Avengers: Endgame was filled with crowd-pleasing moments that made us cheer, whoop, and made us happy to be in a cinema with actual people. Ahh, memories. Perhaps the biggest fan favourite scene was Captain America lifting Mjolnir and taking on Thanos. Admit it, a shiver just ran down your spine.
Now, thanks to a new piece of concept art, we now have an alternate take on The First Avenger versus The Mad Titan. And it’s electric.
Thanks to Marvel Studios head of visual development Ryan Meinerding – who has previous for revealing cool looks at MCU villains – there’s now a peek at how the Avengers: Endgame final act clash was imagined in the pre-production stage.
While there’s not a great deal different (Thanos still meets his match against Thor’s mighty hammer), there are a couple of key divergences worth noting.
First, Thanos is knocked sideways – complete with cartoonish spit flying everywhere – instead of upwards in the finished product. Also, Cap’s first hammer hit on Thanos doesn’t have lightning surrounding the pair. I guess Cap perfecting all of Thor’s powers immediately would have taking some of the emotional impact of his defeat and ‘On your left’ portals scene.
Cap, of course, hung up his shield after that fight – but that’s not the end for the character. Falcon and the Winter Soldier set photos have recently revealed Falcon’s new suit after taking on the role of Captain America, while another sees an MCU newcomer wearing Cap’s gear.
Whatever happens next, they've got a lot to live up to.
For more on the MCU's future across movies and television, check out our guide to Marvel Phase 4 and how to watch the Marvel movies in order.