Marvel, Stop Disrespecting The Surviving Avengers’ Endgame Arcs

Warning! Spoilers ahead for She-Hulk: Attorney At Law episode 1. Marvel Studios is ruining the remaining original heroes’ story arcs post Avengers: Endgame. After more than a decade stretched out over three Phases, the MCU’s Infinity Saga finally culminated in Joe and Anthony Russo’s record-breaking 2019 blockbuster. Amid the pressure to stick the landing, Avengers: Endgame delivered a satisfying ending to the franchise’s first storytelling chapter by resolving Thanos’s threat and giving some of its founding heroes their respective swan songs.

At the end of the Infinity Saga, only three original Avengers are left in the MCU. Both Black Widow and Iron Man sacrificed their lives to take down Thanos. Meanwhile, after decades of dedicating his life to the greater good, Captain America finally got to retire and reunite with Peggy Carter in the 1940s. That only leaves the Hulk, Thor, and Hawkeye as the remaining founding heroes who are still active in the franchise.

All three remaining heroes have already appeared in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga. Following years of mainly playing a supporting role, Clint Barton finally fronted his own project via Disney+’s eponymous Hawkeye where he met his protégé, Kate Bishop. Thor, on the other hand, continued his journey via Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder by fighting Gorr the God Butcher and reuniting with the Mjölnir-wielding Jane Foster. Finally, Bruce Banner, a.k.a. the Hulk, made a cameo in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and now has appeared prominently in the Disney+ show She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.

Hawkeye Was Brought Out Of Retirement & Still Didn’t Justify His Endgame Change

Ever since the Bartons were introduced in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Hawkeye has been trying to give up his villain-fighting stint and stay at home to be a dad. Unfortunately for him, there’s always something to pull him back to suit up. After Avengers: Endgame reunited him with his snapped-away family, it seemed Clint was finally going to fully retire. But then the events of Hawkeye happened. The Disney+ series forced the hero to get back in action while also using the opportunity to debut Kate Bishop and officially return Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin to the MCU. As great as that was, the Hawkeye series failed to justify undoing Barton’s retirement, again. Initially, there was hope that the show would finally delve into his Ronin arc — something Avengers: Endgame barely explored — but it just used that as a plot device, effectively wasting one of the Avenger’s greatest stories from the comics.

Fat Thor Was Gone After One Love & Thunder Montage

After the success of Thor: Ragnarok, Marvel Studios was motivated to go against the status quo and give the God of Thunder a fourth solo film. Returning director Taika Waititi spearheaded the 2022 project, which saw Thor in his post-Infinity Saga journey. From the get-go, however, the filmmaker confirmed that Thor: Love and Thunder wouldn’t be featuring the divisive Fat Thor from Avengers: Endgame. While that wasn’t too big of a problem, there was interest in seeing how he’d explain yet another physical change in the Asgardian Prince.

Endgame established that losing weight wasn’t something that he could do magically, which meant that the Avenger needed to put in the work like everyone else. There were also concerns Thor: Love and Thunder wouldn’t tackle the root of Thor’s weight gain, which was his mental health. Thankfully, Waititi showed Thor putting in the work to address both his physical and mental health, but it was done so flippantly. In one Korg-narrated montage, Thor: Love and Thunder breezed through what was supposed to be a long and difficult road to healing.

Smart Hulk’s Arm Healing Breaks The Russo Brothers’ Promise

Following his brief cameo in the Shang-Chi post-credits scene, the Hulk’s appearance in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law allows Marvel Studios to reveal more information about Bruce Banner after the Infinity Saga. Unlike Iron Man, the Hulk survived wielding the power of all six Infinity Stones during the reverse snap in Avengers: Endgame. In order to incorporate stakes into it, however, he suffered a severe arm injury that he was still nursing up until the beginning of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. The Russo brothers said the Hulk’s arm damage was permanent, which would hamper his physical prowess and make his multiverse arc more intriguing as it would pose new issues. At the very least, healing the abrasions would be complicated, if possible at all.

Yet in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law episode 1, Marvel easily walked back on the explanation of the Hulk’s Endgame injury, explaining that Bruce’s cousin, Jennifer Walters’s blood cured his arm injury. This seemed too convenient a solution for something that was supposed to be a lasting reminder of the Hulk’s contributions to the fight against Thanos. His efforts in Avengers: Endgame are already being overlooked. Now, with no physical proof of him doing the reverse snap, it’d be so much easier to forget how integral he was to the cause.