Avengers: Endgame Encore is now in theaters, offering Marvel fans a return to the game-changing film that ended an era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (“The Infinity Saga”) and began another (“The Multiverse Saga”). The big “sell” for this Encore is that Marvel Studios has changed the film so that it will now serve as a direct bridge to the events of Avengers: Doomsday (via a new ending), with some “bonus scenes” that make important reveals we didn’t know about Doomsday‘s story.
Videos by ComicBook.com
We’ve already done a deep dive into the Endgame Encore bonus scenes, and based on the online discourse, fans are largely lukewarm on them. However, it should be pointed out that the re-release isn’t the first time that Marvel has been tinkering with the events and outcomes of Avengers: Endgame for years now. Just look below for 4 big developments the MCU revealed after the film, which completely change the way you see it now.
4. The Great Fate of Loki
SPOILERS: Avengers: Endgame Encore‘s new ending extends (ruins?) the original ending of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) finally getting the dance Steve had wanted since WWII. In the new scene, the dance party is once again interrupted by a knock on the door: it’s Loki (Tom Hiddleston) coming to call – but not the murderous, malevolent trickster that Steve Rogers fears is standing in his foyer.
When Avengers: Endgame was released, the villainous version of Loki was all we knew. However, a major first chapter of the Multiverse Saga began with the Loki spinoff series that continued the story Endgame began. When the Avengers botched the Time Heist during the Battle of New York, it created a variant timeline where Loki escapes Thor’s capture using the Space Infinity Stone (Tesseract). However, that timeline and Loki were promptly pruned by the Time Variance Authority. Against all odds, the Loki variant took a major turn, embarking on a path that made him reconcile with himself (in many variations) and change to a heroic path. By the end of the Loki series, the variant sacrificed himself to become the “God of Stories” holding the multiverse together. The Endgame Encore ending brings that journey full circle in a mind-boggling way.
3. The Snapped & The Blipped
The opening act of Avengers: Endgame is one of the most somber and deep superhero stories ever told. The Avengers are forced to accept their failure to protect the world (and universe) from Thanos’ psychotic vision of “balance” and the world becoming a dead and hollow version of the one before “The Snap.” In the arc of a single movie, the transition from the half-dead world to a restored world (once the Avengers gather the Infinity Stones and use them) is a rousing, epic joy. However, since Endgame, the MCU has made it impossible to cheer that victory the same way.
Through other MCU films and Disney+ series (including Endgame‘s opening scene with Hawkeye’s family), we’ve seen exactly how traumatic The Snap was, when loved ones and animals all vanished in a dusted instant. But what’s really changed is how we view Endgame‘s climax and “The Blip,” the moment when half the world suddenly returned from a 5-year absence, as if they never left. From geopolitical and economic turmoil, to real estate and property disputes, to PTSD and the unnerving time differentials between those who aged five years and those who didn’t… It’s been a mess trying to rebuild the world of the MCU. Watching Endgame now, Scott Lang staring happily at birds, or Hawkeye getting a phone call from his wife, just doesn’t hit the same.
2. Rhodey Is A Skrull
Marvel’s Secret Invasion is largely considered to be the worst piece of content the MCU has ever produced. The espionage mystery series saw Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) uncover a long-running plot by a fringe faction of the shape-shifting alien race, the Skrulls, to infiltrate Earth and replace key figures. One of the biggest twists in the series was that Col. James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) had been replaced by a Skrull agent after his crippling injury in Captain America: Civil War. Skrull-Rhodey used his clout as an Avenger and world savior after Endgame to navigate into political power.
The real Rhodey was saved, but that doesn’t change how you see Avengers: Endgame after Secret Invasion. It’s angering to watch an imposter hanging with the Avengers squad during their lowest, most vulnerable moments as heroes. His bonding with Nebula and near-death peril with Rocket and Hulk when Thanos attacked are shady enough; the fact that it’s Skrull-Rhodey who is the first to comfort a dying Tony Stark makes the blood boil. However, the dark suggestion of using time travel to kill Baby Thanos now makes so much more sense, knowing it came from a Skrull.
1. Steve Rogers’ Happy Ending
It was hard not to shed (another) tear at the very last scene of Avengers: Endgame, if you were a longtime MCU fan. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) had been waiting for a dance with Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) since their time together serving in WWII, during Captain America: The First Avenger. They never got that chance before Steve was frozen in time and Peggy died, but when he had the power of a god in his hands (the Infinity Stones), Steve Rogers decided to change all that.
Seeing Steve and Peggy get their happy ending after all has become a poignant and iconic ending to Endgame. However, as of writing this, it’s been confirmed that this perfect ending has been ruined. Avengers: Doomsday director Anthony Russo has confirmed that Steve broke the multiverse to have his heart’s desire, and the Endgame Encore bonus scenes already confirm it will cost trillions of lives across thousands of realities. Captain America just went from being the greatest hero in the MCU to a flawed man who may cause the downfall of all existence. Good luck watching that sweet dancing scene the same way ever again.
Avengers: Doomsday will be released on December 18th. Has viewing Avengers: Endgame changed for you after the Multiverse Saga started? Let us know in the comments!
More Movies
-
Image Courtesy of HBO -
Image Courtesy of Marvel
