By Lexie Kauffman ’22
Avengers fans excitedly await the arrival of the fourth film in the Avengers series. “Avengers: Endgame” premieres on April 26, 2019. However, the trailer only shows eight of our favorite superheroes, leaving us with thirty-three MCU characters with unknown fates.
The trailer opens with Tony Stark, Iron Man, adrift in space. Fans of Infinity War will know that Tony Stark was stabbed by Thanos on an alien planet. All his companions faded to dust except for one. His only way off Titan was the ship that was left by The Guardians of the Galaxy. The ship from the trailer matches the one left on Titan.
In the trailer, Stark records a message to his fiancée, Pepper Potts. He attempts some humor and explains that he has no food, water, and oxygen. The fact that his oxygen is about to run out leads fans to believe that Tony Stark may meet his end in Endgame, hence the quote, “Part of the journey is the end.”
Another piece of evidence that allows fans to believe that Tony Stark will not survive this upcoming movie is the cast list. In the cast list, the actor that played Harley Keener, a young boy from Iron Man 3, is listed. This leads fans to believe that Harley will become Iron Man if/when Tony dies.
One minute into the trailer, Tony Stark is no longer the feature. The trailer pans to an image of Thanos’s armor on a pole, as if idolized. A quick shot of Thanos walking through a meadow is then portrayed. At this time the voice of Black Widow starts to play as she explains that Thanos wiped out half of the living things in the universe. Fans can use that line to infer that Thanos also wiped out plants and animals.
The trailer then changes locations to show what is happening at the avenger’s compound. Natasha Romanoff, Black Widow, is having a very serious conversation with Steve Rogers, Captain America. Rogers appears to be crying.
The scene then changes to a distraught Bruce Banner who is looking at faces of missing people. Scott Lang, Shuri, and Peter Parker are pictured. These familiar faces bring a lot of questions to fan’s minds when they see them. Scott Lang has the easiest fate to explain. During the after-credit scene of Ant Man and The Wasp, Scott Lang gets trapped in the Quantum Realm when Hope Van Dyne and her parents turn to dust. Scott is indeed alive but trapped. Scott’s fate also leads fans to question what happened to Scott’s young daughter, Cassie. So far, Marvel has not released any comments on her fate.
Shuri, the younger sister of the Black Panther, was another familiar face to haunt the missing records in the trailer. In Infinity War, the last we see of Shuri is when her lab is attacked, and she get shoved off a platform. This raises fans to question Shuri’s fate. Was Shuri dusted in the snap? If Shuri was indeed dusted, then why did Marvel choose to get rid of a young character with so much knowledge and potential?
On the topic of young knowledgeable Marvel characters, Peter Parker’s face was another to join Scott and Shuri in the missing records. Peter’s fate is something that every person on the internet knows unless they’ve been living under a rock. The young superhero was dusted on an alien planet called Titan. He dissolved in his mentor’s, Tony Stark, arms. Peter met his fate with many others on Titan, but his was uniquely special. Leading up to his death, Parker begged and pleaded with Stark, claiming that he “did not want to go.” Peter Parker, Spiderman, had a special fate because of his special powers. Being the mutant that he is, Peter has a healing factor and his “spidey sense” which detects danger. Instead of dissolving painlessly, Peter felt his death approaching, and felt his body trying to repair himself.
Fans know what happened to Peter Parker, negating any questions that we may have. However, the endgame trailer pictures a photo of Peter Parker in his Spiderman suit without his mask. Only three people involved in Peter’s life know about his secret identity. Tony Stark is trapped on an alien planet with a stab wound. Peter’s aunt and best friend are not mentioned or pictured in the trailer. This information leaves fans wondering which of Peter’s loved ones exposed his identity to the “Rogue Avengers,” ensuring that they are in fact alive.
The trailer then pans through the Avengers compound, slowly featuring Thor who appears to be in deep thought. Thor lost everything in Infinity War. Asgard was slaughtered, his brother was killed, and he watched a lot of his friend’s dissolve.
The trailer then changes to a silhouette who appears to be on a spaceship. A closer look reveals that it is Nebula, the only other person that was left on Titan with Tony Stark. Fans can infer that Nebula and Tony are travelling together, attempting to return to Earth.
Throughout the past ten seconds, Steve Rogers voice has been playing over the trailer. He is discussing what they have lost because of Thanos. When he reaches the line, “We’ve lost family,” the trailer switches to the image of a man sharpening a sword. Natasha appears behind the man and watches as the man turns out to be Clint Barton, Hawkeye. Barton is pictured in an outfit that fans have claimed is the Ronin the Accuser outfit. In the comics, Clint Barton took on the identity of Ronin. However, this outfit is much darker than our usual Hawkeye, leading fans to believe that his wife and kids: Laura, Cooper, Lila, and Nathaniel, were all dusted by Thanos’s snap.
The trailer then shows Natasha and Steve having a deep discussion while Steve is staring at a picture of his past love interest, Peggy Carter. Natasha tells him, “This is going to work Steve,” and he replies, “I know, because I don’t know what I’ll do if it doesn’t.” Using this line and a tweet from the actor, Chris Evans, fans believe that Steve Rogers may meet his end and pass his shield onto the next worthy Captain America.
Evans tweets, “Officially wrapped on Avengers 4. It was an emotional day to say the least. Playing this role over the last 8 years has been an honor. To everyone in front of the camera, behind the camera, and in the audience, thank you for the memories! Eternally grateful.”
The trailer proceeds to reveal the name of the movie, “Avengers Endgame.” The end of trailer scene then pictures a live feed from the front door of the Avengers Compound. Outside, Scott Lang is yelling to the security camera, asking the avengers to let him in. Pictured behind Lang is the van that contains the quantum portal that he was previously stuck in, leading fans to question how he escaped.
Fans anxiously await the answer to all their questions. It is possible to speculate for days, but the truth comes in just three months. Will this movie be the last? We’ll just have to find out in April.
“When I drift off, I’ll think of you.” -Tony Stark