The Avengers: Age of Ultron Ending Explained

Marvel’s latest superhero instalment ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ is in cinemas now, and one thing people are going to want to talk about is the film’s ending.

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So let’s take a look at the what the implications are for the future of the Marvel universe in a post- ‘Age of Ultron’ world, the significance of the film’s ending, and that oh-so juicy mid-credits scene…

If it’s not clear, the following contains MASSIVE SPOILERS.

If you haven’t seen ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ yet… DO NOT READ ON!

THE FATE OF THE AVENGERS

With Ultron defeated and the world in safe hands (for now), the Avengers are left in a somewhat fractured state.

Hawkeye’s returned home to his family, but is set to return for ‘Captain America: Civil War’ in 2016.

Hulk has absconded, making off in a stealthy Quinjet, which is later found crashed into the ocean.

Thor’s returned to Asgard in the hope of learning more about the six Infinity Stones and their destructive potential.

And self-confessed playboy philanthropist Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, has (yet again) left the life of the superhero behind him.

Remaining at the core avenging group are Black Widow and Captain America - the latter who has battled with the memory of the life he left behind (with Peggy Carter in the 40s) and has finally been able to put to bed any regrets and move on into the 21st Century as a figure of morality rather than sentiment.

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Side by side at the final scene of ‘Age of Ultron’, Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and Captain America are commanding a team that are to make up the new roster for the Avengers: Paul Bettany’s fantastic The Vision, Elizabeth Olsen’s potentially unstable Scarlett Witch, Don Cheadle’s War Machine, and Anthony Mackie’s Falcon.

This new-look Avengers collective is the dawn of a new era and an idea of the team that will take us into ‘Avengers: Infinity War - Part 1’ and play a hugely impactful role in ‘Civil War’, as the new faces are now under the command of Captain America.

THE IMPACT ON PHASE THREE

The events and outcome of ‘Age of Ultron’ will have direct consequences in ‘Captain America: Civil War’, ‘Thor: Ragnarok’  and ‘Avengers: Infinity War - Part 1’.

The catalyst ignites right here in ‘Age of Ultron’ whereby Stark, believing that using artificial intelligence as a means of creating world peace and to protect humanity is the way forward, clashes with some members, including Steve Rogers.

This is just the beginning of a long-term conflict that will rear its head in ‘Civil War’ when Stark, now off the grid as an Avenger, teams with the government to enforce the Superhuman Registration Act - legislation that meant all superhumans had to register and, in the case of those with secret identities, reveal themselves. Rogers chooses not to comply and goes underground, thus splintering from the Avenger allegiance we once knew.

While ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ won’t focus on the Avengers story thread per se, it will take his nightmare vision from ‘Age of Ultron’ that shows Asgard’s destruction, so will be about the Norse apocalypse which will have massive repercussions further down the line; considering the likes of ruler (and father) Odin, brother Loki, Idris Elba’s Heimdall, and Thor himself are destined to snuff it, although the latter looks odds-on to survive long enough for Hemsworth to complete his six-movie deal with Marvel.

LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS FOR BLACK PANTHER

While there’s no direct mention to the hero in question, we are introduced to Ulysses Klaw - the nemesis of Black Panther. Commonly known as a super villain and antithesis as not only (a future enemy) to the Avengers and Black Panther, he’s also a foe of the Fantastic Four.

The scenes he’s in are when the Avengers uncover a location containing vibranium - the rare metal that Captain America uses for his shield. It can also be found in Wakanda, the African country Black Panther rules over, thus linking them all together.

MID-CREDIT SEQUENCE

In one of the more tasty mid-credit sequences in recent instalments, we see Thanos casually don the Infinity Gauntlet from a vault that (allegedly) belongs to Odin (Thor’s father), which is a massive WTF moment, especially for those who don’t know the intricacies of the Marvel universe.

Thanos is now properly set up to feature majorly in the ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ movies, having muttered a chilling line about ‘getting the job done himself’, as well as previously appearing (on several occasions) in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’.

POST-CREDIT SEQUENCE?

With press screenings NOT including any sort of post-credit sequence, an alleged scene has already been leaked online, but apparently it’s been branded faked already. If it turns out to be genuine, then it’s a pretty awesome intro to Marvel’s latest acquisition (in terms of buying the rights back from Sony, that is) of Spider-Man, who makes an amusing quip to a window cleaner about ‘missing a spot’, with Avengers HQ in the distance…

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Picture credit: Disney, Sony Pictures