Spoilers to follow.
Avengers: Endgame is finally appearing in cinemas around the world, which means we can already start picking apart the workings of the plot. Unfortunately though, one key moment sticks out as contradicting the rules set out in the previous installment, Avengers: Infinity War.
As we’ve all suspected for a long while, the bulk of the movie sees the heroes go back in time to reclaim the Infinity Stones from before Thanos gets his hands on them. In most cases, this led the Avengers to travel back through their own timelines. That couldn’t be done for the Soul Stone, though, which was hidden on Vormir for centuries before the Mad Titan claimed it by sacrificing Gamora.
Yes, the only way to get this Stone is to lose a loved one. So, when Black Widow and Hawkeye arrive on the planet and are told how it works by Red Skull, the two noble souls both try to sacrifice themselves to save the other. In the end, Natasha lets herself fall to the bottom of the cliff-face. Barton is then taken to the strange Soul World where he’s gifted the Soul Stone.
It’s obviously moving to have Black Widow’s story end so heroically like this, but once you’ve dried your tears you might realize that it actually makes very little sense that this happened. Previously, the tragedy of the Soul Stone was that the one who coveted it had to sacrifice the one they loved. Natasha sacrifices herself, though, which you could argue makes her death null and void. After all, if Hawkeye didn’t actively choose to lose her to claim the Stone, how’s he worthy of being granted it?
It’s a good question, though you could argue that there’s wriggle room in interpreting the rules, going by what Red Skulls says in IW:
“To ensure whoever possesses it understands its power, the stone demands a sacrifice… In order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love. A soul… for a soul.”
Still, it feels like a twist on the established facts. Not to mention that there’s also the issue of wouldn’t the team have known about how to obtain the Soul Stone before they sent Hawkeye and Widow off to get it? I mean, Nebula knew that Thanos and Gamora went together to Vormir and only one came back, with the implication being that he sacrificed her there. So, wouldn’t she have let the other heroes know that before they kicked their plan into gear?
As you can see, there’s quite a few problems with this key moment in the film, but for those of you that’ve seen Avengers: Endgame, tell us, what did you think of Black Widow’s sacrifice? Join in on the conversation in the comments section down below.