One month remains until audiences will learn how the Avengers take back their universe in Avengers: Endgame. And as the smart minds at Marvel Studios know how to capitalize on a moment like that, they released an overwhelming amount of character posters Tuesday tallying the living and the dead. Although we imagine showing the work of Thanos’s (Josh Brolin) grim calculus was not their primary goal, the release clearly lays out who among the sprawling Marvel family still breathes air going into Endgame. Let’s take a look at who disappeared, who faced the horror, and who might still be unaccounted for.
With the posters featuring lost characters in black and white, Marvel introduces a new term for those lost moments after the Snap – the Fallen. It’s a handy term, if one often used in supernatural films and television shows to categorize those who went to war against Heaven. But within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it boils down a mouthful into one word.
The Fallen include headliners like Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), supporting characters like Bucky (Sebastian Stan), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), the entire Pym/Van Dyne family, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). Additionally, all of the Guardians of the Galaxy except Rocket (Bradley Cooper), and Spider-Man (Tom Holland) were also lost in the Snap.
(Photo by @ Marvel Studios, @ Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
The Fallen also includes three people featured on the new character posters who fell prior to Thanos’s quick-fingered coup de grace: Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Vision (Paul Bettany), and Gamora (Zoe Saldana). The latter’s death was always significant as Thanos threw her off a cliff to get the Soul Stone – and presumably she will haunt him on his garden planet. Loki’s death, however, felt far from final as he cheats death all the time. Maybe he will be the first of the Fallen (heh) to return. And Vision? Well, he is going to be part of that Disney+ limited series with Scarlet Witch, so his resurrection also seems assured.
The list of the Fallen has remained pretty consistent since last Spring, but the character posters finally confirmed Shuri (Letitia Wright) went into the dust with her brother. Many suspected this was the case when her photo appeared in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in the first Endgame trailer, leading to months of speculation. But with the poster, her death is confirmed. We imagine fans will need some time to process this.
By keeping the Fallen in black and white and the survivors in color, Marvel also confirmed a handful of characters whose status was unknown until Tuesday. Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Wong (Benedict Wong), Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), and Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) all survived the Snap. They join Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson), Okoye (Danai Gurira), Rocket, War Machine (Don Cheadle), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), and Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) as those facing a universe with such terrible losses and determining a way to undo Thanos’s ultimate act.
When we last saw Wong, he was headed back to the Sanctum Sanctorum to defend it should any members of the Black Order head there. Over the past year, we’ve joked that he made the smartest choice by high-tailing it out of the movie and it seems his decision proved to be a wise one. It remains to be seen how the Avengers may approach Wong or how his understanding of the mystic arts will aid them, but it’s safe to presume the survivors will tackle the Thanos problem from all angles – including ones they may have previously dismissed as so much hokum.
(Photo by @ Marvel Studios, @ Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Valkyrie, meanwhile, adds another number to the powerhouse squad with Thor, Carol, and the Hulk (should he decide to come out of hiding). When we last saw her, she was with Thor aboard the Asgardian refugee ship. Since she managed to survive both Thanos’s attack on the vessel and the Snap, we’re going to assume she helped the few remaining Asgardians – there are a few left, right? – find shelter. If that mission is complete, it is likely she will join Thor in a search for a solution. Or, knowing her, she took it upon herself to figure out some way of revenging after a few stiff drinks.
Also, we imagine the already burgeoning corps of Valkyrie/Carol shippers are quaking at the possibility the two will share some screen time in Endgame.
Considering Favreau’s decision to leave the creative aspects of the Marvel Universe behind, it is always nice to see Happy survive where other support characters have literally bitten the dust. Then again, we knew his long-term survival was assured thanks to his appearance in the Spider-Man: Far From Home trailer. But since we’re assuming most of the Fallen will return during the events of Endgame, it was only a question of whether or not he was lost in the Snap. And while everyone assumed Pepper’s survival because of Tony’s message to her in both Endgame trailers, the poster is proof positive she is alive. You can bet she will pour as much of Stark Industries’ resources as she can muster into rebuilding the world and helping the Avengers.
(Photo by @ Marvel Studios, @ Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
The posters also offer a reliable guess as to who among the Fallen we might see in Endgame – a Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) poster certainly suggests she will appear – but there are a few characters who are notable by their absence on posters and their still unknown status going into Endgame.
As we always thought it was possible for Luis (Michael Peña) to knock out Thanos with one punch, his status intrigues us the most. Although, he is just one member of the Ant-Man family we want clarification on. Did Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson) survive? Considering online rumors insist an older, time-traveling Cassie will feature in Endgame, keeping her fate obscured may be part of Marvel’s plan. And what of Maggie (Judy Greer), Paxton (Bobby Cannavale), Kurt (David Dastmalchian), Dr. Foster (Laurence Fishburne), and Ava (Hannah John-Kamen)? Sure, they may not factor into Endgame beyond motivating Scott to make for the Avengers HQ, but clarity is always appreciated.
Others unaccounted for include General Ross (William Hurt), Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), Peter’s classmates, Maria and Monica Rambeau (Lashana Lynch and Akira Akbar), and Howard the Duck.
Of course, it still remains to be seen how the survivors will avenge the Fallen. But will they remain Fallen by the time Endgame concludes? Or will there be new Fallen to mourn?
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