About
A Rat Saved The Universe refers to a scene in the 2019 superhero film Avengers: Endgame where a rat inadvertently frees Scott Lang/Ant-Man, played by Paul Rudd, from the Quantum Realm, allowing him to propose time travel to the remaining Avengers in order to reverse Thanos’ carnage. This has led to jokes about the rat being the true hero of the film across the internet.

Origin
On April 26, the film Avengers: Endgame was released in the United States. Near the beginning of the film, the character Scott Lang/Ant-Man was trapped in the Quantum Realm before a rat walked over a control panel, which inadvertently frees Lang and allows him to propose time travel to the remaining Avengers.

Spread
After the film’s release, fans quickly noted the ridiculousness of a mere rat being pivotal in reversing Thanos’ actions, and discussion about it was common throughout the internet. The Daily Express even made an article on the scene claiming that the rat was the real savior of the universe, rather than any of he other characters. A reddit post claiming that the rat was the tue hero of the movie became one of the top upvoted posts in r/Endgame of all time.