The following contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Avengers: Endgame. You have been warned. Like all the spoilers. Honestly, if you didn't see this I suggest just quietly leaving this article and checking out one of our other excellent, nonspoilery articles. Like our nonspoilery ReelBlend review, for example.
We all expected Avengers: Endgame to be a massive, epic experience, and by most assessments, the film succeeded in every conceivable way. The film brought many of our favorite characters to satisfying, if not necessarily happy, endings. However, we all know the story doesn't entirely end here.
While many questions were answered in Endgame, many new ones were created because of what we saw onscreen. In addition, for those characters whose paths did not end here, plot threads have been left dangling which are sure to leave us curious for Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Here are 10 of our biggest open questions...
Will We Ever See Regular Bruce Banner Again?
When we left Bruce Banner and the Hulk at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, the pair were having something of a spat. Hulk was keeping himself submerged, much to the frustration of Banner, who needed the help. Following the time jump at the beginning of Endgame, we see that Banner has successfully merged his own intelligence with the Hulk's strength, leading to him becoming the permanent big green guy, but with a complete vocabulary.
Does this mean that normal Banner, and angry Hulk for that matter, are gone for good? While we know that time has passed, it's a pretty jarring change considering that it's never really explained what the Hulk's problem was the first time around. If Banner is truly happy as the Hulk full-time, that's great, but one wonders if he might miss becoming human after a while.
What Happened To Gamora?
Of all the various developments that have changed things in the Marvel Cinematic Universe going forward, one of the more interesting was the way that Gamora was "brought back." Rather than simply being resurrected after her death in Infinity War (which is explained as something that cannot happen after being killed as a sacrifice for the Soul Stone), we saw a younger Gamora time travel from before the point where we first met her in Guardians of the Galaxy. So, the new Gamora is actually the Gamora from nine years ago, a Gamora who never fell for Peter Quill.
Still, at the end of Avengers: Endgame we see Quill searching for Gamora, implying that she's still alive, and escaped the final battle. Are we sure that's true? Why wouldn't Tony Stark's snap have wiped her out along with everybody else that came forward in time? Could Stark's snap request get super specific? If she is out there now, how did she escape? Thanos' ship was basically turned to scrap by the end of the battle. Is she somewhere hiding on Earth?
What Happened to Loki?
One of the more humorous moments of Avengers: Endgame comes when the team first tries to procure the Tesseract, and instead it ends up in the hands of the captured Loki. Given his chance, he grabs it and vanishes, never to be seen again in the movie.
What exactly does this mean for Loki? Is he still dead? Is he alive? This action would seem to have caused a parallel time stream to diverge from our own, and there's now a timeline where Loki ran off with one of the Infinity Stones. I would love to know how else this timeline could change because of this event. Could this be the explanation of what the new Loki Disney+ series will actually be about?
Why Was Steve Able To Lift Mjolnir Now?
There are a number of moments throughout Avengers: Endgame that probably made longtime fans jump in their seats shouting "hell yeah," but near the top of that list has to be Captain America swinging Thor's hammer Mjolnir. Only those who are worthy may wield the weapon. Even Thor himself isn't sure he would still qualify until he tries to summon the weapon earlier in the film.
While there's no question that Steve Rogers is a good man, perhaps the best of us, he once previously tried to lift the hammer, and while he was able to make it move, he could not lift it. What exactly has changed that made Captain America unworthy then, but worthy now? Thor is unsurprised, but he hasn't even seen Rogers in the last five years, so how could he know what Cap could do?
Why Was Harley At The Funeral?
You'd be forgiven for not even recognizing the young man standing alone at Tony Stark's funeral, the last time you saw him was six years ago (and that's in actual time) in Iron Man 3. He is a much more grown-up Harley Keener, the young boy who helps out Tony Stark in the now-known-to-be final Iron Man movie.
Because actor Ty Simpkins looks a lot different than he did back then, he's almost impossible to recognize. For that reason even including him seems a little odd. There's no indication that he and Tony Stark have kept in contact since the events of Iron Man 3. Is this moment just another Easter egg for the fans who will recognize it or is there something more to seeing Harley appear once again? Will we see him again?
Is Fat Thor A Guardian Now?
One of the more interesting developments at the end of Avengers: Endgame that seems to indicate a direction for the future is that Thor is leaving Earth with the Guardians of the Galaxy. He even goes so far as to dub the new team the "Asgardians of the Galaxy" which is the name of an actual team of heroes that has appeared in Marvel Comics.
Does this mean Thor is now a permanent member of the Guardians? Has James Gunn's script for the forthcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 included Thor all this time? If so, this has the potential to change the entire dynamic of this franchise. If not, what's going to happen to Thor between now and that film's release?
Did Peter Parker's Entire High School Class Die In The Snap?
At the end of Avengers: Endgame, as we watch all of our characters returning to their lives, we see Peter going back to high school. There he embraces his friend Ned. Based on the fact that Ned isn't five years older, we can assume that he also perished at the end of Infinity War, but based on the trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home, it looks like that's the case for every returning character in that series.
Based on the fact that five years of time have passed, in the MCU we must assume that in addition to Peter and Ned, MJ and Flash also spent five years dead, as they're all still in high school in Far From Home and appear to be the same age. Of course, the other question is, has high school even been happening for the last five years? It looks like most of civilization has simply fallen apart following the snap. How was Peter even able to go back to school so quickly in the first place?
Why does Steve Take Mjolnir Back In Time?
Captain America takes on the responsibility of returning the Infinity Stones to their proper points in time, in order to have as little impact on time and space as possible. However, he takes one other item with him as well. Thor's hammer Mjolnir.
Is he bringing the weapon in case he has trouble returning the stones? Is he planning on returning it at the same time that he drops the Aether back on Asgard? I suppose that timeline's Thor will eventually miss his hammer if it's gone for too long. Perhaps Steve needs the hammer to return the Aether at all. Of all the places he's going back, Asgard might actually be the most complicated for him if he's seen. Except, of course...
Did Cap Return the Soul Stone?
The most interesting stone for Steve Rogers to actually return would have been the Soul Stone. Did he actually take it back to the planet Vormir? It's possible Steve just simply re-hid that stone in some other place. If nobody alive knows where it is, then it doesn't need to be anywhere. Although, if he did bring it back to its home, that's an even more interesting question.
First off, if Steve Rogers does go to Vormir, that means he's going to run in to the Red Skull once again. That's a meeting I would love to have seen. The Skull isn't quite the man he once was, but that's what makes it interesting. The even bigger question, however, is what happens if you return the Soul Stone at all? If one must trade a life for the stone, then does returning the stone mean you can take back the life as well? If so, can Black Widow potentially return?
What The Hell Happens Now?
This, of course, is really the only question that matters. If you've been following the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the last 11 years, this is what you're asking. Frequently, Marvel has used additional scenes inside the credits to give us an indication of what's next, but Avengers: Endgame became the first MCU movie to date to have none. Not even just for fun.
Of course, in the short-term we do know the answer to this question. Spider-Man: Far From Home is what's next, and it's only a couple of months away, but after that we don't even know what movies are coming or in what order we'll see them. How will our heroes stories continue forward? How will those who returned to life five years in the future come to terms with this changed world? What new threat will come forward that will need Earth's Mightiest Heroes to fight it?
Unless the day comes that the MCU actually comes to a total end, there will never be a lack of questions to ask. Avengers: Endgame was the end of several stories, but not the entire story.
