The first two Avengers movies shared one huge similarity: their final battles take place in bustling cities full of civilians who watched the action play out. But Avengers: Endgame took a different route, instead placing the climactic set-piece at the team’s isolated compound far in upstate New York.
This made it possible to stage a giant battle where the Avengers could focus on fighting Thanos without worrying about protecting random people. But it also created an interesting problem. If no one else saw the final fight, how come everyone in the Marvel Cinematic Universe seems to know what happened.
In WandaVision, we watched as Jimmy Woo and Darcy Lewis debate which Avenger put up a better fight against Thanos in that battle. And in Ms. Marvel, there’s an entire AvengerCon where superhero fans discuss the Avengers’ various exploits, Endgame included. But how do they know?
Ms. Marvel has already offered a possible answer in the form of a podcast hosted by Scott Lang (aka, Ant-Man). However, Marvel’s official website just broke the case wide open.
In a blog post breaking down all the Easter eggs hidden in the show’s AvengerCon scene, one detail stands out. Apparently, an unnamed SHIELD agent was present at the big battle... and they wrote a book about it! Here’s the relevant info:
Looking up, the walls are lined with sponsors for the event, like Edison Electric. If you’re searching for a first-hand account of The Battle of Earth, be sure and pick up a copy of the memoir I Was There… written by a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent detailing “the clash between the heroes of earth and the Alien scourge threatening our fragile planet.” The book includes a conversation with Hawkeye, and a first-hand account of Tony Stark using the Infinity Gauntlet (even though the author was 6,000 feet away).
There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s start with a few issues. For one thing, we’re pretty sure S.H.I.E.L.D. was disbanded after it was revealed to basically be a front for HYDRA in Captain America: Winter Soldier. (Though the organization continued to exist in various forms even after that.)
We’re also shocked to hear that Hawkeye of all characters was the one who agreed to be interviewed considering his general preference to keep his private life private. And of course, the fact that the book’s author was “6,000 feet away” from the final snap raises some eyebrows.
Still, it seems clear that for anyone living in the MCU who’s curious, it’s relatively easy to find out exactly what happened in that final battle. And considering how many people were at that battle to begin with, it’s not a huge surprise that someone decided to write a book about it.
Avengers: Endgame is streaming on Disney+.
