Every MCU Character Who Could Have Survived Iron Man"s Endgame Snap (& Why They Didn"t Do It)

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Summary

Iron Man was the only hero in Avengers: Endgame who could sacrifice himself to save the world.
Doctor Doom's return in the MCU might not undo Iron Man's actions if handled creatively.
Several other heroes like Hulk, Thor, and Captain Marvel were not in the right position to sacrifice themselves.

The ending of Avengers: Endgame saw Tony Stark sacrifice himself to save the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even though quite a few other heroes could have done the same and lived. While Avengers: Endgame's final battle had plenty of heroes, a closer look at the circumstances surrounding the fight's end shows that really only Tony Stark could have done what needed to be done. This led to Endgame's ending giving his character's journey through the 11 years of the MCU an emotional closing point. What Iron Man did was inevitable.
Robert Downey Jr.'s return to the MCU as Doctor Doom is an exciting prospect, but there is some concern that it could undo the significance of Tony Stark's actions. Just like with Wolverine’s return in Deadpool & Wolverine after Logan, however, it is worth trusting in the creatives and their process. There is reason to have faith that Avengers: Doomsday will give the actor a new and significant journey that will not take away from Iron Man's impactful death. Upon review, it seems Iron Man was the only one who could have saved the world in Endgame.
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Related Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom Casting Explained Robert Downey Jr. famously played Iron Man in the MCU, so how is he returning as Doctor Doom?
1 10 Ikaris Would Not Have Been Willing The Eternal Could Wield The Gauntlet With Ease Close Ikaris would surely have been able to wield the Infinity Gauntlet and perform the snap that did away with Thanos and his minions. However, the Eternal with the greatest powers would not have been willing to intervene in a circumstance like this. Similar to Thanos, Ikaris sees himself as above the actions and thoughts of human beings. He knows his power, and he would not take any action to help humanity oppose the force of Thanos.
Ikaris has since disappeared into the sun at the end of Eternals. If anyone could survive this action, it would be the powerful Ikaris, with abilities similar to Superman. Ikaris did not participate in Endgame's final battle despite being on Earth, since the Eternals were not meant to intervene. A figure devoted to his beliefs, Ikaris would have had the ability, but not the desire to perform an action like this.
9 Hulk Was In A Weakened State The Hero Had Previously Snapped The Gauntlet To Bring Back Half The Universe Close While Hulk's MCU journey has been a strange one that has resulted in the combination of his Bruce Banner and Hulk personalities into Smart Hulk, the character was given a significant moment in Avengers: Endgame when he snapped the Infinity Gauntlet. Despite being incredibly strong, this action severely weakened the Hulk temporarily, although he was able to do it without killing himself in the process. With time, he could have done this again. Unfortunately, time was not something the team had.
Hulk would not have had the strength at the time to snap the gauntlet for a second time. If he did, it would have weakened him even further and potentially even killed Bruce Banner. Hulk has little time in the final battle due to his weakened state, but the character is among the fray, fighting to the best of his ability.
8 Thor Was Not Able To Take The Responsibility Guilt Over His Past Failure Consumed Thor During These Events Close Due to his weakened state, Thor in Endgame may not have survived snapping the gauntlet. Having failed so many people, Thor's journey in Endgame sees the god in a depressed state. The character holds a deep sadness close to his heart throughout the film, regretting that he had not done more to save all of his people. The character's emotional journey would continue in his next sequel, Thor: Love and Thunder.
Thor certainly has the physical power to wield the Infinity Gauntlet, but at the time of Endgame, the character was in no place to be able to take on that overwhelming responsibility. Instead, Thor was able to participate in the battle physically and to fight to bring himself back to the person that he was. There was simply far too much for the character to overcome in his own journey at the time to be able to handle the snap.
7 Captain Marvel Was A Late Addition To The Plan Carol Danvers Only Spent So Much Time With The Avengers Close While her character played into much of the opening of Endgame, Captain Marvel was only a minor part of the team's final battle. Following this, the direction and plans discussed by the main team throughout the time heist would not have been communicated to Carol Danvers. While she would likely have had the power to use the gauntlet, Captain Marvel would not have been privy to the team's plan and would not have been able to figure it out in the heat of battle.
As a result, Captain Marvel could only contribute to the battle with her own physical power. This led to various confrontations across the battlefield that saw her using her powers in full force to help out her teammates. The character appears likely to be a more integrated part of the Avengers team in the future, which may allow her powers to be used in situations like this as they arise ahead.
6 Deadpool Was In Another Universe Wade Wilson Would Have Lived Through The Pain Of Snapping The Gauntlet Close In Deadpool 2, the titular hero attempts to blow himself up after losing Vanessa. He sets a bunch of explosives that break him into pieces, but even this does not kill him. It is nearly impossible to kill Deadpool, whose mutant regeneration powers are at some of the highest levels possible. Following this, Deadpool could have snapped the Infinity Gauntlet and lived, even if it damaged him significantly for some time.
Unfortunately, the Fox universe was not yet integrated into the Marvel Universe. This kind of corporate disconnect feels crass to reflect on, but the fact that the character came from a different studio would have kept him from being able to be used in the film. Fortunately, following Disney's acquisition of Fox, the character has since become available for use in the MCU.
5 Groot Would Have Needed Direction Any Destroyed Parts Of Groot Could Grow Back After Using The Gauntlet Close Groot does not have the ability to withstand the force of every Infinity Stone. In Guardians of the Galaxy, he is destroyed from his encounter with only one of the stones. However, following this, a new Groot is able to be grown from a twig left behind from his body. As a result, while Groot would not likely have been able to withstand the force of snapping the gauntlet, he would have been able to be restored from his leftover wood after the fact.
Unfortunately, Groot is more of a team player than an individual reactor. The idea of using the gauntlet for this purpose would likely not have occurred to him on his own. Only if his team had given him clear and specific direction would Groot have been able to take action like this.
4 Vision Was Temporarily Dead Before His Return In WandaVision The Character Lost The Mind Stone In Infinity War Close In Avengers: Infinity War, Vision has the mind stone plucked from his head and is summarily destroyed. This breaks Wanda's heart and sends her on a rampage. Unfortunately, Vision does not return in Endgame, and it is not until WandaVision that more details of the character's fate and future are revealed. While Vision could have wielded the gauntlet, he was not there to do so.
Birthed from the mind stone itself, there is a connection between all of the Infinity Stones and Vision. He could use their power to its fullest extent without damaging himself. If the character had been able to return in Endgame, it is likely that much of the film's final battle would have gone much differently.
3 Captain America Couldn't Take The Risk Because He Had To Return The Stones His Responsibility Would Not Allow Him To Take Chances With His Body Close Captain America has the strength required to use the Infinity Gauntlet. While Iron Man uses a high-tech suit to give him his powers, for Steve Rogers they are innate, gifted by the Super Soldier Serum. These abilities would give him the strength required to survive the use of the gauntlet. However, it would indeed have taken a great deal out of Captain America, and he may have been out of commission for some time after its use.
Because the Infinity Stones had to be returned to the places they were taken from, Steve Rogers had a responsibility that required him to survive this final battle. The team had to hold fast to their responsibilities, and no one knew this better than Steve. Returning the stones was nearly as important as the snap itself, and performing this task was necessary for all of their survival.
Captain America also wouldn't have been able to replicate the gauntlet the way Iron Man did with his nanotech suit, and it's unclear if he could've stolen the gauntlet from Thanos.
2 Scarlet Witch Was Elsewhere On The Battlefield Wanda Had Only Just Returned From Being Snapped Close Wanda Maximoff is snapped away at the end of Infinity War and returns during the thick of battle against Thanos and his army. While her powers were a massive asset to the fight as it took place, and she certainly made a significant contribution, she was not well enough tied into the plan to be able to take on the responsibility of the Infinity Gauntlet. To Wanda, Infinity War was only moments ago, and she would not have been informed of what had happened since.
Wanda's powers are some of the greatest in the MCU, and it is certain that she would have survived using the Infinity Gauntlet. However, the effect that this would have had on her might have been significant. Considering this, while Wanda would have been able to successfully snap Thanos away, it is for the best that her powers were saved for later exploration.
1 Gilgamesh Was Not Allowed To Intervene The Strongest Eternal Could Have Used The Gauntlet To Destroy Thanos Close Much of the plot of Eternals was used to set up the importance that their team stay out of human affairs. This was done to explain how the team would not have assisted during Endgame's final battle. However, this does not take away the duty and the feelings that each team member carries for the human race. Gilgamesh had the superpowers that many of the Eternals had, but with a focus on strength that would have allowed him to use the gauntlet.
Gilgamesh loved humanity and would undoubtedly have taken action to save them if he had been permitted to. Unfortunately, the structures that kept the Eternals team in place restricted them from taking these actions during Endgame's final battle. In the end, Iron Man was the only figure that had the power to use the gauntlet and was in the right place at the right time. He had to sacrifice himself at the end of Avengers: Endgame, but this was a satisfying ending in pursuit of something bigger than himself.

Avengers: Endgame Where to Watch stream rent buy Not available
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*Availability in US The penultimate chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Avengers: Endgame, marks the finale of the first three phases of the MCU and acts as part two of Avengers: Infinity War. With Earth's Mightiest Heroes failing to stop Thanos from wiping out half of all existence, the heroes discover one final chance to make things right. Journeying back through space and time, the surviving Avengers attempt to stop Thanos before all is lost.
Director Joe Russo , Anthony Russo Release Date April 26, 2019 Cast Chris Hemsworth , Anthony Mackie , Paul Rudd , Robert Downey Jr. , Scarlett Johansson , Mark Ruffalo , Evangeline Lilly , Sebastian Stan , Josh Brolin , Elizabeth Olsen , Tom Holland , Don Cheadle , Samuel L. Jackson , Bradley Cooper , Karen Gillan , Brie Larson , Paul Bettany , Chris Evans , Jeremy Renner , Chadwick Boseman Expand Upcoming MCU Movies Captain America: Brave New World
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Release Date May 7, 2027

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