Major Marvel Location Returns in Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame is a huge movie. It's seeing huge success at the worldwide box office, it had a huge cast, and it told a massive story as it not only answered the question of "what's next?" after Avengers: Infinity War but brought together threads from over a decade's worth of Marvel Cinematic Universe films. Yet, within in all that "huge" were a lot of smaller details for fans to take in -- including the return of a major Marvel location.

Early on in Endgame, the surviving heroes plus Captain Marvel track down Thanos and attempt to retake the Infinity Stones to reverse The Snap. Upon discovering that they're too late as Thanos has destroyed them, Thor beheads the Mad Titan. Five years later when a new plan to use time travel to get the stones and bring everyone back presents itself, Bruce Banner and Rocket go to collect Thor from where's been living a quiet, albeit drunk, life in New Asgard -- a.k.a. Tønsberg, Norway.

While the surviving Asgardians settling in Norway is, by itself not a surprise -- Asgard and Thor in the Marvel Universe are both based on elements of Norse mythology -- some might be surprised that it's Tønsberg specifically where they opted to make their new home. The Norwegian village has a long history in the MCU, appearing both in Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger.

MCU fans are first introduced to Tønsberg in Thor in the year 965 A.D. when the Frost Giants of Jotunheim as led by their king Laufey arrived in the Norwegian village with a plan to conquer Midgard -- a.k.a. Earth. They froze everything they encountered with the Casket of Ancient Winters in an attempt to essentially enslave Earth by causing a new Ice Age. Fortunately for Earth, the Asgardian army led by King Odin showed up and defended Midgard, battling the Frost Giants and forcing them to retreat to their own world. The Casket was then taken to Asgard and kept in Odin's Vault with other powerful objects. Of course, that's not the only thing that Odin brought back to Asgard with him. When he collected the Casket he also found a child who had been abandoned and left to die -- the child that would end up being Loki.

Tønsberg appeared again in Captain America: The First Avenger many centuries later during World War 2 when Hydra leader Johann Schmidt -- better known as Red Skull -- arrived at a church in Tønsberg. Schmidt was looking for the Tesseract and despite the Church Keeper's claims that the Tesseract was a myth, Schmidt continued his search, ultimately finding the actual Tesseract in a box hidden behind a mural of Yggdrasil. After killing the Church Keeper and having the village destroyed, Schmidt took the Tesseract.

With Tønsberg having such significant ties to Asgard through Odin's battle with the Frost Giants as well as it being where the Tesseract was kept and guarded, it makes sense that the village would be where the last of the Asgardians would go to create their new home. It makes particular sense of Thor to bring his people there since it's a location that has deep ties to both his father and his brother, loved ones he is still grieving when Avengers: Endgame begins. While he may not be facing his feelings by drinking too much and hiding away from both his people and the world in Tønsberg, being there likely makes him feel closer to two of the most important people in his life, a small comfort in a world turned upside down with grief after The Snap.

Avengers: Endgame is in theaters now.

Did you notice that it was Tønsberg where the Asgardians made their new home? Let us know what other details you caught in the comments below.

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