After Avengers: Endgame closed one chapter of the Marvel Universe, the anticipation was high for the release of Marvel’s Avengers for Stadia, PC, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, and so far, the game hasn’t disappointed. Critical reception to the game's story has been positive overall, and much of that has to do with Marvel's Avengers’ feel-good ending, which neatly wraps up the various plotlines while also hinting about the future direction of the game.
[Warning: Spoilers for Marvel's Avengers below]
The game begins with a young Kamala Khan and her father celebrating A-Day in San Francisco after the teen, who fully believes she’s a regular human, won a fanfiction contest. But the celebrations go awry when an attack on the city, led by Taskmaster, leaves much of San Francisco in ruins. In the process, not only does Captain America seemingly die, but the Terrigen Crystal is destroyed, sending Terrigen Mist into the air and turning many people into Inhumans. The Avengers are blamed for the tragedy, leading the group to officially disband.
The game then fast forwards five years. During this time, A.I.M. has taken hold of most of the city, using their technological prowess to keep the citizens in order. Pressuring the government, the group was able to forbid the existence of superheroes, fostering anti-Avengers sentiment in the people, who begin to agree with A.I.M.’s assertion that Inhumans are detrimental to the health of society. After being branded as Inhuman, Kamala narrowly escapes A.I.M. and heads to Utah in order to join the resistance and hopefully unite the Avengers in the process.
What Does Marvel’s Avengers’ Final Scene Mean?
The final battle of Marvel’s Avengers is essentially a head-on confrontation between Kamala and M.O.D.O.K. (formerly known as George Tarleton). It takes place in San Francisco, a move that feels fitting not only because of the significant events that took place in the city throughout the course of the game, but simply because it’s where Kamala's story begins. The Avengers head back to the city to confront M.O.D.O.K., who plans to release D.A.R.K. Terrigen across the globe in order to eradicate the Inhuman race.
During the confrontation, M.O.D.O.K. summons a Kree Sentry from the water, revealing it to be the reason for the Terrigen Crystal’s instability. Using Technokenisis, M.O.D.O.K. is able to control the Kree and use it against the Avengers. However, he still begins to lose the upper hand, pushing M.O.D.O.K. to enter the Kree in order to supercharge it in a last-ditch attempt. The Hulk attempts to strike the Kree by causing damage to its eye, but he’s taken out quickly by the Kree’s beam. This is an important moment in Marvel's Avengers ending, however. As Kamala rushes over to Bruce Banner to assess his wounds, she works up the courage to take on the Kree Sentry herself. Stretching herself to its size — marking the first time she was able to control her powers to such a massive degree — Kamala hits the Kree Stentry. M.O.D.O.K. is shaken from the blow, causing him to fall out and into the ocean. With the Avengers reunited and M.O.D.O.K. seemingly defeated, the game’s final scene ends with Kamala officially joining the Avengers with her father’s permission, a move that was long coming in the game.
For a game that’s supposed to be about the Avengers, it may be surprising that the Marvel’s Avengers is largely focused on Kamala coming out of her shell, particularly where the game’s ending is concerned. Kamala, Bruce Banner, and Tony Stark were the three heroes with the most screen time. On the other hand, players will notice that many of the Avengers, like Captain America, Thor, and Black Widow, were only given screen time when their special abilities were needed. Afterwards, these characters would seemingly disappear until later in the game when they again could be of use. Not only did this mean the character development of theses superheroes suffered, but it’s disappointing for players hoping to have more screen time with their favorite heroes. The game’s ending makes it clear that Marvel’s Avengers was not a title exclusively focused on the Avengers, but rather it’s the story of Kamala Khan coming to be an Avenger herself.
One thing the ending does not make clear, however, is whether this is truly the end of M.O.D.O.K. Sure, players see him fall out of the Kree and into the ocean, and afterwards, the Avengers assume he met his death. But with no official confirmation that the enemy is dead and gone, it leaves room to bring M.O.D.O.K. back in potential future DLC content. The post-credits scene in Marvel's Avengers may also provide further hints that M.O.D.O.K. will make a return in future content.
What Avengers' Post-Credit Scene Hints About DLC
After the credits roll, there’s an important post-credits scene in Marvel's Avengers that provides clues as to where future downloadable content could go. The scene begins by showing Monica Rappaccini alive and well, sitting at a roundtable while in a meeting with A.I.M, with various clones of herself around the room. It appears to imply that she’s now the new Scientist Supreme of the organization, following Tarleton’s supposed death at the hand of the Avengers. Rappaccini clearly survived Tarleton’s attempt on her life when he tried injecting her with the regenerative formula. Most likely, he injected one of her clones instead of her. With ruthless Rappaccini heading A.I.M., the organization is bound to cause problems for the Avengers in the future, as the scene seems to imply Rappaccini is the big bad the superheroes will have to worry about going forward. Future DLC content for Marvel's Avengers is bound to explore her new role as lead scientist.
The scene then shifts to focus on a Sentry, presumably the Kree Sentry that Kamala took down in the final moments of the game. A door on the Sentry opens up, sending a pod into space. It’s unclear what’s in the pod or who sent it. It could be a beacon or even the Terrigen Crystal. Similarly, the scene provides no information as to where the pod is going. It could be M.O.D.O.K.’s Plan B being initiated following his defeat, or it could signal that Rappaccini has something up her sleeve. The scene does seem to imply that the Avengers will have to deal with an intergalactic force in either future downloadable content or a sequel. This could, for instance, be foreshadowing Captain Marvel’s future inclusion in the series.
The ending of Marvel’s Avengers does a good job of tying up loose ends and offering players a sense of satisfaction. Plus, it heavily hints at where the future of the game's story could go, and there’s a lot of room to work with. Despite these hints, the ending of Marvel’s Avengers helps provide a satisfying conclusion to the game's (and Kamala's) story.