My Prediction Of The Plot Of Marvel’s Endgame (And 98 Reasons Why)

INTRODUCTION

The Marvel Cinematic Universe changed the entire superhero world. The way its creators worked around legal and budgetary limitations to draw in new audiences and create was groundbreaking. They made the old way of making superhero movies feel … old. And last spring it all culminated in Avengers: Infinity War, inviting me and about a million other creative souls to predict the sequel— Endgame. But before I get started we need to get a few things straight.

This monograph is my opinion — basically a literary exercise to see how close I can get to what Endgame will look like. I’m an author and that means I think like one. Also, you need to know that my experience with any comic books is limited. I am at a disadvantage to those who know alot more about the Marvel Universe and If I’m satisfied with a part of the MCU that you aren’t, it’s probably because I don’t know enough about the Marvel Universe at large.

My background as an author will color this entire monograph since I’m a huge fan of story and that’s one thing that makes me such a huge fan of the MCU. But the perspective of an author — not a fan —is unique, since the MCU has been shaped not by those who wrote the comics, but by those who sell the comic-book movies to audience. (That’s one reason I believe Scarlett Johanson has kept her clothes on, Scarlet Witch got a new costume, and Dr. Strange’s sorcery has been downplayed.)

These predictions will be based solely from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with very little from the comic books. (I have purposefully avoided most of the fan-theories about Endgame on YouTube — most of them.) The MCU has been full of clues in the past and I believe this is one of the keys to their success. The biggest reason the MCU was successful is because they realized their limitations. They began with a limited budget and weren’t able to bring in alot of their big hitters. So they over-compensated by carefully building up the story and it paid off. IF they’d brought in the flying aircraft carrier in Iron Man it would’ve marked the movie as a geek-fest instead of a story of redemption for Tony Stark. By the time they finally introduced it in Avengers Assemble the response was “A flying aircraft carrier? About time!”

Marvel and Disney realized that less is more. They downplayed magic, mutants, and — most importantly — the sensuality that marked the Marvel comics. Did this take away from the story line? Absolutely! But it also toned down the Marvel Universe for the billions of moviegoers who would finance the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

But enough about me and my opinion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Let’s get to Endgame. Here’s what I gleaned from Ant Man and the Wasp — which, in my opinion, laid the foundation for Endgame.

THE ACTUAL PLOT

Here is my prediction for what will happen in Endgame.

1st, Earth will have suffered for a year after The Snap. Chaos reigns and at least some of our heroes will help keep the peace — I’m thinking Luis and X-Con or maybe Hawkeye.

2d, the eggheads — Banner and maybe Shuri — will push to figure out a solution to two problems: how to stop Thanos and how to reverse his Snap.

This will the point where Stark gets back from space and introduces Nebula, with her inside information about Thanos.

3d Captain Marvel shows up. I will be very disappointed if she’s just muscle. I believe Carol Danvers will bring intelligence and allies into the picture. But I could be wrong.

4th Even if Nova Force doesn’t show up, the Asgardians should be on Earth. What role they’ll play is hard to say, but they are a plot point that could be exploited. They also bring Eitri and the StarForge into the picture.

5th From the trailers it does seem there will be two battles, which makes sense. An early defeat will not only make Thanos seem unstoppable, but also draw the mad Titan back toward Earth, increasing the threat and starting the clock.

6th Some of the predictions suggest a time travel element to the plot and while I can see this happening, I also know time travel is a tricky thing to pull off. But everyone already expects a “it was all a dream” ending, so Marvel writers already have a little cover built in. (I hope I’m not the only one who expects a Second Snap — it makes sense!)

7th There are three elements that fit in somewhere: Nebula, Doctor Strange, and the Hulk. Nebula’s knowledge and revenge will be key in some way. Doctor Strange didn’t give up the Time Stone for no reason — its in play and that could (possibly) be involved in the time travel subplot. Finally the Hulk will emerge at some point.

To wrap it up, we open on a shattered Earth — maybe universe — that has suffered a disaster of apocalyptic proportions. Our heroes — along with the Wakandans, the Asgardians, and maybe mutants —- help to keep the peace, while the eggheads try to figure out a permanent solution. The arrival of Stark, AntMan, and Captain Marvel will change the dynamics and give the heroes more hope. There will be an initial attempt to do something — maybe steal the Gauntlet — that will fail, setting the stakes for complete annihilation of at least Earth. The Avengers regroup and march into battle in their “stormtrooper armor.” This will be the battle to end it all. At the last moment the Fighters in the team —Carol Danvers, the Asgardians, and others who can yield Quantum weapons — will hold off the enemy as somebody — my money’s on Cap, although Nebula would be an interesting choice — dons a Gauntlet of some sort and does the Second Snap.

But, don’t get complacent. This movie will be as gut wrenching as the last. We’ll see a whole new world filled with mutants and emptied of several beloved heroes. Suddenly the MCU will reflect the Marvel Comic Universe much more faithfully, filled with mutants, and magic, and aliens. So, as Mark Ruffalo would say, go buy a diaper and a box of kleenex. Or maybe three diapers and boxes of kleenex — this is gonna be a three hour movie.

IN-DEPTH ENDGAME PREDICTIONS

1. Endgame will build up to a second “Snap.” Whether Eitri forges a new Gauntlet or they use the old one, whether they steal the Infinity Stones, or forge new ones from the Quantum Realm, I believe one of the heroes will don the Gauntlet and snap their fingers. When they do they will exercise the same power that Thanos did. Their point of view will determine reality, just like Thanos’ determined reality after the first snap. To me, the trailers’ “Just like that” quote confirms this idea.

2. The world will have fallen to pieces. People’s lives and societies will have suffered. I wouldn’t be surprised if Wakanda comes to the front as a world-wide peacekeeper. New heroes will emerge — perhaps Ronin is one of these, before he’s brought back into The Avengers.

3. This is where Marvel introduces new characters, like the X-Men. I don’t know how they will explain the introduction, but if they don’t introduce them right now I don’t know when they would. Whether the Snap itself caused the mutations or the chaos after it (nuclear meltdown, etc.) caused them this is when we see the X-Men enter the scene.

4. The “Second Snap” will be where the MCU winnows out some characters. Some will return, some won’t. It would also be a great place to change out actors. After all, whoever does the second snap will have their own Point of View.

5. Maybe I’m being naive, but when you look at all the heroes Marvel took out, I don’t think they left the ones they did just for giggles. Infinity War was supposed to be a punch to the gut, so I believe they took out all they could — well, except for one or two jokers in the deck.

If you want to read more, here are my observations I based my prediction on.

I. ANT MAN AND THE WASP

1. Ant Man 2 Set The Timeline

The writers of AntMan2 went out of their way to set the movie’s timeline again and again. Was this coincidental? This is the MCU and there are very few coincidences. What does this mean? I don’t know, but from the first Endgame trailer it sure looks like Scott Lang drops back in time. This gives him a year to play with — maybe more.

2. AntMan2 Develops AntMan’s Powers

While the first AntMan movie didn’t show Paul Rudd’s character as a heavy hitter, I think AntMan2 develops his character even more. Sure, Scott Lang’s still played by Paul Rudd, but Scott Lang repeatedly manages to out-wit the Feds, to adapt to challenges, develop his post-prison career, and even develop a new skill — magic. We also see the ants doing more — in this case building the Quantum tunnel. I doubt we’ll see Thanos Versus Giant Ants, but they Avengers can definitely use all the help they can get.

3. Goliath and Ghost are introduced.

Do not underestimate Bill Foster’s importance. In the Marvel comics (I read the Civil War novelization — the comics, not the movies.) Bill was the one Tony Stark was going to see about fixing the micro-controllers in the Iron Man suit. Lawrence Fishburne’s Bill Foster is a genius and Ava Starr is an experienced operative, giving us brain and brawn. Also they’re villains — off Thanos’ radar so they just may have survived the Snap. I’d say there’s a 33% chance they’ll be the ones who might get Scott Lang out of the Quantum Realm. (But don’t hold me to it.)

LET’S TALK QUANTUM THEORY

This is a good time to mention that I believe the MCU had downplayed the magic that is in alot of its comics. I believe they will try to give The Infinity Gauntlet and The Infinity Stones a scientific basis and that basis is quantum theory, which is why I have to go into the weeds for a minute. I’m sorry, I’ll try to make this quick.

When you hold up your finger in most rooms you see more than one shadow because there are more than one light bulbs. Each shadow is a different shadow but its the same finger casting the shadow. That’s Einstein’s Theory of Relativity — everything is relative to your position in space-time BUT ITS STILL ALL THE SAME. Quantum theory is so different Einstein was never able to accept it.

Quantum theory teaches “the observer determines reality.” In fact, some scientists posit that particles do not exist unless they’re being observed or interacted with. That’s like saying that when you leave the room you don’t exist because I can’t see you or you’re not bumping into furniture in the room.

This is important for the MCU because as a writer I’d write The Infinity Stones could be written as some sort of “quantum interface” with the fabric of the universe/reality. Look at Dr. Strange’s Time Stone — he could “undo” certain items based on his observation. Look at the Reality Stone — it reflected Thanos’ reality. The Mind Stone could be scientifically explained since it changed the mind to the user’s Point of View.

I’m sure I’m not the only who noticed we lost a little more than half of all superheroes. My theory is that — in a Quantum Theory driven MCU — THanos’ SUBCONSCIOUS view of superheroes could lop off more than their fair share — even if he consciously wanted to be fair. That’s why I think there’s a chance Bill and Ava survived The Snap. Okay, lecture is over.

4. AntMan2 Confirms the Quantum Nature of Infinity War

If there’s one theme running under all of AntMan2 its Quantum … Everything. While this could just be using “quantum” as fancy technobabble, quantum theory could also provide an alternate to the magic the MCU didn’t bring in from the comic universe. (Let’s just say not everybody is a fan of sorcery — anybody remember the reaction to Harry Potter?) Quantum Theory is so out there and so crazy — as I hope I demonstrated in the last paragraph— that it could easily replace magic. (Arthur C Clarke said ” Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”)

5. The Quantum Realm Colors Looks Like The Infinity Stones

Is it a coincidence that the colors in the Quantum Realm look like the Infinity Stones and the Infinity Stone related action? Could there be more Infinity Stones laying around the Quantum Realm? And — while I don’t want to get ahead of myself — did anyone notice the Quantum Realm color scheme looks alot like Asgardian tech and the bifrost? (More about that later.)

6. AntMan2 Makes A Few Predictions

Most of us will remember Luis’ prediction from AntMan about the introduction of SpiderMan to the MCU. I believe he predicts that he will join the hero lineup in at least two ways. First off, he’s part of a mini-hero team called XCON. In my opinion that is way too cool a name to be a one-time throw-away. (I could be wrong.)

Second, there’s what he tells Hope in the van. “I love that suit. I wish I had a suit — even with minimal powers — maybe just a suit with no powers.” In a post-Snap world there’s going to be alot of chaos and in a world where superheroes are common knowledge, I believe ordinary citizens will take up their mantle. (We’ve aleady seen this to a degree in DC’s Doomsday story arc where Steel and others rise up after the Death of Superman.)

The second prediction involves Cassie Lang’s desire to be her father’s partner. First,we see her saying things like “I eat fear for breakfast.” and Scott saying “I have to go steal something with my daughter.” Then when he asks if her suggestion of him having a partner was Hope, she says she meant herself.

II. CAPTAIN MARVEL

The movie Captain Marvel did not live up to the expectations that I at least had for it. I believe the general consensus was “Captain Marvel will show us how she will singlehandedly mop the floor with Thanos.” and it didn’t.

Captain Marvel the movie did introduce Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel and showed she was a formidable hero who would be a valuable addition to the Avengers, but that wasn’t its primary purpose. Captain Marvel the movie laid the groundwork for the next phase of the Marvel Universe, including why Nick Fury paged her. Lets looked at this in depth.

First of all, Captain Marvel showed the intergalactic power struggle that is the backdrop for the MCU. We see the Kree pushing out the Skrull. I don’t think its coincidental that the Kree Starforce resembles Thanos’ Black Order. I don’t think its coincidental that both Ronan the Accuser and Dimon Hounsou’s Korath the Pursuer showed up in Guardians of the Galaxy.

These two are a clear connection from Carol Danvers to Thanos. In fact I’m wondering if we’ll find out if — at least in the MCU — Thanos led some sort of coup in the Kree political structure. This is where my lack of knowledge of the the comics hurts me, but as we all know, the Marvel Cinematic Universe deviates from the Marvel Comics Universe.

Second, the movie Captain Marvel makes me wonder exactly how many aliens are on Earth and how much infiltration has taken place. We’ve got Mar-Vel in PEGASUS, the Skrulls go anywhere they please, there’s a cat with a pocket universe inside of it roaming a library of top secret files. I mean, who knows how many files — or what else Goose ate over the years. (“Have you seen the JFK file? I swear I laid it on the desk!” “Well, nobody’s been in here but the cat.” Or even better. “Have you seen my keys? I swear I laid them right here a minute ago.”) Its a wonder they didn’t make Goose a tin-can scarfing billy goat.

Third, while Captain Marvel is the titular main character of Captain Marvel the movie, I believe the real main character is Samuel L Jackson’s Nick Fury. This movie lays the groundwork of who he will become — the most powerful figure in the MCU — and why — because he maintains his own private intelligence apparatus. Think about Hawkeye’s private farm. Even though Natasha Romanov dumped SHIELD’s files in Winter Soldier, no one knew about Clint Barton’s family stashed away on the farm or about the Captain Marvel pager or about a dozen other things.

The events of Captain Marvel brought a young Nick Fury into contact with a whole slew of contacts — he ends up a close working relationship with the Skrull, he learns of the Kree, and he has Goose in his office, who is evidently willing to literally cough up all sorts of valuable … stuff.

After watching Captain Marvel I believe the reason Nick Fury didn’t page Carol Danvers earlier was because he didn’t need her. With his interstellar contacts Fury would have known of Thanos and his plan — Gamora knew about it (The entire time I knew Thanos he only ever had one goal. To bring balance to the universe by wiping out half of all life, …”). As soon as Fury heard the name “Thanos” it makes sense he would start planning to call on someone with knowledge of the Kree.

Samuel L Jackson depiction of Fury’s calm response to Maria Hill’s disappearance has always made me think twice. I believe he also knew exactly how Thanos was going to do what he was going to do. (Once again quoting Gamora from Infinity War. “If he gets all six Infinity Stones, he can do it with the snap of his fingers, like this.”

Finally I want to suggest that — even if the writers wrote he wasn’t — it would make sense that Fury’s concept of The Avengers came from the Kree Starforce. Think about it — they resemble the Avengers. Each comes from a different background — even a different planet — and have different skills, yet are welded together to come out and conduct missions. But enough about Captain Marvel, lets get to the main attraction — Infinity War.

III. AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

I saw Infinity War in the theater three times, on DVD twice, and I’ve just finished Liza Palmer’s excellent novelization Destiny Arrives. (My copy is now annotated and highlighted because Ms. Palmer’s book is authorized by Marvel itself — that means if she said it, its true.) I’ve taken notes all six times and went through all of these to pull together these conclusions. So lets quickly walk through the movie and I’ll point out a few interesting things I noticed.

1. Just as an aside, Thanos had the Power Stone when he defeated Hulk aboard the Asgardian Statesman.

2.I don’t believe Loki is dead. Every time I watched Loki’s “death scene” I believed Loki faked his death. As I read Destiny Arrived, Liza Palmer’s exploration of Loki’s thoughts leading up to his “death scene” further convinced me he was planning something. Loki would have known what Thanos was planning and Ms. Palmer specifically states that Loki’s approach to Thanos was “…an elaborate and tangled web of trickery and swagger…”

If the Infinity Stones are some sort of Quantum Interface then the Observer determines reality. If Thanos thought Loki was already dead, then why kill him — consciously or subconsciously. I believe Loki felt he’d be safer if Thanos thought he was dead. Loki’s actions on the ship were meant to antagonize Thanos and Loki’s death scene was meant to give Thanos what he expected.

Finally, let’s look at how much punishment Thor took during the movie. He survived floating in space and took the full heat of a star. Not only Loki is a Frost Giant — possibly even more suited to the cold of space — but Loki survived a thrashing by the Hulk in Avengers Assemble. (By the way “We have a Hulk.” wasn’t the only snide throwback to Avengers Assemble. When I read Loki’s “You will never be … a god.” I immediately thought of Hulk’s “puny god.” comment.”)

3.Asgardian technology is more than a match for Thanos. We see this again and again. First of all, Thanos made sure to get the Power Stone before going after the Asgardians and the Tesseract. Second, we see the Gauntlet cannot stop Stormbreaker. Third, Eitri the Dwarf makes it clear that Nidavellir was safe under the protection of Asgard.

We see Asgardian technology in use as Heimdall sends Hulk to Earth and this is a good time to consider Hiemdall and Quantum Physics where “the observer determines reality.” Heimdall is the ultimate observer — Thor and Ragnarok demonstrate he sees all. I belive Heimdall intentionally sent Hulk to the Sanctum Sanctorum and I believe this demonstrates a quantum basis for Asgardian tech. (More about this later.)

And before I leave this comment, I have to point out that on page 132 of Destiny Arrives Liza Palmer writes. “In a bright blaze, the jade behemoth vanished, carried though the failing Statesman out into deep space, where the Bifrost arced and traveled at faster-than-light speeds though the galaxy.” This is interesting considering that Mar-Vel was seeking a faster-than-light engine in Captain Marvel.

4. Even with a Power Stone toting Thanos, I believe The Asgardians could have at least beaten off Thanos, but Thor probably chose to make a “last stand” allowing the civilians to escape. Remember, not only did they have a”Hulk, but they had a large army of the Grandmaster’s “gladiators.” Not only did Thor probably choose a literal knock down drag out to pin down Thanos, but he chose to keep the Hulk up his sleeve. (Loki played the Hulk card at the last minute.)

5. Thanos’ surprise at Loki initially allowing him to kill Thor shows what Thanos’ greatest weapon is — love. Thanos uses people’s love and devotion for each other against themselves. We see this in Loki & Thor, Quill & Gamora, Vision & Wanda, Gamora & Nebula, and finally in Stark & Strange. Gamora summed this up on Vormir when she said. “The universe has judged you. You asked it for a prize and it told you no. You failed. And you wanna know why? Because you love nothing. No one.”

I believe this foreshadows Endgame where love and devotion — like we see when Stark takes a one way trip through a wormhole with a nuclear bomb — will be the force that stops Thanos.

6. Does Tony Stark really not need the nanites in his chest. We know he had the surgery to remove the shrapnel shards, but what if it didn’t fix everything. Iron Man 2 revealed side effects from the first arc reactor, but were there more? Maybe he does need the nanites. Or maybe not — for such a logical scientist Stark is a very emotional individual the MCU has depicted as being driven by a overly large sense of guilt over … everything.

7. In Ragnarok we learned Dr. Strange kept tabs on visitors to Earth like Loki and here we learn he’s kept his ear to the ground on Earth, too. When Stark mentions Steve Rogers can find Vision it’s Strange who says.”Oh great.” This means he knows the Avengers are broken up.

Later during the battle in New York he tells Dr. Banner “…if the rest of your green friend won’t be joining us..” Now, maybe Stephen Strange was like the rest of humanity and just watched the news. But maybe not…we know Strange is a dedicated guardian of our reality and planet. Either way, its worth a sidenote.

When asked what his job was — and a big thanks to Liza Palmer for editing the reply in Destiny Arrives — Dr. Strange repiles “Protecting your reality.” I know that I’ve got Quantum Physics on the brain, but that fits right in wih Quantum Physics where the observer determines reality.

8.Steve Rogers’ flipphone is interesting for two reasons. First off, why is Stark carrying Cap’s flip phone? Remember, when the day started Tony and Pepper were “walking along the trails in Central Park…” (Destiny Arrivres page 127b). I wouldn’t be surprised if Tony had a picnic basket nearby for lunch either to be delivered by Happy or flown in by a Iron Man suit. The point is, this was no weird day — he had no reason to expect the mother-of-all-battles — and yet he had Cap’s flipphone on him. Leading me to ask why and suggest that Stark’s sense of guilt drove him to carry the flipphone as a final connection to a loss he could very clearly blame on himself.

Secondly, if you pause on the flipphone screen you can see the time of the alien attack in New York. If you look at the calendar in the Scottish restaurant Wanda and Vision are standing outside of you can see the day. (I believe its about Tuesday at noon.) This is probably not a plot-shaking point, but still cool.

9. Stark’s nanoparticles are more than just cool. Stark can use them for anything — like stitching up his wounds on Titan or closing the hole he just blasted in Thanos’ spaceship. I don’t know if Thanos’ “All that for a drop of blood.” comment is more than a throwaway line, but I know that Stark’s nanites just might make it more than a throwaway comment.

10.Quick aside. How does Rocket know what wipers are? My only explanation is that he’s hung around Quill too long?

11. Thor’s aside about Xandar and the Power Stone is significant for two main reasons. First of all, from the first GOTG movie we know Xandar isn’t some backwater wide-place-in-the-road. Even in the second GOTG movie Wando uses the possible wrath of Nova Force as a justification not to kill Rocket and Groot. Second, from my small knowledge of the Marvel comic univerese, I am aware that Nova Force are a force to be reckoned with on thier own. (I read the novelization of the marvel Civil War comic books and am aware the departure of Nova was one thing that led to the inciting incident in the story arc.) So Thanos hit Xandar and — even decimated — we could still expect half of Xandar to survive. I’m not saying NOva Force will be involved, but they were introduced, so it is possible and I’m convinced something happened at the end of the movie that was never revealed. (More about that later.)

12. Thor’s comment about the weapons made on Nidavellir is telling. “You simply lack the strength to wield them. You bodies would crumble as your minds collapsed into madness.” Why would a simple hammer have that effect on its user? How could a simple hammer have that effect on its user? Yet we’ve seen twice — once in Thor and once in Age of Ultron — how humans literally cannot even pick up Mjolnir.

This suggests to me these weapons have some sort of “quantum” component to them as I’ve already suggested with Heimdall and the Bifrost. We’ve seen this with the Infinity Stones, too. Although several characters in the MCU have successfully picked up the Tesseract, Red Skull was unable to and —in his words — it rejected him. (Yes, I know this is different in the comics.)

13. Wanda and Vision set the timetable for Infinity War occurring two years after Civil War — a fact reinforced a few months later in the release of Ant Man and The Wasp.

14.The flashback to Thanos’ discovery of Gamora reinforces my observations from Captain Marvel about the Kree Starforce and the Black Guard. The Black Guard is a sort of Janissary Corp, Christian youths captured by the Ottoman Turks and raised as elite soldiers. The Black Guard may even fulfill part of the role of the Varangian Guard who guarded the Byzantine Emperor and were recruited from Northern Europe, including Vikings. The Byzantines chose foreigners so they wouldn’t be involved in palace intrigue — in other words they would stand to gain nothing from the death of the Emperor.

The reason this is significant in our study of Infinity War is the similarity to the Kree Starforce. Between 1995 and the present, did Thanos move to control elements of the Kree or did he just copy them? (Obviously the Marvel Comic Universe is different.)

15. The flashback to the discovery of Gamora is interesting since it shows the Chitauri under Thanos’ command. This is not just significant in the connection to Avengers Assemble, but also is a reminder of Loki’s knowledge of Thanos.

16. Quill and Gamora’s conversation about him killing her reveals another foreshadowing comment when he asks. “Why does somebody always have to die in this scenario?” Its interesting when one considers the ending of the movie where so many somebodies die.

17. On the encounter on Knowhere we see Thanos use the Reality Stone no less than 3 times and hear him make the statement. “Now, reality can be whatever I want.” This supports my theory that the Infinity Stones are Quantum in nature since quantum mechanics literal posit that the observer determines reality.

18. When Infinity War came out I heard one commentator criticize Peter Quill for being overcome with his devotion to Gamora and ruining the fight on Titan. Since then I’ve seen some comments downplaying Drax’s role in the movie. The scene on Knowhere is important if — as I believe and will delve into later — the fight on Titan was a choreographed deception for the benefit of Thanos. That means that if Peter Quill intentionally interrupted the removal of The Gauntlet as a diversion then the idea may have come from Drax’s desire for revenge on Knowhere.

19. The standoff on Knowhere between Peter Quill and Thanos shows Thanos’ repeated use of love as a weapon.

20. When Falcon walks into the Avengers’ Headquarters, his interaction with War Machine convinces me the two have worked together over the ast two years. The Falcon was so involved with Rhodey’s crippling accident that their first encounter had to be awkward — one of them will show way more emotion than is displayed here. The repeated liaisons between Wanda and Vision imply the two teams were no strangers. This doesn’t even take into account War Machine’s not-so-subtle attitude toward Secretary Ross.

21. I believe the conversation between Rogers and Vision may give insight into the fate of Chris Evan’s Captain America in the MCU. Vision says. “Thanos threatens half the universe. One life cannot stand in the way of defeating him.” Steve Rogers replies. “But it should. We don’t trade lives, Vision.”

Remember back in Avengers Assemble, when Cap and Stark were quibbling over old fashioned sacrifice and Steve Rogers mentions somebody throwing themselves on the barbed wire so their comrades could get across and Stark says. “I would jsut cut the wire.” Well, at the end of the movie, who’s the team member that literally lays down their life for the mission? Tony Stark as he flies the nuclear bomb into space and then free falls back to Earth. So I’m wondering if Cap’s comment — like Quill’s why does somebody always die in this scenario comment — foreshadows him not coming back from the final mission in Endgame. Chris Evans has been suggested as leaving the MCU and in the comics we’ve seen several people take up his Shield, including Bucky Barnes, who is very much available in the MCU.

22. The scene on board the “doughnut ship” is interesting for two reasons. First of all we are reminded of Dr. Strange’s sheer strength, determination, and willingness to defend Earth at any cost. Remember in Dr. Strange he locked himself in a time-loop with Dormammu, dying again and again and again until he won the battle. Dr. Strange takes his responsibility very seriously. Second, it reinforces my belief the battle on Titan was a complete setup, especially the surrender of the Time Stone to Thanos. Dr. Strange gave it up to save Stark, something he explicitly states he would not do.

23. Dr. Strange make two significant comments while they’re flying to Titan. First of all he asks. “I’m sorry, I’m confused as to the relationship here. What is he, your ward?” This confirms what we’ve seen so far in the MCU about the Tony Stark-Peter Parker relationship and basically compares them to Batman and Robin. It sets a mentor-mentee dynamic and ironically, predicts what will happen to Spiderman since so many of the BoyWonders have died that the Joker even comments about it. The comment is. “Unlike everyone else in your life, I don’t work for you.” Not only does this show he is familiar with those around Tony Stark, but also references Wong’s comment in Dr. Strange. When Stephen Strange points out people laughed at his jokes Wong cracks. “Did they work for you?”

24. Gamora’s tirade against Thanos on board his ship displays is a good point to make a comment I believe is overdue. This is just my opinion, but I don’t believe Thanos is a hero or an idealist trying to save the Universe. In my opinion Thanos’ good-natured Malthusian theories are just a mask for the hurt he suffered when his planet Titan was lost. Thanos suffered greatly, but that he lost the right to sympathy when — I believe— he decided to spread that suffering to every other planet. I believe that deep down Thanos is so angry that he wants to inflict his suffering on literally everyone else. (I’m also suggesting this may be entirely subsconcious — I don’t believe this Thanos gets up every morning and thinks like this. No, he probably has convinced himself he’s doing the galaxy a service.)

25. So we last saw Nebula in GOTG 2 when she went off to assassinate her adopted father and now we learn she nearly succeeded. We also learn — from the interrogation flashback — that she and Gamora had a conversation with Nebula stating Thanos was about to go after the Infinity Stones. This brings up two questions. First of all, if Nebula felt she just might not be able to kill Thanos, what would be as consoling as destroying his dream? Which leads us to the second question, did Nebula attempt to assassinate Thanos to intiate the events of Inifinity War — sort of a “controlled burn.” Which suggests a third question, does she have a plan to save the day. Has she conspired with other characters in the MCU? As a final comment, part of my very little knowledge of the Marvel Comic Universe involves Nebula taking the Gauntlet from Thanos and going so mad the Avengers have to bring in Thanos to stop her.

26. On the ship we get a glimpse of the glory that was Asgard with Thor’s revelation they taught Groot as an elective.

27. Thor makes a significant point that Thanos has never fought him twice. In their second encounter Thor wins — although its turns out too little too late.

28. So there’s a mold left for The Infinity Gauntlet and Eitri is still alive. Could we see him forge a second Gauntlet which could be used to counter the one Thanos has? Just speculation, but interesting speculation.

29. As I mentioned before, Eitri’s conversation reveals that Asgard’s sphere of influence protected the Elves of Nidavellir. Not only does this add to the plot of this film, it aslo suggests an rich intergalactic political scene that is later explored in Captain Marvel. It also raises the question of what else Ragnarok left exposed and what has happened to it.

30. Finally, I just have to point out the Forge at Nidavellir is one reason Infinity War is more like Star Wars than an Avengers movie. This is a much bigger canvas and the Forge is an example. Think about it — a forge that harnessed the power of a star. Wow.

31. Nebula’s trick to kill her guard and her call to Mantis gave extra fuel to my theory of Nebula initiating the events of Infinity War — whether out of personal revenge or her concern for the Galaxy as a whole. We know from GOTG 1 & 2 she can take alot of pain and punishment.

32. Two quick asides. Eitri mentions that Stormbreaker could potentially summon the Bifrost. As we saw in the first scene, the Bifrost seems to use Quantum Mechanics. Second, look at the name — Stormbreaker. Will this be the weapon that breaks the storm that is Thanos?

33. Another side note. Tony Stark and Peter Parker are masters of sarcasm and quick comebacks. After their encounter with the Guardians I couldn’t help but think — as they stood there dumbfounded — they were finally faced with a bigger smart-mouth than their own.

34. Peter Quill says “… so let me do the plan and that way it might be really good.” I believe it was his plan, inspired by Drax’s missteps on Knowhere and helped by whatever Dr. Strange saw.

35. Thanos marvels that the Time Stone was Dr. Strange’s greatest weapon and yet he never used it. But he did — when he looked at 14,000,605 scenarios to find the one where they won. This scene is key since not only would he have seen enough to see the outcome of the battle on Titan — for example he would have known Nebula’s ship would knock over Thanos — he also saw the end of Endgame. This is what he meant when he tells Stark there was no other way.

36. I believe there was a “world tree” carved into one of the obelisks on Vormir. Is that significant? I don’t know.

37. I don’t think Gamora’s comment on Vormir was just a throwaway. “The universe has judged you. You asked it for a prize and it told you no. you failed. And do you wanna know why? Because you love nothing. No one.”

I believe Thanos was so scarred by his loss — of Titan, of who knows what else — he couldn’t let of that hurt. He couldn’t forgive, he couldn’t move on. All he could do is try to spread the pain and its possible Gamora’s comment is a foreshadow of Endgame.

38. After Black Panther I had an epiphany over the role of Wakanda. I knew Infinity War was coming, with Thanos and “the biggest army in the univierse” and I knew it would push the Avengers farther than ever. My thought was that Wakandan technology would give humans the edge over aliens that would be needed. (Up to The Black Panther all the realllly advanced tech was alien. Wakandan tech was fully human.)

Well, I was right that Wakanda was key, but I was wrong about its role. It wasn’t Wakandan tech that was key, but Wakanda itself. When the final battle — not just for Earth, but for The Universe —came it would be in Wakanda and while the Avengers would lead the fight the footsoldiers themselveswould be Wakandan.

39. Let’s talk about Shuri for a minute. We know that General Okoye survived Infinity War, but I don’t know about SHuri. Shuri is key for two reasons. First of all, she’s a genius on the level of Banner or Stark. Her knowledge and Wakandan technology will be key to whatever happens next. But there is a second reason. As I mentioned earlier, I believe Endgame will be set some time — maybe even a year — after Infinity War and we will see chaos spread across the globe. In my opinion Wakanda — literally behind its shields — may take on a leadership role in this world.

In the Marvel comics Shuri sought the mantle of Black Panther and although I don’t remember if she ever took it up this event was reflected twice in Black Panther. When they asked for any challengers at the first duel she raised her hand, but just to ask if they could wrap this up, that her costume was uncomfortable. Later as they fled Killmonger she suggested that she be given the heart-shaped herb. Will she finally take up the Black Panther mantle. Even without the power of the heart-shaped herb her tech could make her formidable. Black Panther also showed her as a formidable warrior even without the suit itself.

40. Let’s talk about Vision for a moment. VISION is made of vibranium and if there’s one person who knows vibranium, its Shuri and the Wakandan scientists. Although I haven’t seen him in any Endgame trailers, I’m not writing him off. As was pointed out twice, Vision is more than the Mind Stone. Even if all Shuri could do was give us a slightly updgraded Jarvis cyborg, it could be effective as … something.

41. This is a great time to talk about Bruce Banner. Although the Hulkbuster armor gave Banner a dog in the fight, Banner’s real value has never been on the battlefield. I know that Hulk is one of the biggest Marvel heroes, but Banner’s genius is his genius and Shuri’s lab will give Banner access to technology he could only dream of.

42.A quick observation about Thor on Nidavellir. I already mentioned how tough Asgardians are, but Thor on Nidavellir is soooo tough it merits a second mention. Remember the conversation.

“You’re about to take the full force of a star. It’ll kill you.”

“Only if I die.”

“Yes. That’s what killing you means.”

Also let’s look at the nature of Stormbreaker. Thor’s recovery from the burst of solar energy — it must be hard for that guy to get a suntan — was directly linked to the axe. This is where I mention Quantum Mechanics again — this axe has a very symbiotic relationship with the user. I believe this is key to its ability to counter the efforts of Thanos’ Gauntlet.

43. One note about Thanos’ Outriders in the Battle of Wakanda — I don’t think these four armed, eyeless, fanged humanoid creatures are totally sentient. They seemed to be more like what I’d call Organic Battle Drones.

44. I just have to say I loved the scene, a furious demigod with a psychotic raccoon on his shoulder and a tree warrior next to him.

45. By the way I have to point out that Thor has come full circle from ebuliant party-hard demigod looking for a fight to a sober minded Avenger to a wise old warrior to a blodthirsty demigod looking for a fight.

46. Thanos’ demonstration of what Titan looked like is another example — in my opinion — of the Quantum nature of the Infinity Stones.

47. When Thanos says, “The hardest choices require the strongest wills.” I have to wonder if this implies how Endgame will wrap up. There are some very strong wills among the Avengers.

48. When Quill says. “FOr the record, this was my plan,…” I believe him. The takedown of Thanos beings together elements of the battle on Knowhere — Drax jumping the gun — and their battle with Ego in GOTG 2 — Mantis putting the foe to sleep.

49. I don’t know if I’m right and I don’t claim to be the only one to notice this, but the Battle on Titan just seems tooo choreographed, almost as though somebody —cough, cough, Doctor Strange — had already seen what was supposed to happen.

50. When Banner says “Hulk, we got a lot to figure out, pal.” during the Battle for Wakanda, I had to wonder if this was foreshadowing … something. Remember Edward Norton’s eyes glowing green at the end of the Hulk movie?

51. Was Thanos’ comment, “All that for a drop of blood.” just a throwaway line? Does it have more meaning? Think about Stark and Banner and Shuri — what could they do with a drop of Thanos’ blood. Or maybe it is just a throwaway line.

52. Go on YouTube and look at the moment that Peter Quill pulls up short, firing at the space where Thanos had just been, and asks, “Did we just lose?” I don’t think that was a Oh-Dear-God-In-Heaven-Did-We-Just-Lose question. I believe it was more of a Okay-Did-We-Lose-Like-We-Planned-To. We’ve seen Chris Pratt portray an upset Quill before — remember when Ego revealed he’d given Quill’s mother the brain tumor or when Quill thought Stark and Parker had taken Gamora — and I don’t think Chris Pratt was playing that kind of response.

53. Perhaps the most telling moment of the movie was when Dr. Strange finally gave Thanos the Time Stone. Did you see the look on both Strange’s and Stark’s faces — even Thanos was suspicious. I fully believe it was part of a plan. When Robert Downey, Jr asks Strange, “Why? Why would you do that?” it wasn’t a surprised tone, but more of a I-can’t-believe-you-really-did-that. I still believe Strange did not give up the Time Stone to save Stark — he yielded it as a part of a bigger plan.

54. The death of Vision once again shows what Thanos relies on — the threat of love. He uses love and devotion again and again as a weapon against his foes. If my theory of a victim subconiciously making everyone else pay for his losses is correct, this could be a manifestation of what a choice forced on him or even resentment against something he feels he will never have again.

55. The final roadblock to Thanos in Wakanda shows his surprise a second time — this time to Steve Rogers’ strength. This is significant when we remember that Rogers was the only Avenger who gave Thor pause during the afterparty in Age of Ultron. If the Gauntlet is Quantum and somehow connected to the user, then Rogers could be suited to trade his life for all the others.

56. As I’ve mentioned, I am not familiar with the Marvel Comics Universe, but have gleaned enough bits and pieces to gather that the Soul Stone holds some kind of “pocket universe” inside of it. The post-Snap scene with Thanos and a young Gamora does seem to back this up and no, I have no clue how this fits in. Hey, Marvel writers have to earn thier money somehow.

57. The state of the Infinity Gauntlet post-Snap is interesting. The MCU presents it as some sort of Interface to the Power in the Stones — Quantum or otherwise. Which raises the question as to how well it can function now and makes the existence of the mold to create the Gauntlet an even more significant question. (Seriously, if Thanos had Eitri create the Gauntlet, why wouldn’t he destory the mold?)

58. Finally, I want to point out Dr. Strange’s final comment, “Tony, there was no other way.” For starters I don’t recall his addressing Stark by his first name before and secondly, I believe it shows Dr. Strange had seen what would happen and — as a dedicated Stone-keeper — was at peace with it.

59. One of the most interesting moments of the movie comes at the very end. So this is two days after New York and at the end of the Wakandan battle. In the post-credits scene Maria Hill tells Nick Fury there are, “Mulitple bogeys over Wakanda” that are “ten times bigger” than the ones in New York while never confirming they had the same energy signature. Who are these new bogeys? Is it the Nova Force from Xandar? Is it the Kree, how about the Skrull?

IV. Liza Palmer’s DESTINY ARRIVES

Two weeks ago Marvel released “Destiny Arrives,” the novelization of the Infinity War movie written by Liza Palmer. I’d been looking for this book for about nine months and dropped to my knees in prayers of thanksgiving when I found it. Although I have used it — particularly for quotes — during the prior section of observations about the movie this section shares a few observations from the book’s text. This book was invaluable not only because of the quotes and the great writing, but also because it is authorized by Marvel. That means whatever Ms Palmer wrote can be taken as MCU canon. NOTE: Destiny Arrives is page numbered like Japanese Mangas. The first page is numbered 143 and the last page is numbered 1. When I say 143b I mean the back of page 143 — the pages only have page-numbers on their front.

Report this ad

1. Ms. Palmer makes it clear Loki didn’t plan on dying and I’m interpreting that as Loki-isn’t-dead. For example, on page 134 we read, “Loki’s eyes flicked from Thanos to Thor, his mind reeling with clever misdirects, resourceful trickery, and possible escape routes.” On the next page — 134b — we read “For his part…Loki remained confident … his voice was steely and resolved. “I assure you Brother, the sun will shine on us again.”

2. Oh, a quick note that may just be that, Ebony’s Maw’s telekineses probably extends only around his person. “As soon as Ebony Maw had vanished, the metal shackling Thor clattered to the gound…” page 130b

3. The line on page 128, “Having reached its final destination, the Bifrost dissolved…” when talking about the Hulk’s interstellar ride, suggests a quantum nature to Asgardian technology in that Heimdall can send the passengers to a particular location.

4. On page 123 we have a quote from Wong. “These Infinity Stone each control an essential aspect of existence.” I know I’m repeating myself, but I have to point out this sounds very much like Quantum Mechanics.

5. Ms. Palmer makes it clear several time that the mentor-mentee relationship between Stark and Parker exists. I don’t know if this even relates to Endgame, but I believe it could be important in the future of the MCU. For example, on page 116 we read, “Because right now? Peter want ed Mr. Stark to aprove of him more than anything.”

6. On page 89 Gamora says, “The entire time I knew Thanos he only ever had one goal. To bring balance to the universe by wiping out half of all life.” Two paragraphs later she goes on. “If he get all six Infinity Stones, he can do it witht he snap of his fingers, like this.”

Thanos’ plan was not a secret. Nick Fury could have easily learned of it.

7. On page 84 Ms. Palmer writes “… the pod ejected into space, splitting the team into two distinctly different missions, both of which coudl determine the fate of the universe.” Maybe this is just a throwaway, but I can’t help but think of Thor getting Stormbreaker and Drax’s possible rehearsal on Knowhere of the stunt Peter would pull on Titan.

8. On page 81b we read “…and Vision, Tony Strak’s rogue — and possibly evolving — android.” I can’t help but wonder if this means the Mind Stone was having an effect on the vibranium Vision was made from. if this is the case, then the idea of Vision surviving after removal of the Stone — even just as a version of Jarvis — grows more likely.

9. On page 75 Ms. Palmer writes in the scene following the rescue of Wanda and Vision. “Steve looked at Vision and Scarlet Witch. They had grown so much over the past two years…But they had no idea what he knew about what was coming for them. Or how much everyone in that Quinjet would need each other.”

Now, if this was fan-fiction that I wrote that wouldn’t be worth considering. But since it comes from Liza Palmer — who is authorized by Marvel — I have to pause and reread it. What does Cap know? Does this have anything to do with how he can hold Thanos back, even for just a moment. Or does it just mean he watched the news and read some files War Machien forwarded to him.

10. On page 69 we see Drax jump the gun and go for Thanos’ throat. Let’s pause to consider this scene once more. We see a bereaved lover — husband and father in this case — ignore common sense and strategy, overcome by loss and passion. We see Mantis subdue him by putting him to sleep. We see it leads to the failure of the Guardians to stop Thanos from acquiring another Infinity Stone and vanishing. If any of this sounds familiar it means you watched all of Infinity War or read all of Destiny Arrives. I believe this formed Peter Quill’s plan to trick Thanos into taking the Time Stone. Why, I don’t know, but that battle on Titan was verrry choreographed.

11. On page 66 Ms. Palmer writes about Thanos turning Peter’s blaster rays into bubbles, “The red glow of the Reality Stone made them glimmer like ethereal rubies.” The Reality Stone changed reality into Thanos’ perception — once again, a basis for my theory that the Infinity Stones are based on Quantum Mechanics.

12. On page 55 liza Palmer makes it clear Cap has traded his life for others before as she compares Vision and Wanda’s conversation to Steve and Peggy’s as he prepared to take the Hydra plane onto the ice. “He couldn’t stand by and let Wanda’s and Vision’s lives — and futures together — spool out as his and Peggy’s had. He had to find antoher way.”

I believe it is possible Cap — a man out of time — may choose to sacrifice himself to bring back who he can. Cap can interact — a little bit — with Asgardian tech. Him wearing the Gauntlet could cost him everything — including his existence, perhaps as the price required by the Soul Stone.

13. Concerning Doctor Strange’s resolve and ability to take punishment, lets look at a line from page 52b. “Fortunately Doctor Stephen Strange possessed the most focused mind in the the galaxy.”

14. Another example of foreshadowing on page 51b when Stark tells Parker. “This is a one-way ticket.” Alot of these lines are not throwaways…

15. Once again I have to emphasize I do not believe Strange gave Thanos the Time Stone to save Tony Stark. From page 49b we read. “Strange was agahast. ‘Under no circumstances can we bring the Time Strone to Thanos!'”

16. INteresting line from page 38. “Knowing that Thor had survived Thanos’ attack … piqued Doctor Strange’s interest. He must speak with Thor; he felt the Asgardian had a very important role int he tapestry that was unfolding.”

17.A note about the conversation on page 35 when Red Skull warns Thanos of the price the Soul Stone extracts Thanos replies. “I am prepared.” Red Skull replies. “We all think that at first. We are all wrong.” I believe this is a foreshadowing — in one way or another — of the failure of Thanos.

18. Quick note from page 23b. Wakanda ahd spent two days preparing for war. I don’t know if this meant the Battle of Wakanda occurred two days after the start of the movie, but its worth mentioning.

19. A quote from page 1 is worth mentioning.”…cosmic energy that had not been collected in a single place since before the Big Bang washed over him (Thanos) and coursed through him.”

V. ENDGAME Trailers

Now lets talk about Endgame. Marvel has been kind enough to release several trailers, showing what will be in the movie and these are very important as a “funnel” of sorts to focus all we know about the movie. I’ve seen them briefly and here’s what I noticed.

1. Stark is in the Milano, probably with Nebula. It also seems the ship is in distress. But later we see Stark on Earth so either the ship was rescued by someone (Carol Danvers?) or the message was a decoy. Remember, Stark’s suit is made of nanites, so he can make antoher helmet.

2. We see hundreds of boats clustered around the Statue of Liberty.

3. Cap has shaved. I think this means he’s back in service. Steve Rogers is a soldier and the military — especially in his day — has rules about shaving.

4. One scene cuts from Hawkeye to a tween girl shooting a bow to him as Ronin in Japan. Who is the girl — I don’t think his kids from Age of Ultron could grow that much in a few years. And why is he in Japan — is he out trying to control chaos after the “Snap.”

5. We see Scott Lang in front of an overgrown house staring at posters of the missing plastered on a power pole. I noticed there’s been no trash collection.

6. We see Rocket on War Machine’s shoulder. Are they going after Thanos or are they keeping the peace?

7. And finally, we see what I’m going to call the new “stormtrooper” armor.

8. Remember how in his interaction with Thor Rocket takes the role of Captain. In a Endgame trailer Rocket literally is the Captain, warning the Avengers. “Don’t throw up on my ship.”

9. I’ve also glanced across a few comments online about the trailers. That’s how I know that the surveillance video of Scott Lang outside Avengers HQ is old. I also picked up the observation that the Avengers seem to be going into battle twice — once in their old duds and once in the “stormtrooper armor.”

10. Ic ould be mistaken, but I think that “stormtrooper armor” isn’t just supposed to look good. I wouldn’t be surprised if it has some sort of added protection integrated into it. What its protection from is hard to say, but considering everything in the movie — time travel, Infinity Guantlets, Asgardian tech — its hard to say. But I don’t think its just for morale building.

11.The Avengers finally get into space. This is important considering the Marvel Comic Universe and its been a long time coming. This is a brave new world for the Avengers where their focus won’t just be Earth. From now on they have to look beyond Earth into Space, just like post-World War II America couldn’t return to Isolationism.

11. Finally I want to wrap up with my favorite quote from the trailers where they say. “We found something… bring everyone back.” “Just like that?” “Yeah, just like that.”