We’re going to be talking Avengers: Endgame spoilers right off the bat here, so if you still haven’t got round to seeing the universe-changing Avengers: Infinity War sequel, then you might want to stop reading right now.
If you’re still here, then either you already know or don’t mind finding out that this week’s release sees the return of Red Skull, who’s once more shown carrying out his duties as the keeper of the Soul Stone. While some fans were hoping to see Johann Schmidt cross paths with his old nemesis Captain America, Endgame instead sends Black Widow and Hawkeye back to 2014 to acquire the stone.
After a struggle between the two Avengers, Natasha Romanoff sacrifices herself so that Clint Barton can take the Soul Stone back to the present day. As it turns out, Nat’s death was not in vein, allowing the team to reverse the snap, before disintegrating Thanos and his minions. And when the fight is over, Steve Rogers travels back in time to return the Infinity Stones to where they were first found.
From here, Cap’s journey is left largely to the imagination, save, of course, for that final scene of Steve back with Peggy Carter. But it’s in this off-screen journey through history that the First Avenger almost certainly had his long-awaited reunion with Red Skull when he returned the Soul Stone.
If so, then fans are currently free to speculate on what happened during their final encounter, though perhaps Marvel can fill in the blanks with a comic somewhere down the line. Either way, this is just one of many examples of how Avengers: Endgame leaves us with almost as many questions as it answers.