How many times have you watched the Avengers: Endgame trailer so far? Now, how many crazy theories have you come up with about where the Marvel Cinematic Universe is headed? How many of these theories completely undo everything we know and love about Marvel’s movies? The first Avengers: Endgame trailer left us all with more questions than answers, and since the movie isn’t coming out until April 26, 2019, we’ll have to fill in the gaps ourselves.
Dropping out of nowhere on the morning of December 7, Endgame’s first video didn’t give too much away about the movie, aside from Hawkeye’s snazzy new outfit. We know which Avengers will team up to fight Thanos, but that’s about it. So we have figured out a few things that may or may not (more likely) happen during next year’s Avengers outing.
Warning: In more ways than one, these theories may break the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, in order to get to the next phase of Marvel movies, a lot needs to change. Now, please put on your tinfoil hats and prepare to make a bunch of crazy YouTube videos to help prove all my theories will come true.
If you’re looking for more about the MCU, check out our breakdown of the Avengers: Endgame trailer, as well as the latest Captain Marvel trailer, which debuted earlier in the week.
Hawkeye is a Skrull
With the second Captain Marvel trailer confirming that Skrulls are on Earth and impersonating humans, it brings me back to the Marvel storyline, Secret Invasion, where… well… Skrulls were on Earth and impersonating humans. There were sleeper agents who didn’t know they were aliens, as well as ones who did know their true nature, but it was all a part of a gigantic plan to take over Earth. In the Endgame trailer, we see Hawkeye in his Ronin costume, which he wore briefly during the Secret Invasion storyline in the comics. Now, in that Marvel comic story, he was never a Skrull, but he did fight one who was trying to impersonate him.
What’s the purpose of this? It’s simply there to set up a future storyline. If this is true, it may not be something we see play out in any fashion in Endgame, but Hawkeye changing his outfit, ending up in Japan, all while skipping out on the Thanos battle seems a little suspicious, right?
There’s also the idea, that GameSpot writer Meg Downey proposed, that Ronin is the real Clint Barton and Hawkeye was always a Skrull. As much as I love that theory, it hurts my brain. Sure, Clint could have turned into Ronin after mourning the loss of his family, who died during the Thanos snap, but maybe that feels too logical for me, a person who has read way too many convoluted comic book storylines over the past few decades.
Thanos has been/is dead
Something isn’t sitting right with me with the brief moment we see Thanos–more specifically, his hand. The lighting is bright, and it seems like he’s living in a perfect world. But, hear me out, what if Thanos isn’t on some distant planet, enjoying his days as a farmer? What if he was one of the living beings that died during his own snap, and he’s trapped in the Soul Stone? We saw Gamora in the Soul Stone during Infinity War, where she was a child, right around the age when she met Thanos. So Thanos could be trapped in the Soul Stone as well, thinking he’s living this amazing life as an intergalactic farmer, with a scarecrow made up of his armor. He’s in his own personal heaven.
So how do you beat the Mad Titan when he’s already dead? Well…
The only way to beat Thanos is to travel back in time
So I’m like 99% sure this is going to be a major part of the movie, as leaked set photos showed Iron Man and Captain America in New York, in full costume, which matches their looks from the first Avengers movie. Also, Ant-Man was there, but that’s beside the point. So, how do you defeat the Mad Titan after he’s ended half the life in the universe? Obviously, you go back in time. Aside from doing the obvious, killing him when he’s a baby–because then we miss out on Gamora and Nebula and a whole other bunch of things–the best time to go after Thanos is during the Battle of New York, when Loki and Thanos teamed up and unleashed the Chitauri horde upon the city. Thanos wouldn’t be expecting to be attacked because no one on the Avengers knew of his existence at this point. It’s all perfect, but as we continue with this theory, we only end up going deeper down a rabbit hole of my own madness. I’m sorry.
Some MCU movie stories will be undone by the end of Endgame
So, you’ve all gone back in time and killed Thanos before he has had a chance to collect the Infinity Stones. Congratulations! Now, let’s take a moment to figure out everything that won’t and will happen because of Thanos’ death. In the words of Mario, "Here we go!"
- Gamora never goes to Xandar to get the Power Stone, as Thanos ordered her to go there.
- Because of this, the Guardians of the Galaxy probably aren’t formed, but at the same time, Ronan never gets the Power Stone. It’ll just sit inside that orb on the planet Morag, which we see Peter Quill on in the beginning of Guardians of the Galaxy.
- The Power Stone will remain in the orb, but on Xandar after Quill sells it to the Broker.
- Rocket and Groot capture Quill and send him back to Yondu.
- Ego finds Quill with the Ravagers, frees him, and Quill helps Ego fulfill his plan from GotG Vol. 2. This may lead to a battle with the Avengers.
- Red Skull remains forever lonely.
- The great forge at Nidavellir is never destroyed.
More things that will be undone after Endgame
Up above was just the cosmic side of things. Very quickly, here’s how Thanos’ death will affect Earth, its superheroes, and the Asgardians.
- The Asgardians relocate to Earth, all still alive.
- Hulk may take over Banner’s body, as his battle with Thanos was the green monster’s last straw.
- Captain America and Iron Man run their own Avengers teams, except Cap does his in secret.
- Ant-Man doesn’t get trapped in the Quantum Realm, but there is no way of really knowing how that affects him until Endgame comes out.
- Doctor Strange will have only met Thor and Loki and never fought alongside the Avengers.
- Loki doesn’t die.
I’ve created a bigger mess, haven’t I?
Everyone’s minds will be wiped
Stepping away from the horrific continuity mess I created with my theories so far, there is one thing that needs to be discussed about what Thanos did. How will this affect everyone who comes back to life at the end of Endgame? Will the universe have to live with the thoughts of being erased from all existence after returning? Probably not. A very familiar staple of science fiction is minds being erased after something major has been undone. Look at Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. After the kids beat the game, they all return to the present, and they see an adult Alex, living a happy life. However, the only people that have an inkling that something went wrong were the people playing Jumanji, and the only characters that remember what the world was like, prior to beating the game, are Spencer, Fridge, Martha, and Bethany, the kids who found the game in the basement of the high school.
Sure, that’s a lot of Jumanji talk in an Avengers theories piece, but there is a very good chance we could get something like that here. After going back in time–again, I’m sorry–and beating Thanos, only the characters we see in the past will remember the alternate universe where everyone was snapped out of existence. Otherwise, we’re dealt with a MCU where everyone has a form of PTSD after being deleted by a giant purple man with a gold glove. Actually, they never saw him, but you get the point. Living in a world where people are aware of what happened–to any extent–creates more problems.
Captain America faces Red Skull again by travelling through time
From the mind of GameSpot writer Meg Downey is the theory that Steve will go back in time to prevent Schmidt (Red Skull) from getting the Tesseract. And I love this idea, but like all theories, if it happens, it will complicate the universe. Just like Adam Conover, time travel ruins everything.
Doing this means Cap never has his battle on the plane with Skull in Captain America: The First Avenger, and he never has to crash the plane into the ocean, putting him on ice for more than half a century. As a comic book fan, my mind goes right to House of M, where Steve Rogers was also never frozen, and he was just an old man, wandering around New York. This is actually a pretty good way to get Chris Evans out of the Marvel movies. He goes out heroically, but never has to die.
Ant-Man gets help from a doctor
So how will Ant-Man get out of the Quantum Realm? During the post-credit sequence of Ant-Man and the Wasp, we saw Scott Lang trapped in the Quantum Realm after Hank Pym, Hope Van Dyne, and Janet Van Dyne were snapped out of existence. According to Meg Downey, Doctor Strange will help him. You’re probably thinking, "Hey ding dongs, Doctor Strange died in Infinity War." He sure did.
Let’s go back to Infinity War, shall we? Remember on Titan, when Doctor Strange was using the Time Stone to look into every possible future in order to beat Thanos and he said there was only one way to beat him? Of course you do, but what if during that time, Strange travelled to the future in order to release Scott from the Quantum Realm? It may seem like a–pun intended–small, trivial thing, but Ant-Man’s release from the teeny, tiny zone may be a major part of the "one way to beat Thanos." Aside from the Ant-Man movies, the only time we’ve seen the Quantum Realm was very, very briefly in 2016’s Doctor Strange. We know that he can use his powers to head into that realm, so it only makes sense that Strange will go forward in time, release Scott, travel back to Titan, and die. At least he went out like a hero.
Source: GameSpot
GameUP24 