By George & Josh Bate
Over seven years since its initial theatrical release, Avengers: Endgame returns to cinemas with an encore presentation featuring new scenes that set the stage for Avengers: Doomsday later this year.
In addition to giving fans a chance to re-experience some of the most epic moments in comic book movie history on the big screen again, Avengers: Endgame Encore further quells sentiment that Marvel Studios has not effectively built up to the events of Avengers: Doomsday by teeing up the events of the multiversal epic in tantalizing fashion.
Check out a detailed description of the four additional scenes in Avengers: Endgame Encore and what they suggest about the story of Avengers: Doomsday below.
Steve and Peggy Are Visited By Loki
The first additional scene unfolds seamlessly from the original conclusion of Avengers: Endgame. As Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) slow dance to “It’s Been a Long, Long Time” by Harry James and His Orchestra, rather than cut to the end credits, the scene continues as the two stop dancing after they hear a knock at their front door.
While Steve hides behind a corner, Peggy answers the door. “Hi,” a familiar voice says. “Can I help you?” Peggy replies. “No,” the voice says. “But I believe I can help you.”
In walks Loki (Tom Hiddleston), wearing his brown TVA jacket. Despite Steve hiding behind a wall, Loki knows that Steve is there and says, “Both of you.”
Steve then walks out from around the corner and makes eye contact with Loki. Steve has a look of horror on his face as the antagonist from the first The Avengers movie has just invaded his seemingly idyllic new life.
So why would Loki visit Steve and Peggy? This, of course, the Loki from the Loki series, rather than the Loki who died at the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War. That means that this Loki is not an antagonist; instead, he is the reformed villain who has since become the God of Stories, overseeing the stability of the entire multiverse.
Given the general plot outline for Avengers: Doomsday, it seems like that Loki comes to Steve and Peggy to warn them of the unintended consequences of their manipulation of time. Steve was supposed to return the Infinity Stones to their rightful places in time, before heading back to the present day of his timeline, but he deviated from the plan by staying with Peggy in the past, thus creating a branch timeline. As a result, Loki is presumably here to inform Steve and Peggy of what they have done and offer them a solution to the problem they have created, possibly by helping them relocate to another universe.
Bruce Banner is Kidnapped By Doctor Doom
The second scene unfolds as a piece of found footage, told through security camera footage and the personal diary camera of Bruce Banner.
Following the events of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Banner is in solitary confinement in order to protect the world from potential outbursts from the Hulk.
Speaking to the camera, Bruce says, “This is Dr. Bruce Banner. Recently I suffered my first incident in over a decade. Since then, I’ve been in solitary containment in a tri-base military complex two miles under the surface of the Earth. The Hulk is not getting out of here. And no one else is getting in. During my time here, I’ve actually been experimenting with a new gamma suppression serum and the results have been quite promising. So today, I’d like to demonstrate some of my findings.”
Before Bruce is able to demonstrate his findings, however, the camera glitches and a green light begins to emanate from a corner of the room. Bruce looks at a corner of the room out of sight from the camera and ominously says, “No.”
“Who are you?” Bruce says.
“Mr. Banner,” the voice of Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom replies.
“What are you doing here?” Bruce asks.
“I’m here to collect you,” Doom replies.
As the screen goes black, the roar of the Hulk can be heard before suddenly disappearing.
The camera then comes back on line to reveal green rune markings on the floor of Banner’s cell.
This scene confirms a popular theory that one of the reasons Doctor Doom is so powerful in Avengers: Doomsday is because he has assembled a powerful team of his own. While theories suggest that Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch are among those he recruits, this scene confirms that Doom sees value in bringing Banner (or more specifically, Hulk) into the fold, potentially as a reluctant ally in his conquest against the Avengers.
The TVA Witnesses the Collapse of the Multiverse
The third scene takes place at the TVA (Time Variance Authority). Miss Minutes appears and welcomes the audience to the facility. “There is a whole mess of universes out there,” she says. “Our job is keeping them tidy and safe. So do us a favor and stay in your universe, so we don’t have to hunt you down like a dog.”
As Miss Minutes speaks, Mobius (Owen Wilson) carries a cup of coffee and his briefcase as he enters a large room with a number of monitors. On the wall is a picture of Loki with a nameplate under it reading “Employee of All Time.”
Mobius walks up to Ouroboros (Ke Huy Quan) and Casey (Eugene Cordero), who are concerningly looking at a TV monitor. “This doesn’t look good,” Mobius says.
“Universes 10005 and 1127 are about to collide,” Casey says, after Ouroboros notes that an “incursion” is unfolding.
Mobius initially seems unfazed, replying, “Well, I didn’t read about this in the scouting report.”
Casey then remarks as he looks at the monitor of the two universes colliding, “Are those missiles?” Indeed, the monitors show two Earths coming together as missiles shoot from one Earth to another. “They’re firing at each other?” Mobius asks. Ouroboros then says, “One Earth is trying to take out the other before they collide.”
Suddenly, more monitors start going off, depicting even more incursions. This quickly escalates from two incursions to three to 30 to 300 to 3000.
As the music swells and Mobius looks increasingly worried, Ouroboros says, “The multiverse is collapsing.”
Interestingly, Universe 10005 is the universe in which the X-Men and Fantastic Four from the 20th Century Fox movies exist in. Universe 1127, meanwhile, has not been defined in the MCU. Could this be Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man universe?
Doctor Doom Forges His Mask
The end credits of the original theatrical release of Avengers: Endgame featured audio of Tony Stark forging his initial Mark I mask in the 2008 film. But the end credits of Avengers: Endgame Encore add images to this audio.
In brief flashes, the final scene of the film shows Doctor Doom forging his mask in a manner almost identical to Tony Stark does.
On the surface, this scene serves to ominously tease the arrival of Doom, but it also suggests a deeper link between Doctor Doom and Tony Stark than one may initially expect.
Long have fans speculated as to how, if at all, Avengers: Doomsday will explain that Tony Stark and Victor Von Doom share the same face. Would the film just ignore this strange coincidence? Or would there be a story reason for why the two look identical?
The end credits scene of Avengers: Endgame Encore seemingly confirms that the latter will hold true. Doom crafting a mask just like Stark links the two characters together beyond the mere fact that they are both played by Robert Downey Jr.
Avengers: Endgame Encore is in theaters now. Avengers: Doomsday is in theaters December 18.