If you’re like me, I’m still wrecked from Avengers: Endgame. While completely amazing and satisfying, Avengers:Endgame still leaves behind plot holes and timeline questions. There are spoilers in this post, so do not read if you don’t want Avengers Endgame spoilers. My friend, Mike W., shares his thoughts on the best and most shocking moments of Endgame as well as where he thought Marvel left some Avengers Endgame plot holes.
The Best Moments of Avengers Endgame
It was packed. And it was grand. Not perfect, but I still loved it.
The Avengers had never experienced such an epic and colossal failure before; they were used to saving the world and ended up losing half of it. That couldn’t be shaken off by a single bad act/catastrophe.
It is believable that Thor, even after killing Thanos, because it happened after the “snap,” felt hollow and empty and become an out-of-shape alcoholic. He was hilarious at it, but you still knew why he had fallen so far.
I loved the post Battle of New York scenes, where it showed how Loki and the infinity stones were disposed of. The elevator scene where Cap salutes Hydra. And the final battle was on a scale that we’ve never seen before and may never see for awhile. Cap wields the hammer, everyone coming back? The all woman squadron? EPIC EPIC EPIC.
The Most Shocking Moments in Avengers Endgame
Natasha’s death hurt me. I have really come to admire her in the MCU. Her lines in Civil War about “what’s most important is not how we stay together but that we stay together,” is embodied in her willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Tony’s death hurt too, and while somewhat foreshadowed, was still a bit of a swerve. I thought the closest he’d get was when Thanos stabbed him in IW. In fairness, Thanos did NOT kill him, the power of the gauntlet did.
I can buy that he was never going to be totally at ease once he went through the wormhole. Would have loved a flashback to Yinsin in the cave telling him “don’t waste [his gift of a second chance at life.]”
Avengers Endgame Plot Holes and Timeline Questions
However, while I will rewatch several times, I can’t imagine some of these plot holes were just incidental. Here are some of the plot holes that left me scratching me head.
Thor Dark World Storyline
The entire storyline of Thor: Dark World seems to have been upended. Loki escaped with the tesseract in New York when he was supposed to have been imprisoned on Asgard. Tony and Steve getting it in 1970 doesn’t neutralize that fact. Also, Thor snatches Mjolnir and dips while present him is somewhere in Asgard. How is THAT going to fly (so to speak)?
Someone suggested that Steve took Mjolnir back to when Thor took it, but I find it harder to believe that he singlehandedly ran down Loki, even if he put the tesseract back right after the battle of New York.
Captain America and Peggy Carter
Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter. We know from Captain America: The Winter Soldier that Peggy marries a soldier that Steve saved in Germany. Not quite sure where he ends up in the past, but it can’t be any earlier than when they met, by which time she is part of the SSR.
So did he show up right after burying the tesseract into the arctic? (BTW how did he get the soul stone to Skull? THAT would be a great scene to watch). He marries the Director of SHIELD, but being who he is and knowing Hydra has infiltrated, are we supposed to believe he’s gonna play the sidelines on this?
And knowing Bucky is out there doing Hydra’s bidding and that he kills the Starks? I have to imagine that some of this will be answered/addressed in future movies.
The time travel “rules” became more fluid as time went on. Supposedly it couldn’t affect their past, it created other timelines. Well, does that mean parallel universes? There can’t be ZERO consequences for that.
Also, if 2014 Thanos traveled to 2019 and was turned to dust, that means that he vanished before the Guardians of the Galaxy ever formed. How does that NOT change the ending of Ragnarok? This is why time loops make people’s heads swim.
Hulk’s Lack of Beast
Hulk. Despite all I wrote above, this is my biggest issue. Ever since he got sonned by Thanos, Big Green has been more Beast than Hulk. I was ok with him not coming back out in IW, but in terms of ” we need to work some things out,” as Banner admonished Hulk, the stakes were raised high enough with half the human population being taken out AND Natasha sacrificing herself that he should have been out of control.
I UNDERSTAND that wielding the gauntlet and surviving is a rare feat (one that made Thanos vulnerable), but he did catch a chunk of the compound after and held it up for a MINUTE.
How great would it have been if he turned back to Banner after learning Natasha died, then during the battle Thanos starts pummeling him in Hulk buster armor, and breaking it apart, only to have him catch one of those fists before unleashing Mean Green? THAT would have satisfied me on all fronts, Hulk was owed his and he didn’t get it.
Where is Agent Coulson?
Where’s Coulson? I find it impossibly hard to believe they couldn’t have fit Coulson into some part of this story. He was the glue other than Fury that connected the original 6 leading up to and through the Avengers, not to mention in death, being the catalyst for them coming together.
FURY knows he’s alive; why would he keep that from the Avengers? Sif also knew, why didn’t she ever tell Thor? Even if it’s contractual, they weren’t allowed to MENTION his being alive?
Special thanks to Mike W. for his point of view! I had several of the same questions as far as the timeline is concerned. I hope they’ll answer them in future Marvel movies.
If you haven’t seen some of the movies that Mike talked about, then check out these Marvel movie lists to find out the best way to watch every Marvel movie. This will also help answer the Avengers timeline questions.
So what do you think about the timeline?