Why Captain America Doesn’t Say “Avengers Assemble” Until Endgame

As one of Captain America's (Chris Evans) most iconic lines from the comics, many waited for him to say "Avengers Assemble" in the MCU, but Marvel Studios waited to do this until Avengers: Endgame to do that, why? Since plans for a shared universe with Earth's Mightiest Heroes front and center became apparent, fans had anticipated Steve Rogers to say the phrase. Despite having a couple of other opportunities, Kevin Feige and his team decided to hold it off until their biggest film thus far.

Following their devastating loss to Thanos (Josh Brolin) in Avengers: Infinity War which wiped out half of life in the galaxy - including some of the team's fellow heroes - they're able to bring back all those who perished, providing back up to the grossly outnumbered Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), and Captain America against the Mad Titan and his countless minions. With almost every single hero in the MCU coming in for help, it made for a great opportunity for Steve to finally say "Avengers Assemble." That said, it's not like there weren't any other chances that the phrase could've been uttered as the Avengers battlecry. It had even been teased a few times before.

Steve's origin film Captain America: The First Avenger directly led to MCU's first ensemble offering in 2012's The Avengers from director Joss Whedon. The box office smash solidified Marvel Studios' plans for an interconnected universe by bringing together all their Phase 1 heroes such as Iron Man, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Thor, Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Captain America. The public hoped that "Avengers Assemble" will finally creep in the film's dialog, but it didn't. At this point, the franchise is still in considerably in its infant years (relatively speaking). Their now established formula had yet to prove itself, and with that in mind, it didn't feel like the franchise had earned the right to use the iconic Marvel phrase.

Three years later, Marvel Studios rolled out their second ensemble film. Backed with the success of the first Avengers and an even bigger fan base, Avengers: Age of Ultron could've fulfilled a lot of people's hopes to finally see Captain America say "Avengers Assemble" on the big screen. The growing calls for this to come to fruition didn't miss the filmmakers with a tease at the end of the movie. However, as frustrating as it was for fans to get played with that, it was a great way to acknowledge their anticipation over this and let them know that it will eventually happen - they just have to wait a few more years for it.

Narrative-wise, Infinity War just didn't have the opening for Captain America to say the line. It didn't feel right for him to use such a much-anticipated battlecry only for them to lose at the end of the movie. That said, it paved the way for the Avengers' biggest come back in Endgame. It also set the stage for Steve to finally say "Avengers Assemble" in the most satisfying, chill-inducing way. It's the perfect time and place to pay off years of waiting from fans, and now, that specific moment in film has become one of the most iconic scenes in movie history. In fact, if the line had been used previously, it might not have been as significant when he finally did say it.

Marvel Studios is known for playing the long game and they exercised great restraint in giving into fan service which they could've easily done in their earlier years to win the public over. Avengers: Endgame, however, is a testament that patience is key when it comes to landing big narrative payoffs.

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