PLOT SUMMARY
Hawkeye is at his homestead with his daughter Lila Barton. He trains her in archery, and she scores a bullseye. He congratulates her success and her efforts. Nearby, his wife Laura Barton prepares a picnic while their two sons, Nathaniel and Cooper, play catch. Clint turns his attention away from his daughter, to respond to his wife. When he looks back to Lila, she is gone. Surprised and visibly startled, he calls out to his other family members, but they too have vanished; as victims of Thanos’s deadly Snap.
Three weeks later, Tony Stark and Nebula are adrift in space, aboard the Benatar. Nearly out of supplies, Stark uses the helmet from the Iron Man Armor: Mark L to chronicle their possible final days. He falls asleep so Nebula places him in the pilot’s seat and exits. Captain Marvel comes and carries the ship back to the New Avengers Facility on Earth.
Now inside the facility, Stark is reunited with Potts and the four surviving Avengers: Captain America, Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), James Rhodes, and Bruce Banner. Stark sadly tells Rogers that he lost Peter Parker. Rocket Raccoon sees Nebula alone and realizes that all his friends are also gone. The two sit together and hold hands in silent grief. Rogers asks Stark if he has any clues as to where Thanos is. Tony then erupts into a furious tirade concerning Ultron and their civil war. He continues to rant that if they had stood together, they may have been able to defeat Thanos, and questions the Avengers’ reputation of doing their best work only after the worst has already come to pass. After this outburst, he faints, exhausted and emaciated from his trip through space. Stark is given a sedative that will put him out for a while, giving him time to heal.
Returning to the topic of finding Thanos, Danvers proposes that they go after him right away. However, the rest of the team is not so easily convinced of the idea. Rogers tells her they don’t even know where he is, but Danvers says she knows some people who might. Nebula says there is no need because she knows where Thanos is, referencing The Garden that Thanos had planned to retreat to after achieving his goal of the Snap. Based on her information, Rocket pulls up a 3-D diagram of its location and states that when Thanos used the stones on Earth, it let out a large burst of energy. The same signature appeared two days ago on the planet Thanos is on, indicating that he has used the stones again.
With this new information, the team of Avengers set out to confront Thanos and retrieve the Infinity Stones in hopes of bringing half the universe’s population back, leaving Stark behind. They all get aboard the Benatar and plot a course through the Universal Neural Teleportation Network to the Garden. Successfully tracking the signal to Thanos’ farm in the Garden, Danvers first heads onto the planet to do recon, only to find that the planet is undefended and Thanos is alone and unguarded; with no armada, ships, or guards.
In his simple hut, Thanos goes about his daily routine; however, he is visibly crippled with horrific burns on the left side of his body from extreme use of the Stones. Danvers suddenly bursts into the hut, surprising Thanos and pinning him down with assistance from Rhodes and Banner, after which Thor severs Thanos’ left arm and Gauntlet completely with Stormbreaker. To the Avengers’ surprise and dismay, the gauntlet does not contain any of the Stones.
Upon interrogation, Thanos explains that the Stones would have offered “nothing but a temptation” if he kept them. After completing his goal, he deemed the Stones had served their purpose and thus he used their energies to reduce them to atoms so that what he did could never be reversed. The Avengers accuse him of lying, to which Nebula responds that while her father was many things, a liar isn’t one of those things. A surprised Thanos thanks his adoptive daughter for believing him and expresses regret for torturing her but a furious Thor decapitates Thanos before he can finish, leaving Nebula to mourn her adoptive father at his side. When Rocket asks what he has done, Thor replies that this time, he “went for the head,” referencing Thanos’ scornful remark on his failure to kill him in the Infinity War which ultimately led to the Snap. The disheartened Avengers then depart the Garden, having realized that there is nothing they can do to bring back the disintegrated.
Five years later, Earth’s remaining population has attempted to persevere against catastrophic losses. The massive genocide has traumatized the world and has stagnated much of their progress, with the path to recovery remaining slow. Rogers now participates in and/or runs a support group for citizens of New York City who are trying to cope with surviving the Snap and their losses.
In a U-STORE-It Self Storage facility in San Francisco, a rat accidentally activates the Quantum Tunnel in Luis’ Van, which had been impounded after the Snap, finally pulling Scott Lang out of the Quantum Realm. Disoriented and confused, Lang (who believes he was only gone for five hours) wanders through a post-Snap San Francisco. Deducing that something terrible must have happened, he comes across the Wall of the Vanished, a memorial site listing the names of those lost in the Snap. He frantically scans the names, hoping that he doesn’t find his daughter’s. Relief gives way to bewilderment as he doesn’t find her name, but instead his own. Arriving at Cassie’s home, he is shocked when he is greeted by his daughter, now a teenager, and the two reunite in a tearful, joyful reunion and hug. After realizing that Hope van Dyne, Hank Pym, and Janet van Dyne were among the vanished, Lang travels to the New Avengers Facility in New York with Luis’ Van.
At the New Avengers Facility, Romanoff, now the leader of the Avengers, is concluding a meeting with Nebula, Okoye, Danvers, Rocket, and Rhodes, regarding the continued repercussions of the Snap throughout the universe. Following the dismissal, Rhodes remains behind to give a status update regarding his former teammate and her friend, Clint Barton, who has become a vigilante known as Ronin following the disintegration of his family. Rhodes suspects Barton is responsible for the deaths of multiple Mexican Cartel members, which upsets Romanoff. Despite his apprehension, Romanoff pleads with Rhodes to continue tracking Barton. Rogers enters the room and the two console each other, admitting that while they’ve now devoted their lives to helping others move on from what happened, neither of them ever can. The gloomy mood is interrupted when Lang arrives at the compound. While initially skeptical, the two realize that Lang indeed survived the Snap and welcome him into the facility. Upon arrival, he is greeted by Romanoff and Rogers, his idol, and the three begin discussing the means of his survival where Lang explains his own experience in the Quantum Realm and how they might use it to undo the events of the Snap. The trio, with limited knowledge about the Quantum Realm and time travel, seek out Stark, who is living in a simple cabin with Pepper and their young daughter Morgan, now feeling a sense of peace despite the fallout of the Snap and the weight of being unable to prevent it five years earlier.
At his lakeside home, Stark is enjoying quality time with his daughter when Rogers, Romanoff, and Lang arrive. Stark immediately understands the nature of their visit but still questions their inquiry. When Lang proposes the idea of a Time Heist, Stark reluctantly turns down the offer, fearing that altering the past could erase their very existence as it stands, and expressing concern for the endangered existence of his daughter should their plan fail. Stark explains his desire to put the past behind him and tells them he’s finished with the Avengers. Not wanting to give up, Rogers, Romanoff, and Lang leave and meet with Bruce Banner, the only other Avenger as smart as Tony, at a diner. After the Snap, and both Hulk’s and Banner’s defeat at the hands of Thanos, Banner restarted his research into Gamma Radiation and used it to morph his body to have the appearance and strength of the Hulk while retaining the intelligence and control of Banner; the development worked wonders for the Hulk’s image as an Avenger as people no longer came to fear him and now idolizes him. After being told of the remaining Avengers’ plans to retrieve the Stones from the past, Banner doubts that he can succeed in the time travel project, as quantum physics is outside his area of expertise, but ultimately agrees to help them try.
While Tony is washing dishes he accidentally gets a picture of his dad wet, and then comes across a picture of himself and Peter Parker. Being reminded of how he lost him in the Snap five years before and how he felt like Peter’s death was on him, he uses F.R.I.D.A.Y. to simulate models for time travel in the Quantum Realm. Despite expecting and hoping not to fail, he succeeds just before giving up, much to his shock, by using an inverted Möbius strip model. After having done so, he discusses with Pepper the morality of time travel and about what he should do with his latest discovery: whether he should lock it up in a box and throw it into the bottom of a lake or whether he should take it to the remaining Avengers. He feels that he and Pepper were lucky that they were both spared and now have made an amazing life together, but he can’t deny that everyone around them has suffered unimaginable horrors and should be helped. Pepper asks Tony if he could live with his conscience if he kept the secret to himself, and this convinces him to return to the Avengers.
At the New Avengers Facility, Banner, Rogers, and Romanoff run an experiment with time travel by trying to send Lang back in time. Instead of sending him through time, they send time through him: he turns into a child, an old man, and finally a baby before they manage to restore him to normal. Rogers leaves the room, contemplating outside of the building about what to do next. Stark arrives to extend his helping hand and asks if the whole team is getting back together. Rogers told him they’re still working on gathering everyone who’s available. Tony tells Rogers that he’s agreeing to help on the condition that trying to reverse what Thanos did won’t reset what has happened since, as he doesn’t want to lose his daughter. Rogers agrees that’s how it should be. The two men finally put aside their differences, and Stark returns Rogers’ shield.
Nebula and Rocket arrive in the Benatar and Rhodes flies in with his suit. Scott, eating outside, sees his taco destroyed in the wind from the Benatar’s landing. Banner and Rocket travel to New Asgard in Tønsberg, Norway which is now home to the few Asgardians who are left, but not before Banner offers Scott a new taco. They meet Valkyrie, who now works on the fishing docks, and she reveals Thor is not doing well. He is revealed to be depressed following his failure to the point that he has spent 5 years as an alcoholic drunk hermit who never leads the remaining Asgardians, which cost Thor a considerable amount of his power, made him overweight, and spends much of his time playing Fortnite with Korg and Miek. Although Thor tries to put on a carefree attitude, he nearly breaks down upon Thanos’ name being mentioned by Banner. When it seems as if an appeal to emotion will not work on Thor, Banner and Rocket convince Thor to come with them by promising him a beer.
Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Barton attacks a group of Japanese Yakuza members and dispatches them one by one, including their boss, Akihiko. Romanoff, watching the scene, approaches Barton in an attempt to bring him back to the Avengers. At first, Barton wants nothing to do with the plan, tearfully begging Romanoff to not give him any hope that his family could return. But after some convincing by Romanoff, Barton returns to the Avengers’ headquarters with her.
At the Avengers Facility, Banner and Stark have completed the construction of their own Quantum Tunnel and Advanced Tech Suit, preparing for test runs. Rhodes argues the suggestion of traveling back in time to kill ‘baby Thanos’ to which Banner explains that altering events in the past will not alter the present but will instead create an alternate universe; leaving the only feasible course of action of acquiring the Infinity Stones to restore everyone in the present time. Believing himself to be expendable, Barton volunteers for the first time travel test and is transported to a time period on his farm before the Snap. With disbelief and hope, he calls out to his daughter but is brought back to the present before she sees him. With the test proven a success, the Avengers proceed with the next phase of preparation: determining the location of each Infinity Stone in the past. This presents a challenge: as they possess a scarce supply of Pym Particles to operate with and no means of replenishing them because Hank Pym perished in the Snap, they only have enough for one round-trip each.
As the team discusses their past encounters with the Infinity Stones, they manage to recall the placement of each Infinity Stone in time. Fortunately, they realize the Time, Space, and Mind Stones were all present in 2012 New York City, in relatively close proximity with each other, following the Battle of New York. However, the other three Stones were only accessible to them in different places and times, with the Reality Stone being present on Asgard in 2013 (as explained to the remaining Avengers by Thor), and the Soul and Power Stones being present in 2014 on Vormir and Morag respectively. With their targets located, the Avengers split into three separate teams: Thor and Rocket to Asgard; Nebula and War Machine to Morag; Romanoff and Barton to Vormir; and Rogers, Stark, Banner, and Lang to New York.
In 2012 New York City, the team of Banner, Lang, Rogers, and Stark review their mission objectives and disperse. Banner heads over to the New York Sanctum where he encounters the Ancient One, who explains to Banner that Doctor Strange is not yet the Sorcerer Supreme in that time period and won’t be for several years. Banner tries to persuade her to give him the Eye of Agamotto with the Time Stone, but his initial attempt fails, with the Ancient One sending Banner’s astral form out of his body to protect the Stone. The Ancient One then educates Banner on the effects the Infinity Stones have on reality and possible ramifications that may result from the loss of just one. Though Banner makes a compelling argument, she is not convinced until he reveals that Strange willingly relinquished the Time Stone to Thanos, much to her surprise as she begins to realize that Strange’s actions were part of a bigger plan. The Ancient One loans Banner the Time Stone and he promises to return it and the others once they’ve finished with them, before departing to rendezvous with the other Avengers.
Meanwhile, Stark and Lang infiltrate Stark Tower in the aftermath of the Battle of New York. After watching Loki’s arrest, Stark departs in the Iron Man Armor: Mark LXXXV to the lobby area, carrying Lang. Lang plants himself onto Stark’s 2012 counterpart who is transporting the Tesseract. However, the past Avengers are confronted by Alexander Pierce who wants to take the Tesseract from past Stark. Lang causes a distraction by interfering with the 2012 version of Stark’s Arc Reactor and sending 2012 Stark into cardiac arrest, allowing a disguised 2023 Stark to secure the Tesseract and put it into his briefcase. Seemingly successful, 2023 Stark attempts to exit the area, but the 2012 version of Hulk bursts into the lobby from the stairwell in rage, causing Stark to drop the Tesseract. In the confusion, Loki manages to retrieve the Tesseract and use its power to escape captivity.
Meanwhile, A S.H.I.E.L.D. STRIKE team comprised of undercover HYDRA agents are taking Loki’s Scepter with the Mind Stone to Dr. List, while Rogers sets out to retrieve it. Brock Rumlow, Jasper Sitwell, Jack Rollins and other undercover agents of HYDRA are transporting the Scepter by elevator. Rogers enters the elevator and presents the ruse that he has been ordered to take the Scepter, drawing suspicion from Rumlow and Sitwell, who doubt that Pierce has allowed a man outside of HYDRA to carry the weapon. Knowing that this will clear their suspicions, Rogers mutters, “Hail HYDRA,” earning their trust and acquiring the Scepter. After getting the Scepter, Rogers, to his frustration, encounters his 2012 counterpart who mistakes him for Loki in disguise. The two begin to fight and 2012 Rogers gains the upper hand. Desperate, Present Rogers reveals to his past self that 2012 Bucky Barnes is still alive, much to the surprise of 2012 Rogers. Present Rogers uses the opportunity to reclaim the Scepter, which he uses to render his past self unconscious and escape.
The team of Lang, Rogers, and Stark regroup as Stark and Lang admit they botched their mission and there’s no way to find the Tesseract now. However, Tony realizes that he can find a place and time where he can retrieve not just the Tesseract, but additional Pym Particles that they can use to return home. Scott is given the Scepter to return to the present while Stark and Rogers travel to Camp Lehigh in 1970.
Meanwhile, Thor and Rocket travel to 2013 Asgard. The pair are able to locate Jane Foster and set out to use a device to extract the Aether from her body. Thor, however, gets distracted at seeing his mother, knowing that she will die later that day. He then abandons Rocket to go get some mead but is caught by Frigga, who is fully aware that he is from the future. Thor breaks drown upon seeing his mother alive again and attempts to let her know of her future death, but she refuses to listen, insisting that Thor fix his own future rather than hers. Upon Rocket’s retrieval of the Reality Stone and subsequent chase from Einherjar guards, Rocket interrupts Thor’s talk with his mother, but he takes the chance to reclaim Mjølnir and say one final goodbye to his mother before he and Rocket return to the present.
Meanwhile, Rhodes, Nebula, Romanoff, and Clint time jump to 2014 Morag. Romanoff and Clint use the Benatar to travel to Vormir. Nebula and Rhodes go inside the Temple Vault and watch Star-Lord dance, both remarking on what a carefree idiot Quill was before knocking him out. They use his tools to break into the Vault and Nebula takes the Power Stone at the cost of her prosthetic arm being damaged. However, somewhere else in the universe aboard the Sanctuary II, the 2014 version of Thanos announces that Ronan the Accuser has found the location of the Power Stone; this information is shared with the 2014 versions of Gamora and Nebula when suddenly, the system in the 2014 version of Nebula starts interfacing with her 2023 self. Although present Nebula is unaware, the 2014 version of Nebula broadcasts her future self’s visual feed. Thanos has his adoptive daughter examined by Ebony Maw and sees through footage from the future that he succeeds in his goals and the Snap, and after watching his decapitation at the hands of Thor in 2018, considers it “destiny fulfilled.” The 2014 version of Nebula swears her loyalty to her father despite her seeming betrayal in the future, and Thanos decides to use her to achieve his goals quicker than he ever thought. A malfunctioning 2023 version of Nebula is stuck in 2014 while Rhodes travels back to the present time. 2023 Nebula is then found by the 2014 versions of Thanos and Nebula, who uses the present Nebula’s time-traveling device to travel forward in time and impersonate her future self.
Meanwhile, Rogers and Stark arrive in 1970 as the Watcher Informant drives by, currently posing as a hippie. Rogers and Stark split up to locate the Pym Particles and find the Tesseract. Tony goes into the basement to look for the Tesseract in storage but is stunned when he runs into his dad Howard Stark, who is looking for Arnim Zola. He then gets to talk to his dad about his own birth, which is expected later the next month. Stark sees his father in a new light and, now a father himself, understands what he went through raising him. He manages to indirectly thank Howard for everything while maintaining his hidden identity. Rogers uses a distraction phone call to coerce Hank Pym into leaving his lab while he sneaks in and grabs the Pym Particles. On his way back, Rogers has to hide in an office, which turns out to be the office of Peggy Carter. He briefly reflects on the life he could have had with Carter and spots a photo of himself on her desk. He makes the rendezvous with Stark, who successfully obtained the Space Stone, and returns to the present.
Meanwhile, Romanoff and Barton are greeted on Vormir by Red Skull. Once they are informed of the sacrifice they have to make, the two argue over who should die for the Soul Stone and each forcibly attempt to stop the other. Both are ready to sacrifice themselves for the other as they both try to throw themselves off the cliff. Although Barton makes the jump, Romanoff saves him using her grappling hook and ends up hanging by his hand. Romanoff pleads with Barton to let her go, and despite Barton’s refusal, forcibly lets go of his hand and falls to her death. A devastated Barton claims the Soul Stone and returns to the present without Romanoff.
The team returns to the New Avengers Facility in 2023 with all six Infinity Stones. They immediately notice the absence of Romanoff and Barton informs them of her death. The remaining Avengers take a moment by the lake to mourn her death before proceeding with their plan to use the Stones to not let Romanoff’s sacrifice be in vain. Stark, with help from Banner and Rocket, creates a Nano Gauntlet to harness the stones, and Rocket starts a debate over who should use it. Thor insists upon being the one to wield it, claiming to be the strongest, but the others argue that using the gauntlet at full power channels more power than he’s capable of safely handling both as a human and in his poor physical condition. Ultimately, Banner realizes that his physical form and relationship with gamma radiation make him the only safe candidate to use to the gauntlet. Banner puts the gauntlet on and it causes him intense pain as the energy from the stones surges through him. While several want him to take the gauntlet off, Rogers confirms that Banner is capable of continuing and Banner, despite great pain and difficulty, manages to put his fingers together and snap seconds later. As Banner collapses to the ground unconscious, Stark cools his scorched arm down as Ant-Man notices several birds seemingly appear outdoors out of nowhere, and Hawkeye receives a call from his wife, indicating that Hulk successfully reversed the Snap.
Just then, the 2014 version of Nebula activates the Quantum Tunnel to allow passage for Thanos’ ship, the Sanctuary II, which carries an armada. Thanos opens fire on the facility, destroying the buildings. The 2014 version of Nebula returns to her father, who entrusts her with retrieving the stones while he waits for the Avengers. Back onboard the Sanctuary II, Gamora asks the future Nebula what happened between them. Nebula admits that she was determined to kill Gamora more than once, but the two eventually formed a bond as sisters and became friends. Gamora, who always had reservations about her commitment to Thanos, finally turns on him and frees present Nebula.
In the aftermath of the attack, the Avengers are separated. Thor, Rogers, and Stark are near the top of the rubble, so they decide to attack Thanos on their own. Barton finds the gauntlet deep in the wreckage and protects it from the Outriders. The 2014 version of Nebula returns in disguise and he hands over the gauntlet, but before she can kill him, Gamora and present Nebula intercept her. They attempt to convince her to leave Thanos, but she refuses, and present Nebula is forced to kill her past self.
Thor, Rogers, and Stark confront Thanos head-on, who admits that their actions have proven to him that his plan to wipe out half the universe was flawed, as the survivors were too busy dwelling on what was lost and trying to reverse it to make the most of the ‘opportunity’ they were given. Instead, Thanos now intends to wipe out this universe and then rebuild it in his own image, with no one having any knowledge about what came before.
Despite their advantage in numbers and incredible abilities, Thor, Rogers, and Stark found themselves overwhelmed by Thanos’s own extraordinary power and combat prowess as he defeats Captain America and Iron Man and soon manages to pin Thor down and prepares to kill him with Stormbreaker. However, before he could completely overpower Thor, Mjølnir hits him, and travels to Rogers’ hand, with Captain America being another person other than Thor who is capable of wielding Mjølnir and being worthy enough to do so. Despite a valiant effort, Thanos subdues Rogers and breaks his shield. Thanos taunts Rogers with the notion that, although his intentions were never personal, he will take pleasure in destroying the Earth, and the Black Order descends from their ship with their armies of Chitauri, Outriders, and Sakaarans. With his shield broken and Mjølnir out of reach, a battle-weary Rogers prepares to make his last stand against Thanos and his massive army.
Just when all hope seems lost, Sling Ring portals open, transporting the previously fallen heroes, including Black Panther, Falcon, Doctor Strange, Wong, Shuri, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Man, Drax, Groot, Wasp, Star-Lord, Mantis, and Winter Soldier. Pepper Potts joins the fight in her own armored suit along with Valkyrie, Okoye, Korg, and Miek. Banner, Lang, Rhodes, and Rocket return from underground with Lang transforming into Giant-Man. These heroes lead the forces of the Masters of the Mystic Arts, Dora Milaje, the Wakandan Armies, Ravagers, and the Asgardians in the Battle of Earth. Rogers, with a cry of “Avengers, Assemble!”, starts the Battle of Earth and the team tries to keep the Nano Gauntlet away from Thanos and his forces with the objective of sending the Infinity Stones back to their proper timelines. Stark reminds Strange about his earlier statement that out of over fourteen million timelines there was only one which ended with them defeating Thanos, asking if that’s the one they’re in now. Strange insists he can’t tell him, or it won’t happen.
Since the Quantum Tunnel had been destroyed along with the Avengers’ facility, their only alternative is to use the one housed in Luis’ van, which is deep behind enemy lines. Over the course of the battle, the Avengers’ forces managed to gain the upper hand. Scarlet Witch single-handedly overpowers Thanos in a furious display until he orders the Sanctuary II to fire upon the battlefield. This incapacitates Maximoff and destroys a dam, forcing Doctor Strange to hold back the water to keep it from flooding the battlefield. The Masters of the Mystic Arts generate shields to protect the forces of the Avengers. Spider-Man gains possession of the gauntlet and is taken to relative safety. Carol Danvers arrives from space and destroys the Sanctuary II, leaving only the ground forces.
Captain Marvel takes the gauntlet from Spider-Man and tries to fly it to the Quantum Tunnel. Just within reach of her goal, Thanos destroys the van with his sword. Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man once again challenge Thanos to stop him but he instantly overpowers Iron Man and despite Thor and Captain America nearly managing to kill Thanos, they are ultimately overpowered as Thanos evades their close effort to push Stormbreaker into his head to decapitate him as Thor did before. Captain Marvel briefly overwhelms Thanos but Thanos is able to throw her aside and finally secures the gauntlet for himself. He puts it on and momentarily wields the power of the combined Infinity Stones but before he can snap his fingers to wipe out the universe, Captain Marvel holds his Gauntlet hand back and is able to overpower him only for Thanos to turn the tides using the Power Stone to incapacitate Danvers. Strange looks at Tony and reminds him of their earlier discussion of the odds, holding up his finger to signal that there is only one way to stop Thanos. As Thanos tries again to activate the Infinity Stones and with all other Avengers being either busy or beaten, Stark leaps at Thanos and attempts to disarm him of the Nano Gauntlet in a brief struggle before being thrown off. The Mad Titan revels in his supposed victory and declares “I am… inevitable,” echoing what his 2018 self said before his death, before snapping his fingers, but nothing happens. Thanos, to his shock, realizes the Infinity Stones are missing and he turns his attention to Stark, who is now in possession of the stones. Stark uses his nanotech suit to form a new gauntlet around them.
After wielding the power of the six Infinity Stones and victoriously declaring “And I…am…Iron Man,” Tony snaps his fingers. In shock and horror, Thanos watches as his entire army turns to dust. He accepts defeat before he finally turns to dust as well, suffering the same fate his victims endured five years prior. Stark however is mortally wounded from his use of the Infinity Stones’ raw power. After sharing brief and silent goodbyes with Rhodes and Parker, Tony succumbs to his injuries and dies in peace after being comforted by Potts, who assures him that she and Morgan will be safe.
With the Blip successful and the universe restored, the heroes reunite with their families and friends. In Stark’s cabin, a goodbye message he recorded the night before the Time Heist plays to Stark’s family and close friends, finishing with the hologram of him looking right at to his daughter, Morgan, and saying that “[he loves her] 3000.” They proceed outside, where Potts casts a funeral wreath with Tony’s first Arc Reactor (which read “Proof that Tony Stark has a heart”, given to him as a gift from Potts) into the lake. The group is joined by other individuals close to Stark including Happy Hogan, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Thaddeus Ross, May Parker, Hank Pym, Janet van Dyne, Hope van Dyne, the Guardians of the Galaxy, a delegation from Wakanda, remaining Avengers, and even Harley Keener, as they all recognize the sacrifice that Stark made to save them and the universe.
Barton and Maximoff comfort each other by the lake after the funeral, both suffering from their own losses of people close to them. Barton expresses that he wishes Romanoff could know that they won and her sacrifice didn’t go wasted. Maximoff assures him that she knows they did, as does Vision.
Thor then leaves behind New Asgard after making Valkyrie the new king and joins the Guardians of the Galaxy. On the Benatar, Star-Lord looks at star maps, scanning for Gamora’s 2014 self. Quill and Thor then have a quick argument about who is the leader of the group, as everyone else presumes Thor will be captain. Drax suggests they have a ritual knife fight to the death for the position, an idea that gets everyone else’s approval. Although Thor reassures them that Quill is still the captain, the sly look on his face indicates that he still believes otherwise.
Rogers volunteers to go back in time to return the Infinity Stones and Mjølnir to their proper places in time. He bids farewell to Barnes and Wilson with a slightly longer farewell than would be expected, despite Banner stating he should be back in five seconds. Rogers disappears as planned, but he does not return on the expected count of five. After a brief argument where Wilson angrily demands that Banner bring back Rogers, Barnes notices an elderly man sitting alone on a bench by the river, silencing Wilson’s concern. Wilson walks over and meets an aged version of Steve Rogers. Rogers tells him that after he returned the stones to their timelines, he decided to stay in the past and experience life. Wilson is shocked but accepts Rogers’ choice to hang up the shield, saddened that he will have to live in a world without Captain America. However, Rogers then passes his shield to Wilson.
Wilson is at first hesitant to take it, but Rogers tells him he should take it. As they shake hands, Wilson notices a ring on Rogers’ left hand and asks if he’ll tell him about her. Rogers simply responds, “No. No, I don’t think I will,” reminiscing upon a dance in the 1940s that he and Carter had in a suburban neighborhood home before sharing a kiss.
Source
COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United States, it has resulted in 96,392,543 confirmed cases with 1,059,605 all-time deaths, the most of any country, and the nineteenth-highest per capita worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic ranks first on the list of disasters in the United States by death toll; it was the third-leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2020, behind heart disease and cancer. From 2019 to 2020, U.S. life expectancy dropped by 3 years for Hispanic and Latino Americans, 2.9 years for African Americans, and 1.2 years for white Americans. These effects have persisted as U.S. deaths due to COVID-19 in 2021 exceeded those in 2020.
On December 31, 2019, China announced the discovery of a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan. The first American case was reported on January 20, and President Donald Trump declared the U.S. outbreak a public health emergency on January 31. Restrictions were placed on flights arriving from China, but the initial U.S. response to the pandemic was otherwise slow, in terms of preparing the healthcare system, stopping other travel, and testing.
The first known American deaths occurred in February. On March 6, 2020, Trump allocated $8.3 billion to fight the outbreak and declared a national emergency on March 13. The government also purchased large quantities of medical equipment, invoking the Defense Production Act of 1950 to assist. By mid-April, disaster declarations were made by all states and territories as they all had increasing cases. A second wave of infections began in June, following relaxed restrictions in several states, leading to daily cases surpassing 60,000. By mid-October, a third surge of cases began; there were over 200,000 new daily cases during parts of December 2020 and January 2021.
COVID-19 vaccines became available in December 2020, under emergency use, beginning the national vaccination program, with the first vaccine officially approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on August 23, 2021. Studies have shown them to be highly protective against severe illness, hospitalization, and death. In comparison with fully vaccinated people, the CDC found that those who were unvaccinated were from 5 to nearly 30 times more likely to become either infected or hospitalized. There has nonetheless been some vaccine hesitancy for various reasons, although side effects are rare. There have also been numerous reports that unvaccinated COVID-19 patients have strained the capacity of hospitals throughout the country, forcing many to turn away patients with life-threatening diseases.
A fourth rise in infections began in March 2021 amidst the rise of the Alpha variant, a more easily transmissible variant first detected in the United Kingdom. That was followed by a rise of the Delta variant, an even more infectious mutation first detected in India, leading to increased efforts to ensure safety. The January 2022 emergence of the Omicron variant, which was first discovered in South Africa, has led to record highs in hospitalizations and cases, with as many as 1.5 million new infections reported in a single day.
State and local responses to the pandemic have included the requirement to wear a face mask in specified situations (mask mandates), prohibition and cancellation of large-scale gatherings (including festivals and sporting events), stay-at-home orders, and school closures. Disproportionate numbers of cases have been observed among Black and Latino populations, as well as elevated levels of vaccine hesitancy, and there has been a sharp increase in reported incidents of xenophobia and racism against Asian Americans. Clusters of infections and deaths have occurred in many areas. The COVID-19 pandemic has also led to misinformation and conspiracy theories and has highlighted weaknesses in the U.S. public health system.
Source: Wikipedia
