Seven years after wrapping up the Infinity Saga, Avengers Endgame has been back on the big screen since Wednesday 23 September in a new version dubbed "Avengers Endgame Encore". A re-release that isn't just there to rake in a bit of extra cash, but also to add more material bridging the gap to Avengers Doomsday, which lands in a few months' time. Since I had the chance to go and see the film again, and therefore to witness these new moments, it's time to talk about them, explain what they mean and of course speculate about what awaits us this December. Which means spoilers, obviously. You have been warned.
Loki interrupts Steve Rogers' retirement
The first new scene comes right at the end of Avengers Endgame, just after that famous moment where Steve Rogers is reunited with Peggy Carter to finally live the life he'd always put on hold. In the original version, that dance was the true full stop on Chris Evans' Captain America story. This time, their moment of peace is interrupted by a knock at the door. Peggy answers and finds Loki, still wearing his TVA outfit, while Steve stays hidden in the living room. The Multiverse's new big boss then explains that he can help them both, forcing Steve out of the shadows he'd taken refuge in.
This scene obviously adds a new dimension to the time travel Captain America undertook at the end of Avengers Endgame. After returning the Infinity Stones to their respective eras, did our hero trigger consequences across the various branches of the Multiverse? That's certainly what this sequence implies, and it links directly to Loki's situation at the end of the second season of his series. One thing is now certain: Loki will once again be caught up in the events of Doomsday.
Hulk / Bruce Banner kidnapped by Doctor Doom
The second new scene is far more unsettling, and this time it concerns Bruce Banner. We find our scientist in a room, a worrying look in his eye and plenty of grey at the temples, having deliberately shut himself away in a military complex to work on his own body. We see him filming himself and explaining to the camera that he's resumed his research in an attempt to eliminate the gamma cells responsible for his transformations. Bruce Banner is of course referring directly to the events of Spider-Man Brand New Day, during which he turned back into the Hulk and smashed everything in his path. Except it wasn't his fault at all, since let's not forget he was being manipulated by Jean Grey.
Straight after, we see our scientist sitting in front of a supercomputer, but his recording is abruptly cut short. A green light floods the room, then a voice rings out: "Bruce Banner, I'm coming for you." The scene ends with Banner vanishing and a magical symbol appearing on the floor. The identity of whoever has just taken him leaves little room for doubt: it's Doctor Doom, aka Robert Downey Jr. The sequence also confirms that Mark Ruffalo will indeed be in Avengers Doomsday, even though his involvement hadn't yet been officially announced. It also reveals that Victor Von Doom is actively trying to gather certain characters to carry out his plans. Benjamin Richards, son of Reed Richards and Susan Storm, had already been approached in the post-credits scene of The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Bruce Banner therefore becomes another piece on his chessboard.
What remains to be seen is what Doom actually intends to do with him. We know Bruce Banner possesses an exceptional scientific mind, a deep understanding of time travel and a power that makes him one of the MCU's most dangerous characters when he lets the Hulk take over, so if Doctor Doom has picked him out, it's anything but a coincidence.
The Multiverse collapsing (about time!)
The third sequence takes us back to the TVA, where Mobius (Owen Wilson), Casey and Ouroboros (Ke Huy Quan) are still at work. We quickly see them panicking, because the situation has gone badly wrong. They realise that two universes have just collided. These are realities 10005 and 1127, which start clashing even before their destruction, and the data displayed by the TVA quickly shows this isn't an isolated incident. We also see that the collisions are multiplying and the number of threatened realities is spiralling, reaching several thousand destroyed universes.
The presence of universe 10005 is of huge interest to us, since it corresponds to the reality of the X-Men from the Fox films, already glimpsed in the Avengers Doomsday trailers. Suddenly the shots of Charles Xavier, the X-Men mansion being torn apart and Cyclops standing amid the ruins take on a whole new meaning. As for universe 1127, it doesn't match any known reality from the comics, nor from the other MCU films: presumably Marvel is keeping what's inside it under wraps for now.
Tony Stark's hammer
The final scene is probably the one set to spawn the most theories, since Marvel has chosen to bring back the famous hammering sound that rang out at the very end of Avengers Endgame's credits back in 2019. At the time, that sound was an obvious nod to Tony Stark building his first suit of armour in a cave in Afghanistan, a founding moment in Iron Man's story. This time, though, the images completely change the meaning of the sequence, not least because we see someone striking metal with a hammer while a series of flashes makes it impossible to get a clear look at their face. The shape of the helmet, however, quickly tells us this isn't Tony Stark. One last flash then reveals the face of Doctor Doom, played by Robert Downey Jr.
The scene is clearly playing with the shared history of the two characters and with Marvel's decision to hand the role of Victor Von Doom to the actor who played Tony Stark. The Russo brothers have always presented Robert Downey Jr. as the man playing Doctor Doom, not as a new version of Tony Stark. Which means we'll have to rack our brains even harder to work out why Doom is turning up with Doom's face.
We'll have to wait for Avengers Doomsday to find out, with the film due in cinemas on 16 December 2026.
