Marvel Just Forgot Endgame’s Rules of Time Travel (& Broke Them for a Second Time)

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is pretty straightforward throughout its first three phases. Sure, there are powerful gems that can bend reality and open massive wormholes, but all that comes with the territory. All that matters is that, when the chips are down, the good guys always rise to the occasion and defeat whatever villain is threatening to hurt innocent people. Unfortunately, Thanos proves to be too much for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, as they lose to him in Avengers: Infinity War and have to watch as half of life ceases to exist. They spend the next five years wallowing in pity until they realize they can have a second shot if they play their cards right.

As soon as Scott Lang exits the Quantum Realm in Avengers: Endgame, time travel becomes part of the MCU. Well, it’s not as much time travel as it is the multiverse, with the heroes creating new timelines every time they go back and change something. That’s how it’s supposed to work anyway, but the MCU keeps changing the rules, even after it got flak for doing it the first time.

Loki Season 2 Has Its Own Time Travel Rules

After his meeting with He Who Remains goes very poorly, Loki returns to the Time Variance Authority in Season 2 of his solo series. Things are different, though, with Mobius and the rest of his allies not recognizing him. The only reason the God of Mischief is able to escape getting sent back to the Void is that he’s time-slipping, which means he’s jumping from the present to the past and future randomly. He seeks out an expert on the subject, Ouroboros, aka OB, who begins working on a solution in the past after having a conversation with Loki. When the Asgardian returns to the present, OB is ready to discuss the issue further, but that’s not how it should work.

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Based on Endgame‘s rules, Loki talking to OB in the past should create a new timeline that’s separate from the one he knows. But the good people at Marvel Studios are ready with an explanation, with Loki revealing that time works differently at the TVA, meaning the rules don’t apply to anyone inside the organization’s headquarters. That’s good news for Loki, who goes on to fix his time-slipping issue and sacrifice his freedom to hold the multiverse together when a Kang variant, Victor Timely, fails to get the job done. However, the MCU’s latest project, Eyes of Wakanda, doesn’t take place in the TVA, yet it still plays fast and loose with time travel.

Eyes of Wakanda Sends a Black Panther Back in Time

Wanting to flesh out the most interesting nation in the MCU, Marvel Studios is rolling out Eyes of Wakanda, an anthology series that follows War Dogs throughout the MCU’s history. They all want to recover vibranium artifacts that are out in the world, but Kuda and Prince Tafari have it harder than most in Episode 4, “The Last Panther,” when they meet a Black Panther from 500 years in the future. She claims the only way to save Wakanda in her present is to return the axe they’ve just recovered to its former home, so Killmonger can steal it and kick off the events of Black Panther that end with King T’Challa opening up the country to the world. The War Dogs aren’t convinced initially, but the future queen shows them images from her time that feature the Horde decimating everything in its path.

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Horrified by what they’ve seen, Tafari and Kuda go to return the axe, but their new friend isn’t able to go with them because the Quantum Scanner that sent her back in time forces her to return home. Fortunately, everything appears to work out in her favor because the War Dogs return to Wakanda empty-handed. However, there’s still the matter of whether the Black Panther travelling back in time does any good. Her efforts may save the reality she visited, but her own should still fall to the Horde because she can’t change the past. Eyes of Wakanda doesn’t show the future Wakanda after Tafari and Kuda’s mission is complete, which may be on purpose, but it’s high time that the MCU did a refresher on its time travel rules because it’s hard to keep them straight.

Eyes of Wakanda is streaming on Disney+.

What did you think about the time travel in Eyes of Wakanda? Do you think it breaks the rules set up in Avengers: Endgame? Let us know in the comments below!