Grief has been a common thread across much of the MCU’s Phase Four, capitalized in the experiences of the Scarlet Witch; but WandaVision.
WandaVision was, at its core, a series about grief. After losing Vision at the hands of Thanos twice, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness with the sorceress determined to achieve the family life that she was forced to relinquish at the end of WandaVision. While the character’s journey has been defined by overwhelming grief, the MCU in fact presented the emotion’s five stages through a means other than Wanda.
This exploration of the five stages of grief can be seen as a central topic of Avengers: Endgame. Rather than demonstrating the progression through the storyline of a single character – as the franchise subsequently did with Wanda – Endgame instead shows it at different stages between individual of the original Avengers. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance: each of these stages are represented in a different character, with their unique experience of grief standing to emphasize the progression that would later be seen in Wanda.
Denial
Avengers: Endgame manifests the notion of denial and the inability to accept what has happened in Captain America. First seen holding a group therapy session for those who lost loved ones after the snap, Cap’s focus on the past demonstrates the hero’s reluctance to move on from it. Unusual for an action-based hero, Cap’s denial is far more reflective than may be expected, with the leader of the Avengers becoming unable to move on from his past trauma. While his participation in therapy demonstrates his capacity for growth, it's telling that Cap takes responsibility for leading the group – perhaps giving him an opt-out of participating. While he helps others come to with their losses, it's significant that he himself remains rooted in the past.
Anger
While Wanda’s anger comes at a later stage in her character’s development – dominating her motivations in Doctor Strange 2 – this stage of grief is represented in Avengers: Endgame by Hawkeye. Losing his entire family after Thanos’ snap, Clint takes on the mantle of Ronin and enacts a killing spree across the world. While he is later shown to regret this period of his life in Hawkeye, Clint's righteous fury as Ronin is in many ways one of the purest representations of the stages of grief. In this heightened take on one of the five stages, Clint’s anger actually stands out amongst the reflective stages of his peers.
Bargaining
The stage of grief commonly referred to as bargaining defines a person who makes behavioral changes to process their grief and attempt to improve things. This is notably represented in Avengers: Endgame by Black Widow, who assumes Nick Fury’s position for the team in the absence of all classical leaders. Her determination to restore a sense of normalcy to day-to-day operations betrays a refusal to move on and a determination to maintain the status quo. Much like Iron Man – who can also be understood as a representation of the bargaining stage – Romanoff’s later self-sacrifice also marks the ultimate attempt to improve the state of the world as it is, ensuring that her loss of life comes with the chance to save others.
Depression
Depression may be the stage most represented in discussions of grief, and Endgame’s continued representation of the five stages is no exception. Wanda’s period in this stage is relatively short-lived by comparison to her navigation of the others, but Endgame’s manifestation of depression in where the film finds Thor is a much more thorough analysis. Blaming himself for Thanos escaping at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, Thor’s Endgame journey sees him secluded and losing interest in many of the things that he enjoys most in life. Common traits of depression, Thor’s navigation of grief is a closer exploration of the stage than that shown during Wanda’s journey.
Acceptance
The final of the five stages, acceptance, appears at the end of Doctor Strange 2 for Wanda, after seeming to reach some semblance of it in the WandaVision finale. This concept of acceptance – coming to with what has happened – can be seen in the opening of Avengers: Endgame through Hulk’s understanding of his grief and the creation of the Smart Hulk persona. Fusing the two contradictory elements of his character into a singular cohesive being, Professor Hulk is the most accepting of his situation – not necessarily “moving on” from his grief but coming to with it in a manner that sets him apart from the other of the team.
Wanda’s navigation of grief appeared as something of a first for the MCU. Instead of treating the raw emotional impact of Endgame as something from which a person can simply move on, Wanda’s character arc instead saw the Scarlet Witch having to come to with these emotions over the course of multiple films and series. While this has been a positive outlook for the MCU – exploring something ostensibly real in a world that is notably built on fiction – the five stages of grief have been a key element of the franchise in other forms. By considering the work of individual heroes after s ending, Avengers: Endgame manifests the five stages of grief in unique roles – with each character representing a different way that trauma can affect and impact even the strongest of heroes.
