Avengers: Endgame was full of moments that left the audience in awe. What were the 15 moments that were the most shocking of them all?
Avenger: Endgame came, saw and conquered. It came to theaters, we all saw it, and it conquered the box office raking in more than a billion dollars worldwide in its opening weekend.
It was also the talk of the world. It seemed like everyone all over the globe was discussing it even if they hadn’t seen. Seeing this movie was so important that there were people who temporarily shut off their social media accounts to avoid spoilers. It was funny that people were making Avengers: Endgame ‘Spoilers With No Context’ memes so those of us who saw it could laugh without spoiling it for the world.
We knew it was going to be big, but who knew it would be this massive? Those of us who have seen Avengers: Endgame know that this attention is warranted. Endgame had everything. Intense action, emotional scenes, callback to the previous MCU movies, a plethora of hilarious moments, and a rollercoaster of emotions. It was so good that the three hours just seemed to fly by. I didn’t even realize I had to go to the restroom until the movie was over.
What made this such a masterpiece? On top of it being a great movie, it had an abundance of shocking moments. Moments that made us laugh, cry, and drop our jaws. Here the fifteen most shocking moments from Avengers: Endgame.
Spoiler Warning: As expected, this feature contains spoilers pertaining to the events of Avengers: Endgame.
15. Nebula has “fun”
Nebula isn’t known for having a good time doing anything. In fact is her cyborg face capable of smiling? Probably not. Considering everything Thanos put her through, this isn’t shocking. After Thanos defeated the heroes, Tony Stark and Nebula were the only people left on Titan after Thanos’ snap. They were stuck together to try and find a way back to their homes. Unfortunately, this wasn’t going to be easy.
They continued to try and fix the ship, but it only got them so far. After a while, they had to admit that there was nothing they could do. They also had to find a way to stay entertained. Since Nebula isn’t someone full of fun activities in her repertoire, Tony had to come up with one. They played a game kids play in school, paper football. Nebula looked confused and angry until she learned how to play. After Tony told her she won, Nebula said she was having fun.
Paper football
Who knows if she was serious when she said she was having fun. She said she was, but her face didn’t scream happiness. Although, they were stuck in the middle of nowhere and thought they were going to die. So, maybe she was making the best of a bad situation.
14. Tony Stark gives up
Tony Stark was in space for days. Thankfully, Captain Marvel was able to save him and Nebula. After the pleasantries, the Avengers tell Tony that they failed. He wasn’t happy about this on any level. He got up and started blaming Steve Rogers for this.
Tony said that if Cap was around instead of being stubborn when the government asked him to sign up that they could have prevented all of this. Tony rips the reactor off his chest and quits the Avengers. Later, we see that Tony Stark has retired and lives in the woods with Pepper and his daughter.
Family guy
It’s not shocking that Tony retired, it was watching him do it. He ripped the repulsor off his chest and wouldn’t listen to anyone. In the grand scheme of things, we don’t know if having the whole team together would have been enough. Also, it’s not like Tony didn’t have the means to call Steve Rogers.
Later, seeing Tony with a child was just weird. Although, considering the way his father raised him, he was probably an amazing dad. Lastly, Tony Stark “Man of the Woods”? Did he chop down firewood and mow the lawn? Everything about this was bizarre to say the least.
13. The Sacrifice
Black Widow and Clint Barton (now Ronin) were charged with getting the Soul Stone. They get to Vormir and Red Skull tells them the same thing he told Thanos. The only way to receive the Soul Stone is with a sacrifice. Clint and Widow both knew this was an option, but hoped for something else: One of them would have to die.
Widow and Clint argue for a bit because they each want to make the sacrifice to save the other. Their brief argument turns into a fight. Neither of them wants to see the other die and fight it out – willing to do anything even if it meant hurting the other temporarily. Everyone assumed it would be Clint to die since he’s been looked at as a joke in the MCU. In the end, however, it was Black Widow who made the sacrifice.
Death of Natasha Romanoff
In Avengers: Infinity War, we saw Thanos sacrifice Gamora because she is the only thing he loves. When the Avengers decided to retrieve all the Infinity Stones, everyone who saw the previous movie wondered who was going to die. Unfortunately,Black Widow was chosen.
Even I was shocked that Clint wasn’t the one to go. While it was surprising when it happened, it made the ending happier. Clint was reunited with his family, something that wouldn’t have happened if Clint died.
12. The Ancient One Returns
Iron Man, Captain America, and Bruce Banner (now with all the Hulk and intelligence) were in charge of getting the Space, Time, and Mind stone from the past. Since they were all in New York at the same time (the big fight in The Avengers) it seemed like an easier chance to get them. Bruce went to the Sanctum Sanctorum to get the Time Stone. Looking for Doctor Strange, he instead found the Ancient One.
The Ancient One told Bruce that Doctor Strange was performing surgery and wasn’t the Sorcerer Supreme yet. When Bruce insisted that he get the Time Stone, the Ancient One popped Bruce out of his body and left the Hulk unconscious. It wasn’t until Bruce said that Stephen gave Thanos the Time Stone that The Ancient One relinquished the Time Stone to Bruce. Why? Because the Ancient One knew what Doctor Strange would become one day.
Faith from the future
It shouldn’t be surprising that someone who wields an object that controls time would know about Stephen Strange becoming Sorcerer Supreme. What was is the Ancient One’s trust. Once it was discovered that Strange gave the Time Stone up, the attitude changed. Doctor Strange is so powerful and revered that trust was given to him before he gained power. That is how great Stephen Strange will become.
11. Beer Belly Thor
Thor seemed to keep losing. His mother was killed by the Dark Elves (Thor: Dark World). Even though he saved most of the people of Asgard, he lost his hammer, his home, and father (Thor: Ragnarok). In Avengers: Infinity War, Thor was beaten down by Thanos. He did create a weapon strong enough to defeat him, but when he had the chance to kill Thanos, he came up short. Thor blamed himself for that and never got over it.
Five years went by following the events of Infinity War. After losing hope, Ant-Man returned with an idea to save those dusted by the snap which entailed getting the team back together.
Rocket and Bruce Banner went to recruit Thor back to the Avengers. When they arrive Valkyrie says all he does is sit in his house. The only time he leaves is to get supplies (his supplies being alcohol). When they open the door, Rocket and Bruce see Thor and he’s not what they expected. He went from the The God of Thunder to The Dude from the Big Lebowski.
The Big Thorbowski
It was unfortunate seeing Thor like this. When you think about it, this is logical. Thor went through a ton of traumatic moments in a short amount of time. It makes sense that he’d spiral into depression causing him to do nothing but drink and stay secluded. It will be interesting to see if he what’s next after joining the (As)Guardians of the Galaxy.
10. Valkyrie: Ruler of Asgard
The fight was over. Thanos was defeated and it was time for everyone to move forward. Some of the heroes mourned longer than others while some took this as a sign that it was time to retire. Others had no idea what was next for them. Thor was part of the latter.
Thor spent five years getting drunk, gaining weight, and feeling sorry for not killing Thanos when he had the chance. Now that he made up for his mistake, it was time for him to move on. Thor became a Guardian of the Galaxy (Asgardian of the Galaxy as he tells it). With Thor gone, that left an open spot for someone to lead New Asgard to uncharted territory. Thor said there was no one better to lead Asgard than Valkyrie.
A new Era
Valkyrie lost a lot during her time as a valkyrie. Despite all of that, she’s continued to be a warrior. After she picked herself and helped Thor save the people of Asgard in Thor: Ragnarok and the Universe in Avengers: Endgame, it makes sense that she would be the one to lead Asgard.
She understands what it means to lose everything and have to rebuild. And Asgard needs a leader like that. Thor only knows the old ways and they no longer work in this world. What Valkyrie does next will certainly be exciting.
9. Steve Rogers agrees with the results
Thanos’ plan was complete. Half of the beings in the universe were turned to dust. They gave it one more shot, but Thanos used the Infinity Stones one last time to destroy the stones themselves. With no Infinity Stones, there was nothing to bring everyone back. It looked like they were just going to have to accept it.
Steve Rogers ran a support group that helped people deal with their losses. Sort of like Alcoholics Anonymous. They could share what they’ve been going through and try to help each other get passed it. Steve kept a brave face, but inside he felt differently than what he was letting on. Some part of him seemed to understand what Thanos did.
Was Thanos right?
When Steve met Natasha Romanoff at her house, he said that he noticed that there were whales where they normally aren’t. With less things in the ocean, they could get closer and swim freely. Steve kept saying things like this throughout the beginning of the movie. It may have seemed like he was making a bad situation better, but it looks like he may have understood what Thanos did.
Steve knew deep down that the world needed to be returned to normal. That doesn’t mean he didn’t think things may have been better.
8. Smart Hulk
Bruce Banner lost his mojo. After the whooping he took from Thanos, his meaner and greener side, the Hulk, wouldn’t come out to play. Bruce was lost. He even resorted to using the Hulkbuster armor in the fight with Thanos’ army in Avengers: Infinity War. After years of cursing the Hulk and wishing that he could be rid of him, it was difficult to live without him.
After Tony Stark said he would not help Captain America, Black Widow, and Scott Lang create a time machine, they went to the second most intelligent individual they knew: Bruce Banner. When we see him, he looked nothing like they remember him. He was the Hulk, but he kept all of his intelligence. Bruce said that he finally embraced the Hulk side and now they are one. While the images from the movie showed that this was going to happen, it was still shocking to see Smart Hulk debut in the MCU.
Say ‘Green’
This wasn’t the Bruce Banner we’re used to seeing. He moved differently. He wasn’t insecure about anything and enjoyed being noticed. He even took pictures with fans. Something Bruce wouldn’t have done in the past.
7. Dust in the wind (too soon?)
Avengers: Endgame started with Clint Barton at a picnic with his family. A serene moment. While Clint’s wife and sons were preparing food and the table, Clint was showing his daughter how to use a bow and arrow. It was a heartwarming visual full of laughter and happiness.
In the second it took Clint to look away to retrieve an arrow, his life changed. His entire family was turned to dust. Clint was left alone and confused. This is how Avengers: Endgame started. With an extremely depressing moment.
From Hawkeye to Ronin
If there was any question about how this movie was going to proceed, well, this scene showed everyone what they were getting into. There was speculation as to why Clint became Ronin. The easy assumption was that Clint’s family was caught in the Thanos snap. Even knowing what was happening didn’t soften the blow. Seeing Clint loss and shaken after his family disappeared was heartbreaking. He retired from the life of being a superhero just to have his family taken from him in an instant.
It’s not shocking that Clint would leave his friendlier Hawkeye moniker behind for the deadlier Ronin. He lost everything that he cared about. What’s even worse is just as things start to look up, he loses his best friend Natasha.
6. The second snap worked!
All of the Infinity Stones were collected. The only thing left was for someone to snap their fingers and set the universe right. The big question was who was going to do it? Captain America, Iron Man, Scott Lang and Clint Barton were all mortals. The only Avengers strong enough to handle that kind of power were Bruce Banner and Thor.
Thor was willing to do it, but Bruce Banner stepped in. Bruce brought up a couple of points that everyone agreed with. The Infinity Stones had gamma radiation in them. Since the Hulk is made up of gamma radiation, it would only make sense that it would be him. Plus, the Hulk is the strongest.
Everyone stood back with anticipation as Bruce snapped his fingers. Did it work or was all of that for nothing. As they stood there waiting, Clint’s phone vibrated. It was a call from his wife. The snap worked and on the first try.
On the first try
No one could have expected that the snap would have worked on the first try. Nothing is ever easy for heroes. With everything they went through, it was good for them to get a win. Too bad that was short-lived. Just as they caught their breath, Thanos’ ship appeared and the final battle was about to begin.
5. Losing hope
After he used the stones again, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Thor, Rocket, Nebula, Black Widow, and War Machine found out where Thanos was. They jumped in a spaceship and made their way for one more fight with the Mad Titan. The audience sees Thanos limping to get into his cabin and struggling to make a meal. Just as he sits, the Avengers come in. Thor cuts his arm off (the one with the Infinity Gauntlet) and the rest of the team surround him just in case he makes a move.
They notice that there aren’t any Infinity Stones in the gauntlet. Thanos tells them that he used the gauntlet one more time to destroy the stones. They didn’t believe him at first. Nebula spoke up and said that her father (Thanos) is a lot of things, but he’s not a liar. As Thanos thanks Nebula, Thor decapitates Thanos. When asked why, Thor simply said, “I aimed for the head” and walks out of the cabin.
He got what he deserved
No one could have predicted that this would have happened and so early in the movie. This left a lot of questions to be answered. Was that the only time we’d see Thanos? Wasn’t he supposed to be the big bad? Isn’t Captain Marvel supposed to fight him? If there aren’t any Infinity Stones, what does that mean for the universe? No one could have seen something like this happening with the first 20 minutes of the movie which was what made it so shocking.
4. Woman Power!
The battle for the universe was being fought. All of the heroes lost in the snap were there and fighting for their lives. A game of keep-away started with Clint Barton having the Infinity Gauntlet. After he lost it, it went to Black Panther. Panther kept it for a little bit until he lost it. Spider-Man grabbed it and kept it for a while. He was stopped and it looked like he was going to be killed, until Captain Marvel stepped in to save him.
Captain Marvel asks if he has something for her. Spider-Man asks how she was going to get through that alone. A voice then says, “She’s not here alone.” That’s when we see one of the greatest moments in the movie. Maybe in the MCU period. A group of the most powerful people in the MCU assembled and they were all women.
A-Force!
This may have been the most memorable scene from the movie. It was even better that no one saw this coming. All of the women working together to save the day. Okoye, Pepper Potts (in her Iron Woman armor), and Shuri clearing the way without any fear. Captain Marvel taking a head-butt from Thanos and smiling like it was a tap.
This is a moment that every woman who witnessed this will cherish forever. A moment where Marvel Studios let the world know that everyone better be prepared for a female Avengers squad.
3. Cap’s retirement
The battle was fought and won. All that was left was for someone to put the Infinity Stones back where they got them. Steve Rogers was up for the task. It may have taken him a while to do this, but it would have taken him five seconds in the present.
Bruce sends Steve away and then begins the countdown. Nothing happened. Steve didn’t return. Bucky looks in the distance and sees a guy sitting on a bench nearby. Bucky knew it was Steve and told Sam Wilson to go talk to him.
We see Steve and he’s an old man. He decided that it was time for him to retire and he stayed in the past. When Sam asked him if he wanted to talk, Steve declined. However, he did have something for him. Steve opened his bag and gave Sam Wilson the shield.
A new Captain America?
Everyone assumed that this would be the last time we saw Chris Evans as Captain America. However, everyone thought he was going to die. Furthermore, everyone also thought that Bucky was going to be the new Captain America. Well, we were all fooled.
Sam Wilson was Captain America in the comics, so this isn’t so far-fetched. What’s shocking is that Steve trusted Sam with the shield before his best friend. More importantly, Steve finally got his dance with Peggy Carter.
2. He’s worthy
In Avengers: Age Of Ultron, Clint Barton questioned who could lift Thor’s hammer. He said it had to be a trick. He tried to lift it and failed. Tony Stark, being the narcissist he is, decided to give it a shot. He gives it a yank and nothing. That didn’t stop him from attempting to lift it again. He even put on one of this Iron Man Gauntlets and had Rhodey get his. Nothing.
Steve Rogers eventually gave it a go. Thor smiled until Mjölnir budges. Thor was nervous, but Steve couldn’t lift it completely. Fans of the comic books know that Steve is worthy. Maybe he was in the comics and not in the movies.
Marvel Legends Gear Captain America Shield Prop Replica
Buy Now!
Buy Now!
Fast forward to the big fight scene in Avengers: Endgame. Thanos is beating Thor, Iron Man and Captain America. Cap gets the idea to try to use Thor’s hammer and he lifts it. Everyone is shocked. Except Thor who smiles and says, “I knew it.”
“I knew it” – Thor
This was the moment every comic book fan was waiting for. For the viewers who never read the comics, their jaws dropped. When Cap started using the hammer it was like he’d been wielding it for years. He even hit Thanos with a few giant lightning bolts. It’s unfortunate that we only got to see this for a little while. Although, the sample size may have been just right.
1. End of an era
Thanos did everything in his power to get the Infinity Stones back from the heroes. He even ordered his ship to target everyone. Even if it meant killing his troops. Eventually, Thanos got his hands on Iron Man’s Infinity Gauntlet and the Infinity Stones. Iron Man attacked Thanos, but is easily dispatched.
It looked like Thanos was going to win. Thanos snapped his fingers and nothing happened. The camera pans over to Iron Man who has the Infinity Stones. Thanos said that he’s inevitable, but Iron Man said, “I am Iron Man” and snapped his fingers.
One by one all of Thanos’ troops began turning into dust. Thanos walked away, sat down, and he faded away as well. Tony Stark did it — he defeated Thanos — but it came with a price. He was dying. Pepper Potts told her husband that he could finally rest. And he did. Tony Stark died saving the world.
A hero’s ending.
Was his death shocking. Not really. Everyone assumed he was going to die; however, no one expected him to die like this. Everyone assumed that Thanos was going to kill all of the Avengers and Captain Marvel would come in and save the day.
Instead, it was Iron Man who finished him off. Tony Stark will always be the most important part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He was the leader of the movie franchise and continued to be exactly what everyone wanted.
What do you feel was the most shocking moment from Avengers: Endgame? Keep the conversation going in the comments section below.