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'Avengers Endgame' Theory: Overlooked Details

Doctor Strange is a genius.

By Josh FaynePublished 5 years ago 12 min read
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So we are, less than two months away from the biggest movie of 2019, Avengers Endgame. The second part to last year's Avengers Infinity War and the final dramatic conclusion to Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Hopefully, you are caught up in MCU movies up to this point, if not, this will have spoilers for multiple movies. I have seen Infinity War probably 20 times at this point because it really is one of the best movies out there and how many simultaneous stories that unravel it makes the 2 hour and 45 minutes thrill-ride feel like it is 2 minutes and 45 seconds. Also, I can attest to the fact that you never realize how important the older movies are until you watch Infinity War then watch the others. I will touch on that during this nerd out. Anyways, let's get into my theory and details that get missed easily if you aren't really paying attention. This is just what I think will be crucial, this is not anything confirmed I am just going over what I have noticed in all the MCU movies and how I believe our heroes will undo the snap. If you want to go into Avengers Endgame clean slated I don't want to ruin anyone's movie experience should my theory prove true. You have been warned and anything that happens from here is your fault.

Key Rules for Infinity Gauntlet and Using the Stones:

So before I go into my theory on why Doctor Strange is a genius and what is going to be crucial in Endgame I want to take a moment to explain the rules and how the gauntlet and stones are used. The gauntlet is merely a device to hold the stones and harness their powers. Thanos is one of the strongest beings in the Marvel Universe both in comics and in the cinema, but even then the stones are too powerful to just leave in your pocket. In Guardians of the Galaxy even when Ronin had the power stone he could only contain it when it was in his hammer. Without the stones, it is just a metal glove. Okay, so when stones are in the gauntlet the only way to use the stones is by closing your fist. Also, when in use, the stones glow. If his fist is open no glow, when he closes his fist to use one or multiple stones, the stones being used will glow. Last rule is that stones will only work in the universe they were born from. Okay, and with that, let us get moving!

Doctor Strange:

How amazing was Doctor Strange in Infinity War? Right! Okay, so here is my theory and to those of you who walked away from Infinity War blaming Star Lord, I am going to renew your faith in him. So as you should know by now Doctor Strange on Titan used the time stone to view all possible outcomes of the coming conflict. 14,000,605 to be exact. How many did they win? One, to be exact. So he has already seen how they win and how it needs to play out. Did you notice in the first part of the fight on Titan there is a scene where he whispers to The Cloak of Levitation (his cloak/cape if you are unfamiliar with nerd terms) "Don't let him close his fist." Probably because when viewing futures he saw someone severely injured by Thanos using the gauntlet. To let Star Lord off the hook, when he is losing his cool while they are "attempting" to pull off the gauntlet, who was the only person not telling him to keep it together? Doctor Strange. Again, probably because he knows something. Thanos is an infinitely strong being and even if they got the gauntlet off, he would still be strong enough to beat everyone into a bloody pulp and get the gauntlet back. Thanos only had the power stone when he beat up Hulk but he didn't need to use it. When Ebony Maw had Doctor Strange, every time he tried to grab the Eye of Agamotto, it would show a rune and burn whatever tried to take the stone. Then Thanos was able to grab the eye without any action. There were no stones glowing so we know that he didn't cancel out Strange's curse. Plus the stone was not in the eye. Why? Simply, Strange was stalling. He was dragging out the fight and events waiting for a specific moment. We have to remember what Strange said on the ship en route to Titan at Tony Stark, "If it comes to saving you or the kid or the time stone, I will not hesitate to let either of you die." What changed between that moral compass and bargaining the stone for Tony's life? Well, Tony is an important key to their 1 out of 14 million shot at winning. When Strange says he will give him the stone he pauses for a bit then reaches up and the stone comes to him.

Now, remember when Loki hands over the Tesseract to Thanos. Loki makes it appear from his hand due to his powers to conceal things in plain sight. Who else has that ability? Doctor Strange... Hmmmmm.

Interesting Details About Time Stone Exchange:

First point I was getting to was Doctor Strange can conceal things in plain sight. So why does the stone appear as though it was being sent to him from the stars? Interesting. Second thing I would like you to notice, he isn't holding the stone. It floats between his fingers, then he floats it to Thanos and even Thanos can't touch it. Thanos touched the space, soul and mind stones but can not physically touch the time stone. Interesting. Third thing I want to point out is the stone is glowing. From the moment it comes from stars to the moment Thanos put it on the gauntlet. Remember the stones only glow when they are being used. Interesting. Final observation is when Thanos puts time stone in the gauntlet. When we see him put space stone and other stones in the gauntlet, they connect to him and we see the color of the stone go up his arm. However, when he adds the time stone, the only thing that happens is a rune wraps around the gauntlet. A rune just like Strange and Wong use when they summon magic. Interesting indeed.

What was Strange waiting for?

SPOILER ALERT! Hopefully, you have seen Ant Man And Wasp. Mostly because it is an amazing movie but more importantly so you can see the post credit scene. In the post credit scene, Scott is going into the quantum realm via a smaller quantum tunnel they put in the back of their security van on a rooftop. Janet Van Dyme, Hope Van Dyme, and Hank Pym are with him. Janet explaining what to look for as she was trapped down there for 20 years and mentions not to get sucked into a time vortex. Scott is going in to get healing particles so they can cure or stabilize Ghost. Scott goes into the quantum realm, starts gathering healing particles then he asks for them to get him out. Then it shows Janet, Hope, and Hank dusted, leaving Scott trapped into the quantum realm.

Remember what I said when I explained rules and restrictions to the infinity stones, they only work in the universe they were born. The quantum realm, or in the comics known as the microverse, is a separate universe versus ours. Doctor Strange is aware of this because outside of Janet, Hank, Hope, and Scott, Doctor Strange is the only other person who has been there. Do you recall when the Ancient One sends Strange through all the different dimensions and universes? There was a scene where the quantum realm was one of his stops. So basically the entire fight on Titan was just wasting time for Scott to be in the quantum realm. As Strange knew, Scott would be safe from the decimation and would be the only person who has knowledge of the quantum realm. Seriously like trying to explain The Matrix here. Anyways...

Why was the snap something that needed to happen?

Well, did you notice after Thanos did the finger snap and decimated the universe, the gauntlet was badly burned? Did you notice that after he disappeared to his farm, his chest was healed but his arm was still burned and he was limping? Well, let me bring this all around full circle, the snap was necessary because it was the only way to defeat Thanos. Firstly, now Thanos is hurt. Like irreparably hurt. Thanos is an indestructible Titan with limitless strength both physically and mentally. When Thanos did the snap, he was wounded beyond repair. This happened because of the sheer power that it must take to dust half the universe or because when he did the snap, he used a stone that was being used elsewhere. The time stone was glowing when Doctor Strange gave it up. Probably because he sent it to the future for Tony to study and create some technology. The other reason the decimation needed to happen is what better way to bring the Avengers back together than to make them lose in a big way? Endgame is a move in chess when you sacrifice pieces to move closer to checkmate. It is probably gonna be easier for Iron Man and Captain America to shelf their feud when they need to work together to undo the catastrophic damage the decimation caused. The Avengers splitting up was something Thanos needed to happen before he made his move on the stones. As we know, the Avengers would be unstoppable if they were still a single unit.

Full Circle: My Theory

Captain America Civil War. Tony presenting his B.A.R.F technology.

The Russo brothers keep getting bugged on spoilers and I am so glad they are not budging. This was one quote the Russo's gave about how Avengers will unsnap the universe:

"We introduced in Civil War a very specific piece of technology for a very specific reason."

Above is Tony introducing his B.A.R.F technology. Interesting how it was never used beyond this scene in that movie, huh? How did Tony create Ultron and Vision? Using Loki's scepter from the first Avengers movie, which unknown to him at the time had the mind stone in it. So Tony has already used a stone to create powerful tech. The quantum realm is immune to the stones as it a different universe. So Doctor Strange stalled Thanos until Scott was in the quantum realm so he could help Tony create quantum tech after he sent the time stone to future for Tony to study and then send back at the right moment. Doctor Strange obviously didn't tell anybody this hence the perplexed looked on Tony's face as to why he would just give up the stone. "We are in the endgame now," and "Tony, there was no other way" were the last words spoken by Strange before he was turned to dust. Were these words also Strange's way to remind Tony of his speech in Age of Ultron?

Tony says, "That up there, that's the endgame. How were you planning on beating them?"

Captain America replies, "Together."

Tony says, "Then we will lose."

"Then we will do that together too," replies Captain America.

Had the snap not taken place, then the Avengers would not likely rejoin forces. Thanos would still be at full strength and Doctor Strange never would have known to send time stone to future. How will they know? Doctor Strange does have an astral form he can project. When Scott first gets in the quantum realm it is just calm and peaceful. However, the background starts exploding with orange flashes as half the universe gets dusted. Perhaps Scott meets the dusted people in the quantum realm? Whether or not that is the case, Strange has the ability to project himself to the quantum realm as an astral form to have Scott deliver the message and assist in Scott leaving the quantum realm. I'm not sure exactly when the time stone will plop in Tony's lap, but I'm sure Scott will have an important message to deliver when Tony is wondering how he got the stone.

I believe time travel will play a role via time vortex, however, I hate the theory that it is because they are gonna grab stones before Thanos. Mainly because then the only way to explain how that will work is to say that Infinity War was a dream/ what if and I don't like that. So here are some key details that most people miss and how I think our heroes will undo the decimation. Remember the gauntlet is destroyed, but the stones still work, though Thanos will have reservations about using them, he is still a strong entity with the power of the stones. The soul stone and mind stones have a cosmic conscience so whatever quantum tech that gets delevoped can probably help them sneak up on him.

The first trailer for Endgame showed Shuri among missing Avengers. They also showed Scott missing. Which would be true in a sense, however, we know he will be there so I recommend not taking the first trailer seriously. Tony, Shuri, Bruce Banner, and Rocket were left undusted. These are the four smartest engineers and scientists in the universe. Shuri makes the most advanced tech in the world using vibranium. Can you imagine what she could do with a stone? Rocket can make a weapon out of literally anything. Can you imagine his genius and Tony's genius combining using B.A.R.F, a stone and Scott's knowledge of the quantum realm? To me, that seems like the best and most efficient way of defeating Thanos and undoing the snap.

So that is what I believe to be the keys to defeating Thanos and bringing order back to the universe. Take this all as my observations. Endgame is looking to be a three hour long thrill ride that will close 10 years of MCU movies and usher in the next 10 years worth of MCU movies. Endgame is looking to be as action-packed as Infinity War was if not more. With the release of Captain Marvel this week, we will also come to understand her powers and how she will be used in the fight against Thanos. More importantly, that will answer where the most power Avenger ever has been the last 20 years. I hope I was able to point out some things that you missed. I hope you will enjoy Endgame whether I am right or wrong. I am just looking forward to all these questions we have to finally be answered.

Please leave me some comments on what you think. I will be doing a lot of these especially before and after "Endgame." Including explaining why Thanos took stones in the way he did. I love talking nerdy and hope whoever reads this will join me in nerding out. By the way, there are YouTube videos that sync up Thanos' snap with the post-credit scene in "Ant Man and Wasp" as well as when Nick Fury sends a page to "Captain Marvel."Be good to each other!

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About the Creator

Josh Fayne

I am a nerd. I love music, movies and art. I will talk comic books, movies and music all day everyday. I feel I have interesting views on these subjects and am going to share my views and hear others. I am open minded. Perception is king.

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