Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Has Avengers: Endgame Parallels

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is now playing in theaters, offering up the conclusion to the [...]

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is now playing in theaters, offering up the conclusion to the Skywalker saga as we know it. Episode IX is burdened with wrapping up several story threads in the Star Wars universe, bringing the battle of light versus dark to one last climactic and emphatic head. In doing so, the film offered up more than one parallel to another franchise which wrapped up a sprawling saga earlier this year. Before Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker came to an end, a few moments in its conclusion felt similar to those of the third act in Avengers: Endgame.

Warning: Spoilers for Avengers: Endgame and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker follow. Major spoilers!

Things were looking grim when Rey came face to face with Palpatine for a showdown which would decide the fate of the Star Wars universe, once and for all. Of course, this is standard for many major epics which pit armies of good characters against armies of bad characters. However, the third act of Episode IX's resemblance to that of Avengers: Endgame went deeper.

Much like Captain America after going toe to toe with Thanos, Poe Dameron felt defeated when the Sith's forces were far greater than those of the Resistance. When it seemed like all hope was, both Cap and Poe received a radio transmission. In the Marvel world, Cap's call came from Sam Wilson: the famous, "On your left." For Poe, it was Lando Calrissian letting him know that Resistance fighters from all around the galaxy had come to help in the battle. In Endgame, the characters arrived through Doctor Strange's portals. In The Rise of Skywalker, the army dropped out of light speed transportation and appeared almost instantly.

From there, more battle raged on and a roller coaster of different characters having the upper hand ensued.

When it came time for one character to be a hero, Tony Stark and Rey were up to the plate in their respective films. Iron Man would trick Thanos and retrieve the Infinity Stones, doing something no one knew he was capable of with his suit while surprising the big bad villain. Rey would dual wield lightsabers, taking in Palpatine's energy with a move no one knew she was capable of.

Tony Stark would say, "I am... Iron Man."

Rey would said, "I am... all of the Jedi."

Tony Stark would snap his fingers, erasing Thanos and his army, and sacrificing himself in the process.

Ray would use all of her Force energy to send everything back at Palpatine to end him, once and for all, sacrificing herself in the process.

The big difference came when Ben Solo emerged, Force healing Rey, presumably giving her back the bit of life she had given him earlier in the film. Rey would come back to life and Ben Solo would ultimately be the one to die.

Of course, the films were quite different from one another. The characters are drastically different, the exact execution of their efforts were different, and there dialogue was different. Still, it's hard not see the parallels between Endgame and The Rise of Skywalker, especially as both films are conclusions to stories which are juggernauts at the box office.

Which saga-ending movie did you like better? Avengers: Endgame of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker? Share your thoughts in the comment section or send them my way on Instagram and Twitter.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is now playing in theaters.

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