Small Avengers: Endgame Trailer Details You Missed

It's here. After months of waiting and endless speculation, the trailer for the fourth Avengers movie has finally arrived, bringing a few answers and some even bigger questions with it. For one thing, the trailer reveals the title for the feature as Avengers: Endgame, confirming previously leaked info indicating that might be the case. But beyond that, there's a world of mystery to this footage, our first official glimpse of the Marvel Cinematic Universe post-Thanos' decimation.

The first trailer for the Infinity War follow-up is already a seismic pop culture event in its own right, offering the first look at what's to come for the Avengers and their loved ones in the years after the snap. It goes without saying that some things have gone pretty crazy. You're already going to watch and rewatch this thing about a thousand times, so follow along as we break down some of the small details you might have missed in the trailer for Avengers: Endgame.

Tony Stark's message to Pepper Potts in the trailer is set up like a grim farewell, but if you listen closely, it also holds a cheeky little reference to the comics. It also seems to correspond to previous leaks for the movie that could spell big changes for Gwyneth Paltrow's character when Endgame rolls around.

While Tony is drifting away, uttering what may be his last words to Pepper, he says a line that just might catch the ears of comic book readers. Specifically, we're talking about the line, "Just for the record, being adrift in space with zero promise of rescue is more fun than it sounds."

The line makes sense on the surface, but it also sounds like it might be a callout to the comic book character of Rescue — Pepper Potts' superhero alter ego, as yet unseeen in the movies. Outside of a desperate moment in Iron Man 3, Pepper has never suited up for battle in the MCU — but that might be changing in Endgame. 

In October 2018, Paltrow seemed to accidentally leak a few images of herself in some distinctive Iron Man-like armor, with other images showing her in a motion-capture suit. It's all circumstantial evidence, but it feels compelling. As to whether or not Pepper rescues Tony from space, well, we doubt that — but that line delivery feels like it might be a deliberate hint of the character to come. After all, the surviving Avengers need all the help they can get.

One of the first images to pop up in the Avengers: Endgame trailer is an imposing shot of Thanos, the Mad Titan — or so it very briefly seems. Turns out, Thanos — now retired to a quiet life as a farmer — has put up his armor for good as an incredibly imposing scarecrow. You can actually see the scarecrow in Avengers: Infinity War, in the lower right corner of the frame during the movie's ending sequence, with Thanos looking over his crops toward the shining sun on some unknown world. But this image has some significance you might not be aware of.

In the 1991 six-issue series The Infinity Gauntlet, which served as the inspiration for the two-part Infinity War story, the scarecrow is a striking image from the final issue. In the comic, the quiet world Thanos lives on is referred to as "an unnamed planet," with the scarecrow appearing to be Thanos' only company. When the heroes come upon it, they regard it as "an empty shell of what was," before being greeted by a more peaceful, serene, and unarmed Thanos — which may imply some interesting twists in store for the movie's final showdown. It's possible that the movie could be building up to a much more understated climax, subverting expectations like Captain America: Civil War. As for Thanos himself, he's only seen briefly, running his hand over some plant life with his burnt-up Infinity Gauntlet. Does he have the strength for a second round? We'll see — after all, we're in the endgame now.

At long last, he's back. After sitting out the events of Infinity War, Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton has returned for the fourth Avengers adventure — and something is very different about him. He's got a new haircut, a new samurai-inspired outfit, and he seems to be stomping the streets of Japan, hunting down some sharp-dressed victims and leaving them dead in the street toward some unknown end. You, uh... you all right, Clint?

This is more than just a costume change for the hawk guy. In fact, it's a whole new identity, one that Natasha seems somewhat shocked to bear witness to. 

Rumors have been swirling about the meaning of Clint's absence from Infinity War since before the movie even came out. The prevailing theory has been that Barton sheds his old identity (and maybe even a little bit of his morality) when his entire family gets dusted at the end of Infinity War, instead taking up the new mantle of the comic book character Ronin. Since we didn't see it go down onscreen, we don't know for sure if that's what happened — but c'mon. Do you think Clint is booking flights to Japan to go stab people if he's got a wife and kids at home?

So, the first moments of this trailer. Talk about a bummer, right? This isn't how we want to see Tony Stark — adrift in space, doomed to die, leaving a message for his true love that she'll likely never receive. It certainly sets a tone. But did you notice what ship he appears to be flying?

In a bittersweet twist, it looks as though Tony has commandeered the newest vessel of the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Benatar, which took the place of the Milano after its destruction in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. After all, no one from the team is left alive to pilot it except for Rocket, and last we saw of him, he was back on Earth. Were your heartstrings tugged? Ours were.

Of course, not all is as bleak as it first appears. For one, Tony doesn't seem to be alone on this sad trip across the universe. It looks like Nebula is there with him, hitching a ride after her ship was destroyed during her showdown with Thanos on Titan. (Her distinctive blue fingers can be seen on Tony's shoulder at one point.) Considering that she's more robot than mortal being at this point thanks to Thanos' tinkering, it's possible that the lack of oxygen and food on the ship isn't as big a deal to her as it is to Tony. In that case, maybe she's offering some comfort to Tony, dying slowly with her helpless to save him. 

Rumors have been rampant about the high likelihood of time travel being involved in the fourth Avengers movie, ever since set leaks indicated that the production was rebuilding sets from older movies. It's something that has always made sense on a storytelling level — this is the end of an era, so why not go back and touch on some classic moments from the journey? 

It's hard to think of any other reason Cap would be looking at a photo of Peggy with such significance, unless he was about to go and find her for some reason. Which may be what's happening here, with Black Widow and Cap appearing on the verge of a big move. Other set leaks have indicated that the movie may have built a new set for Camp Lehigh, the boot camp in Captain America: The First Avenger where a pre-super serum Steve Rogers first proved his worth. 

The base, located in New Jersey, was also visited in the modern era in Captain America: The Winter Soldier — and more importantly, it was destroyed. So if the movie is taking us to Camp Lehigh as the leaks suggest, then it's probably not going to be in the present day.

Still, if the surviving Avengers really are going back to the time of The First Avenger, we have to wonder why. Are they after the blue Space Stone, seeking to yank it out of the timeline for their own purposes? Or is it something no one's thought of yet? 

Well, that sucks. In between all of the sadness and general emotional devastation, the first Avengers: Endgame trailer dropped a gigantic reveal regarding the fate of Shuri — a.k.a. the woman who we thought might be Wakanda's last hope. 

During the sequence of Bruce Banner looking at the Avengers' list of missing people, the image of Letitia Wright's Shuri can briefly be seen among the presumed dead. (Her image then shifts to that of Peter Parker, who we all know is dead.) It's a loss that just makes things that much more difficult for our surviving heroes; after all, Shuri's remarkable intelligence (and presumable thirst for vengeance) would have been a major asset in the final fight against Thanos, we can assume. 

Instead, we're now meant to believe that she dies offscreen, ground into dust just like her brother. While the team's intelligence is wrong about Ant-Man, who is indeed missing, but not dead, we have no reason to believe that Shuri made it out alive, considering she was right there with the Avengers at the time of the snap. So if Shuri ever does don the Black Panther suit in the movies, it looks like it might not happen here.

As Black Widow and Captain America size up Peggy Carter's photo near the trailer's end, we can notice two things at once. One, Cap has shaved his scruffy combat beard, implying at least some passage of time since we last saw our heroes in Wakanda. In other words, it seems safe to say that this movie will not be picking up right where things left off. There are rumors that the movie will begin several years after the events of Infinity War, but that remains somewhat ambiguous in the trailer. Time has passed, but whether it's a matter of years or weeks isn't quite clear yet. 

Another thing about Cap's look that you might not have noticed is his new suit — or rather, his old suit. For the purposes of this mission, Steve has dipped back into the closet for his old duds from Captain America: The Winter Soldier, putting away his stripped-down look from Infinity War. After so much time spent on the run looking ragged, Cap is slowly becoming himself again.

Speaking of time jumps, it's possible that this outfit selection might have something to do with time travel in the movie, with our heroes suiting up in past costumes in order to fit in with older eras. Alternatively, they could be dressed to distinguish themselves from other eras, so the audience can always know which Steve is from the past and which one's from the present — which also might explain Black Widow's blonde hair.

Clint Barton isn't the only Avenger making a triumphant return for the fourth feature. Now that most of the heavy hitters are dead and dusted, it's time for Scott Lang to save the world. 

While Natasha and Steve are moping around Avengers HQ, they get a video message from Ant-Man, who seems to be at the gates of the facility. It's exciting to see this reunion take place — after all, it has been a while since Scott and Steve fought alongside each other. But what's more exciting is the gear Steve brought with him.

If you skipped Ant-Man and the Wasp, you might not know the significance of Scott's brown van. Last time we saw this vehicle, it had been turned into a makeshift laboratory, kitted out with a portal to the Quantum Realm. In the post-credits sequence to that movie, Scott entered the Quantum Realm and appeared to be stuck there, with his partners being dusted before they could pull him back. So wait — how did he get out?

Right before Scott jumped into the Quantum Realm, he was warned by the original Wasp to watch out for "time vortexes" — ambiguous phenomena that we don't know a whole lot about yet. But context clues are telling, here. It's possible that Scott used a vortex to exit the Realm, depositing himself in the near future — and now he's brought the time travel tech to Avengers HQ. Who would have thought Ant-Man would end up being so important?

As exciting as the Avengers: Endgame trailer is, it's impressive just how little it manages to tell us. It neither confirms or denies the long-standing time-travel rumors, and the same is true for the rumored time skip. You could make an argument that this movie is taking place six hours after Infinity War, and you could make an equally plausible argument that it's taking place ten years later. One small detail is only adding fuel to the fire, particularly because no one can seem to agree on what it means.

During the trailer's stinger, in which the missing, presumed dead Ant-Man rolls up to the chained-up gates of Avengers HQ, Steve asks Natasha if the security camera they're watching is an old message, to which the trailer has her reply, "That's the front door." Some fans have noticed that that's not really an answer to Cap's question — and they've also noticed the word "Archive" on the upper left corner of the video feed, which could arguably imply that it is an old video. 

People can't agree on what this means. Some people also think there's a year after the word Archive — 1983 — but that seems impossible, since the Avengers HQ wasn't built by then. (Also, the doors are chained up, implying the Avengers are... closed.) What it seems to indicate, at the most, is that Steve and Natasha may have missed Ant-Man by a short amount of time, and need to go on their own adventure to find him.