Robert Downey Jr. Teased A MASSIVE CLUE For Avengers: Endgame
Avengers: Endgame. Doesn’t that have a nice ring to it? No need to say Avengers 4 anymore, we have our subtitle. It took some years to get it--what with it originally being named Infinity War Pt.2. Remember that era? When long-running movie finales had their story split into two parts? Thank God that’s over.
Even after that though, we had to deal with months of Russo Brother trolling. They gave us a photo with the title teased in it, and fans did guess a few. There was Annihilation, Eternity. Assemble, and some, of course, even guessed “Endgame.” The title made perfect sense -- it was spelled out in the photo and even had the good doctor’s seal of approval behind it, considering he saw the future and told our heroes that they were in the Endgame now. He may as well have said this movie is over, and now we’re in Avengers four.
But even then, the Russo’s flat out said the title had nothing to do with something a character had said prior. Ah, good times. The Endgame trailer, however, saved us from months of speculation and finally laid the name out for the world to see. The Russos’ definitely based the film off of statements said by one of the characters. Again, most assumed it was Doctor Strange, and had every reason to do so, but what if it wasn’t Strange that the Russo’s were referencing with the movie title? What if the title was based on something Josh Whedon had Tony Stark say once--something going all the way back to Avengers: Age of Ultron?
“That Up There--That’s...That’s The Endgame.”
In Avengers: Age of Ultron, Tony enlists Banners help in creating what he believes will be the Earth’s greatest defense. He wants to build a suit of armor around the world, one that will ultimately do the Avengers jobs for them--only better. It would keep them out of harm’s way as well. Remember, at the beginning of the movie, Scarlet Witch visually showed us that Tony’s greatest fear is watching his team die. He’s plagued by the very concept of it. So what better way to prevent it from happening than to take everyone off the battlefield altogether? Tony, not being one to express his vulnerabilities haphazardly and knowing that the Avengers aren’t going to go along with his idea, asks Bruce to help him in secret. Bruce reluctantly agrees, and thus, Ultron’s creation is set underway.
However, as we all know, things go completely, utterly, and horribly wrong, as Ultron, upon his awakening, decides that humanity is their own greatest enemy and feels that their extinction would pretty much solve Tony’s “protection” problem. To make matters worse, the Avengers find out Tony is behind it, and they’re a little less than happy. Thor actually wants to choke Tony out on the spot.
What follows is a scene where Tony debates with the Avengers about the whole situation, attempting to defend himself over Ultron’s creation. He reminds the team (for what’s obviously the hundredth time) that he had to fly a nuke through a wormhole up into space, just to save the world from an alien army. That was not something he should have had to have done. That was not something that he--as a normal human being--could not even begin to comprehend. The fact that otherworldly threats like that exists, bothers him, and it should bother the rest of them too. What they faced that day was the endgame, and he wants to know how they would have beat that threat if he didn’t do what he did.
This prompts a final back and forth between Tony Stark and Captain America, and this banter is what leads us to believe that Avengers: Endgame received its title from to Tony.
The Death of Steve and Tony
Captain America tells Tony that they planned on beating his “Endgame” together. Tony’s response is that they’ll lose. He firmly believes that, which makes sense since he’s seen their defeat with his own eyes. And Cap’s response to that is they’ll do that together too if that ends up being the case.
Well, the Avengers are in the endgame now, and Tony’s prediction and worse nightmare has come true. All his teammates, as far as he knows, are dead, and he couldn’t do anything about it. So, what if Cap’s words are the next thing to happen, and that’s what the “Endgame” title is referencing?
He and Tony have been at odds ever since Civil War. Avengers: Endgame would be the perfect time for them to come “together” and win, and it would also be the perfect time for them to come together and lose.
Avengers: Endgame is supposed to wrap up the first ten years of Marvel’s cinematic universe, and it would make sense that they would do that by shifting the focus from the original heroes to the ones introduced in phases two and three. What better way to do than to dispatch the two leaders of the original team?
If Cap and Tony are the ones to beat Thanos in the end, but also both die or “lose” while doing so, then the discussed Age of Ultron scene makes better sense as to why the next Avengers movie is named what it is. In a past interview, before Age of Ultron came out, RDJ even claimed that Tony was preparing for what he believed was the endgame, and we’re here now.
