We’re not entirely sure who to blame, but basically every single Marvel trailer since Iron Man 3 has told us a massive lie.
Whether it’s that thrilling shot of Spider-Man and Iron Man flying together (that wasn’t actually in Homecoming), or the Infinity War money-shot of everyone running to the camera (that also didn’t make the final cut – and wouldn’t in Infinity War at least, as it features Hulk), there have been plenty of tricks and outright lies in the MCU’s biggest trailers.
So why should Endgame – the most significant movie in Marvel’s history – be any different? We’ve gone frame by frame to uncover what (probable) fibs can be found in this brilliant film ad.
1. The RIP video screens
Marvel Studios
This sequence has the clearest potential for fibbery. If Marvel’s prepared to create a complex CGI set-piece shot just for the Infinity War trailer, we wouldn’t put it past them to create swapped-out computer-generated images for this Endgame sequence.
The presence of Peter Parker is a pretty big clue that there’s something up with this moment. Because just why is Bruce Banner mourning some random kid? And has he even met Scott Lang?
Spider-Man is the only character in the MCU with a secret identity, and, while he was pretty open with it in Infinity War to people like Doctor Strange and the Guardians, everyone who knew Parker’s Spider-Man (Tony Stark and Aunt May aside) got dusted. So, why do the Avengers care about Parker’s fate when they don’t know who he is?
As for Scott Lang, Banner was off-planet when Ant-Man faced off against the Avengers in Civil War, and Lang didn’t feature in Infinity War at all. So, yeah, it’s not like they had a close (or any) connection.
Also, we’ve been told that Shuri survived the snap (Angela Bassett was asked if she got turned to dust in Infinity War and said “No. Neither did my daughter. Shuri, she’s a bright girl there in Wakanda. So…’”) so, what’s Shuri doing on the video screen before it changes to Peter?
2. Scott Lang’s video feed
Marvel Studios
Speaking of video-screen trickery, we think there’s some timey-wimey nonsense going on in the closing moments of the Endgame trailer. When Scott Lang shows up outside the Avengers HQ, he says ‘We met a few years ago, at the airport, I turned really big.’ To which Captain America says ‘Is this an old message?’ We zoom in on Black Widow, before cutting to Lang again, with a voice-over from Widow: ‘It’s the front door.’
Something seems off about this whole section – like it’s being cut together from different stuff. Why would Captain America ask if it was an old message, when Lang is being really specific about the timeline (‘We met a few years ago, at the airport!’)? Unless we’re so far in the future that ‘a few years’ was 10 years ago, it’s a weird thing for him to say.
Also, we’re not surprised he’s asking if it’s an old message, as the video-screen has ‘Archive’ written in the top-left hand corner, so, uh, it definitely is an old message! Which makes us think the Black Widow dialogue ‘It’s the front door’ (which, to be fair, doesn’t answer Cap’s question – it could be the front door in the past, present or future for all we know) is the lie.
But, actually, we don’t see Cap and Widow in the same shot as that screen in the trailer, so they could be reacting to anything. What if the message they’re discussing has nothing to do with Lang at all?
What if Cap thinks Tony is dead (maybe it’s Tony’s face and not Peter’s on the CGI screen Banner’s so upset about), and he’s just heard Stark’s message to Pepper?
Whatever, this whole sequence is making our liedy-sense tingle, and we expect major revelations from it in the finished film.
3. Hawkeye’s return
Marvel StudiosDisney
Okaaaaaay, so what the hell is going on here? Internet detectives have concluded that Thanos’ snap vanished Hawkeye’s family, which made him change identities, causing him to become Ronin and… Travel to Japan to kill people in the rain? Like, what? HOW ARE THESE THINGS CONNECTED?
Again, we think editing is being used to make us think that this is all happening in the chronological narrative, which is causing people to do fan-theory backflips to explain it, but we reckon we could be looking at an alternate universe here.
One that involves Widow travelling into the multiverse to retrieve the closest thing to Hawkeye they can find, because the original Avengers line-up is essential to undoing Thanos’ snap in some way.
Because, seriously, if Ronin is still killing people post-snap, then Thanos’ plan to bring balance to the universe definitely failed.
4. Tony’s helmet
Marvel Studios
This could be a lie, or a simple continuity error, but our trust levels are so low right now we’re going to assume it’s all part of a massive con-job. One attentive viewer noticed something fairly significant: Tony’s Iron Man helmet is damaged in the wrong place.
Meanwhile, we’ve also noticed something – that vest Tony’s wearing? Well, he wasn’t wearing that the last time we saw him, he had a black jacket on with nothing underneath at the end of Infinity War.
The vest top is something Stark would wear – in fact, he wears something similar in the first Iron Man movie, when he’s trapped in the cave – which makes us wonder if the Russos are trying to subconsciously remind us of that first movie in this, Stark’s final movie. It’s a weird bit of continuity if it is meaningless.
But it’s got to the point where we wouldn’t be surprised if this extended sequence was shot just for the trailer, because so many elements feel off (how does Tony know that Pepper survived the snap? Did she? WE’RE SO TIRED OF ALL THESE LIES).
5. Captain America’s beard
Marvel Studios
You can chalk this down to us just being really unable to let Steve Rogers’ facial hair go if you like, but there’s also something fishy about Captain America’s grooming decisions in this trailer.
So, you’ve just had everyone you care about turn into ashes in your hands, what’s the first thing you do? Why, drop in on your barber to get a fresh new look, that’s what!
It feels weird that Steve Rogers looks tidier and more together after experiencing the most devastating event in a life that’s been full of devastating events, than he did before. Has he not heard of the concept of the ‘beard of sorrow?’
Either Marvel’s using the same techniques that Justice League used to CGI-cut Henry Cavill’s moustache off (look at Steve’s lips when he says ‘Because I don’t know what I’m going to do if it doesn’t,’ they don’t look right, the sync feels off – but why?), or this is Steve from a different timeline, or reality.
We just refuse to believe that Cap would find time for a haircut post-snap.
6. The Marvel logo turns to dust
Marvel Studios
Oh, okay, so Marvel Studios didn’t survive Thanos’ snap? WELL, WHO’S RELEASING THIS FILM THEN? We’re on to you, Feige.
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