Avengers 4 - What Does Endgame Mean?

Avengers 4 - What Does Endgame Mean?

The title for the fourth installment in the Avengers franchise has been revealed to be Endgame. But what does this mean? What are the implications of the title based on the trailer and the past MCU films? 

Endgame is a reference to a part of the game of chess. The end of the match brings the "endgame", where each side begins to make strategic sacrifices to capture and checkmate the opponent's king. So right away, there is a direct reference to the story. I think the theme of Endgame, as heavily hinted in Infinity War is going to be sacrifice.

"We don't trade lives, Captain." I don't think Vision realized just how wrong he was. 

I think the entirety of the plot will hinge upon the Avengers making sacrifices to checkmate Thanos and destroy the stones. I actually believe that Thanos' endgame has already been completed, or so he thinks. He already sacrificed his favorite daughter, Gamora, as well as four of his children (let's not forget that the Black Order were also his children), in order to achieve his goal, a goal that he believed to be noble and righteous. 

But now, the Avengers retaliate. And they're going to have to make sacrifices of their own. Does this mean Cap? Tony? Who knows, but there is no denying that sacrifices will be made. 

But there's another deeper meaning, I think. I think that, while endgame does reference the game of chess, it's more important to understand its context and where it came from in the MCU. 

Tony Stark (Avengers: Age of Ultron): "We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the live long day, but that out there. That's the endgame. How you were planning on beating that?"

Steve: "Together."

Tony: "We'll lose."

Steve: "Then we'll do that together, too."

I think that that's what Steve was referencing. Even though he and Tony didn't have any shared screen time in Infinity War, we do see this come to fruition. They both lost. And they lost together. In that scene, Tony is referencing Thanos and the greater threats, and Steve was right; they both lost on different fronts, one on Titan and one on Wakanda. So I think that the endgame may actually have already been set in motion before Stephen Strange uttered the words, "We're in the endgame now".

What does this mean for our heroes? We'll have to wait four short months to find out, but the future looks grim for Earth's Mightiest Heroes.