WARNING: Major spoilers ahead for Avengers: Endgame.
Avengers: Endgame was never going to be a movie of easy, trouble-free adventure. It clocks in at three hours and that means that directors Joe and Anthony Russo have made sure to pack in as much story as possible. There are lots of things that Endgame has to accomplish: conclude the story arcs of the original Avengers, sow the seeds for storylines that will become the fabric of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 4, show us how the surviving Avengers from Avengers: Infinity War reverse Thanos’s Snap, and keep us fans entertained.
On all these counts, Endgame succeeds. But, in the opinion of this writer, where Endgame succeeds the most is when it shows us how the Avengers plan to reverse the Snap: by breaking off into teams and going back in time to specific moments where they are confident of the location of the Infinity Stones to make for easy retrieval. This is easier said than done as each of the surviving Avengers find themselves faced with unexpected reunions with characters we haven’t seen in a long time and complications that risk the plan.
So, which characters make an unexpected return? Which Avengers get to experience a meaningful reunion? Keep reading to find out.
Thor & Frigga
One of the most sentimental and meaningful reunions in Endgame is, without a doubt, the return of Rene Russo as Frigga, Thor’s mother. Thor and Rocket return to 2013 Asgard (during what MCU fans know to be the Thor: The Dark World storyline) to retrieve the Reality Stone that is hidden within Jane Foster. The former King of Asgard is wracked with guilt and grief during Endgame’s present day, feeling the weight of being unable to kill Thanos in Infinity War and blaming himself for not stopping the Snap from happening.
They return to Asgard on the day he knows his mother will die, making for an even heavier reunion between mother and son. Luckily, Frigga not only finds Thor in the palace but gives him guidance on how to work through his pain. A mother’s love is always the medicine that works best and for Thor, it helps to soothe him during a serious personal crisis and nudge him back towards his true self.
Jane Foster
Maybe the briefest return in Endgame is Jane Foster’s (Natalie Portman) return in the 2013 Asgard sequence. As Thor talks to Frigga, Rocket is seen going into Jane’s bedroom at the palace to pull the Reality Stone from within her since fans know that, based on what happened in Thor: The Dark World, it’s secured there. Jane is seen walking across her room, unaware Rocket is in there, and says nothing. Welcome…back?
Loki
After being killed by Thanos at the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War, Loki re-appeared twice in Endgame: in 2013 when Thor and Rocket return to Asgard to retrieve the Reality Stone and also in 2012 when he’s still the big bad trying to open a portal in for Thanos’s army in New York. Loki’s only seen briefly in 2013 as Thor passes by his jail cell, but he gets a bigger role during the 2012 timeline as a version of Loki who is still chafing against his capture, instead taking the opportunity to steal the Space Stone after Tony bungles the handoff, forcing Tony and Steve to go back even farther in time to get it.
Gamora & Peter Quill
We might have suspected that Gamora (Zoe Saldana) would return given that she is still Thanos’ right-hand woman when Nebula and Rhodey return to Morag in 2014 to retrieve the Power Stone. But what was particularly affecting was seeing Gamora and Peter Quill reunite briefly during the final battle against Thanos and his army. After Peter returns from the Snap, he finds himself caught in a tussle with Thanos’ soldiers, allowing Gamora to swoop in and save him before kneeing him when he tries to kiss her. The big problem with Gamora’s return (and likely what will be tackled in Guardians of the Galaxy 3) is that the first Gamora was killed on Vormir in Infinity War, meaning we now only have 2014 Gamora, who has no emotional connection to Peter or the rest of the Guardians and will have to work on rebuilding those relationships.
Tony Stark & Howard Stark
In a reunion that brought meaningful closure to Tony’s MCU arc, Howard Stark (John Slattery, returning to play the visionary businessman and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent) appears during Tony and Steve’s journey back to the 1970s. Posing as an MIT professor, Tony walks Howard out to his car and as they weave through the S.H.I.E.L.D. office, Howard reveals that his wife is about to give birth but he’s nervous about becoming a father, causing Tony to realize that, despite a lifetime of feeling that his relationship with his father was fraught, it was rooted in Howard’s deep desire to try and be the best man and role model he could be for his boy. It’s in his new role as a father that Tony is able to give his own father advice on parenting.
Steve Rogers & Peggy Carter
Hayley Atwell appears twice in Endgame: first at the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in 1970 and then in the final scene of Endgame, which shows Steve after he returns the Infinity Stones to their proper places and then stays in the 1940s so that he can finally have his happy ending with the only woman he’s ever loved. In 1970, we see Peggy through a window as Steve accidentally walks into her office to dodge a couple of S.H.I.E.L.D. security guards. From the other side of a window in Peggy’s office, he sees her talking to other agents in one of the office bullpens, making for a nostalgic if somewhat heartbreaking reunion of sorts.
Thankfully, Steve and Peggy finally get their dance. After returning to his original time (after being a man out of time for so long), we see Steve and Peggy happily married and slow dancing in their living room.
Brock Rumlow & Jasper Sitwell
Frank Grillo also returned as Brock Rumlow, a.k.a. Crossbones, after he was last seen in Captain America: Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War. Rumlow’s time in Endgame is brief but meaningful to Steve since Brock is in charge of securing the Mind Stone (locked into Loki’s scepter during the 2012 New York sequence) and Steve is fully armed with the knowledge that Brock is both working for HYDRA and, a few years after this 2012 sequence, goes on to become one of his biggest opponents in Winter Soldier. Secret HYDRA agent Jasper Sitwell also makes an appearance in this scene, still under the guise of a loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, but flummoxed when Steve Rogers whispers “Hail, Hydra!” in his ear and appears to be on their side.
A Younger Hank Pym
Fans got a brief look at young Hank Pym during his days working at S.H.I.E.L.D. in the 1970s. Michael Douglas got to work with the magic of digital de-aging technology to make him look like a younger version of himself and was outfitted with a spectacular feathered wig to showcase a young Pym who is still at work on his Pym Particles, which would go on to become an integral part of his Ant-Man suit and persona.
Alexander Pierce
Good old Robert Redford made a brief return during the 2012 New York sequence as Alexander Pierce, the Head of S.H.I.E.L.D., following his role in Captain America: Winter Soldier. As we know from Winter Soldier and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Pierce is secretly working for HYDRA and in Endgame, we see that he was responsible for trying to retrieve the Infinity Stones for HYDRA’s purposes after the Avengers capture Loki. Things don’t go according to plan for Pierce or Tony, who was tasked with retrieving the Space Stone for this portion of the time heist plan, but hey, at least a bad alternate HYDRA future was avoided?
The Ancient One
After her graceful exit in Doctor Strange, fans got to see the Ancient One for a second time when Tony, Steve, Scott, and Bruce head back to 2012 to retrieve the Space, Mind, and Time Infinity Stones. Tony and Steve are tasked with grabbing the Space and Mind stones, leaving Bruce (everyone’s favorite Science Boy) to go to 177A Bleecker Street to grab the Time Stone from Doctor Strange. Color him very surprised when he finds that Stephen Strange has not yet transformed into his mystical self and instead, the Ancient One is protecting the New York Sanctum.
Science and mysticism collide as she and Bruce discuss the viability of the Avengers’ plan to retrieve all the Stones and take them back into their present day to reverse the Snap. Their interaction made for an interesting meeting of the minds as well as offering a crucial explainer to viewers about how time is meant to work within Endgame. Thanks, Ancient One.
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