Where is Gamora?
We all know Gamora took a dirt nap in Infinity War — if that’s news to you then you are definitely reading the wrong post — leaving the character dead with no hope of resurrection *and* guaranteed to be back in time for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The writers of Endgame seem to have reconciled that conflict by using time travel to bring a pre-Guardians Gamora into the present, but when the movie ends she’s nowhere to be seen. That jagoff Quill and the other Guardians take off in their ship, and she’s not with them. That’s the only spaceship currently available, so either she’s inexplicably hanging around on Earth… or she disappeared in Tony’s snap. Think about it. Tony doesn’t know Gamora (he’s heard of her but has never met her) and doesn’t know she’s there at the end battle, so when he snaps his fingers and makes everyone who came with Thanos disappear that would include her, too.
Is Sam Wilson really the best fit for a new Captain America?
Elderly Steve Rogers sits quietly on a bench reflecting on the lifetime of love and nooky he enjoyed with Peggy Carter, and when Sam “Falcon” Wilson walks over, Steve gives him the shield and suggests that he should be the new Captain America. It’s a nice moment and a good beat between friends — but Captain America is more than just a nice guy with a shield. He’s a super soldier enhanced with super serum and given super strength and super physical resilience. He’s… a super man. Sam is none of those things, and while he can carry the shield he wouldn’t be able to throw it more than a couple of dozen feet and he definitely couldn’t jump out of an airplane without a parachute. He couldn’t single-handedly hold open Thanos’ fist. He couldn’t get knocked down repeatedly and get back up every time. Falcon needs mechanical help to do pretty much anything outside of simply being a good guy, and if they give him a mechanical suit to up his strength and invulnerability isn’t he just another Iron Man? The obvious answer was to hand off the shield and the moniker to Bucky “Winter Soldier” Barnes as he’s both “super” and a good guy with an emotional connection to the character.
Why is Captain Marvel such a dud?
At the risk of upsetting fans of Marvel’s newest big-screen hero, can I just wonder aloud why she was so damn ineffective here? Captain Marvel’s one of the most powerful beings in the universe — supposedly — and is super strong, capable of supersonic flight, able to shoot laser blasts from her fists and can pull a Holdo Maneuver (the act of slicing giant spaceships in half) with nothing but her body. But after helping find Thanos she takes off again only to return at the very end of the movie to get her butt kicked by a slightly younger Thanos. She punches him some — punches! — but gets tossed aside. We know, of course, that Captain Marvel’s appearance here was filmed before Brie Larson made her standalone film, so maybe they were still feeling out the limit of her powers, but that seems unlikely as uber producer Kevin Feige knows what’s ahead at all times. The other excuse I’ve seen floated is simply that she’s too damn powerful so they had to limit her accomplishments so as not to outshine the Avengers. I’m not buying it and am instead just chalking this one up to indifferent writing intent on filling screen-time before Tony Stark’s big sacrifice.
Who’s that kid at Tony Stark’s funeral?
As the camera moves through the mourners at Stark’s funeral we see various groups of friends and families clustered together based on their respective movie franchise, and standing alone is an unfamiliar teenage boy. Who is he? If you’re like me you immediately thought “Stark has a bastard son!” Close, but no. He’s actually the kid from Iron Man 3 (2013) who befriended Stark. There’s actually zero reason you would know this in the moment, as it’s been six years and little Harley Keener (Ty Simpkins) has grown, but the answer is confirmed in the cast credits. So while this isn’t technically an unanswered question it is one that requires outside knowledge to answer.
What’s the deal with Americans five years after the snap?
The film opens with our unsnapped heroes formulating a plan to kill Thanos and reverse his apocalyptic finger-magic, but when that fails, the doldrums set in and we jump ahead five years. Now, I get that people would still be sad, but five years is a long time and life would go back to normal. So why do we see shots of abandoned baseball stadiums and ports filled with empty, half-sunk boats? The suggestion is that the country has become a wasteland, but there are still 160 million people in the U.S. alone! The survivors would be back to living their lives within weeks or months… as evidenced by a later scene showing autograph-hungry kids pestering Hulk in a coffee shop. A population that, back to normal, wouldn’t leave sporting arenas unattended.
What is that clanging after the end credits?
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is one built on keeping viewers looking forward, and to that end, they’ve mastered the art of teasing what’s to come via extra scenes during and after the end credits. Endgame eschews that tradition as recognition that the film truly is the end for some characters, for the Thanos storyline, and for this three-phase arc. There is no extra scene, but we do get an audio extra in the form of metal pounding on metal. What is it? The obvious answer here is that the clanging is the sound of giant church bells in the sky welcoming Tony Stark into heaven after his final sacrifice. That, of course, makes the most sense, but I’m going against the grain and suggesting that’s not actually the sound we’re hearing. Instead, and bear with me here, could it be the sound of Stark crafting his first “iron man” suit in the cave in Afghanistan? Instead of looking forward, the film uses its final moments to reflect back on the MCU’s first film and biggest gamble.
How was this “the only way?”
I saved this for last, as it’s an admittedly personal gripe of mine that many of you don’t share. There comes a moment in Infinity War where the Avengers have Thanos right where they want him and then the dickweed Quill screws it all up. It was annoying then and it’s even more annoying on re-watches, but when some people — like me — complained about it we were told it was all to plan. Doctor Strange tells the gang and viewers alike that there’s only one possible outcome that sees the defeat of Thanos, and this fight on this day isn’t it. Those of us unsatisfied with that mumbo jumbo were told to wait and see how it unfolds in Endgame, but while the new film satisfies on its own merits there’s no satisfaction given to this basic question. They had the gauntlet off Thanos’ hand and had baby-man Quill not disturbed the other Avengers they could have decapitated and amputated the titan right then and there. I get that this is the story they wanted to tell, but saying this is the “only” way without any explanation as to why is just contrived writing.
Related Topics: Avengers: Endgame, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Unanswered Questions
