Top 15 Favorite Parts of Avengers Endgame
After the events of Infinity War, our surviving heroes reunite with each other and decide to waste no time and go after Thanos. They get the drop on the Titan, only to discover he reduced the Infinity stones to atom form so his work would remain permanent. In a fit of rage, Thor decapitates Thanos. Well, at least he went for the head this time. We jump to five years later as everyone in the world try to adjust to this new reality. Some haven't taken it well like Hawkeye who lost his entire family and assume the role of a ruthless vigilante. So, in other words, Ronin. But then, Scott Lang is brought back from the Quantum Realm, thanks to a rat (sure, I'll take it) and he gives the Avengers an idea on how to undo Thanos' snap. How you may ask? Just take a wild guess. Yes, it's traveling through time. But this movie's rules of time travel is different from other movies You see if they go back to the past and change anything like say kill Thanos when he's a baby, it wouldn't change the future; it would just create an alternate timeline."If you go into the past, that past becomes your future, and your former present becomes the past, which can't now be changed by your new future!" So our heroes' plan is to go to several points in time and collect the stones, so they could use them to bring back everyone.
Now while this is part II of Infinity War, it feels like a different movie, in terms of story and tone. IW was my most anticipated movie of 2018, but when I first watched it, I left the theater feeling empty and a bit unsatisfied. I think it's because since this was advertised as the culmination of the Infinity Saga, I expected a lot of great payoffs. And to be fair, it did pay off in a couple ways like having Tony Stark and Doctor Strange together and especially Josh Brolin's performance as Thanos. He truly lived up to all the buildup and was worthy of being called the biggest bad of the MCU. It does get better the more I watch as the pace keeps things moving. So when Endgame was coming out, I avoided the trailers and tried to keep my expectations low and not rely so much on wishful thinking. I had to remind myself the other times I gave into the hype for a movie and ended up feeling underwhelmed. But I am happy to report that Endgame gave me the payoffs I've been looking for!
Now for this countdown, I'm gonna rank each moment in semi-chronological order. So let us begin!
1. The Heart
One of the movie's strengths is it's got an emotional, heartfelt tone. While IW was relentless with its dark elements and action, Endgame, for the most part, was character driven as we see our heroes at their most vulnerable after their failure. You get to see how they've been affected by the tremendous loss they've suffered. I truly appreciate this movie for letting its characters take a breath after all they've been through and just have a heart to heart with each other. Even Paul Rudd gets an emotional moment! He returns home where he's reunited with his daughter, Cassie, who's much older now. Scott can't believe it. His little peanut isn't so little anymore! And Rudd's acting was surprisingly stellar. While I've always loved these characters, this movie gives them more humanity!
2. RDJ's Performance and Arc
We've all loved RDJ's role in this franchise, but his whole performance in Endgame could be the best he's ever given. After reuniting with his fellow Avengers, we get this moment where he acts confrontational and bitter towards Steve, not just about their loss but also their fallout from the past. I could totally feel his anger and pain. We later find him five years later, living with Pepper in a nice cabin and they have a daughter named Morgan! This was a beautiful surprise. We get some heartfelt moments with Tony and his little girl, like when he tucks her into bed and says, "Love you tons." "I love you 3000" she replies. Fun fact, this is something RDJ and his kids say to each other. People are saying RDJ deserves an Oscar nod for his performance and while I am partial to the idea, I wouldn't get my hopes up for it since I wanted Hugh Jackman to get nominated for Logan but it never happened. Also, I know Black Panther got nominated for Best Picture, but I think we all know why it did. Nonetheless, the effort in RDJ's performance is just tremendous.
3. Professor Hulk
After his failure to stop Thanos both as the Hulk and Dr. Banner, Bruce decides to let the two parts of himself come together to become one. "Best of both worlds," as he puts it. After feeling let down by the lack of Hulk in IW, I was hoping we would get more Hulk in this film. Ironically, while Hulk is on the poster of IW, we only see Banner on the Endgame poster, but he is Professor Hulk for the rest of the movie. It's a pretty different version of this character, but I think it's a cool change. This Hulk is not only smart but he's very likable, taking photos for kids and giving Scott another taco when he drops his. Oh, and he also dabs. What a dork. The more I think about it, the more I think I'm kinda like Banner, in that I'm awkward but easygoing. One issue with this is it's very sudden like hey all of Bruce's issues have been resolved! But I don't think Ruffalo's contract with Marvel is over just yet. Maybe there would be more obstacles for him like before. Regardless, this was a new interesting chapter for Bruce Banner and he truly is one of the unsung heroes for taking on the power of the stones to bring everyone back.
4. Thor
Here's another drastic character change. Thor and the surviving Asgardians have made a new Asgard in Norway, and the God of Thunder has really let himself go. He's an out of shape drunkard with shaggy hair. He's turned into the Dude, which they do make a Big Lebowski reference later on. On a side note, I really liked seeing Tessa Thompson return as Valkyrie. More especially, I was really happy to see Korg and Miek alive as well! Back to Thor, some people might see this portrayal as character assassination and making the character into a complete joke. Honestly, I found it very amusing, but I don't think it's played for laughs entirely. When Bruce mentions Thanos, you can see Thor is still haunted by his failure, showing some PTSD tendencies. Bruce tries to encourage Thor by mentioning how much he helped him a great deal, and it's another genuine moment. To me, Thor's journey is about re-gaining his self-worth. Surprisingly, when he summons his powers, his body doesn't change back in a muscular one, but deep inside all that flab, he's still powerful and above all worthy. So I think it sends a good message if you look closely at it.
5. "Hail HYDRA"
In 2012 New York, while Tony and Scott attempt to get the Tesseract, we see Cap get in an elevator with Agents Rumlow, Sitwell, and others in a callback to Winter Soldier. But unlike last time, Cap cleverly tricks them to give him Loki's scepter, making them think he's on their side by saying, "Hail HYDRA."
6. Nebula
Gamora had a prominent role in IW, so it figures Nebula would get more screentime in Endgame, and you know what? I'm all for it! I've been enjoying Karen Gillan's portrayal of Nebula, how she started out as a small antagonist then became an ally of the Guardians and then an ally of the Avengers. And she's had some well-acted moments in these movies. A standout for me was the incredibly dark torture scene in IW. Her screaming was downright disturbing! She deserves an award for that moment alone. In Endgame, we first see her and Tony on the Benatar, trying to get home. We get this funny moment of them playing paper football, but we also see them working together to survive. She even lets Tony have the last of the food rations. Oh, Neb, bless your heart. And I love how she's on this journey of redemption, joining the Avengers on their mission.
However, she gets into trouble when her past self's circuits malfunction and project memories from her future self for 2014 Thanos to see. This results in her being captured, and you get to see two Nebulas interact off each other like Cap and his past self earlier. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I realize how many movies we have this year that deal with duality. There's Us, obviously, then The Lego Movie 2, then Endgame, and later on Gemini Man with two Will Smiths. Nebula may be a blue meanie as Tony puts it, but she's just a tortured soul and I love how much she has developed.
7. Tony and Thor having a moment with their parents
Thor and Rocket come to Asgard in 2013 to extract the Aether from Jane. So is Thor gonna have a moment with his former love interest? No, he accidentally runs into his mother. He pretends to be himself from this time but she catches on, being raised by witches. I think it's very nice for Thor to get closure since his mother died tragically and he receives some more encouraging words from her: "Everyone fails at who they're supposed to be, Thor. The measure of a person, of a hero, is how they succeed at being who they are." I also love how before he leaves with Rocket, Thor summons Mjolnir and he's so ecstatic to see he's still worthy.
Meanwhile, Tony and Steve go to another time after their attempt to get the Tesseract in 2012 fails when Loki escapes with it. I'm guessing this is the setup for his show on Disney Plus. The two come to 1970 New Jersey where the Tesseract is being kept in a SHIELD facility. Here, Tony runs into his father, Howard, so like Thor and his mom, Tony gets some closure with his old man. Before leaving, Tony embraces his dad and says, "Thank you for everything...you've done for this country."
8. Clint and Natasha on Vormir
Natasha and Clint come to Vormir but we all know the price to pay for the Soul Stone. They fight each other over who should sacrifice themselves, and Natasha ends up taking the fall. But here's one question that popped in my head: why didn't Nebula tell them what they had to do to get the stone? After thinking about it, here's what I've gathered. I believe she wasn't fully aware. In IW, when she faces off Thanos, she says "Where's Gamora?" But she realizes what happened to her. However, I think she didn't know that Thanos sacrificed Gamora in exchange for the stone, and thinks he only killed her when things escalated between them. It's a little confusing but that's my two cents on it. I'm surprised there wasn't a scene where Clint confronts Nebula after this, but I guess since he does get his family back, it makes up for it.
Back to Natasha, I think it's noble of her to make that choice. She mentioned before how she had red in her ledger and wants to have it clean. Maybe this was that opportunity. I'm gonna miss her though. But at the very least, Black Widow will get her own movie soon, and it looks like it'll be a prequel but I like to know more about her past and how she came to be. Jeremy Renner gives a good heartbreaking performance, and especially Chris Evans when our heroes returned back to their present to learn about Natasha's sacrifice. What's even more heartbreaking is the fact that Natasha said "See you in a minute," to Steve but she never came back! Now that's just cruel, Russos!!
And for those of you who say it should have been Hawkeye, I think you're forgetting that he's the key to all of this. I mean, he was absent in IW and everyone lost. Plus he has something to gain from all this.
9. Cap wields Mjolnir
The last third of Endgame is just phenomenal and the next few spots will explain why. There's so much to geek out about. So it's like this: our heroes' attempt to bring everyone back has been successful through small hints like Clint getting a call from his wife. But what they don't know is that the past Nebula switched places with our Nebula and brought Thanos and his ship with her. The Avengers' headquarters pretty much get demolished as Bruce, Rocket, Rhodey, Scott, and Clint are trapped underneath the rubble and Tony, Steve, and Thor go to face off Thanos. But here's where it gets exciting for me. Thor is caught in a struggle as Thanos tries to kill him with Stormbreaker. We see a shot of Mjolnir moving. The hammer strikes Thanos and it flies into the hand of Cap!
This is one of several payoffs in this third act. We've had that tease in Age of Ultron where it seems like Cap can lift Mjolnir, but now it's confirmed. Thor says, "I knew it" And the fight between Cap and Thanos is just amazing! I loved seeing Cap pound Thanos with Mjolnir and his shield and strike him with lightning!
O Captain, my Captain!
But Thanos gains the upper hand and beats up Cap, even breaking his shield in half. Despite his injuries, Cap tries to get back up with every strength he could muster. It's still inspiring to see him not give up, even when Thanos brings out an army. What follows next is something I've been dreaming of. I thought this would never happen, but it actually did.
10. Portals
Cap hears a familiar voice in his earpiece. It's Sam and he says to him, "On your left." Well played, Sam. Well played. Cap turns around and finds a portal appearing and who walks in? T'Challa with Okoye and Shuri, then Sam flies in. But that doesn't stop there! More portals open up and you see every hero who got snapped away make a grand entrance! Oh...my...GOD!
To be honest, I wasn't very heartbroken at the end of IW because a strong part of me knew that these characters would come back, especially with the fact that they got more movies in the future. But this is the greatest way to bring them back! Other characters appear like Valkyrie on a Peagus and...Howard the Duck? What, is he going to do Quack Fu? Even Pepper joins the fight in her rescue suit! I just couldn't believe what I was seeing! It was a dream come true for me! And the music by Alan Silvestri is so inspiring and makes the scene all the more triumphant. Then you see Scott emerging from the rubble as Giant Man with Rocket, Bruce, and Rhodey. So what more could we add to this unbelievable moment? Simple, have Cap say those two words we've been waiting to hear for years:
"Avengers...assemble!"
I just can't even with this now! I've loved the climax of The Avengers and the airport battle in Civil War, but this sequence blows them out of the water! I just love every single minute of it! So can we please stop hating Star-Lord for screwing up in IW?
11) Spidey
We get to see Tony reunite with Peter Parker and the way Tony hugs him is very heartwarming. It makes me think of Spider-Man Homecoming when he drops off Peter and says, "That's not a hug. I'm just grabbing the door for you." But here, he's genuinely embracing him. So our heroes' main objective is to keep the stones away from Thanos by bringing them back to their timelines. They're basically playing a game of Infinity Football. When Spidey has the gauntlet, you get to see him do some awesome stuff such as actually using his instant kill mode to kill Outriders left and right. But when they start to dogpile on him, Cap gives him an escape by throwing Mjolnir. He slings a web at the hammer and he goes flying through the air! Then Pepper gives him a lift and then he hitches a ride on Valkyrie's Pegasus. It's ridiculously awesome. You know how Spidey was a highlight in Civil War? Well, I think he shines just as much in this film.
12) Female power!
For this spot, I've put together some moments that center around some female characters. First, there's the face-off between Scarlet Witch and Thanos. She is just furious with her eyes glowing red.
SCARLET WITCH: You took everything from me!
THANOS: I don't even know who you are.
SCARLET WITCH: You will.
And she unleashes her wrath on him! I was totally rooting for her! Go, Wanda! She's another character who's shown some growth. Her powers prove to be too much for Thanos, especially if you consider how she was able to hold him off even when he had the gauntlet. Too much for him to take, Thanos orders his ship to "Rain fire!" A lot of our heroes get blasted away, but another person joins the fight. It's Captain Marvel and she destroys Thanos' ship. Oh, yeah, I forgot she can do that, besides shooting photon blasts. We then get this very cute moment where she meets Spidey.
PETER: Hi. I'm Peter Parker.
CAROL: Hey, Peter Parker. You got something for me?
Now I'll admit Brie Larson's acting from the beginning of the film felt very off. A possible factor is she shot her scenes for Endgame first before doing her own movie. I was afraid she was going to drag the movie but fortunately, she's not in the movie a lot. So she doesn't steal the spotlight away from the characters we've known and loved for over a decade. But Larson is much better here in the last third. I thought "That's the Captain Marvel I know and like." I still think she has potential and isn't at all incorrigible. So more troops of Thanos are spotted but luckily Carol has some backup and we get this awesome shot of all the female characters coming together. I don't care if it's forced or pandering.
FEMALE POWER FTW!
You may ask why would these heroines team up even though they don't know each other well? I say it's because some women can find no better support than their fellow girlfriends.
Thanos gets the gauntlet on, but Carol stops him from snapping his fingers. He tries to headbutt her but she doesn't flinch! Like Wanda, Carol is too powerful for Thanos to take. As a last resort, he takes out the power stone and blasts her away. But even taking that out, he would've been helpless still. Just imagine what Carol and Wanda would do to him if they combined their powers! If all these moments mean there would be a female team-up movie in the future, then sign me up!
Thanos gets the gauntlet on, but Carol stops him from snapping his fingers. He tries to headbutt her but she doesn't flinch! Like Wanda, Carol is too powerful for Thanos to take. As a last resort, he takes out the power stone and blasts her away. But even taking that out, he would've been helpless still. Just imagine what Carol and Wanda would do to him if they combined their powers! If all these moments mean there would be a female team-up movie in the future, then sign me up!
13) Tony's sacrifice
At one point in the battle, Tony meets up with Doctor Strange.
TONY: Hey, you said one out of fourteen million, we'd win, yeah? Tell me this is it.
STRANGE: If I tell you what happens, it won't happen.
But when Captain Marvel gets blasted away, Strange looks at Tony and holds up one finger, signifying how they win. Tony goes to get the gauntlet off of Thanos, but he gets pushed away. Feeling victorious, Thanos says his line from the beginning: "I am inevitable." And he snaps, but nothing happens! Tony got the stones off the gauntlet and now they're absorbed in his suit. And this would be another memorable and defining moment for Tony Stark as he says, "And I...am...Iron Man."
*SNAP*
After that, Thanos' army disintegrates and even the Mad Titan himself turns to dust! I have to admit it was quite chilling to see him go out like that. So I guess that means no big smiling moment for him, then. But it looked like he has accepted his fate. Anyway, I am glad that Tony was the one to defeat Thanos. I was thinking he would be one of the top contenders. But as you may have guessed, the power of the stones was too much for him, but he has his colleagues around him. Once again, Tom Holland breaks our hearts in this scene. "I'm sorry...Tony." And I think it's sweet how Pepper tells Tony that he can rest now. She's making sure the last thing he sees is her being happy. And when he breathes his last, that's when she breaks down. I'm glad this death wasn't a fake-out like in IW, but I'm also sad that we have to say good-bye to Tony Stark, the one who started it all. I can recall hearing people in the theater getting emotional. Still, it was a fitting send-off.
14) Tony's funeral
We get a funeral for Tony as we see a holographic message he recorded before the time travel mission. He ends his message with some last words to his daughter: "I love you 3000." My eyes are welling up just typing of all this! We then get this beautiful and emotional tracking shot of a large group mourning for Tony from his fellow Avengers to Peter and Aunt May to the Guardians to Scott and the Pym family to the secondary Avengers to Maria Hill to Carol Danvers to Nick Fury. A couple of people in this scene caught my eye. First, there's this young man who may not be recognized by many people but I had a feeling it was Harley the kid from Iron Man 3, and it was. It was good that he was present since I felt his relationship with Tony was one of the best parts of that movie. And then you also see Thunderbolt Ross. So does this mean the Sokovia Accords are abolished? Or is he putting aside his prejudice to honor Tony? And man, another moment that gets people is between Happy and Morgan where he asks her if she wants anything and she says cheeseburgers, like her father.
I also like this moment between Clint and Wanda as he wishes he could tell Nat that they won. Wanda assures him, "She knows. They both know." Some people say that there should have been a funeral scene for Nat, too. I would like that, but I don't mind it since they do acknowledge how much her teammates miss her. Maybe this isn't the end for Black Widow? Like was there a way to bring her back? Did Bruce succeed in bringing her back when he snapped his fingers? Maybe she just had other business to attend to? I guess we'll find out when her movie comes out.
Before I get to the last spot, I like to give some honorable mentions:
- Rocket interacting with more characters. I really wanted to see Rocket with someone else other than Thor, and we get some funny exchanges between him and more characters like with Tony. "You know, at this exact second, I thought you were a Build-a-Bear," Tony says to him. "Maybe I am," says Rocket.
- Stan Lee's cameo. I really wish this wasn't Stan's last cameo, but you know maybe since this is a finale of sorts, it is kind of fitting. And his overall cameo is not bad. I even like the NUFF SAID bumper sticker like you know what's coming.
- Cap vs. Cap. This fight scene provides an interesting contrast in how Cap reacts to his past self. When 2012 Cap says his signature line, "I can do this all day," current Cap brushes it off like he's beyond that now. When he's caught in a neck hold, current Cap says "Bucky is alive." Now some people are saying this is like the infamous Martha moment in Batman v. Superman, but it never occurred to me. I just see this as a tactic for Cap to let his past self lower his guard down.
- Giant Man punching a Leviathan. Nuff said. But it's also cool to see Scott and Hope back together again. When Cap gives them some orders, Hope says "We're on it, Cap." I love how Scott smiles at her. He's happy with the fact she's helping him and Cap.
15) Cap's ending
I was so happy to see them together! It was the perfect ending for Steve's arc! For others, not so much. So we have a controversial moment.
People have problems with this resolution, feeling it was out of character for Steve to just abandon everyone to live with Peggy. And they felt that Bucky should have been the one to carry the shield. Now I had a strong feeling this was going to happen when Steve was in Peggy's office in 1970 New Jersey. But here's the thing, it seemed like the original six Avengers have assembled for the last time in this film since two of their members are dead, the injury on Bruce's arm is apparently permanent, and Thor is out with the Guardians so it figures that Cap can do whatever he wants. Bucky seemed to be aware of Steve's intention as he says to him, "I'm gonna miss you." And there's more than plenty of defenders in this universe and they would presumably be more to discover. Secondly, on who deserves the shield more, I was fine with Sam getting the shield. I don't have strong feelings about it. But I get why they felt Bucky would be more worthy. Here's another thing, he still probably has some demons to fight and some people might still associate him as a terrorist. I could see him go on a journey of redemption, to right the wrongs of his past, kinda like Angel. Next, people think that by being with Peggy, Steve's decision would have huge ramifications for the timeline. But judging by the movie's time travel rules, I would say this is just an alternate timeline that doesn't affect the canon of the MCU. Cap would still be found in the ice, he would join the Avengers, and so on. Heck, I think he can use the knowledge he has to his advantage. He can stop HYDRA from infiltrating SHIELD earlier and have a chance to save Bucky from becoming a brainwashed assassin. Lastly, the elephant in the room, and that is the fact that Steve did kiss Sharon, Peggy's niece. I really didn't care about it and I just try to forget that even happened. I heard that the writers were originally gonna show Steve and Sharon in a relationship but Feige forced them to scrap that idea. Thank God for Feige. I don't hear people complaining that Hawkeye can't be with his family since he killed people as Ronin, so I'm just leaving that infamous kiss in the past. I think it would have been safer to have Steve die and show him and Peggy with a heavenly light around them. But as it is, it's emotionally satisfying if you put aside all logic.
And I think that's one of the ways to describe this movie: emotionally satisfying. There are some issues like the time travel logic that brings up a lot of questions. But beyond that, I felt this was the crowning achievement of Marvel Studios. A lot of what I wished for actually happened from the emotion to the fanservice moments that gave me that high was craving for in IW. I love how it can have small moments for the characters to grow and huge moments that would make you jump out of your seat and cheer. This was truly an experience I'll never forget. Since this is the end of a saga, it just kinda makes you think back to where it all started and how it grew into this juggernaut of a successful franchise. And all the years of making these movies and establishing these characters have paid off. This felt like the ultimate display of gratitude for the fans who have been going on this journey for a decade. And while the MCU is still going on and into a new direction, I'll still be following it wherever it goes.
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