Theories about the MCU that turned out to be TRUE
Marvel is a cinema factory, but it wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for the viewers’ need to experience a huge, imaginary world that doesn’t end with one film, but continues to expand. Such cultural inclinations are clearly visible on the example of contemporary literature, which since the beginning of the 20th century has been evolving more and more towards series – trilogies, tetralogies, pentalogies, literally whole worlds that never end. That’s why it’s easy to get into the MCU, because at the beginning it really draws you in with its multifaceted nature. Only with time, when the first delight has passed, do you notice various inaccuracies, weaknesses, holes, and naivety. But on the other hand, it’s entertainment, the effect of fantasy, so there’s no point in going to the internet barricades and proving to others how immature it is to be fascinated by Marvel. I know that Marvel has not been good for some time, although the third part of Guardians of the Galaxy gives hope. Despite everything, the universe still has my trust and a chance, because this world has become close to me over the years of watching, although when I was younger, I criticized this film reality. The MCU still motivates, among others, my imagination to make amazing theories. Some of them work, and some of them that have not yet been implemented may be used by the Marvel authorities one day. I’m looking forward. For now, let’s look at those fan theories that actually came true and followed logically from the plot lines presented in the individual films.
So when I think about fan theories, Thanos immediately comes to mind, my bright light in the MCU that binds the sense of behavior of virtually all heroes. From the first Marvel movies, it was felt that he would gradually introduce cosmic elements to his universe. It couldn’t have become a more fantasy world, because it didn’t guarantee enough audience interest, which is statistically proven. So the tension around Thanos grew gradually. Fan speculation indicated that he would be the main antagonist, and that the infinity stones would give him unprecedented strength in the universe. When we finally saw it in the movies Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, this theory turned out to be true, and Thanos as an antagonist was a great success. And besides, for a villain he turned out to be an antagonist who aroused surprising sympathy. He even finished off my least favorite Marvel superhero – Spider-Man.
As for Peter Parker, many fans expected him to finally appear in the MCU. As far as I remember, this theory came about thanks to hackers who broke into Sony Pictures servers. Rumors that we’ll see Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War spread quickly. Not only that, fans speculated that there was some sort of secret deal between Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures, but few fans believed that Spider-Man would actually join the MCU. However, over the course of the film, it turned out that the speculation was correct, and Spider-Man became an integral part of the MCU. Thanos’s flick temporarily removed him from the universe, but unfortunately Marvel decided Spider was too valuable and profitable to let him die so easily. They even preferred to eliminate Iron Man. I did not miss this character, which I do not hide, but it is different in the case of the wasted Red Skull character. Fans in his case theorized that he would come back. He disappeared quite mysteriously in Captain America: The First Avenger. It has been suggested that the Tesseract may have transported him to another dimension or to another planet. We’ve been waiting for his return for a long time, so it was still a surprise for many fans to meet Red Skull as the guardian of the Soul Stone on planet Vormir in Avengers: Infinity War.
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As for the presumption of the existence of other dimensions and alternate realities in the MCU, the fans were not wrong either, and Marvel may have even used fan hints. I mean the production of Avengers: Endgame and e.g. Star-Lord, Gamora and Loki. The Avengers team had to travel a lot through time to get the stones before Thanos, including to the reality of the storyline of Thor: The Dark World, on Morag for the Power Stone and on Vormir. And here comes Captain Marvel – unfortunately. Fans knew her very well, and it was easy to predict that she would appear just when Thanos once again wanted to fix his wasted snap. Without it, and without Ant-Man’s discoveries at the quantum level, the universe would not return to its former state. As you can see, fan speculation is largely based on building a story around MCU characters who either disappeared too soon or got their films more loosely related to the main plot of the fight against Thanos. That’s what Ant-Man was like. Without it, the Avengers wouldn’t have realized they could try to defeat Thanos, even years after the snap. It was pretty easy to figure out that Ant-Man would help them. I myself thought about its role in the context of time travel, which is, of course, a very general term in quantum physics.
Returning for a moment to Thanos’ search for the infinity stones, viewers had accurate predictions about Loki. We remember that after Thor: Ragnarok, in which Loki helped save the Asgardians from Hela’s wrath, some fans were too quick to seem to believe that Loki reformed after Odin’s death – he is now a positive and humble superhero. It would be inconsistent with the character of this god. Doubts were dispelled and confirmed by a quick shot of the hero trying to resurrect Surtur with the Eternal Flame. Fans began to wonder if the Tesseract had truly been destroyed, given both its deceptive nature and Thanos’ desperate quest to get all the stones. In Avengers: Infinity War, it is indeed revealed that Loki stole the Tesseract before Ragnarök, thus providing Thanos with another piece of the deadly puzzle. Its victim was finally the aforementioned Tony Stark – Iron Man.
Tony Stark has been an integral part of the MCU since 2008. He was a man marked by death, great sacrifice, but also controversial decisions, thus becoming one of the most beloved and iconic figures. Despite hoping for a happy ending where he could finally take a break from the pressures of being a hero, fans expected him to die to save the universe. And in fact, hardly any superhero from the universe has been so close to death several times. Tony Stark literally almost died in a few instances, such as his act of sacrifice in the first Avengers. So it was hard not to expect him to finally get his way. These predictions coincided with the hard and unheroic facts of the life of Robert Downey Jr. The actor’s contract with Marvel Studios was coming to an end, so Iron Man finally snapped, saved the world, and died. Could this situation ever be reversed by the Time Stone?
Well, the fan’s pursuit of identifying the Infinity Stones continued even before Thanos showed up with his obsession with collecting them in Avengers: Endgame. Let’s finally get back to the pretty good Doctor Strange. If my memory serves me right, it was there that it was shown for the first time that the Eye of Agamotto belongs to the so-called of the Ancient One, and that it is the Stone of Time. If you can see it somewhere early, I’ll gladly take your suggestion and learn something new. For now, I’m assuming the Time Stone was first identified when it was used to bend time, creating an infinite time loop to defeat Dormammu. Now let’s recall the post-credits scene in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Doesn’t it encourage fans to have fun searching for all the Infinity Stones, which until now have only been subtly introduced as part of Thanos’ mysterious trick?
Despite its shortcomings, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is still a world full of inspirations, where fan theories and speculations are commonplace. Fans were able to accurately predict some of the key plots and events that appeared in the films. I am glad that I also have a small part in this. These inventing theories are fun, of course, but at the same time proof of how firmly Marvel is already embedded in our pop culture. I hope that in the future there will be more chapters in the history of the MCU, and fans will not disappoint as usual – they will create new theories and speculations that will provoke even more emotions and joy from watching movies in us. For now, if you’re going to play Guardians of the Galaxy 3, don’t pretend that this world doesn’t move you even for a moment.
Odys Korczyński