What happened during the five-year time jump in Avengers: Endgame? When Thanos snapped his fingers at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, he erased half the life in the universe. It was the single most dramatic event in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, plunging the entire world into chaos.

Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame offered only a hint of the immediate chaos. An arbitrary number of pilots, bus drivers, air traffic controllers and the like would all have been instantly snapped away, meaning there would have been an incredible number of indirect fatalities. Making matters worse, the world’s governments would also have been crippled. In some areas, old prejudices would have boiled over, resulting in ethnic and sectarian violence. Captain Marvel alluded to it all in Avengers: Endgame, when she referred to “the things that are happening on Earth.”

The world mourned its dead, conducting a census of the lost, and creating monuments like those seen in San Francisco. Avengers: Endgame offers subtle hints of a mass migration, with snap survivors gathering together around symbolic landmarks like the Statue of Liberty, and offering comfort to one another. And then, five years later, the Avengers finally put matters right when the Hulk used the Infinity Gauntlet to bring back everyone who had vanished. Once again, the world would have gone through a tumultuous crisis, one that’s just hinted at in Spider-Man: Far From Home. But the curious question is - what happened to the various superheroes during that five year time jump?

Tony Stark Retired - But Not At First

For Tony Stark, Thanos’ triumph was vindication; it proved that he’d been right when he said the cosmic threat was certain to return to Earth. His initial reaction seems to have been a bitter, righteous fury, and he separated himself from the Avengers in grief at all he had lost. But no doubt Tony’s emotions became a lot more bittersweet when he learned that Pepper Potts was pregnant. They decided to call their daughter “Morgan,” after an eccentric member of Pepper’s family who may well have been a snap victim.

At first, Tony Stark attempted to continue making a difference in the world, and even built a range of new Iron Man armors, presumably developing even more sophisticated technology as he did so; he was on the Mark 50 in Avengers: Infinity War, and had gotten to the Mark 85 by Avengers: Endgame. Remembering his old dream of building a suit of armor that could protect the world, he constructed EDITH, an orbital satellite that could deploy a wave of hunter-killer droids. He intended this to be a legacy for after his death, as signified by the acronym - “Even Dead, I’m The Hero.” But, in the end, Pepper was able to persuade Tony to step back from all the superheroics. He retired in order to spend time with his daughter, and developed the kind of relationship with Morgan that he always wished his dad had with him.

Black Widow Refused To Give Up

The Avengers fragmented, with Steve Rogers abandoning superheroics altogether. The only one who wouldn’t give up, however, was Black Widow; she was still driven to redeem herself, to rub out the red in her ledger. Natasha Romanoff settled in the Avengers Compound in upstate New York, and from there created a network of contacts to help protect the world. Holographic technology was installed at the Wakandan palace and on the Benatar, and holo-transmitters were probably wired into both Captain Marvel and War Machine’s suits. It’s unclear whether Black Widow’s organization was public knowledge, or instead was clandestine; it’s possible her group served as a proto-Illuminati, secretly coordinating without any real accountability.

War Machine Became The Cosmic Iron Patriot

One of Black Widow’s key allies was War Machine, who became Earth’s mightiest Avenger. Although James Rhodes still tended to operate in a standard War Machine armor, he was also given a serious power-up in a suit Marvel call the “Cosmic Iron Patriot.” The colorscheme suggests this was commissioned by the United States Government as a new line of defense against Thanos-scale threats, while the name hints that Captain Marvel and Rocket provided advanced technology; the script references Rhodey coordinating with NASA, although that dialogue was cut from the finished film. The Cosmic Iron Patriot armor was stored at the old Avengers Compound, and was designed for different levels of situational readiness akin to the military’s DEFCON threat levels. There are hints that Rhodey became closer to Captain Marvel during the five-year time jump, which may suggest the two worked together on some cosmic missions.

Captain Marvel Presumably Became Known On Earth

Avengers: Endgame saw Carol Danvers return to Earth, summoned by Nick Fury’s pager, and the script implies Carol Danvers returned to Earth several times during that period. Black Widow was expecting Captain Marvel to come back for what seems to have been a scheduled visit, and she’d clearly been discussing personal matters with War Machine. The clear implication is that Captain Marvel felt a sense of responsibility for helping her homeworld after the snap. At the very least, she stayed in touch with the Avengers and visited fairly frequently; more likely, she became recognized as a high-flying superhero on Earth, potentially a source of hope for the public in an incredibly difficult time. That would explain why Marvel feel the post-snap world is ready to introduce Ms. Marvel, a young Muslim-American who’s inspired by Carol Danvers’ example.

“Professor Hulk” Was Born

Frustrated at the Hulk’s refusal to come out and play during the Battle of Wakanda, Bruce Banner retreated from public life and settled in a gamma lab. He spent eighteen months there, and came out transformed into “Professor Hulk.” In The Art of Avengers: Endgame, concept artist Ryan Meinerding noted that the Hulk had become the last of the Avengers. “He would actually be doing the job of all of the Avengers,” he explained, “and you would see him feel like a true, amazing Super Hero - and that costume was meant to elucidate that point. Whether it screams it or not, there is an H on his chest.” That explains a deleted scene where the Hulk was helping firefighters, and the fact that he was recognized and celebrated by children.

The Asgardian Refugees Settled at New Asgard

Thor successfully located the last survivors of Asgard, and brought them to Earth. The Asgardian refugees settled at Tønsberg, in Norway, which they called “New Asgard.” Located around 102 km south-southwest of Oslo, this is generally regarded as the oldest town in Norway, founded in the 9th century and the original capital of Iceland. According to the first Thor movie, the Asgardians fought the Frost Giants in a military campaign at Tønsberg in around 1,000 AD, and Captain America: The First Avenger revealed that Odin had hidden the Tesseract with a Norse cult at Tønsberg. In Iron Man 2, set in 2011, it was still a hotspot monitored by SHIELD - perhaps indicating they knew the Tesseract had been found there, or there were other Asgardian relics left behind. The Waters of Sight, which Thor visited in Avengers: Age of Ultron, were also found outside Tønsberg. And finally, a popular theory suggests that Odin returned to Tønsberg to die in Thor: Ragnarok.

Thor may have led the surviving Asgardians to a place where they could feel at home, but he was still dejected by the experience. The Odinson wallowed in self-pity, hiding himself away from the world, and Valkyrie increasingly took charge of the refugee community. Little wonder that, when the dust settled from Avengers: Endgame, Thor decided Valkyrie was the one who was truly worthy to lead his people.

Hawkeye Sought A Life Of Vengeance

And finally, Hawkeye went rogue, adopting the identity of Ronin. Clint Barton was devastated by the arbitrary nature of the snap, by the fact so many criminals and evildoers had lived while his family had died. He began a global rampage, using his SHIELD training and his combat skills to cut a bloody swathe through the world’s surviving criminals. He knew that this wouldn’t give him peace - but, in truth, that wasn’t what he was looking for. Every murder was simply an expression of the grief and rage he felt, a shout of pain expressed through bloody violence. In the end, though, Clint turned from this path when he was offered just the slightest chance of hope.

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