The top five geekiest moments in ‘Endgame’
By David Betancourt IF you’re one of the dozens of people on the planet that has yet to see ‘Avengers: Endgame’, be warned: Spoilers are below.
You could make a brandnew Infinity Gauntlet with the multiple comic-book-inspired Easter eggs spread throughout Marvel Studios’ record-breaking ‘Avengers: Endgame’.
While the film could be enjoyed even if you hadn’t watched the previous 21 movies, ‘Endgame’ still served as a multi-moment thank-you to the fans who have been devoted to not only a decade’s worth of films but the comics that inspired them as well.
The latest Avengers movie is a three-hour tribute to House of Ideas and its true believers. Here are the top five geekiest comicbook moments from ‘Endgame’. 5. Future fat Thor The God of Thunder didn’t just provide the funniest performance in ‘Avengers: Endgame’ - he gave the heaviest one, too. One of the biggest laughs came with the camera revealing that the mighty Thor had let himself go. Gone was the body that the Guardians of the Galaxy devoted several minutes to worshipping when they met Thor in last year’s ‘Avengers: Infinity War’, replaced by something much softer and rounder. Thor’s newfound, more-tolove body and long beard in ‘Endgame’ served as the slightest of nods to King Thor of the future, who appears at the very beginning of Jason Aaron’s run writing the character for Marvel Comics. That Thor was older and very much over it - “it” being everything. This larger cinematic version, again taking advantage of the comedic chops of Chris Hemsworth, gave off a similar vibe. 4. Smart Hulk Another heavy-lifting Avenger going through a major change? The Incredible Hulk, who goes from “Hulk smash” to “Hulk calculate” after Bruce Banner successfully merges his intellect with the Hulk’s size and strength. When Tony Stark initially balks at Ant-Man, Captain America and Black Widow’s plea to figure out time travel so they can try to recoup the recently destroyed Infinity Stones, the crew realises they’re still in need of a super-brain, so they go to the next person on their list, Banner. But what the Stark-less trio finds instead is a fully transformed giant green Hulk with the intellectual abilities of Banner, combining his puny human and gamma-irradiated selves. This is a fun tip of the cap to the debut of Professor Hulk, a Marvel Comics story line written by Peter David and illustrated by Dale Keown in the early ‘90s. 3. Hail Hydra When the Avengers’ big timetravel mission in ‘Endgame’ begins, they find themselves back in 2012 during the battle of New York. They arrive during their victory over Loki, but in an attempt to recoup a past Infinity Stone, Captain America finds himself in an elevator of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents that, we have discovered from the earlier films, are secretly rogue Hydra spies. (It’s a fun repeat of a similar scene in ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’, which, like ‘Endgame’, was also directed by the Russo brothers.) When Cap asks for Loki’s sceptre, which he knows contains the Mind Stone, the Hydra agents know something is wrong. For a brief moment, it looks as if we’re in for a repeat of the well-choreographed ‘Winter Soldier’ elevator brawl. And while that would have been great, nothing topped what happened next: Captain America leans over someone’s shoulder and whispers “Hail Hydra” to “prove” he’s on their side. This was a tip of the vibranium shield to writer Nick Spencer’s story line, beginning in 2016, in which Cap said those same two words and cause a social media riot among fans (although we told everyone back then it would all be fine). 2. The passing of the shield Captain America takes advantage of the many loopy ‘Endgame’ time-travel rules during his mission to return the Infinity Stones to their proper hiding places after the Avengers’ dark victory over Thanos. After being sent into the past by Banner, he comes back seconds later as an aged and elderly man with a look of satisfaction, having lived a full life while in the time stream. It’s apparent that his superhero days are over. But that doesn’t mean it’s over for the mantle of Captain America. Cap gives his shield to Sam Wilson, aka the Falcon, anointing him as the new Captain America while his other famous sidekick, Bucky, the Winter Soldier, looks on in approval. This is another nod to Spencer, who wrote the comics featuring the Falcon as Cap in a story that looked at whether America was truly ready to see a black man take up the star-spangled mantle. This comic-book-heavy moment makes the upcoming ‘The Falcon and The Winter Soldier’ limited series coming to the Disney+ streaming service highly intriguing. Will the Falcon be rocking the red, white and blue? 1. Hammer time There was no geekier moment in ‘Endgame’ than when Captain America wielded