If you’re trying to avoid major spoilers, come back to this after you’ve seen Endgame. This is the last warning before you see spoilers for Endgame. You have been warned.
After nearly 11 years and 22 films, the most ambitious piece of cinematic storytelling has reached its conclusion in Avengers: Endgame. There have been countless unbelievable moments throughout this arc and they all culminated in one of the most technically impressive moves of all time.
Endgame is full of incredible moments throughout the 182-minute runtime. However, only the best of the best could make the cut. Let’s check out the 10 biggest moments in Avengers: Endgame.
Hawkeye’s Family Gets Dusted
Hawkeye’s entire family disappearing thanks to the snap got you ready for what was a three-hour trip of heavy emotions.
One second, he was enjoying a nice summer day with his family. Next thing he knows, everyone he cares about is gone. Hawkeye was one of the major heroes missing from Infinity War, so it was important to see how he reacted to the snap.
It was heart-wrenching and terrifying. When the movie starts out with this scene all you can do is sit there helplessly as you wait for the inevitable. The amount of tension they were able to build with a smaller Avenger was impressive.
Hulk Undoes Thanos’ Snap, Everyone Dusted Returns
We all saw this one coming. Spider-Man has a movie coming out this summer so they’d better bring him back in time. The only uncertainty was how it was going to be done.
It sure took them long enough after Hulk snapped his fingers, but it was well worth the wait. When Captain America’s shield was decimated it seemed like he was going to go down in a blaze of glory. Then suddenly you hear Sam call out to Cap and all the Doctor Strange portals start opening up. All our favorite heroes start pouring out of the portals.
The zoomed out shot of the battlefield with Cap by himself and Thanos with his army was awesome. It was then immediately outdone by the shot of the massive portals and all the heroes we had lost in Infinity War. This moment will undoubtedly be ingrained in the memory of Marvel fans for decades to come.
Cap Wields Mjolnir
If you saw Endgame with a rather raucous crowd, then you’ll know this got the loudest pop of the film.
It wasn’t just him moving the hammer a little bit. This was full-on hammer-spinning, lightning-blasting, and hand-returning action. Cap has done the same in the comics before, but this was the first time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) that a non-Asgardian has been able to hold the hammer.
The way he took it to Thanos with Mjolnir was incredibly impressive. It almost seemed like second nature to him. Even though Hulk and Thor are usually seen as the strongest Avengers, this scene showed us how ridiculously powerful Cap can be.
Thor’s reaction to this was just as good as the actual moment. The few seconds of comic relief helped to break up the serious tone for long enough to keep the exceptionally long battle entertaining.
Tony Stark’s Snap/Death
There couldn’t have been a better ending for the one who started it all. The line that kicked this all off became his last words.
Tony did this knowing exactly what was going to happen. Using all the stones at once severely maimed Hulk and Thanos. There was no other way this could have gone.
Tony’s growth from the first Iron Man movie to Endgame is massive. He starts out as a selfish, morally reprehensible character and turns into the self-sacrificial savior of the universe.
There are so many layers here that make this one of the most emotional moments in Endgame. The “I am Iron Man” line is so badass. Pepper telling Tony he can rest now tears at your heartstrings. Thanos looking down in disappointment as he gets dusted is slightly sad, but he’s also a jerk so good for him.
It was the perfect ending to this story arc and Iron Man.
Cap Passes the Torch to Falcon
After Captain America returned the Infinity Stones to their respective timelines, he decided to stay in the past and live out his life in peace.
As old man Cap sat on the bench and opened the bag containing his shield, the MCU gained a new Captain America. Sam Wilson is now the new Cap and he has some big shoes to fill. The first Avenger fought his last fight, but his spirit of justice will live on.
It’ll be interesting to see if Sam adopts the name and garb of Captain America, or if he’ll just retain the Falcon persona. Either way, he’s the perfect choice to be the next Captain America. He has a clean image just like Steve. Sam is also one of Cap’s closest and most trusted friends.
Thanos Killed by Thor
Thanos had a pretty rough time in Endgame. He gets killed twice, with one of his deaths being an extremely brutal beheading. The dude was tired and just wanted to live out the rest of his days as a farmer.
Stormbreaker, the weapon that almost brought down Thanos in Infinity War got the best of him this round. Thor swung for the fences and lopped off the mad titan’s head. Unfortunately, it was too little too late since Thanos had already destroyed the stones a few days earlier.
This moment was extra shocking considering how early it happened. The way that it happened was also completely unexpected. Your friendly neighborhood farmer, Thanos, was just relaxing in his home when he got jumped by Thor and his posse.
It was a strange shift of roles to see Thanos as a peaceful character, not interested in fighting. Then, on the other side, we have the heroes as the aggressors.
Cap Hail Hydra
This was one of Cap’s most sly moments in any movie. In order to avoid another elevator fight, he used a little deception to gain the trust of Agent Sitwell. There’s nothing wrong with using knowledge of the future to avoid a fight.
Cap could probably take everyone in that elevator. Considering the Time Heist needed to go as smoothly as possible this was his best option. One little fib doesn’t hurt anyone if the fate of the universe hangs in the balance. Things were starting to look a bit dicey for Cap, but he kept his cool and dropped that “Hail Hydra” like a champ.
This scene is almost like fanservice for the Winter Soldier fans. Yet, it’s still cool to see this ridiculously strong character use his brain instead of his brawn.
Captain Marvel Destroys Thanos’ Ship
The Avengers were getting pummeled by a volley of missiles from Thanos’ ship. It was starting to seem like the mad Titan was going to pull out another victory. Then, the aim of the cannons trained on something entering Earth’s atmosphere. This something was none other than Captain Marvel.
She blasted straight through his ship with relative ease. Carol’s raw power on display was one of the most impressive feats in Endgame. This helped to even the odds between the two sides.
She was also one of the few characters who was able to get a highly emotional response out of Thanos. He legitimately seemed distressed when his ship came crashing down. It was an incredibly odd emotion we had not seen from Thanos.
Black Widow’s Death
Hawkeye and Black Widow being tasked with obtaining the Soul Stone from Vormir was one of those moments that made everyone freak out internally. They gloss over it so quickly that the audience hardly has time to react to the implications.
Sadly, the Avengers don’t know about the cost of obtaining the Soul Stone. This makes their situation even worse. They have no idea that at least one of them is going on a suicide mission.
Both Hawkeye had Widow already determined that they weren’t going to let the other toss themselves off the cliff. It was a beautifully tense interaction between two of the closest Avengers, and ends with the equally saddening death of Black Widow.
Captain Marvel Leads the MCU Women
Captain Marvel doesn’t appear too often in Endgame. However, her presence is overwhelming when she’s on screen. No moment featured her more prominently than when she led the group of women into battle.
It was awesome to see all the powerful women of the MCU in one shot. That truly is the epitome of what superheroes are. It was a bit campy, but it still managed to be a great moment.
The powers that Captain Marvel and Scarlet Witch had on display here were especially impressive. Scarlet Witch let out tons of pent up anger directly at Thanos.
Captain Marvel seemed to be the most evenly matched hero to fight Thanos. Her raw strength in hand-to-hand combat is unlike anything we’ve seen from the Avengers.
If you can’t get enough Avengers, take our Avengers Character Quiz. Also, see if you’re just as confused as we are about these 7 Endgame Questions.
About the author
