A recently-spotted Avengers: Endgame Easter egg may reveal how Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) solved time travel. It’s been almost four months since the Joe and Anthony Russo-directed project hit theaters, and now that the public can enjoy it at the comforts of their homes with its release on digital and Blu-ray, fans are noticing new details about the film. The latest of which pertains to the genius, billionaire’s seemingly easy road to figuring out time travel.
Five years after their devastating loss against Thanos (Josh Brolin) in Avengers: Infinity War, hope bloomed for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes when Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) emerged and raised the possibility of traveling back in time to collect the Infinity Stone before the Mad Titan got his hands on them. Captain America (Chris Evans) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) were both on board - ready to try anything. But things were different for Tony, who was settled with wife Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) and daughter Morgan (Lexi Rabe). He was skeptical of risking the quiet life he built to suit back up as Iron Man. It was the thought of potentially bring back Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland) that ultimately convinced him to join the Time Heist after seeing an image of the two of them.
The framed photograph of Peter and Tony initially didn’t seem to have anything unusual except for the upside down fake Stark Industries certificate that they were holding. But if Redditor u/discr33t_enough’s theory turns out to be correct, it sparked Tony’s epiphany about time travel in Endgame. Shortly after he gazed at the image, he told Friday he “got a mild inspiration,” and asked the AI to create a simulation of a Mobius trip - inverted. As fans know, the holographic model paved the way for Tony to create the wrist devices to allow the heroes to travel back to a specific point in time and return to their current timeline without any hitch.
With both the Russos and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely not commenting on this particularly argument yet, it’s difficult to gauge whether or not this was really the case. On one hand, it could totally be nothing more than a coincidence, but considering how the filmmakers cleverly incorporated subtle Easter eggs throughout Endgame, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that this was an intentional detail. After all, the Russos did say that there are a few more Easter eggs that haven’t been found prior to this supposed discovery.
In any case, what’s clear is that Stark’s decision to suit back up as Iron Man was primarily motivated by his grief over the death of Peter. And perhaps, while he never really wanted to revisit his old life as a superhero given the existence of his family, it doesn’t seem like he ever stopped trying to figure out a way to get out of the predicament that Thanos’ snap left the universe in. This explains why it looks like he quickly figured out time travel - a gripe some has with Avengers: Endgame. Scott’s emergence prompted him to once again entertain the idea, and maybe, seeing his photo with Peter motivated him in more ways than one.
More: Avengers: Endgame’s Paper Football Scene Sets Up Vital Time Heist Moment
Source: u/discr33t_enough
- Black Widow Release Date: 2021-07-09 The Eternals Release Date: 2021-11-05 Shang Chi Release Date: 2021-09-03 Doctor Strange 2 Release Date: 2022-05-06 Thor: Love and Thunder Release Date: 2022-07-08
