Seven years after wrapping up the Infinity Saga, Avengers Endgame has been back in cinemas since Wednesday 23 September in a new version dubbed "Avengers Endgame Encore". It's a re-release that isn't purely there to rake in a bit of extra cash (well, alright, partly), but also to add more detail linking up to Avengers Doomsday, which lands in a few months' time. Since I had the chance to go and see the film again, and therefore witness these new moments, it's time to talk about them, explain what they mean and of course argue about what's waiting for us this December. So yes, spoilers guaranteed. Consider yourself warned.
Loki interrupts Steve Rogers' retirement
The first new scene arrives 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 culmination of Chris Evans' Captain America story. This time around, their quiet moment is interrupted by someone knocking at the door. Peggy opens it and finds Loki, still wearing his TVA outfit, while Steve stays hidden in the living room. The Multiverse's new big boss explains that he can help them, both of them, forcing Steve to step out of the shadows.
The scene obviously adds a new dimension to Captain America's time travel at the end of Avengers Endgame. Because after returning the Infinity Stones to their respective timelines, did our hero trigger consequences across the various branches of the Multiverse? That's certainly what this sequence implies, and it chimes directly with Loki's situation at the end of season 2 of his series. One thing's 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 concerns Bruce Banner. We find our scientist in a room, stern-faced and distinctly grey at the temples, and we realise he's deliberately shut himself away in a military complex to work on his own body. We then see him filming himself, explaining to camera that he's resumed his research in an attempt to wipe out the gamma cells responsible for his transformations. Bruce Banner is clearly referencing the events of Spider-Man Brand New Day, during which he turned back into Hulk and smashed everything in his path. That wasn't his fault at all, mind, since we should remember he was being manipulated by Jean Grey.
Just after that, we see our scientist sitting in front of a supercomputer, but his recording is abruptly cut off. 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. There's little doubt about who has just taken him: Doctor Doom, aka Robert Downey Jr. The sequence also confirms that Mark Ruffalo will indeed be in Avengers Doomsday, something that hadn't yet been officially announced. It further reveals that Victor Von Doom is actively trying to gather certain characters to see his plans through. Benjamin Richards, the son of Reed Richards and Susan Storm, had already been approached in the post-credits scene of The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Bruce Banner thus becomes another piece on his chessboard.
What remains to be seen is what Doom actually intends to do with him. We know Bruce Banner has exceptional scientific intelligence, an in-depth understanding of time travel and a level of power that makes him one of the MCU's most dangerous characters when he lets Hulk take over, so if Dr Doom has picked him, 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 hard 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 begin clashing even before their destruction, and the data displayed by the TVA soon shows that the phenomenon isn't a one-off. We also see the collisions multiplying and the number of threatened realities skyrocketing, reaching several thousand destroyed universes.
The presence of universe 10005 is of particular interest, 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, of the X-Mansion being torn apart, or of Cyclops standing amid the rubble 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 its contents under wraps for now.
Tony Stark's hammer / Victor Von Doom
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 right at the 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 his cell in Afghanistan, a foundational 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 stop us from making out their face clearly. The shape of the helmet does make it quickly apparent that 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 showing up as Doom.
We'll have to wait for Avengers Doomsday to find out, with the film due in UK cinemas on 18 December 2026.
