Super Bowl Sunday gave us more than just football and funny commercials.

The newest additions to the Multiverse of Madness content rolled out right before the game and during it as well. These trailers gave us a better look at what’s to come and have definitely opened quite a few theory doors for all of us to eat up. This week’s episode is based on the top five theories that have come out of the trailers, so make sure to either listen to it below or click the button to find your preferred listening platform.

The Illuminati

Let’s start with one of the biggest things that I think had fans screaming at their screens. The Illuminati’s mere existence is amazing, as it leaves room for quite a few interesting cameos of its own. But I know the one everyone was most excited about was that of Professor X. Now, something we make sure to mention in the podcast is that there is no confirmation (obviously) of this being Professor X directly from the X-Men movies, but it is at least a version of him. I think most fans can agree, though, that we would love for him to be from the X-Men films, making them canon in the MCU. But let’s talk about these mutants. Even if the original films are canonized, Marvel is still likely going to recon the mutants in order to make them their own and do whatever storylines they want to. We might spy a cameo here and there, but the MCU mutants are still on their way.

Another famous member of the Illuminati is Tony Stark. We discussed in an earlier blog post some of the rumors flying around Tony’s return to the MCU, so make sure to check that out more here. But the reason I bring this up is that in the trailer when Strange is being marched up to the Illuminati, he clearly is surrounded by what looks similar to the Iron Legion. This is to say, we pretty much have a confirmation that a version of Tony Stark is likely sitting in one of those chairs.

Of course, Reed Richards is another huge name that has been thrown around since the release of the trailer. It would be a great way to pay homage to the old Fantastic Four, but I think we can doubt an introduction to the new Fantastic Four here as well. Remember how big this movie is, Marvel will not want to overshadow their new heroes by burying them in a movie this massive. I also think, in relation to the Fantastic Four, seeing Chris Evans suit up one more time as Johnny Storm might be the best thing I could ever imagine (maybe even better than Andrew and Tobey in NWH, oop). To be fair, he and Michael B. Jordan both being Johnny Storm and then becoming huge characters in the MCU just makes it so satisfying (Marvel please hear my pleas).

Monica, Maria, or Superior Iron Man?

I feel like I don’t even need to describe the scene that I am referring to when I give those three options as a header for this section. But I do need to add my two cents to who I think is flying around in the trailer, glowing all blue and yellow. My personal bet goes immediately to Maria, as I think Monica is going to be making her full superhero appearance in her own work, aka Secret Invasion and Captain Marvel 2. Bringing her in here for a cameo feels empty and wouldn’t do her justice. I also think it wouldn’t be Superior Iron Man because as to my point earlier, we may already be seeing a Tony Stark in the Illuminati scene. I’m also not sure who looked at that still and thought “yes, that is a white man”.

Let’s get into the premise behind it likely being Maria. For one, the Multiverse exists off the idea that one change creates a different storyline (also known as the whole idea of What If?, are we seeing the importance now?). So for our storyline, we see that as the original and Loki confirms that it is the Sacred Timeline. Any move different than ours creates a separate timeline and MoM is going to be focused on timeline jumping. Therefore how easy is it to have Maria take Carol’s place on the plane and become Captain Marvel instead? It would make an easy What If? episode, which means it could easily happen and be one of the differences we see in MoM.

Cartoon World?

I have to openly admit that I was not the intense eye who spotted this one, but it is definitely worth sharing as one of the big theories that are coming from the trailer. If you look very very closely, in one scene in the trailer, Strange is falling with America Chavez through the Multiverse, and for a very split it appears they breakthrough into a cartoon world. Now, this is super interesting for two reasons. One, it looks a little more like an older cartoon, similar to the 90s Spider-Man and X-Men cartoons. This is super important to highlight since we have gotten confirmation that X-Men ’97 will be returning. It is pretty interesting that we see this since it could be a good way to reintroduce that show having Strange and America fall through that world.

The next thought is entering the theory realm, as the possibility of having a cartoon world being entered easily means that What If? could make a very direct appearance. Or just as easily we could be seeing our Strange, America, and Wanda enter the What If? world. Something that is brought up at one point in the podcast is that there is a scene in which Wanda appears in the mirrorlike world that the Watcher sits in. It could very much be nearly a full crossover event in which our characters either enter the world of What If? or more characters than those we know of make their way into our world.

Zombies!!

Honestly, this theory is just for me to sit happily and rant about how much I love the Marvel Zombie comics. This trailer gave us the best look at what appears to be both a zombie Wanda and zombie Strange. I mean it is supposed to be a horror movie, right? Our best bet is that this will be a pretty close tie-in to the What If? series episode based on zombies, another example where the possibility of the What If? series coming to life is very, very possible. Especially the look we got at zombie Wanda, there are quite a few similarities to that of the zombie Wanda we see from What If?

If this is tying into the What If? episode, I think this could make way for some very interesting cameos. I know personally, I would love a Cap cameo here, since it was one of the more iconic moments from the episode, but I also wouldn’t be against having Paul Rudd’s head floating around in a jar either for five minutes of screentime (I still want to know how that works exactly). It could also give us a possible hint at what happens at the end of that What If? episode, since we see zombie Thanos and never get to see what comes from that.

Different Wandas

We wanted to save this theory for last since it is the dooziest of doozy ones from the trailer drop. We see probably a solid 3-4 different Wandas, which are clearly different because we get a very obvious scene of two Wanda’s in the Westview home. There’s a lot at play with this since it has been a running question on whether Wanda will be the villain or not of this film. Naturally, I would have likely said yes, but then Mordo made an appearance and threw that off. Now, I more confidently say, a version of Wanda will be the villain, but it’s just time to just take a pick.

Will our Wanda be the villain? This is the hardest question (and as a Wanda stan, the most difficult pill to swallow if the answer is yes, but we support her either way). One thing I do argue in the podcast episode is that Wanda began as a villain and became good. She lost again and again but she continued to be a good person. Even at the end of WandaVision, she saw her mistakes and fought against Agatha. However, I’m well aware the Darkhold has a tight hold on her and her want for her kids is strong. In now a critical scene in the tree plantation, we see both the original trailer’s Wanda, looking like our usual Wanda and being accepting to helping Strange. In a very similar scene in the new trailer, we see Scarlet Witch Wanda delivering her now-iconic line about Strange and her breaking the rules, but having very different repercussions. Are these Wandas the same? Was the first scene an illusion? I actually think it is. I think Strange picks up on it being fake and tries to use magic to undo it or expose Wanda. When doing so, she transforms into her Scarlet Witch get up and her Runes come out, because did you pay attention to that lighting? I’m just saying she is going to make a pretty convincing villain and no one yet knows her as the Scarlet Witch. Not to mention, the only one who knows the depths of what being the Scarlet Witch really means will be Strange.

Of course, then we have the two Wanda’s in the Westview house, which is likely either an illusion or a different timeline. Maybe in that timeline, Wanda is selfish and keeps the Hex alive. Regardless, we also see bloody Wanda and zombie Wanda, which I assume are different and make our count 4 so far. Do I really have a single clue? No, not at all. I do believe, though, that the only person who would be able to stop Wanda is herself, as one of the Wandas has her darker brown hair, showing a time for her that was not quite as full of heartache.

Make sure to listen to the podcast to hear all of our thoughts on the multiple Wandas, but I want to mention one more quick thing. I did already mention Wanda entering the Watcher’s mirrorlike bubble from which he watches everything. Is there a possibility of Wanda fighting the Watcher in this film? I want to say no, only because this film is already long as all heck, but also it would likely be a shock to the crowd if we saw such a direct crossover here. I will table this as a ‘want’ from this film, but can certainly say that it isn’t a ‘need’.

That wraps up our thoughts on the new MoM trailers that dropped the night of the Super Bowl (boo that the Bengals lost). Our recommendation moving forward is rewatching WandaVision, Loki, What If? (either the whole thing or at least the Strange and Zombie episodes, which are I believe 4 and 5), and maybe the first Dr. Strange. This is going to be just as important as NWH, if not more important, so make sure you’re fully prepared! Before this premiere, we do have Moonknight and Morbius, so don’t get too distracted before then. Lots of content is coming your way, both from Marvel and from us, so stay tuned and get ready, cause Marvel just blew your mind, so let’s talk about it.

Image: “Dr. Strange MoM”, Russ Milheim, The Direct