Looking back on the MCU, it’s worth considering what the current state of the Avengers would be if they had succeeded in stopping Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. The Avengers’ initial loss to Thanos wasn’t just shocking, it had a massive impact on the future of the MCU. While Avengers: Endgame showed the immediate aftermath from the perspective of the main Avengers team and punctuated the end of several characters’ arcs, the MCU continued on, showing the ramifications of not only the Snap, but the Avengers’ final victory in being able to undo it. It’s especially apparent in projects like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and WandaVision.

However, virtually every Avenger would be in a very different place, had Thanos failed the first time. A number of Avengers’ would still be fighting today as the deaths of heroes like Iron Man would have been entirely avoided. That, itself, would have had some major effects on other heroes like Spider-Man and the Scarlet Witch. The MCU wouldn’t see time travel until the inevitable rise of Kang the Conqueror. Moreover, audiences would have been able to see that five years unfold instead of skipping it, which would give back time that both they and several Avengers or Avengers allies had stolen from them.

Related: Captain Marvel 2 Can Show An Impact Of Thanos' Snap That Endgame Failed To

Iron Man & Black Widow Would Live To Fight Another Day

Iron Man 2 Black Widow Movie

Perhaps the most obvious consequence of Avengers: Endgame never occurring is that two Avengers would live to fight another day. Both Black Widow and Iron Man would be alive and well in the MCU. In the case of Black Widow, it's difficult to know exactly where she would be. While Avengers: Infinity War saw her on the run with Captain America as an international fugitive, following the events of Captain America: Civil War and the Sokovia Accords, Avengers: Endgame saw her and Steve Rogers leading the surviving Avengers team. If the Avengers defeated Thanos earlier, however, it’s possible she’d still be on the run with Steve.

The more consequential factor would be the continued presence of Iron Man. Tony Stark had already been grappling with the trauma and great responsibility of being a superhero. The final loss to Thanos convinced him to retire and start his family. If the Avengers manage a win against Thanos earlier, moviegoers would have then been able to watch him build his family, instead of seeing it five years after the fact. With that being the case, it’s entirely possible that having a child and not being faced with the devastation of Thanos’s Snap would motivate him to continue fighting, rather than quit entirely.

No Time Travel Changes Things For Captain America & Loki

Loki Finale used Captain america steve rogers and peggy Avengers endgame song

Avengers: Endgame never takes place, which means that in this hypothetical scenario, the Avengers never invent time travel. Without these time travel shenanigans, Loki fans would be in for some bad news. Loki dies early on in Infinity War. The only reason the Loki series exists is that the Avengers meddle with time and allow the Loki of that timeline to escape with the Tesseract. While it’s entirely possible that this could be written off as Loki managing to fake his death for the dozenth time, it’d still mean the entire premise of the Loki series would change, as Loki hadn’t been through the same years of character development.

More important to the Avengers, however, would be the continued presence of Captain America. Steve Rogers wouldn’t get to be with Peggy after returning the Infinity Stones. If he doesn’t do that, he’d likely continue serving as he sees fit in the role of Captain America. To that end, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier wouldn’t occur, but the general premise of that series wouldn’t need to change too dramatically to still happen. The government could still look to replace Captain America with John Walker due to his resistance of the Sokovia Accords, albeit earlier, as Iron Man still had the shield, which Rogers would likely wind up reclaiming following Walker’s disgrace.

Related: Endgame Sets Up The Hidden Best Part Of Old Steve Rogers’ Second Life

Iron Man And Captain America May Continue Their Feud

captain-america-iron-man-fight-civil-war

With Iron Man still alive and Steve Rogers still active, it’s up in the air whether they’d continue to fight. The two of them hadn’t completely worked everything out by the events of Avengers: Endgame. However, the failure of the Avengers in Infinity War exacerbated the strain on their relationship. If the Avengers win in Wakanda while Iron Man is still on Titan, Tony wouldn’t be forced to watch the loss of Peter Parker and upon his return, it’s possible Tony would be reasonably upset but also more likely to come around on Captain America’s point about the Sokovia Accords and the Avengers’ role.

On the flip side of this, the stress of the entire event could reinforce Iron Man’s personal position, particularly if he’s able to make it back to Earth to aid in the downfall of the Mad Titan. He’d see that the Avengers are the most effective when they’re together, thus Iron Man's stance on the Sokovia Accords would have been solidified as the best way for the Avengers to stay together. Out of respect and honor for their former friendship, Iron Man would maybe allow Captain America a proverbial “head start,” with or without the actual intention to keep pursuing him personally. But in this case, the feud would continue.

Hawkeye's Time As Ronin Wouldn't Happen

Clint and Kate at Christmas

Hawkeye was notably absent during the events of Avengers: Infinity War, having worked out a house arrest arrangement. However, he lost his family as a result of the Snap. Without the Snap occurring, Clint Barton would happily remain at home with his family. If he does that, however, he wouldn’t be spending a 5-year period as the vigilante, Ronin. Without his time as the Ronin, he’d never run afoul of the Kingpin’s operation, he wouldn’t inadvertently create Echo, and Kate Bishop would never get into the trouble she does in the Hawkeye Disney+ series. The character would still inevitably come about but likely in a different manner.

Spider-Man: Far From Home Would Look Completely Different

Spidey's identity is revealed in Spider-Man Far From Home

The Snap meant relatively little for Peter Parker as effectively his entire supporting cast vanished with him. However, the consequence of it never happening is Tony Stark being alive. Without that, the entire thrust of Spider-Man: Far From Home would need to be changed. This could ironically remove Iron Man’s influence on the movie by a considerable amount as Tony wouldn’t give Peter EDITH and Mysterio could be after some ultimately unrelated but similar technology that has nothing to do with Iron Man. The theme of grief over Iron Man’s death wouldn’t be present either, allowing Spider-Man to leave Iron Man’s shadow whilst Iron Man is still alive.

Related: Spider-Man: No Way Home Made Far From Home Completely Pointless

On the flip side of this, Spider-Man: No Way Home wouldn’t really need to change too much at all, aside from its place in the timeline. Mysterio could easily still out Peter Parker as Spider-Man to the world in a bid to make himself a martyr. Even in this scenario, Peter would still have met Doctor Strange, so the plot of the film could play out in exactly the same way, maybe simply adding a few obligatory Iron Man scenes to showcase how Spider-Man outgrows his need to emulate Stark, particularly in his own desire for privacy and such.

Vision & Scarlet Witch Might Get Their Happy Life Together

A scene from WandaVision

One of the more consequential changes would lie in the fates of the Vision and the Scarlet Witch. These characters both met with tragic, albeit suspiciously questionable ends. With Vision’s death in Infinity War, Wanda lost pretty much everything of value in her life. Every familial connection she’d ever had was gone. So it makes a good amount of sense that she finally snapped, leading to the events of WandaVision. It makes slightly less sense that Wanda turned heel in Multiverse of Madness, given the resolution of her own series. However, if the Avengers had beaten Thanos the first time, none of it may have happened at all.

This depends on when and how the Avengers defeat Thanos. However, seeing as Vision’s was the last Infinity Stone needed, the Avengers would likely have defeated Thanos before the Mind Stone was yanked from his head. In that event, Vision would have lived and Wanda would never have been forced to endure such spirit-crushing grief for a third time, let alone losing Vision and her family again in WandaVision. If those instances don’t occur, then the villain of Multiverse of Madness wouldn’t be Scarlet Witch, and could have instead been some evil, parallel universe Doctor Strange, letting Wanda and Vision be free to just live out a peaceful existence together.

Bruce Banner Wouldn't Develop Smart Hulk Off-Screen

Smart-Hulk's Mexico Lab in She-Hulk Attorney at Law

Perhaps the biggest crime was the MCU’s handling of the Hulk. It was definitely a blow that not only was the sometimes lovable, sometimes terrifying Savage Hulk last seen getting beaten up by Thanos. It was more jarring that the entire transition to Smart Hulk happened off-screen. If anything, Hulk would likely be a major factor in the defeat of Thanos in Wakanda. While using the Hulkbuster suit, Bruce would have been able to convince the Hulk himself to come out and lend his strength to the battle. That added element could have been the factor that tipped the scales in the Avengers’ favor.

Related: The MCU Needs To Kill Smart Hulk For The Best Hulk Movie

Without the Snap, there’d be no five-year time skip. As a result, much of the development of Smart Hulk could have occurred on-screen. Moviegoers would have been able to see the idea and inspiration behind the process, follow Bruce’s experiments leading up to that change, and see it come to fruition. Of course, that’s assuming Smart Hulk happened at all. It’s also possible that after successfully cooperating with the Hulk against Thanos, Bruce would instead accept that side of himself, embracing it in a different way. After all, the Hulk’s brutish savagery is part of what makes him so effective, a lot of the time.

Thor's Depression Would Last Far Longer

Overweigth Thor sitting on a chair, wearing glasses and seemingly sleeping in Avengers: Endgame.

On a less optimistic note, Thor might still be in a bad way after Infinity War. Defeating Thanos in Wakanda wouldn’t change anything about the earlier stages of the film. In that case, Thor would still lose Loki and many Asgardians. While there’s a chance for him to recover from this, there’s still a strong possibility that Thor would slip into a depression. Unfortunately, without the events of Avengers: Endgame to motivate him, that depression may last far longer, possibly until the events of Thor: Love and Thunder. Although that may have helped the movie avoid criticism for being overly comedic as the focus shifts to Thor’s battle with depression.

The Blip's Absence Would Give Several Avengers Their Lost Time Back

Ant-Man and a eight-year-old Cassie

Without the Snap, there’d be no 5-year time skip. This wouldn’t mean much of anything for several characters. Spider-Man’s entire supporting cast got conveniently Snapped along with him. However, there are still a number of characters across the MCU for whom that time would have meant a great deal. Without the snap, Scott Lang wouldn’t get stranded in the Quantum Realm, letting Ant-Man watch Cassie Lang grow up. With Wakanda losing T’Challa and Shuri, Queen Ramonda was alone for five years. Also, tragically, Monica Rambeau never got the chance to say goodbye to her mother, who died in the 5-year period that Monica was Snapped.

Had the Avengers beaten Thanos the first time, a number of characters would have remained among the living or continued to fight instead of retiring. Hawkeye and others would have been able to reclaim stolen time. Not only would the heroes get that stolen time back, but audiences would as well, allowing them to see what happens in that period. Those like the Scarlet Witch and Vision live peacefully until a new threat emerged. However, not everything would necessarily be better, as Thor would prove. If Avengers: Infinity War ended with a heroic victory, the Avengers would be in very different places right now.

More: Phase 4 Improved Avengers: Infinity War & Endgame In 6 Ways

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