Avengers: Endgame was not lacking for eye-poppingly cool moments. But one of the absolute best has to be the scene just before the combined forces of heroism in the MCU square off against Thanos’ army. We’ve just witnessed Captain America prove himself worthy of wielding Mjolnir, bringing the fight directly to the Mad Titan alongside Thor and Iron Man. But then all the heroes we saw dusted at the finale of Infinity War return and Cap gets to deliver a line that fans have been waiting for years to hear: “Avengers, assemble.”
But it was delivered in quite an idiosyncratic way, with the “Avengers” being yelled and “assemble” muttered through gritted teeth – as if he’s saying it as much to himself as to his comrades. Writer Stephen McFeely brought up this delivery in the commentary on the digital release, asking directors Joe and Anthony Russo why Evans chose to “go under” with his delivery. They explain that the idea to underplay came from them, and while it definitely works, some fans may have missed it in theaters:
“It felt like it would be more interesting. Unfortunately, him catching the hammer for the second time created a lot of energy in the theater, and I don’t know that people that first weekend actually heard it. But this is why you can go back and see it again.”
The phrase itself has a long and storied history in Marvel Comics, with it becoming the catchphrase during the classic original 1960s run by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. It would then go on to be used in all sorts of ways through the years, with 2012’s The Avengers being officially titled Avengers Assemble in the UK due to copyright clashes with the 1960s spy TV show The Avengers.Â
In Avengers: Endgame, it was a crowning moment of awesomeness and gave the audience notice that we were about to see something incredible. And as you know, the filmmakers certainly didn’t disappoint in that regard.
