If you're a Marvel fan who likes to pore over every frame, looking for key details, this
is for you. These are the most paused (and most pause-worthy) moments in Avengers: Endgame.
In the wake of Captain America: Civil War, the various Earthbound heroes of the MCU were
divided in a way we hadn't seen before, and the films that followed directly commented
on the fallout from those events. Spider-Man: Homecoming showed us how Tony Stark was carrying
on and even looking for new members to join the Avengers, while also implying that Captain
America was on the run. Black Panther showed us the isolation of Wakanda in the aftermath
of King T'Chaka's death. Then Avengers: Infinity War came along and delivered Cap's team of
secret Avengers, traveling around the world to help where they could. What the film didn't
give us, though, was any real presence from Ant-Man and Hawkeye.
"I'm so confused."
"These are confusing times."
Turns out that after Civil War, both Scott Lang and Clint Barton were put under house
arrest for their roles in helping Cap. Scott got a whole movie devoted to his predicament
with Ant-Man and the Wasp, but Endgame was the first film we saw Clint dealing with his
own confinement. If you look closely in the film's cold open, you can see the consequences,
if only for a moment. Pause at just the right time, and you'll spot an ankle monitor around
Barton's leg, similar to the one Scott Lang had to wear.
When it comes to the world of Marvel Comics and its translation to the big screen, there
are some Easter eggs that will never get old. We could never get enough Stan Lee cameos.
And it was always fun to see a famous comic creator's name show up on a street sign or
a storefront. And of course, die-hard Marvel fans are always happy to see a certain three-digit
number.
When Avengers: Endgame opens, Scott Lang is still trapped in the Quantum Realm, and he's
only freed because a rat steps on the controls for the Quantum Tunnel in the back of his
van, which has long since been moved into a storage unit with the name "Lang" on the
sign. And beneath the name is the unit's number: 616.
That number has long been associated with the "prime" Marvel Universe in the comics
continuity, the reality where all of Marvel's main stories are set.
"There are multiple realities, Peter. This is Earth dimension 616, I'm from Earth 833."
The 616 gag has been used before in the films Dr. Selvig wrote it on a chalkboard in Thor:
The Dark World, for example but it's always nice to pause for a moment and just smile
at the reference.
Avengers: Infinity War had to pack on a lot of plot into an already long movie, which
means that there were plenty of questions from the film that Endgame needed to spend
some time answering. One of those loose ends was a character from Thor: Ragnarok who became
a fan favorite and then was conspicuously absent from the brutal opening of Infinity
War. So, what happened to Thor's rocky pal, Korg?
"My name is Korg, I'm kind of like the leader in here, I'm made of rocks as you can see,
but don't let that intimidate you. You don't need to be afraid, unless you're made of scissors.
Heh."
Thankfully, Avengers: Endgame lets us know early on that Korg and his best friend Miek
survived the slaughter of the Asgardians and are now living with Thor at New Asgard on
Earth. Like the god of thunder, both former gladiators have become couch potatoes, hanging
out in the house all day and playing video games. It's a funny reveal, but it includes
more than just the news that Korg is alive.
If you freeze the scene on one of Korg's shots, you might notice that he's adopted some Earth
clothes, namely a pineapple print shirt and shorts. It might seem like just a funny costume
choice, but it's actually a nod to the actor who plays Korg, Thor: Ragnarok director Taika
Waititi, who's been known to walk a red carpet or two in a pineapple printed romper.
Stan Lee was a constant presence in the world of Marvel-based films for decades thanks to
his many, many cameo appearances. After popping up in the more separated universes of the
Spider-Man and X-Men trilogies, Lee became a prominent fixture of the MCU, appearing
in nearly every Marvel Studios film in one form or another to the delight of fans. Sadly,
Lee passed away in the fall of 2018 at the age of 95, and Avengers: Endgame marked the
last time we'd see Lee's instantly recognizable face in a new cameo.
Thankfully for all of us, it was a memorable appearance. Lee showed up at the beginning
of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers' time heist to New Jersey in 1970, speeding past an army
base in a muscle car. Lee's retro look for the cameo is reason enough to freeze the frame,
but if you pause at the very beginning of the scene and look at this car, you'll notice
a "nuff said" bumper sticker prominently displayed. Along with "excelsior," "nuff said" became
one of Stan the Man's most popular catchphrases back in the days when he was still writing
regular letter columns in the pages of Marvel Comics, and it's a nice nod to the Stan of
the '70s.
"You know, I guess one person can make a difference. Nuff said."
Though he might not have the same high profile as characters like Captain America, Thor,
or Iron Man, the superhero known as Ant-Man is actually one of the oldest characters in
the Marvel Universe. Hank Pym and his incredible shrinking powers debuted all the way back
in 1962 in the pages of Tales to Astonish, and the character went on to become a founding
member of the Avengers.
Pym's long journey to the big screen meant that, by the time we finally did see him in
the MCU, the story focused more on the second Ant-Man, Scott Lang.
"Hi. I'm Scott."
"Did he just say 'Hi, I'm Scott?'"
And it made Pym into a legacy hero whose adventures in his prime we see only in flashback. However,
Avengers: Endgame offers an opportunity to pay homage to this legacy with a time travel
trip back to 1970, when Pym was still a young doctor working in a S.H.I.E.L.D. lab. Though
Pym's Endgame time is little more than a cameo appearance, we get to see a brief glimpse
of an early Ant-Man helmet on a table in his lab. If you pause to admire the headgear for
a moment, you'll see that it's a design lifted from Pym's very earliest comic book appearances.
Avengers: Endgame is three hours of pure comic book-fueled adrenaline, so there are plenty
of moments worth hitting the pause button on. If we had to pick just one, though? If
there was only one scene in the film worth freeze-framing over and over again? It's the
moment when the story's climax kicks into high gear.
Steve Rogers, battered and hobbled by his battle with Thanos, refuses to stop fighting.
He stands up as Thanos' army gathers on the horizon, prepared to go down swinging in the
battle to save the Earth. Then he hears his friend Sam Wilson's voice in his head, and
the portals open up all around him. Suddenly, Captain America is surrounded by an army of
allies from Wakanda, the Sanctum Sanctorum, and beyond. The crowd that gathers so Cap
can, at long last, say those famous words:
"Assemble."
...is truly an amazing sight, and it's worth pausing on to highlight as many characters
as possible. Bonus points if you can find Howard the Duck in the ranks.
The buildup to the climactic battle is an amazing moment, full of appearances from resurrected
heroes and plenty of freeze frame-worthy shots. Even after all that build-up has landed, though,
the showdown itself offers plenty of individual spotlight sequences that are worth focusing
in on. As the camera zooms through the massive battlefield, virtually every major Marvel
character gets at least one moment to shine. It's a glorious series of moments, but one
in particular seems to stand out above the rest.
At one point in the battle, our heroes decide they need to get the Infinity Gauntlet over
to the Quantum Tunnel to keep it away from Thanos. As Peter Parker tries to hand the
Gauntlet over to Carol Danvers, every major female hero in the fight surrounds her, and
they prepare for an all-out assault on Thanos' forces. Is it a move that feels like pure
fan service to some? Maybe, but creating a team of all-female Avengers known in the comics
as "A-Force" if even for a few seconds, is still cheer worthy, as is their charge into
battle seconds later.
The arc of the overall MCU sometimes builds slowly in the background, but it's there,
and Avengers: Endgame made that especially clear by serving as both a loving guide to
the MCU's past and a conclusion to the story of Tony Stark. The film is an emotional, devastating
ending to Tony's journey from selfish tech genius to savior of the universe, and the
payoff of that journey feels like a satisfying conclusion to not just this film but the decade
of movies that came before.
This all culminates in the Avengers holding a memorial service for Tony outside his family
home, and the camera lovingly pans across what's essentially the universe he created
as the first MCU hero. We see each franchise represented in turn, all given suitable reverence,
but then the camera briefly hovers across a sad young man standing by himself, as moviegoers
scratch their heads and go, "Huh?"
If you or someone in your home is still confused about that kid at the funeral, hit pause and
study his features. He's grown up a lot, so it's understandable if you didn't recognize
him at first, but that's actually Harley Keener, the budding child inventor from Iron Man 3
who helped a stranded Tony Stark when he most needed a friend.
"I would've added in the retro--"
"Retro-reflective panels?"
"To make him stealth mode."
"You want stealth mode?"
"Cool, right?"
"That's actually a good idea."
In other words, Harley more than earned his spot at that funeral.
Back in Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos promises that if he gets what he wants he'll finally
go someplace to rest, proud of the years of labor it took to finally make his dreams a
reality. In Endgame, we get to see what that rest looks like, and for Thanos at least,
it seems rather nice. Wounded and weak in the wake of his battle with the Avengers and
his effort to destroy the Infinity Stones once and for all, the film finds Thanos at
home on an isolated garden planet, harvesting crops and relaxing in what looks like a simple
hut. He's also found a new use for the armor he wore through all his years of fighting:
It's now a scarecrow watching over his fields.
On the surface, this is a nice symbol, an indication that Thanos has indeed committed
to no longer fighting anything or anyone. Before the Avengers show up, he seems truly
relaxed and content in his new surroundings, and the scarecrow is a good indication of
that. But Marvel Comics fans know that the imagery carries a deeper meaning. If you pause
the movie at this point and then go look at the final pages of the classic 1991 story
The Infinity Gauntlet, you'll see a direct parallel to the end of that story, in which
Thanos is exiled to live out his days as a simple farmer after his defeat.
In the wake of the Snap, each of the surviving Avengers learn to cope in their own way. Steve
starts support groups, Bruce learns how to deal with both halves of himself, Thor descends
into a life of booze and video games, Tony starts a family, and Clint goes on the warpath
after losing his wife and kids. Then there's Natasha, who decides her place is in the Avengers
Compound in upstate New York, where she coordinates superhero operations on Earth and beyond,
because it's the only thing she knows how to do. She also, apparently, takes some solace
in certain aspects of her past.
"I used to have nothing. And then I got this."
In the scene where Steve visits Natasha at the compound, one wide shot reveals an interesting
nod to Natasha's unconventional upbringing. If you pause at the right moment, you'll see
a pair of ballet shoes on a chair. This is a nod to Natasha's past as a young girl trained
to be a Russian assassin. The ballet was part of the physical training along with her journey
to becoming a cold-blooded killer, and perhaps as she grew older it was one of the few things
she still enjoyed about that period in her life. We'll learn more about Natasha's past
in the Black Widow solo film, and this little Easter egg is a nice nod in that direction.
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