There were a lot of heroes in Avengers: Endgame. Like, A LOT of heroes. Some had major roles, like Captain America and Iron Man. Others had smaller roles, like Captain Marvel and War Machine. You'd think it would be hard to choose the "real" hero of Endgame, but directors Joe and Anthony Russo had no problem deciding which character was responsible for saving the universe.

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Avengers: Endgame! Continue reading at your own risk...

If you were to choose who saved the day in Avengers: Endgame, the obvious answer would be Tony Stark. The original star of the Marvel Cinematic Universe sacrificed himself at the end of the film to save everyone from clutches of Thanos, completing the arc that began in 2008. However, that's not who the Russo Brothers look at as Marvel's savior.

No, the real hero of Avengers: Endgame is much smaller, not only in terms of their role, but also in the size of their body. A simple rodent is responsible for saving every living being in the known universe.

"This is the case, the mouse saved the entire universe," Joe Russo joked in an interview with Chinese site Youth Circle. "It is indeed a big coincidence, so Dr. Strange has only seen this possibility in 14 million deductions. In the other millions of deductions, the mouse did not press the button, and the latter did not happen. In countless futures, there is only one future where the mouse is pressed and the world is saved."

Of course, Russo is referring to the random accident that was the rat in a San Francisco, who walked on the controls of the Quantum Tunnel. Had it not been for that rat, Ant-Man would've never made it out of the Quantum Realm, and the Avengers never would have figured out how to travel back in time to get the Infinity Stones.

You know, when you really think about it, that rat really did save the day. Whaddya know.

Avengers: Endgame is now playing in theaters.

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