By ALYSSA DUONG
Copy Editor
*WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers*
In this article I will be doing a break down of the trailer and stating my Avengers: Endgame theories.
The long-awaited trailer for the last Avengers movie was recently released on December 7, along with the title – Avengers: Endgame. Marvel has kept this movie top secret for the most part, so fans have only been able to speculate about what will happen in the fourth and final installment. There was no announcement about the trailer dropping, as there has been talk about Marvel marketing Endgame in a bold and different way. Though, they most likely know they could give us the title and date on a lined piece of paper and we would probably all still end up watching it anyway.
Before we get into the theories, here’s a breakdown of the trailer.
The very first thing we see is Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.) Iron Man mask looking thrashed because of what happened in Avengers: Infinity War. Tony records a message to his fiance, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), telling her that he has about one day to live due to the lack of oxygen and supplies, and that “part of the journey is the end.” So this is not off to a very good start.
It then cuts to the Marvel Studios logo which emphasizes the number ten, referring to Marvel Studio’s ten year anniversary. As soon as it appears, it crumbles away like half of the characters at the end of Avengers: Infinity War. Marvel sure knows how to pour salt into a wound.
After the logo we see various shots of scenes. First there is Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) armor on a high, wooden pole, someone walking through a field, and the Avengers facility. Oh, and also Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), also known as Captain America, crying then Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) speaking.
Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), who transforms into Hulk except in the last movie, is looking at screens of other heroes. The most prominent one is Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) who is Ant-Man, but next to it a little further back there is a screen with Shuri (Letitia Wright) on it. It stays on Shuri for a moment then switches to the face of Peter Parker (Tom Holland) who is Spider-Man. Banner holds his face in distress looking at the missing heroes. Fans who have been following along know Scott is stuck in the quantum realm and Peter crumbled with half of the population while in space, but the Avengers are not similarly up-to-date.
We quickly see clips of Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Nebula (Karen Gillan) as Captain America says, “we lost – all of us,” but that is all we see of them. Cap continues, saying “we lost friends, we lost family,” and right after he says “family” we see a dark, hooded figure that is revealed to be Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) who was absent as Hawkeye the last movie. This time he is not in his normal Hawkeye costume, but in a Ronin costume from the comics. He is shown in front of a dead man in Japan, making eye contact with Black Widow after he takes off his mask. With this context, it is basically confirmed that his family – his wife and three kids – disappeared in the Thanos snap.
It then shows Black Widow and Captain America talking about what will happen with their plan. During this, Cap looks at a compass with a picture of his now deceased love interest, Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell). This moment likely confirms the death of Captain America, because this has happened before. In Captain America: The First Avenger, he does the exact same thing before he is presumed dead in a plane crash. The only difference between that moment and this time is that he will most likely be confirmed dead.
After this scene, the Avengers symbol slowly forms with the title of the movie, seemingly ending the trailer, but then another clip follows.
Ant-Man! His return is unexpected, but was foreshadowed earlier in the trailer when his picture was the enlarged one on Bruce’s screen. It is a good thing he is back; his presence brings in a slightly more light-hearted tone as he still has his comedic personality despite the tragedy that has just happened. This seems to give Captain America and Black Widow hope as they stand up as soon as they see the footage of their front door.
It ends there with the release date, April 2019.
Now into the theories.
1. Scott Lang got himself out of the quantum realm.
The last we saw of Scott, he was stuck in the quantum realm, so he had to get out some way. My theory for this is he just kept pressing buttons on his suit until something happened. It is not a very formal theory, but it is a funny thing Ant-Man would do.
2. Pepper Potts will bring Tony back.
There are many fans who believe Captain Marvel will save Tony, but it would make more sense for Pepper to save Tony because of their relationship. At the beginning of the trailer he is sending a message to her, so I want to assume the message gets to her. There have also been leaked photos of Gwyneth Paltrow in a suit like Tony’s, which brings on heavy implications for her taking on her role of “Rescue” like she does in the comics.
3. Shuri will help Pepper bring Tony back.
This may be the most far-fetched theory. At the end of Infinity War when half of everyone crumbled away, we did not see Shuri crumble, but we did see her picture on the screen when Bruce was presumably looking for missing people. All of the surviving Avengers except Tony were in Wakanda when the snap happened, so when looking for the survivors, they must have not found Shuri. Is she in hiding to plan her revenge on behalf of her brother, T’Challa? Is she trying to find Tony Stark, one of the smartest people on the planet, who would be able to help her get her brother back? My guess is the latter is more likely since revenge does not seem to follow her immediate family’s moral guidelines. The more rational thing to happen is for her to go looking for Tony, finding Pepper grieving, and then helping her get Tony back.
4. Loki is not dead.
This is less of a theory and more of a fact. Had Loki actually died he would have reverted to his Frost Giant form. Loki is the God of Mischief, he would have not died like that if it was not an illusion. He is smarter than that to just come at Thanos with a knife and expect to win. There are many ways Loki could have finessed this, but the most plausible theory is that his death was an illusion. Loki has many impressive powers and it is not out of his capabilities to do this. This would be the most logical reasoning for what happened.
5. Destroying the stones will release those trapped in the Soul Stone.
After everyone crumbled, many were shocked at the amount of people who died and just exactly who died, since Marvel announced all deaths would be final. Of course, knowing Marvel they would twist the words and actually mean all real deaths. More extreme fans will notice that most of the people who “died” have new movies or shows coming up, and will definitely return. Peter Parker crumbled, but Spider-Man: Far From Home is said to be released right after Avengers: Endgame. Marvel fans read into every single detail and we are completely right to do so since every little detail counts. Those who crumbled are trapped in the Soul Stone – a place we saw when child Gamora (Ariana Greenblatt) asked Thanos about what he has just done. By the smoky orange haze, it was most definitely the Soul Stone they were in. The Russo brothers confirmed that Gamora was in the Soul Stone and that the Soul Stone theory was correct, so my new theory is that by defeating Thanos, everything will be undone. Since Thanos has the stones, the Avengers will need to kill him to obtain them. Once they destroy the stones it will release everyone who was trapped.
6. Tony and Cap die together.
In the last movie everyone was expecting a reunion between all of the original Avengers, but clearly that did not happen. The whole movie went without Captain America and Tony Stark making up, or even seeing each other, which most fans desperately wanted. Clearly they cannot die without making amends. Marvel is cruel, but not that cruel. Though, Marvel would make us wait until the end of the movie to see the Cap/Tony reunion. The stark contrast between the two helps make their relationship better, and I think in the end their differences are going to help save the world and give their stories a proper ending.
7. Tony lives.
Everyone expects Tony to die, and for the most part I agree that that is likely to happen. However, Tony’s greatest fear is everyone he loves dying while he is the one who survives. That is exactly what happened in Infinity War. It would be extremely obvious for Marvel to end his story with his loved ones living and him dying, and as we have observed in the past, everything Marvel does is the opposite of obvious. I think a good way to end his story would be to have him overcome his fear and being okay with surviving and learning that it is okay to lose, in his case, people. In life there will be losses, but there will also be victories. Perhaps it is too optimistic but I think after Cap dies, Tony has a son and names him after Steve, which gives us a sort of a circle of life kind of ending.
8. Steve gets to be with Peggy in the afterlife.
After putting Steve through so much in his life, the least Marvel could do is give him the love of his life back. I am not going to state why this would happen because if I’m being realistic here, this will not happen as it seems Marvel Studios just loves seeing our misery. However, I am going to state it as a theory for optimistic reason. Not all the theories should be sad.
9. Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) a.k.a. The Winter Soldier and Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) a.k.a. Falcon both become the new Captain America.
There are many different versions of Captain America in Marvel Comics, with many different people assuming the role. Two of these people include Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson. Since it is basically confirmed Captain America is dying, someone will most likely assume the role of the new Captain America. There has been debate on which of Steve Roger’s “sidekicks” will be handed this position. I think they will share this role. They are reportedly getting a show together, so this it would make sense for a plot of this to be them sharing the identity of Captain America.
There are many theories circulating, and many more of my own personal opinion, but these are the main ones that help answer many questions. To end this with the most widely debated theory of all…
10. The Avengers who live versus the ones who die:
Thor: LIVES. Marvel just cannot kill off Thor. He is the second most powerful Avenger, next to Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). He has been through so much, losing his mother, father, and brother multiple times. He needs to live because he has had such a great character development and it would make more sense to keep him alive rather than end his story now.
Black Widow: LIVES. No offense to Black Widow, but at the moment her death would be too insignificant for it to actually count. Marvel would not kill her off unless there without reason, and as of right now, I cannot think of one besides the fact that they are trying to get rid of the older Avengers to make way for the new ones.
Bruce Banner/Hulk: LIVES AND DIES. This is a little less out of pocket than theory number three, but it is still pretty out there. I think Bruce Banner will live, but Hulk will die, or vice versa. In the last movie Bruce could not get Hulk to come out and in Thor: Ragnarok, it was stated that if he transforms into the Hulk again, there was a chance he could never be Bruce again. That was disproven as he transformed into Hulk then reverted back at the end of Thor: Ragnarok, but what if it happens in Avengers: Endgame? He would transform into Hulk and not be able to transform back, so he will have to find a way to get rid of Hulk once and for all. If not then Bruce Banner will be gone forever and there will only be Hulk left. Either way I think half of him is gone for good.
Ronin/Hawkeye: LIVES. Seeing Clint as Ronin in the trailer definitely created an new stir around him. He has always been seen as a character of lesser importance. However, with a new costume and a new motive, we can expect Hawkeye to be of much more interest and value to Marvel Studios.
Iron Man: DIES? Though for him I lean more towards expecting death, I very much like my theory of Tony staying alive. It would create an unexpected end to his story – a happy one.
Captain America: DIES. This death is definite. As I said earlier, that scene from the trailer just confirmed his death. I just hope he gets to finally be reunited with Peggy.
Avengers: Endgame comes out in theaters April 26, 2019.
