Avengers: Endgame follows the events of Avengers: Infinity War and is the climax of the Infinity that includes 23 movies notably including: The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, and Avengers: Infinity War.
After the standoff in Captain America: Civil War, Clint Barton chooses to retire and is currently on house arrest. He is teaching his daughter, Lila, how to shoot a bow. Barton’s wife, Laura, is preparing a meal for them and their other children Lila and Copper. While grabbing ketchup for the meal, his entire family vanishes, and he tries to find them. Barton does not find his family because they vanished along with half of the universe as a result of Thanos’s snap.
The remaining Avengers on Earth try to understand the effects of the snap. Captain Marvel rescues Stark and Nebula and brings their ship back to Earth. A verbal fight begins between Steve Rogers and Stark, who blame each other for the snap. Stark, weak from lack of food and the time in space, passes out during their argument. Nebula reveals that Thanos told her that he would retire to a planet called Titan II. Other than Stark, the remaining Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy go to Titan II to confront Thanos. They sneak up on Thanos, who reports that he used the power of the Infinity Stones to destroy them, so they cannot be used again and his snap is permanent. In anger and rage, Thor decapitates Thanos.
Even though it seems impossible, life continues on after the snap.
Five years later, the Earth has become stable. Rogers leads a support group to help other survivors move on from their losses. Romanoff is dealing with life by dealing with any type of threat to earth. She is on a call with Nebula, Okoye, Danvers, Rocket, and Rhodey, who are busy dealing with other worlds. After the group finishes, she talks with Rhodey at the end of the call. Rhodey explains that Barton became a mercenary who takes out bad people as a form of justice to rectify the loss of innocent people in the snap, like his family.
In a storage impound lot, a rodent accidentally activates the van with the quantum tunnel, and a confused Scott Lang comes out of the Quantum Realm. Lang finds out what happened and that his daughter, Cassie, and ex-wife are still alive. He then goes to the Avengers compound and explains to Romanoff and Rogers that time moves differently in the Quantum Realm. He believes they can use the Quantum Realm to time travel and negate the effects of the snap.
The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy reassemble at the compound. Bruce Banner, now “Professor Hulk”, explains the complications of time travel, even if it’s possible. If they are able to travel to the past and get the Infinity Stones, they’d need to do so without altering the past. If the timeline is altered in even the smallest way, the effects could result in alternate timelines. Lang explains that only Hank Pym knew how to create the particles needed for time travel, and he only has enough left for ten round trips. Stark reveals that he can create a device for each of them to be able to control where they end up when they go back in time.
The Avengers risk everything to try and make things right. Stark and Lang are especially selfless; their families are still alive and well, and they are risking their own lives in order to bring back those lost during the snap. They are not thinking of themselves, but of everyone they can help.
The team discusses and figures out when they have the best opportunity to get each stone. They figure out that three stones will be in New York at the same time. They choose New York 2012 (for the Tesseract, Loki’s scepter, and the Eye of Agamotto), Morag 2014 (for the orb and a trip to Vomir) and Asgard 2013 (for the Aether); the group then divides into three teams. Stark, Rogers, Hulk and Lang will go to 2012; Nebula, Rhodey, Barton, and Romanoff will go to 2014; and Thor and Rocket will go to 2013.
When Stark, Rogers, Lang, and Hulk travel back in time to 2012 in New York. Hulk focus on obtaining the Time Stone from the New York Sanctum while the rest head to Stark tower. The Ancient One meets Hulk, who then projects him out of his body as Banner in the astral plane and reveals she currently possesses the stone. The Ancient One agrees to give him the stone if he promises to return each Infinity Stone to their proper place in time when the mission is completed.
At Stark tower, Stark creates a diversion so Lang (shrunk down as Ant-Man) can get the Space Stone residing within the Tesseract. Meanwhile, Rogers steals the Mind Stone by taking Loki’s scepter, but almost loses it when 2012 Captain America attacks him. The more experienced Captain America wins, and he returns to the team with the scepter. However, Loki obtains the Tesseract when everyone is distracted and disappears. Stark reveals that he and Rogers can travel to the 1970s to get the Tesseract from S.H.I.E.L.D., as well as more Pym particles.
Rogers and Stark arrive at a S.H.I.E.L.D. base in 1970. At the base, Rogers sees Peggy Carter while obtaining the Pym particles. Stark succeeds in stealing the Tesseract and has a moment with his father, Howard Stark, who reveals that he is worried about raising yet-to-be-born Tony. These reunions with their lost loved ones are bitter sweet moments for both Rogers and Stark. They return to 2023.
The team is forced to confront moments from their past and accept that while they cannot change the past, they can learn from it.
Thor and Rocket travel to Asgard in 2013,and they extract the Aether from Jane Foster. While they are there, Thor’s mother Frigga realizes that Thor is a future version of her son and learns that he feels like the snap is his fault. They talk, and Frigga tells him that he was always worthy and always will be. As they are leaving, Thor calls to his hammer Mjolnir and discovers that his mother is right ‒ he is worthy. They return to the present day with the Reality Stone.
The other four, Romanoff, Barton, Rhodey, and Nebula arrive on Morag in 2014, where Nebula and Rhodey obtain the Power Stone from Peter Quill. For a moment, 2014 Nebula is paralzed by her cybernetics being shared with 2023 Nebula, and Thanos discovers the Avengers’ plans. Meanwhile, Barton and Romanoff continue on to Vomir, home of the Soul Stone. They meet the Red Skull, who leads them to the Soul Stone and tells them that they have to sacrifice their loved one to obtain the Soul Stone. Romanoff ends up sacrificing herself, and Barton returns to the present with the Soul Stone.
With all the remaining Avengers returning to the present, except Romanoff, Stark builds a new gauntlet using Iron Man technology. Hulk wields the new gauntlet and snaps his fingers, returning all of those lost in the previous snap. A 2014 version of Nebula uses the time machine to bring Thanos and their forces forward in time to the compound. Thanos blows up the compound, separating the Avengers. Barton has the Gauntlet, and the 2014 version of Nebula goes after him to obtain it and present it to Thanos. However, the 2023 Nebula convinces the 2014 Gamora to join their team, and they kill the 2014 Nebula.
When all hope is lost, that is when we need to stand up and find the courage to continue on. As Theodore Roosevelt said, “Nothing worth having was ever achieved without effort.” The Avengers are heroes not just because of their abilities, but also because they continue fighting even when the odds are stacked against them.
Rogers, Stark, and Thor see Thanos coming for the new Infinity Gauntlet and begin fighting him. Thanos tells the three he will rebuild the universe after the snap. Thor uses Stormbreaker and Mjolnir, but Thanos pins him to the ground and nearly kills him. Mjolner flies to Captain America, who uses it to fight Thanos alongside Thor. Thanos orders the Chitauri and Outrider armies to kill all of the Avengers. When Captain America is the only one standing in Thanos’s way, he receives a call from Sam Wilson, AKA Falcon.
Portals appear and everyone lost in the snap reappears ‒ the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Wakandan armies, the Masters of the Mystic Arts, the Ravagers, and Asgardians armies. Captain America orders for the Avengers to assemble, and a massive battle begins. Barton, who still has the Infinity Gauntlet, asks what he should do with it. Captain America tells Barton to keep it away from Thanos. The Gauntlet is passed between different Avengers, mostly the female Avengers, in an attempt to get the Gauntlet to the Quantum Portal. Despite their efforts, the Thanos’ army destroys the Quantum Tunnel, and Thanos obtains the Infinity Gauntlet.
Dr. Strange, who foresaw the one possibility of the team winning, signals for Stark to take action. Stark tries to take the Gauntlet but seemingly fails, and Thanos snaps his fingers for the Avengers to disappear. The snap does not work because Stark took the Infinity Stones and added them into his Iron Man suit. Stark snaps his fingers, and Thanos disappears into nothing; Stark passes away peacefully from the snap. The Avengers grief the loss of Tony Stark.
Sometimes, we can get a happy ending like Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter. Rogers decides to choose happiness for himself by staying in the past with Peggy and leaving Captain America behind him. He made the best decision for himself in order to lead a fulfilling life.
Earth celebrates the Avengers victory, and Stark’s funeral takes place at his home with all the living Avengers. In attendance are: Pepper, his daughter Morgan, Happy, Rhodey, Peter, Aunt May, Rogers, Hulk, Thor, Strange, Wong, Lang, Janet, Hope, Hank, Quill, Nebula, Drax, Mantis, Rocket, Groot, T’Challa, Shuri, Okoye, Barton and his family, Wanda, Bucky, Sam, Harley Keener, Maria Hill, Thaddeus Ross, Danvers and Nick Fury. Happy talks with Morgan and states that he will be there for her.
Thor travels to New Asgard and tells Valkyrie that she is the new queen before returning to space with the Guardians of the Galaxy, with Quill being the leader. In the forest, Hulk sends Rogers back in time to return the Infinity Stones and Mjolnir. Hulk counts down for Rogers to come back, yet Rogers does not return. Old man Rogers is sitting on a bench, and he tells Wilson that he decided not to return and live his life out with Peggy Carter. Rogers hands Captain America’s shield to Wilson and tells him that it is now his.
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Photo Credit: Marvel Studios
