Avengers: Endgame

Story

By winning control of the Infinity Stones, murderous warlord Thanos has defeated the Avengers – an alliance of superheroes - and destroyed half the universe. The remaining Avengers must defy seemingly impossible odds to overcome Thanos once and for all.

Why we chose it

For many fans of the Marvel Universe Endgame satisfyingly concludes plot strands from 22 interconnected films with a series of epic quests culminating in the ultimate showdown.

This three hour film is the highest grossing of all time and is admired for its stellar performances and spectacular visual effects. It features a galaxy of superheroes and supervillains including Iron Man, Captain America, the Incredible Hulk, Thor, Loki, and Black Widow.

Endgame was chosen by the Story Museum’s teenage consultants who enjoyed the complex time travel plot, the special effects and the interplay between these flawed superheroes as they discover the power of friendship, sacrifice and teamwork.

Where it came from

The film draws on American superhero characters developed since 1939 for Marvel Comics by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and many others. Through technical wizardry the co-author of the original Avengers story, Stan Lee, who died in 2018, makes a brief cameo appearance in Endgame.

Where it went next

Since 2013 the Marvel universe has been expanding on television, with different storylines for different cable, terrestrial and streaming services including ABC, Netflix and Disney+. New stories also continue to appear in Marvel comics.

Associated stories

Endgame concludes a sequence of 22 films which began in 2008 with Iron Man. Although these feature many different superheroes, the powerful Infinity Stones play a major part in most of the stories.