Marvel Cinematic Universe fans are no closer to working out the timey-wimey, wibbly-wobbly nature of Avengers: Endgame, with the nature of Gamora, Black Widow’s fate, and the power of the Infinity Gauntlet still up for debate.
Gamora’s unwilling sacrifice to grant Thanos the Soul Stone in Avengers: Infinity War is all well and good, as she gets a chance to return for Endgame with a version of her from the 2014 timeline. But considering Black Widow makes the sacrifice in Endgame using Time Travel in 2014, fans are befuddled as to why she hasn’t returned from another timeline.
It’s like that shot of Charlie Day’s against the red-taped corkboard from Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The debate began with a simple question posted on the Marvel Studios subreddit, wondering how Gamora and Black Widow died in the same way, but only one has “returned.”
The discussion on the subreddit has devolved into mind-bending and highly confusing – and frankly, you may need your own red string to attach all these moving parts.
Then, the discussion turned to working out if Gamora is still the same Gamora, devolving the conversation into an example that proved pivotal to Vision’s character development in WandaVision.
If you need a quick break to get your head straight, now’s the time to take it.
In the most brutal way, it probably doesn’t really matter. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special will both feature Zoe Saldana as Gamora, but working out which timeline’s Gamora they’ll include may require a rocket scientist.
The good news is that the characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are also still learning how multiverses, timelines, and universes all work, so we’re not alone as audiences.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is the latest entry in Marvel’s multiverse shenanigans arc and is currently in cinemas.