Avengers: Endgame is the concluding film of Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), serving as a culmination of the storyline surrounding the six Infinity Stones. To date, it remains one of the most successful projects by Marvel Studios, with its grand scale and captivating narrative.
However, Avengers: Endgame cannot be viewed as a definitive work, as this film still raises numerous questions that remain unanswered, especially now that the MCU has entered Phase 5 without adequately resolving them. It is possible that these details may serve as “teasers” for future projects that Marvel Studios has yet to announce or could simply be elements that were omitted during script development.
What has Steve Rogers been doing after the events of Endgame?
As the concluding film of the Infinity Saga of the MCU, Avengers: Endgame focused on the journey of the six core members of the Avengers, including Tony Stark/Iron Man, Steve Rogers/Captain America, Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Bruce Banner/Hulk, Clint Barton/Hawkeye, and Thor. Each of these characters went through various emotional experiences from Avengers: Infinity War to Avengers: Endgame. Notably, Rogers and Stark were central to the narrative, as both have been closely tied to the MCU since its inception.
Endgame brought a bittersweet conclusion, particularly for Iron Man. This superhero made the ultimate sacrifice to wield the Infinity Stones, stopping Thanos’ army from 2014 and helping the Avengers reverse their dire situation. However, Rogers’ journey and the resolution of his character in Endgame seemed to leave some aspects open-ended.
During a journey back through time to retrieve the Infinity Stones, Rogers decided to go back to continue his unfinished romance with Peggy Carter. Many years later, he handed over his Vibranium shield to Sam Wilson, who is currently taking on the mantle of Captain America following the events in the series The Falcon & the Winter Soldier. Since then, no one knows where Rogers’ older version has gone and what he has been doing. With the Super Soldier serum still being exploited in the MCU, many believe that this character will return in future projects to complete his ongoing storyline.
The Importance of the Infinity Stones in the Marvel Narrative
Marvel Studios has gradually introduced the Infinity Stones into the MCU through various film projects, culminating in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. However, these stones are seen as having a crucial role in the existence and balance of the universe. This was emphasized during the argument between Bruce Banner and Doctor Strange in Endgame: if one universe lacks Infinity Stones, it will have to face many threats.
Banner seemed to grasp this concept quite clearly. This is why he insisted on bringing the Infinity Stones back to their original time after the battle with Thanos concluded. However, one thing that no one seems to remember is that the Infinity Stones of Earth-616, the primary reality of the MCU, were completely destroyed by Thanos. This could unintentionally place this timeline in a precarious state as there are no longer safeguards provided by the highest cosmic entities.
This question arises at a time when the MCU has entered a new narrative phase—are the six Infinity Stones still relevant to the current state? The series Loki shows us different timelines, including the Time Variance Authority (TVA). However, in What If…?, Marvel continues to explore the potential dangers that a variant of Ultron could pose if he had access to these six Infinity Stones. The ongoing conflict regarding the narrative arc is what leaves audiences feeling quite bewildered about their roles in the universe.
What happens to Gamora’s 2014 version after Avengers: Endgame?
Zoe Saldana debuted in the MCU as Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), the adopted daughter of Thanos, who teamed up with Star-Lord to form the Guardians to protect against threats to the galaxy. However, during the events of Avengers: Infinity War, this character was killed by Thanos to obtain the Soul Stone. This was a deeply emotional conclusion for Gamora, but it also opened the door for an alternate version of her, the 2014 version, to enter the main timeline of the MCU.
Initially, when traveling to the future, Gamora remained loyal to her adoptive father. However, after realizing Thanos’ true intentions and the consequences of his actions towards the Avengers, she decided to distance herself from him and align with the most formidable heroes on Earth. This raises the question of how Gamora continues to exist after Stark’s snap wiped out Thanos’ army.
The question emerges about what Gamora has been doing and where she has been after Endgame concluded. There are hints that this will be one of the themes explored in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, as Peter Quill embarks on a journey across the universe to find Gamora. This film is set to release on May 3.
Will Pepper Potts return to the MCU as Rescue?
Avengers: Endgame introduced many surprises, including the appearance of Morgan Stark, Tony Stark’s daughter; Bruce Banner merging with Hulk to become Smart Hulk; Steve Rogers deciding to go back to be with Peggy Carter; and when Pepper Potts donned a suit like Iron Man to fight alongside him in the battle against Thanos. Although she appeared in the MCU since 2008, this marked the first time Potts officially suited up as a superhero known as Rescue, as per the Marvel comic canon.
Avengers: Endgame is also seen as a fitting conclusion for Pepper Potts, particularly as her storyline has always been closely tied to Tony Stark. However, she will still have opportunities to continue inheriting Iron Man’s legacy in the MCU, alongside other armored superheroes like War Machine, Ironheart, and even potentially Iron Lad—a variant of Kang the Conqueror. Armor Wars, an upcoming film project from Marvel Studios, might highlight Potts’ role after Endgame.
What was mentioned about the underwater kingdom in Endgame?
In the first segment of Avengers: Endgame, Okoye mentioned an underwater earthquake occurring beneath the Atlantic Ocean in the region of Africa. This reference draws connections to Iron Man 2—a film that previously “hinted” at the existence of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis in the MCU. At that time, audiences speculated that this detail might be the foundation for Marvel Studios to integrate Namor into future projects, especially as part of the sequel narrative for Black Panther.
And indeed, Namor made his debut in the blockbuster Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as the main antagonist. However, this character resided in the underwater kingdom of Talokan (instead of Atlantis), located deep beneath the Atlantic near the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. Therefore, the references to the underwater kingdom in Endgame may not directly relate to Namor, leading to the conclusion that there are still other hidden underwater realms existing within the MCU. Alternatively, this could merely serve as a convenient narrative omission in the world-building of Marvel Studios.
What has happened with Xandar and Nova Corps?
Xandar is one of the most notable locations introduced in the blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy and serves as the headquarters of the Nova Corps, the home planet of the Nova Corps—a military organization tasked with maintaining peace among the galaxies. This was also the place where Thanos first acquired the Power Stone before Infinity War. When Thor confronted the Guardians, he revealed that the Mad Titan had already wiped out Xandar to kick off his plan to collect the Infinity Stones, leaving the remnants of the Nova Corps in a precarious situation.
In March 2022, reports surfaced that Marvel Studios was developing a project centered around Richard Rider, also known as Nova—a character that relates to the Nova Corps in the comic source material. So far, little information has been disclosed about this project, though it could be seen as a perfect opportunity for Marvel Studios to reintroduce Thanos’ assault on Xandar on the big screen.
The potential arrival of Captain Britain
The time travel journey in Endgame brought the Avengers back to some of the most significant moments in the MCU. This included the battle in New York in 2012, Jane Foster’s trip to Asgard in 2013 in Thor: The Dark World, and even the symbolic dance of Peter Quill in Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014. This journey also opened up new stories in the past, especially when Rogers and Stark returned to the early headquarters of S.H.I.E.L.D. in Lehigh in 1970.
During the quest to find Pym particles, Rogers stumbled into Peggy Carter’s office and overheard a conversation about a character named Braddock. In contrast to the original character, Brian Braddock is a British superhero who debuted in 1976 and operates under the alias Captain Britain. He is a superhero and a member of the Captain Britain Corps in the Marvel universe. This detail, along with the ongoing narrative about the multiverse, suggests that Braddock could possibly appear in a future Marvel Studios project.
How did Bruce Banner become Smart Hulk?
Bruce Banner is one of the longest-standing characters in the MCU, first portrayed by Edward Norton in The Incredible Hulk (2008) before Mark Ruffalo took over in 2012. Banner can be seen as one of the characters who has undergone the most development, from a rage-filled monster unable to control his inner beast to a character with a bit more awareness in Thor: Ragnarok, and ultimately becoming Smart Hulk, the merged version of Banner and Hulk, in Avengers: Endgame.
The series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law hinted that Banner and Stark spent a significant amount of time figuring out how to help the dual personalities of Banner and Hulk coexist. However, until now, Marvel Studios has yet to provide a clear explanation for the process that led to the creation of Smart Hulk.
Source: ScreenRant, Marvel Studios
