‘Avengers: Endgame’: The Scene That Made People Cringe Could Have Turned Out Differently
When you’re as popular as the Marvel Cinematic Universe film franchise, you’re never going to be able to please everyone. There are simply too many fans, each with different ideas on how the creative choices for the movies should play out.
Indeed, fans have complained about everything from there being too many A-list celebrities cast to there not being enough A-list celebrities cast. They’ve fussed over certain plot holes, writing decisions, and even which movies the franchise has decided to create in the first place.
There’s no shortage of issues people take with the MCU, which may be more a sign of fans’ high expectations and huge numbers than it is an actual failing.
Still, there are some fan theories and requests that really would have improved the films, and one scene from Avengers: Endgame didn’t have to go down the way it did.
‘Avengers: Endgame’ was incredibly successful
Avengers: Endgame had the wind at its back as far as a successful film release. It had been much anticipated, and it was riding the wave of success from the other films in the Avengers series. There was little doubt that it was going to perform well at the box office.
Still, the creators managed to impress fans by making sure that they didn’t rest on their laurels. They really did put in serious effort to craft a meaningful film, and fans noticed many important details that showed the creators took time and put care into their work.
Of course, not every moment from the film sat well with every fan. Pepper Potts’ appearance in the final battle, for instance, ruffled some feathers. Overall, though, the film felt like a fitting conclusion to a long-running and emotional saga.
There were plenty of moments of huge drama and action, but there were also subtler, more cerebral moments that worked to humanize these otherworldly characters and connect fans to their struggles.
Some fans did not like a particular ‘Avengers: Endgame’ scene
Even with its overall critical acclaim and box office success, there was one scene in Endgame that had several fans crying foul. The MCU — like much of Hollywood, honestly — has been grappling with its own lack of diversity in casting and representation on the screen.
While the MCU is making inroads to make sure that female superheroes, LGBTQ characters, and characters from a wide range of racial backgrounds get more meaningful backstories and more time on the screen, some fans find their efforts lacking.
In Endgame, there is a scene that has largely been referred to as the “girl power” scene. The women of the MCU lined up together, and fans feel that the scene was forced and came off as pandering rather than actually representative writing.
Ultimately, many people — even those who want more female representation in the MCU — found the moment cringe worthy.
Fans believe the ‘Endgame’ scene could have been better
Adding frustration for fans who feel the scene fell short is the fact that it wouldn’t have taken much to make it better.
A discussion on Reddit about the topic suggests that there were even plans in the works that would have fixed it completely.
One fan explained the problem with forced scenes like this one: “If you need to spell it out to viewers, or make it a slap in the face, then you should probably go back to the script and figure out a way to show the story instead of telling the viewer what they should see.”
That kind of story-driven narrative almost made it into the film. One fan points it out: “Wasn’t there an alternative scene that never made it past concept art that had Captain Marvel wounded by one of the gunships before the A-Force assembled? That would have been much better.”
Seeing the MCU women gather together in a plot-driven move to protect Carol would have created the same kind of iconic imagery but without the forced nature.
