dancing at their home.
Thor Channeling Lightning
Thor’s vision was the most important one as he got a glimpse at the Infinity Stones, leading him to dig deeper. He also saw himself channeling lightning through his body, not through Mjolnir, which came true in Thor: Ragnarok. This came in handy in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, especially after he got the Stormbreaker axe, allowing him to channel more power through lightning. Mjolnir was destroyed by Hela in Thor: Ragnarok, but thanks to his visit to Asgard in the past, he got it back and thus was able to use the hammer, Stormbreaker, and lightning during the Battle of Earth.
The Destruction of Asgard
Thor’s vision was not all about lightning and Infinity Stones: he also saw Heimdall, who told him he would be the one leading them to Hel and that they were all dead. This also came true in Thor: Ragnarok, where Asgard was destroyed so Hela was killed, though Thor took his people to Earth in the Grandmaster’s spaceship. Sadly, at the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War, the ship was intercepted by Thanos and his army, and half the passengers were killed, including Heimdall and Loki. The survivors managed to get to Earth and formed New Asgard, as seen in Avengers: Endgame, with Valkyrie as their new ruler and Thor joining the Guardians of the Galaxy by the end of the film.
Next: Avengers: Age of Ultron Was Marvel’s Biggest Creative Failure