I want to make something clear about Steve's ending and my interpretation of it. Steve was allowed to be happy, yes it was a little selfish(maybe). Steve never would have been able to really live in the 21st century without some fight or another, Ultron was right about some things. Steve's life is in the past. In my opinion it was a good way to finish out his arc, by finally allowing him to be with the love of his life. Also, if Ravonna and Kang are right ("everything the Avengers did was supposed to happen") than Steve was always MEANT to go back.
Clint comes home and hugs Lila and Cooper.
Clint smiled through his tears. It felt very bittersweet and almost brutally poetic that he finally gets to see one of his families just after he lost pieces of another. Eventually, he knows, it won't hurt so much but the wounds are still fresh. He's mostly just elated that Lila, Cooper, Nathaniel and Laura are safe again. He doesn't think he'll let them put of his sight for a while.
Peter, at school, finds Ned in the hallway. They do their handshake and hug.
Peter sniffled and hugged his best friend. "I'm glad you're okay, buddy." He said, but the words were muffled by Ned's jacket that Peter had pressed his face into to hide his tears.
Ned patted Peter's shoulder. "I really do wish you'd stop risking your life like that." He said, through his tears. "I'm glad you're okay too."
Scott, Hope and Cassie watch fireworks on their porch.
"She's so big now." Scott said, again. It was so strange. He'd missed so much of her life already because of... well, prison. And now, an additional five years because of Thanos? 'No more.' He vowed, in his head. He will not miss any more of his daughters life.
Tony's voiceover starts. He says everyone wants a happy ending but it doesn't always roll that way.
"No... no it doesn't." Rhodey said solemnly. Tony's been his best friend since they met in college nearly 30 years ago. He never though any of this would come of that meeting but here they are... and- and Tony dies and a part of him protests against that. Tony shouldn't have had to die, Natasha shouldn't have had to die in order to ensure that Thanos couldn't win. It wasn't fair. But then, nothing ever is, is it?
T'Challa, Shuri and Romanda look out at the Wakandan skyline.
Tony's voiceover continues. He says he hopes that if they play this back it'll be in celebration.
"It does seem... We should celebrate what we've been given back... and maybe not dwell too much on what we lost trying to get it." Bruce said. "But, I am gonna miss you guys." He said to Natasha and Tony. "As of now, we don't know each other all that well and we still have years to become close but, knowing what happens to you guys and knowing that we do become very close friends... it's hard to not want to mourn you even though you're sitting in the same room as me."
Tony says he hopes families are reunited and they get everything back and a somewhat normal version of the planet is restored.
"I guess I did get my wish." Tony said sadly. "One way or another." Except his family wasn't reunited. It is weird to imagine how your death will effect people, especially people who you've never met. He hopes that Morgan and Pepper will be okay without him. Well... if Morgan is anything like her mother, they will be... eventually. Pepper's made of stern stuff. Tony has faith that they'll be okay.
"I guess you did." Pepper said, softly. It hurts now... it'll hurt more when it actually happen. She knows that. But, she thinks they'll be okay. She hopes they'll be okay.
"I don't think that, after all this, we can ever go back to our old normal. We'll have to find a- a... new normal." Hope said. "And that new normal is going to be so bizarre."
Tony makes some offhanded comments about the world, now universe.
"It always was a universe... we just never really got to explore it before now." Steve said. And he has to say that after exploring the aforementioned universe and beings in said universe, he doesn't really like the universe all that much. It's not a friendly place... from what he's seen with his own eyes.
He says that if you told him 10 years ago that they weren't alone, let alone to that extent, he wouldn't have been surprised but then asks who knew.
"I wouldn't have been surprised either. I refused to believe that we- humans- were the only intelligent life out there-" Bruce started.
"Intelligent is a stretch." Rocket muttered.
"But I never expected to actually come into contact with beings from other planets." Bruce finished, ignoring Rocket's snarky comment.
Clint kisses Laura. Tony says that the reality Morgan is gonna grow up in involves the epic forces of dark and light that have come into play.
Vision thought back to his comment in one of the previous films. 'Our very strength incites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict breeds catastrophe.' He still holds those words to be true, but now he can't help but wonder if everything that has happened since Mr. Stark chose to reveal his identity to the public has happened for a reason- was always supposed to happen. Maybe this was the catastrophe... maybe there will be more.
Pepper, Happy, Morgan, Rhodey, Thor, and Steve are watching a hologram of Tony.
"Are you giving your own eulogy?" Happy asked. Even in death Tony is... still Tony. It was almost refreshing, albeit in a sad way.
Tony says he thought he should record a greeting in case of an untimely death on his part. And makes a comment about death at any time being untimely.
'That is something that I would do.' Tony thought to himself, not in the very least surprised by his future self's actions. He obviously knew the risks, they all did. He suspected he wouldn't come back from it and... and he was right. Sometimes he really didn't like being right.
Tony says the time travel thing they're going to try and pull off has him scratching his head about the survivability.
"God... sometimes I wish..." Pepper sighed, not finishing her sentence out loud. Sometimes she wishes that there was a way to get Tony to stop... but she knows that it's impossible. And, in spite of herself, she wouldn't ever ask him to no matter how much it hurt her in the end. Because Tony never does things halfway and he wouldn't have ever been able to 'put a pin in it.'
He says that that's the hero gig and part of the journey is the end.
'It's a good end.' Tony thought, a lot better than it would have been had- had he continued on the path he started on. When he was dying... the first time... he became so immersed and obsessed with the idea of legacy and he was so worried about the image that he would leave behind. He was so worried about how he would be remembered. But, now the whole idea of legacy doesn't seem to matter so much. He's just glad that he died fighting for something right instead of profiting off of war and building weapons that would have been used to... well you know what weapons are used for. 'A good end indeed.'
Natasha was thinking similar thoughts. When she was with the KGB- with the Red Room, she always pictured her death as just another thing that'll happen to her. Even after she was able to get out, when she left with Clint and decided to join SHIELD, she never thought that her death would be a good one, never thought that her story would be one that people would care about- no matter how much she tried to rewrite it. When Fury asked her to be an Avenger she finally saw a way to atone for those mistakes. And Vormir... she felt she had finally atoned for those past sins. She'd caused a lot of pain in her life and she was glad her death could, in a way, almost make up for it. 'It's a good end.' She thought to herself.
Tony gets off his chair. He asks himself what he's tripping for because everything is going to work out the way it's supposed to. He kneels in front of Morgan. "I love you 3000."
'Here come the tears.' Tony thought to himself. He understood what Howard meant when he'd said 'That kid isn't even here yet and there isn't anything I wouldn't do for him.' He hasn't even met Morgan, she wasn't even a thought yet and he knew that there wasn't a damn thing that he wouldn't do for her. He knew that he loved her even if they don't know each other yet. It was like an instinct, that he knew he cared about here more than anything else.
Pepper had tears running down her cheeks and neck. She used the back of her hand to wipe them off. It was strange watching her life, and Tony's life begin and end before her eyes. She looked at the man sitting next to her. A man who, for the longest time, was the biggest pain in her neck- he still is sometimes if she's being honest with herself. She never imagined her life with him, she never thought it was a possibility. But now that she's seen it with her own eyes, she doesn't think she'd have it any other way... including all of the ups and downs that they'll go through. Pepper grabbed Tony's hand and laced his fingers with hers and didn't let go.
Pepper walks outside with a bed of leaves in one hand, and Morgan's hand in the other. Happy, Thor, Steve, and Rhodey follow her out. She places the bed of leaves in the lake, sitting on top of it is the first arc reactor with the engraving 'Tony Stark has a Heart.'
"You still have it?" Tony asked, tears now clouding his vision.
"Of course I do." Pepper whispered.
Tony leaned over to place a soft kiss on her cheek. "It will always be the greatest gift that anyone's ever given me. Pepper was one of the few people who saw something in him that no one else, not even Tony, could see. He was immensely grateful that they'd come into each other's lives. He wouldn't have it any other way.
Pepper, Morgan, Happy and Rhodey are on the dock.
"Goodbye boss." Happy whispered, so quietly that the only person who could hear him was him. It felt like the appropriate moment to pour one out in tribute but he didn't have a beer and they were in a theater and it didn't seem appropriate. Working for Tony, he never expected anything to come of it. He just thought of it as another job that he'd have for a little while and he'd eventually find another one. He never thought that Tony would've become one of his closest friends. He never thought that he'd find family with him and Pepper and Rhodes but he did and it hurt to have to let a piece of that family go.
Rhodey started at the screen, a solemn look on his face but he hid the mourning and sorrow he was feeling almost too well. The army will do that to you. Now that the eulogy was over and Tony's hologram was gone... his death felt all too real and saying goodbye- knowing that he'll have to really say goodbye one say is becoming a lot harder than he thought it would be.
Behind them are Steve, Peter and May.
Steve knows that Tony and him won't see eye to eye a lot of the time. He knows that their relationship is a complicated one, but he can't deny that he does respect the guy. He didn't when they first met, but Steve feels that they've proved each other wrong time and time again. He'd said Tony wasn't the type to make the sacrifice play but... he was wrong about that and a part of him didn't want to be, but he was glad he was. He wished they could've gotten off to a better start, they probably could've been much closer than it seems they were.
It was almost surreal, Peter thought. His mentor dying. When he'd first 'met' Mr. Stark way back when he was a little kid he thought that the Iron Man was invincible. But, as he's come to realize, Iron Man- Tony Stark... he's just a man. And men are not invincible. Obviously he and Mr. Stark only knew each other briefly but he'd made a big impact on Peter's life. He's taught him some important lessons in the time that they knew each other- even if Peter refused to listen at the time. He was gonna miss him. He really was.
Behind them are Thor, Bruce- who's arm is now charred- Strange and Wong.
'I hope he made it to the wedding too.' Tony thought when he spotted Wong on the screen.
Strange looked like he had something he wanted to say but decided not to open his mouth. Sometimes silence is best in situations like these. Sometimes that's all you can offer.
Behind them are Scott, Hope, Hank and Janet.
"I did not expect to see you there, Dr. Pym." Tony commented.
Hank sighed. Maybe it was time to let this family feud die. He still hates Howard but he can give the younger Stark the benefit of the doubt. He's a better man than his old man was.
Beside them are the guardians, sans Gamora. Rocket is standing on a tree stump.
Nebula glanced at Tony, respect shining in her black eyes. Not many would be willing to do what he did knowing the outcome.
"Maybe some humies aren't so bad." Rocket said. This group of people in the theater seemed like a formidable bunch.
Behind them, are T'Challa, Okoye and Shuri.
"Your sacrifice means a great deal, Mr. Stark, Ms. Romanoff." T'Challa spoke. "The universe shall be forever grateful."
Behind them are Clint, Laura, Lila, Cooper and Nathaniel.
"Oh you son of a bitch." Clint breathed out. "I'm gonna miss you." Like Bruce said, they don't know each other well now, but they will. Obviously they all have their ups and downs, all 6 of them, but they do become something akin to a family. And he'll always think of them all that way.
Beside them are Wanda, Bucky and Sam.
For the majority of her life Wanda wanted nothing more than to see Tony Stark suffer, to make him feel the fear and anguish that she and Pietro felt in the formative years. But now... after getting to know him better, she's almost sad to see him go. She knows they'll never become as close as they are with the others... too much animosity. But he played a large role in saving all of their lives and she appreciates that. She looked behind her at the man in question and sent a small smile his way, just so he knew how she felt about it. He nodded in acknowledgement and thanks.
Bucky was uncomfortable. He wasn't really sure that he should be at the funeral... after what he did. He... murdered the man's parents. Did he deserve to be at said man's funeral? "Barnes." Tony said, as if sensing the man's conflict. "Don't... don't work yourself up over it. I know it wasn't all you... even if my future self, in his grief, couldn't see it. I know that it wasn't you. You didn't want them dead, HYDRA did and they used you to do it. That's what happened."
Behind them is Harley Keener.
"Who... who is that?" Tony wondered.
"You don't remember?" Lorraine asked. "He'll be sad to hear that, he flew in all the way from Tennessee to be there."
"That's..." Tony tried to remember his name. "Harley Keener." He said after a moment.
"The one who helped you with your anxiety... and AIM, if I remember correctly?" Rhodey asked
"Oh yeah... and you completely tricked out his lab." Bruce added.
"You must have made a bigger impact on that kids life than you thought." Pepper smiled.
Behind him is Hill and Secretary Ross.
"Why is he there?" Tony asked.
Carol is on the stairs and Fury is on the porch.
"Director Fury." Tony spoke, finally deciding to use the man's formal title instead of first name. He didn't think anything more needed to be said. He and Fury have a complicated relationship and a measurable amount of respect for one another. It didn't really need to be acknowledged.
"Tony." Fury replied.
Later, Clint and Wanda stand by the lake. Clint says he wishes there was a way to let Natasha know that they won.
Wanda says that they both know, referring to Natasha and Vision.
"We're keeping an eye on you guys." Natasha said, referring to herself Vision and now Tony. "Don't you forget that."
Happy and Morgan are on the porch. Happy asks her how she's doing and calls her 'Squirt.'
"Uncle Happy." Pepper smiled.
"I'm Happy to be uncle Happy." Happy said.
Happy asks her if she's hungry and what she wants to eat. Morgan says she wants a cheeseburger.
Happy let out a wet laugh. "She's definitely your kid. No doubt about that."
Happy tells her that Tony liked cheeseburgers and says he'll get her all the cheeseburgers she wants.
"Thanks, Hap." Tony said, eyes swelling up with tears. He knows he can trust Happy to look out for them. Both of them. All of them. Happy's just that kind of guy, even if he loves to pretend that he doesn't care- everyone knows that he secretly does.
Thor stands, looking over New Asgard. Valkyrie asks when they can expect him back.
"I'm leaving?" Thor asked. Why would he leave? Where is he going?
Thor awkwardly avoids the question.
"You're not going back?" Loki asked. "Thor, you're their King."
"Not a very good one, it seems." Thor said. He'd spent five years actively avoiding his kingly duties, why would it be different if he did the same elsewhere. Besides, he can think of someone who's better suited for the job than he is anyway.
Valkyrie reminds him that his people need a King.
Thor says they already have one.
"No..." Valkyrie said, suddenly catching onto what Thor was saying.
Valkyrie says that's funny and laughs before eventually realizing that Thor's being serious.
"You think I'd be a good King?" Valkyrie asked slowly. She was skeptical about this. She never considered herself the leader type. Definitely not the King type, that's for sure.
"I do." Thor said after a moment. "Obviously someone had to step in when I wouldn't and from what I've seen, that person is you. I have faith that you can be what they need, because I can't be."
Thor says it's time for him to be who he is rather than who he's supposed to be.
"Odin really did a number on you two, didn't he?" Valkyrie asked both Thor and Loki.
Thor says Valkyrie is a leader.
Valkyrie says she'd make a lot of changes.
"I have faith that those changes would be for the better." Thor said. "We could all do with a little change every now and again."
"Maybe it is time for a change." Loki agreed.
Thor says he's counting on it and calls her 'your Majesty.'
"I- I could get used to hearing that." Valkyrie joked.
They shake hands. Valkyrie asks Thor what he'll do.
Thor says he's not sure and says that for the first time in 1000 years he has no path.
"Well that's good then... go make your own path. See where it leads you." Valkyrie advised.
Thor says he does have a ride, and glances at the guardians who are on their ship waiting for him.
Rocket tells him to move it or lose it and calls him 'hairbag'
"Back to space for you then, I suppose?" Bruce asked.
On the ship, Quill searches for Gamora.
"We'll find her." Nebula assured. "Eventually." Gamora can be really good at hiding but eventually everyone gets found. If Thanos taught her one useful thing in her life it would be that.
Quill swipes the screen to a map as Thor enters the ship and greets everyone. Thor says the Asgardians of the Galaxy are back together again.
"The Asgardians of the galaxy?" Quill asked, incredulously.
Thor swipes the map. Quill swipes it back.
"Here we go." Gamora sighed.
Quill reminds Thor that this is his ship and he's in charge.
Thor says he knows that, then swipes the map.
Quill says Thor says 'of course' then touches the map and it makes him think that Thor didn't realize he was in charge.
"Can the two of you stop measuring your dicks for 5 seconds?" Gamora asked.
"No... no I don't think they can." Rhodey said.
"I am Groot." (This will be a long adventure)
Thor says those are his insecurities are speaking and calls him Quail.
"Did you just call him Quail? Like the pheasant?" Ned laughed.
Thor says he's trying to be of service and assisting.
"Technically, it's only assisting if he asked you to do something." Loki said. "You're just stepping on his toes on purpose."
Drax suggests that they fight one another for leadership.
"No... no one is fighting anyone for anything" Quill said.
"If they fought, Quill would lose instantly." Rocket said.
Nebula says that it sounds fair.
"Don't encourage this please." Gamora said to Nebula.
Quill and Thor both agree that it's not necessary.
Rocket says he has blasters unless they want to use knives.
Mantis suggests that they use knives.
"Mantis!" Gamora shouted, scandalized. "You spend way too much time around Drax."
Drax agrees with Mantis.
"No. No knives. No fight to the death. We're not doing that." Quill said, trying his best to shut the idea down. Sometimes he felt like the rest of his team were children and him and Gamora were their parents. Except, he himself was occasionally one of the children.
"I am Groot." Thor and Quill awkwardly laugh. Thor says there will be no knifing one another.
"You didn't used to be scared to get stabbed." Loki said. "You seem almost scared now. You've never backed down from a fight before. It's strange."
"Maybe, I've matured in out future." Thor suggested.
Thor says everyone knows who's in charge.
Quill says it's him. Thor agrees.
"This is... this is getting weird." Sam said.
At Tony's house, Bruce opens the case with the stones and tells Steve to remember to return them to the exact moment they were taken or he'll open up a bunch of nasty alternative realities.
"Good luck." Sam said. "You're gonna need it."
Steve sighed, he wasn't really looking forward to this. He had to willingly give the scepter back to Sitwell and Rumlow, he had to see Schmidt again, and he had to stick the Aether back into Jane Foster while she was awake, which was bound to be awkward. He had to go through the hell that was New York in 2012 for the third time. This didn't look like it would be fun.
"Alternative reality." Loki spoke suddenly. Voice soft but level. "What did I do?" He asked, now his words were more so directed at himself. He removed a Stone from it's place in the timeline, in their reality. What might have happened because he did that?
Steve closes the case and tells Bruce not to worry.
Bruce says when he had the gauntlet and the stones he tried to bring Natasha back.
"Oh, Bruce." Natasha said softly. She knew- they all knew- that what happened to her, and the others was permanent. But the sentiment did not go unnoticed. Even though Bruce, on some level, knew she wasn't coming back, he still tried. He still had that little sliver of hope that they could still do something about it.
Bucky watches their conversation from a distance. Sam says he could come with Steve if he wants.
"Something tells me this is something he's gonna go alone." Tony said. They all saw the look in Steve's eyes when he saw Peggy. It was no secret that he wanted to go back and now hen given the opportunity. Tony didn't see any reason why he wouldn't decide to take it.
Steve tells Sam that he's a good man but this one is on him. Steve walks up to Bucky and tell him not to do anything stupid until he get's back.
"Steve?" Bucky asked. They'd always used those words as a 'Goodbye for now.' not as an 'I'm going away on a dangerous mission but I'll only be gone for a few seconds.' Steve was leaving, wasn't he?
Bucky asks how he can when Steve's taking all the stupid with him.
Steve frowned. He knew what he was going to do the minute that he'd seen that he was the one taking the stones back. But no matter how right it felt to go back to make a life with Peggy, it felt equally wrong to leave Bucky and Sam behind.
Bucky sensed his best friends distress, it was an ability that only the closest of friends had. "Steve... you should go. It's what you want... it's what you deserve. You are allowed to be selfish sometimes too, Rogers." Bucky said. "I mean... I'll- we'll miss you like hell but, you deserve to be happy. And you'll be happy with her."
Bucky tells Steve that he'll miss him.
"What do you mean you'll miss him? He's only gonna be in the past for a few seconds, right?" Sam asked lookin at Steve. He- and everyone else for that matter- didn't know what those words meant for Steve and Bucky, he didn't know that Steve wouldn't return.
Steve tells Bucky that it's gonna be okay.
"Ah... how can I not believe those words when you sound so certain of them?" Bucky asked, voice quiet.
Steve gets onto the platform and picks up Mjolnir.
"I almost forgot that we had to return Mjolnir." Thor said. "Be careful with her, please"
Sam asks how long this will take.
Bruce says Steve can take as long as he needs but it'll only be seconds for them. Bruce then sends Steve into the past.
"I hope this goes as planned." Steve said. "We really can't afford more mistakes."
Bruce goes to bring Steve back but nothing happens.
"What?" Sam asked. "Where the hell did he go?" He turned to Steve. "Where did you go?"
Sam wonders where Steve is. Bruce says he blew by his timestamp.
Sam and Bruce start arguing. Bucky notices someone sitting on a bench in the distance and gets Sam's attention.
"Is- Steve?" Peggy asked.
Bucky smiles slightly and tells Sam to go ahead. Sam walks up to Steve, who is now an old man.
"You're so old." Was the first thing that came out of Sam's mouth.
"He finally looks his age." Bucky agreed.
Steve greets him. Sam asks if something went wrong or if something went right.
Steve says after he put the stones back he thought he'll try some of the life Tony was telling him about.
"I'm glad you found it." Tony said, sincerely. "You deserve to be happy after everything, Rogers."
Sam asks how it worked out for him.
Steve says it was beautiful.
"I'm happy for you." Sam said.
"Me too, man." Bucky added.
Sam says he's happy for him and says that the only thing bumming him out is that he has to live in a world without Captain America. Steve passes a round case to Sam, and opens it to reveal the shield.
Sam fell silent for a few moments. Is this going where he thinks it's going?
Steve tells him to try it on.
Sam choked on his own spit and started coughing. Of all the things Steve could have said, this was not on the list. Did Steve want him to take the shield. Was Steve asking him to take up the mantle of Captain America. He felt honored, honestly, that Steve had entrusted him with this.
Sam looks at Bucky who nods. Sam picks up the shield. Steve asks how it feels.
Sam says it feels like it's someone else's.
"Well maybe, in time, it'll stop feeling that way." Steve said.
"Maybe." Sam agreed, but on the inside he wasn't so sure.
Steve says it isn't.
"We'll see." Sam said.
Sam thanks him and says he'll do his best.
"I know you will." Steve said.
Steve says that's why it's his.
Sam asks Steve if he wants to talk about her, referring to Peggy.
Steve says he doesn't think he will.
"Damn. Okay. I see how it is." Sam joked.
In the 1950's, in a house in the suburbs, Steve and Peggy dance in their living room.
"You came back for me?" Peggy asked, smiling.
"Well... I promised you a dance, didn't I?" Steve asked.
"You did, didn't you?"