Avengers: Endgame gave us all one of the most truly insane finales in a while. The initial battle between Thanos and The Big Three.
Cap lifting Mjolnir, the ‘dusted’ Avengers coming back to life and joining the rest of the team on the battlefield. And that epic moment that just perfectly crescendo-ed in Steve Rogers’ whispered ‘Assemble’.
It was great. Call me childish, but it still gives me goosebumps.
But most importantly, the movie also gave us one of the most emotional endings we’ve had, with Tony Stark laying down his life to save the Universe. Pepper bid her husband goodbye, everyone else stared on, and it ended in that funeral scene. At least, that’s how it went in the movie.
But in a deleted scene that’s just been released, Hawkeye gets down on one knee, in tribute to the fallen hero. He’s soon followed by Black Panther, Captain Marvel and the rest of the Avengers as Alan Silvestre’s The Real Hero plays.
All in all, a pretty emotional scene. Here it is.
Why was it cut? Well, when speaking with USA Today, Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo said,
It’s a beautiful scene with moving performances, but we filmed it prior to Tony Stark’s funeral. The funeral scene ultimately became a more resonant and emotional reflection on Tony’s death for us.
Fair enough, but honestly, that was something else, watching all the Avengers bow to Tony Stark on the battlefield.
Also, if the tears didn’t blur your vision enough, you probably noticed Gamora not kneeling and walking away. So I guess this answers questions about whether she’s alive or not. I mean, it should, shouldn’t it?
Anyway, we’ll find out more later, but for those of you who want to wallow some more in the grief of Tony Stark’s death, here’s The Real Hero.