The MCU has always had an inclination for callbacks, parallels, and trends, but Avengers: Endgame broke a very specific example of the latter. Avengers: Endgame was monumental for a few reasons: it was the result of over 10 years of storytelling, it closed a huge chapter of the MCU, and has since become the second highest-grossing film of all time, just behind Avatar. It featured a huge ensemble cast of heroes, and it was one of them who ruined an MCU trend in the best way.

Throughout the years, the MCU has integrated numerous running gags into its extensive stories. For example, Captain America growing tired of his own catchphrase, ''I could do this all day,'' or Loki's many, many MCU death fake-outs. The MCU is known for its intricate details and for doing nothing by accident, therefore, the trend ruined in Avengers: Endgame seems purposeful, and was done in a way that perfectly suited the Marvel genre.

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The trend of MCU characters staring into a CCTV was pointed out by eagle-eyed audiences (via Twitter), starting way back in 2016 with Bucky in Captain America: Civil War. Since then, Wanda was shown staring directly into a security camera when she went to see Vision's body in WandaVision, and then it was repeated more recently with Marc Spector in Moon Knight. Each of these characters can be grouped together, as they blur the lines between hero and villain. Marc and Bucky have sketchy pasts and more recently, as Wanda has stepped into her true powers as the Scarlet Witch, she has turned into a darker character, with it even being hinted that Scarlet Witch could be a villain in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. However, Avengers: Endgame perfectly ruins this trend by including a security camera footage scene with the lovable hero Scott Lang, a.k.a. Ant-Man. As he tries to get in touch with surviving Avengers, he stares into their door camera and tells them that he's the guy from the airport who ''gets really big.''

Avengers Endgame Ant Man Scott Lang Paul Rudd Security Camera Footage

Scott Lang's inclusion in the lineup may seem like a goofy subversion, but he could fit the lineup of morally grey heroes fairly well. He does, after all, have a criminal past, and is no stranger to prison, even being on house arrest in Ant-Man and The Wasp. That said, he has clearly been a changed man since becoming a fully-fledged hero, and his criminal exploits haven't reached the extent of, say, being a mercenary, as is Marc Spector/Moon Knight's origin. Thus, he ultimately does ruin the dark, edgy trend of CCTV shots featuring morally ambiguous heroes. Everyone involved in bringing the MCU to life has an excellent sense of self-awareness, thus Scott's parody of the trend shows how the MCU doesn't take itself too seriously. Whilst the trend makes for especially cool and effective shots, stark black and white contrasting the usual saturation of MCU color palettes, the way it's ruined in Avengers: Endgame fits with the ethos of MCU projects, perfectly blending the dark and the light.

The serious and intimidating way that Marc, Wanda, and Bucky lock eyes with security cameras perfectly suits each of their characters. It shows that they have darkness inside them, and this manifests in the type of heroes they are. This is also the case for Scott's interaction with the camera in the last true Avengers film Avengers: Endgame; awkward, goofy, and charming, with his heart in the right place.

Next: Eternals Shouldn't Be Avengers In The MCU: They're What GOTG Used To Be

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