By Aaron Schweitzer
They say hindsight is 20/20. The MCU has 22 films total and the last 2 chronologically combine to one that 20 films have set up. So let’s take a look back at those 20. The goal of this series is to rewatch the MCU with Infinity War and Endgamein mind and see a few things. The first is to see ways in which they refer back to other movies indirectly or indirectly. The second is to see how these movies prepare for the Infinity Saga in terms of story, character, and development. This article isn’t focused on references to how it sets up other MCU movies other than Infinity War and Endgame and also some of these might seem like a bit of a stretch, but that’s the fun in it. Obviously not all of these were intentional, but the MCU has done a fantastic job with little references everywhere and I want to find them with the Endgame in mind. Of course, SPOILERS.
(10:43) Wanda’s Vision given to Tony.
In this shot, we can see a Hulk riddled with arrows; Black Widow sprawled out on the floor; Hawkeye who sits up, yet looks defeated; Thor laid out with Mjolnir next to him; Captain America with his shield broken in two pieces, who cries out “You could have saved us. Why didn’t you do more?”
I remember reading an article after this movie came out that this movie contained a hidden post-credits scene which was this one. The theory asked, “What if this scene is the ending to Infinity War?” I didn’t hear much about it after Infinity War released, but the entire last battle in Endgame made me really want to watch this scene again. In fact, as soon as I left the theater I wanted to watch Endgame immediately again, but I also wanted to watch this movie. When I initially saw it in theaters I was severely underwhelmed, but with each viewing, it grows on me. It is still fairly low on my list, but it does such a great job of defining these characters and especially their flaws.
Anyways, I think there is a lot in this vision. Hulk laying on his left arm, leaving his right arm up and covered in arrows. And, if you recall, when Professor Hulk snaps, he uses his right arm, which leaves it severely wounded. The way that Black Widow is sprawled out is very similar to the shot of her after she sacrifices herself on Vormir. Hawkeye is still kicking, but looks defeated, which so perfectly mirrors the spirit of his Ronin character we see after his family is snapped away. Thor is kind of flattened, but pointing at Cap, which reminds me of the fact that both of them are deemed worthy to wield Mjolnir, yet it isn’t revealed that Cap is until Thor is sprawled out on his back with Thanos shoving Stormbreaker into his chest. Finally, we see Cap, whose shield is broken in half the exact way that Thanos breaks it down to in the final battle. And his remarks to Tony are the perfect revelation for his character for his actions, not only in creating Ultron, but also for his sacrifice.
While Joss Whedon has said it was hell for him to make this movie, he could not have more perfectly lobbed the ball for the Russo’s to crush it out of the park, even in just the opening credits!
(28:43) Cap nudges Mjolnir slightly
Kevin Feige has confirmed that Cap has always had the ability wield Mjolnir, even in this scene, but that his humility stopped him from showing off. When you examine that, isn’t that exactly who you would want as someone who would qualify as worthy? Humility certainly isn’t something that Thor possesses, but these two are easily identifiable as leaders in their own right. And while Thor wasn’t involved in Civil War, except for Team Thor and Darryl, the very fact that Cap was worthy to wield Mjolnir is the end to whose side was “right,” right?
(32:10) Ultron: “You want to protect the world, but you don’t want it to change. How is humanity saved if it’s not allowed to evolve?”
Dicer mentioned on an episode of Siftpop that his feelings on Endgame have changed because he believes the message of the movie is that you should not accept reality, but try to change the past. I’ve thought long and hard about that recently and I’ve also thought about the fact that maybe Dicer is Ultron incarnate. While both are plausible and regardless on your view of that message, this is the theme of Tony post-wormhole. Tony is scared and just wants to protect people, but Tony has always been a bit of a retro guy, as evidenced by his collection of cars and music, and really does not want things to change. In retrospect, I think maybe Tony’s sacrifice is selfless as well as selfish. Maybe Tony doesn’t want to live in a world that is constantly changing around him? Tony’s change is the one to revert things. Maybe I’m just reading too much into it, but sound off in the comments!
(32:36) Ultron: “There’s only one path to peace: The Avengers’ Extinction.”
I mentioned it in previous articles, one thing that stands out to me is how Thanos is the culmination of all previous villains. With that in mind, Ultron calls for the Avengers’ Extinction and Thanos even goes out of his timeline to make sure that no version of the Avengers anywhere. That’s dedication right there.
(35:33) Tony: “We’re the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the livelong day, but that up there… that’s the Endgame.”
When the title was first hinted at, everyone went to Doctor Strange’s line, but it wasn’t far too long after that that people started correcting that thought. This line is the epitome of what these articles are about. Marvel had a very clear vision on what their endgame was and wanted to place every stone in the path to make sure that we got there. When you watch Endgame, there is not much that sets up the MCU and it is all ham-handed. I left the theater thinking immediately that all I need is Asgardians of the Galaxy and that could be the most fully envisioned, perfect, movie franchise that knew how to end and I still feel that, but I am no less excited for what’s to come, beyond. It just doesn’t excite me as much as what we have been building towards.
(35:42) Tony: “How were you guys planning on beating that?” Cap: “Together.” Tony: “We’ll lose.” Cap: “Then we’ll do that together, too.”
In one of my favorite moments in Endgame, Tony calls out Cap for this line claiming that he wasn’t there. Both Tony and Cap were on the frontlines of different fields, but each on their own ground and each one fails. The whole reason why The Avengers works so well is that the heroes each play off each other. A power is amplified when it compliments another and the final Battle of New York. They fail in Infinity War because they are divided, but succeed in Endgame because you have everyone (and then some) together. The reason why I wanted to point this out is because I think Age of Ultron lost that sense of unity after the intro battle and it showed. It’s why I didn’t love the movie walking out of the theater, but do now seeing what it set up.
(37:09) Scarlet Witch: “I saw Stark’s fear. I knew it would control him. Make him self-destruct.”
Let’s go back to what I was talking about earlier. I think that Tony’s sacrifice is just as much selfish as it is selfless and it is ultimately his fear that makes him snap his fingers. Tony literally self-destructs because of his fear of failure. As someone who struggles with the same fear, I see that in Tony. After being beaten down in Infinity War, Tony needs this win and since Doctor Strange told us there is only one outcome (which really, you have better odds of beating Thanos vs winning the lottery) and Tony feels that this is the only way. The movie sets it up that way, but Tony is afraid of failing, so he does the only thing he can.
(50:33) Peggy to Cap: “Are you ready for our dance?”
Gosh, dancing again! I thought for one movie with Cap in it, we would get a break!
(1:11:30) Tony to Fury: “I watched my friends die. You’d think that’d be as bad as it gets, right? Nope. It wasn’t the worst part.” “The worst part is that you didn’t.”
Survivors guilt is real and all I can think about when this line is said is about the look on Tony’s face as he is washing dishes and comes across a picture of him and Peter together. The movie makes it pretty clear that Peter is the driving force for Tony’s return to action and I think if you take away that relationship, you don’t have a reason for Tony to come back. After that much hurt, it would have been easier to stay down, but that’s not what Avengers do.
(1:28:48) Banner: “I’m in a loop! I’m caught in a time loop!”
TIME TRAVEL! Banner’s banter is the core of us not taking time travel too seriously in this movie. Sure, for some people, it is a glaring flaw, but at the end of the day, it’s a movie, right, and we’re talking about a concept that has never been done before, so… na na na boo boo. Anyways, it seems rather fitting that the one who first starts experimenting with time travel and pushes Scott through time would be the one who mentions time in this movie.
(1:45:10) Cap: “You get hurt, hurt them back. You get killed, walk it off.”
This seems rather contradictory to Cap’s character at the start of the time jump in Endgame, but this does rather embody the theme of the movie. Everybody gets hurt, even Thanos, so it is a matter of who can hurt harder faster. And while people who got “blipped” (apparently that’s what we’re going with) didn’t technically die, they came back right into the fight ready for more.
(2:10:06) Cap: “Family, stability. The guy that wanted all that went under the ice 75 years ago.”
Cap is a straight up liar. It’s why we keep hearing about Peggy and dancing even more apparently than Wolverine’s lamentation of the death of Jean Grey. But, lucky for him, he finally gets those things in the end. While Steve Rogers is a man out of his time, he never changed.
(2:11:09) Cap: “Avengers….”
It’s safe to assume that Cap was about to say, “Assemble,” but we can only speculate, right? The fact that this line has never been uttered until Endgame is perfect. The UK title for the original Avengers is Avengers Assemble, but they never really do, do they? They more so fall into place. As I’ve mentioned earlier, this movie does a great job of showing the growing brokenness among the Avengers. Civil War literally tears them apart. Infinity War shows them lose twice. Even the start of Endgame, it just isn’t fully the Avengers. But finally, after literally everyone (except Quicksilver and Black Widow) show up, we finally have our avengers assembled… and then subsequently disassembled, but that’s another story for maybe a Phase 5 Hindsight piece.