Fans are yelling, crying, and cheering as the credits roll on Avengers: Endgame.
But there's another emotion viewers are experiencing: confusion.
Major spoilers ahead, so consider yourself warned!
The kid at Stark's funeral
At the end of Avengers: Endgame, nearly all the MCU heroes gather to pay tribute to Tony
Stark's life and death.
During the funeral, we see a familiar-looking boy in a suit.
It's actually a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo.
Played by Ty Simpkins, the character is actually Harley Keener, the gadget-loving kid who helped
Tony out of a jam in Iron Man 3.
"Freeze!
Don't move."
"You got me."
The Russo Brothers were determined to answer almost every lingering question in the film
franchise, and this cameo also offers a hint about what we can expect from the MCU in the
future.
While Morgan Stark, Pepper Potts, and Rhodey are all candidates for future Iron Man films,
Harley is one of the youngest heroes of the Marvel universe.
Endgame is the culmination of over a decade of storytelling and multiple actors' contracts.
Like Tom Holland's Spider-Man and Brie Larson's Captain Marvel, the future stars of the MCU
are going to be a younger generation of performers.
Harley could quite conceivably be a future Iron Kid.
Sam and the shield
It sounds like Chris Evans has been ready to move on from the MCU for years, but at
least he gets to leave the franchise on his own terms.
After going back in time to return the Infinity Stones to their proper places and times, Captain
America decides to stick around and marry Peggy Carter, living out his life until the
year 2023, where we see him as an old man.
But just because Chris Evans is done with the MCU doesn't mean Captain America is.
Steve presents Sam Wilson with the iconic shield.
Meanwhile, Bucky looks on approvingly.
Still, a big question remains: Why was Sam given the shield and not Bucky, especially
since both of them have worn the mantle of Captain America in the comics?
Well, there are a few reasons.
For one, Bucky really seems to like his life in Wakanda, and he's already got his own new
superhero identity: the White Wolf.
"Good morning Sergeant Barnes."
"Bucky."
"How are you feeling?"
"Good."
Another reason: Captain America never actually chose Bucky as his successor in the comics.
Instead, Bucky took over for Cap after Steve Rogers died.
Cap was proud of his one-time sidekick, but the only person he's ever actively passed
the shield onto was Sam Wilson.
Really, it's only fitting that Cap would pass his shield along in the same fashion in Avengers:
Endgame.
Captain Thormerica
It's one of the best moments in Avengers: Endgame: Thanos is just about to kill Thor
when he's smacked in the back of the head by Captain America, who now wields the mighty
hammer Mjolnir.
But you might be wondering how Steve Rogers was finally able to lift the hammer, especially
when he couldn't quite pull it off in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
A few different theories are floating around.
Some speculate that Cap could fully lift Mjolnir in Age of Ultron but simply chose not to.
"That's a very, very interesting theory.
I have a simpler one: You're all not worthy."
"Boo!"
"Aw, c'mon."
At the time, Cap was still struggling with his ego and trying to find his place in the
world, but the Captain America we see in Endgame is a changed man: He's let go of his ego and
admits Tony was right to be worried about Thanos.
He wants to make amends with his old friend.
Just like Thor, Steve needed to get over himself to become the hero he was always destined
to be.
Did Cap ruin the timeline?
While trying to grab a couple of Infinity Stones, Iron Man and Ant-Man accidently let
Loki get away with the Tesseract.
This complicates things when Cap from 2012 runs into Cap from 2023, who happens to be
carrying the scepter.
Past Cap obviously thinks Present Cap is Loki in disguise, and their ensuing battle is a
true highlight of the film.
Present Cap gets the upper hand by telling Past Cap that Bucky is actually alive; a wrinkle
that seems to complicate the future timeline.
The fight ends when Present Cap zaps Past Cap with the scepter, but what about the aftermath?
Fortunately, the scepter also has mind control powers, thanks to the Mind Stone… not to
mention that Loki is on the loose.
Not only would it be easy to assume that Past Cap's memories were messed up by the Mind
Stone, but the Avengers would probably assume everything was Loki's work, from the fight
to the information about Bucky.
That means the timeline is still secure, so rest easy tonight.
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