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

As we gear up for MoM, there are a lot of rumors that are flying around.

Now, we love rumors here, as rumors lead to theories, and what’s Let’s Talk: Marvel Fan Theories without some good theories? But it can also be a confusing time for fans and it is easy to hop on the train of a rumor, allow the expectations to rise, and then watch the film and be disappointed when that one person didn’t show up (which would’ve been me if Andrew Garfield hadn’t shown up in NWH). So to help y’all out, we are doing a who is confirmed and rumored for Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.

Confirmed

To start off easy, let’s go with who we know. Now don’t hate me, but obviously, Dr. Strange is confirmed for his own movie. I just want to say it out loud so that no one questions me for not pointing it out. But on top of Dr. Strange, we do have a confirmed Evil Strange, soooo things just got complicated. It is unclear how many versions of Strange we will see, or if Evil Strange is similar to the one we see in What If?, so sit tight because it’s going to be insane.

The second big confirmation is Wanda returning as the Scarlet Witch. This one is obviously very interesting, as it will be her first film since we saw what took place in Westview. Her fate in this film, along with the side she takes, is certainly up for interpretation, but she will most definitely be playing a large role secondary to Strange.

Next, the Sorceror Supreme himself, Wong, is confirmed for the film. This is another clear one, as he was shown in the trailer, but c’mon, he’s the Sorceror Supreme! While this is going to be Strange’s movie, you couldn’t have Wong left out of the chaos of the Multiverse and whatever Wanda lets loose.

Two faces returning from the first Dr. Strange film are those of Christine and Mordo. Now, I have to say I was a little surprised that both were returning, especially for this film. Christine and Strange have been broken up (at least in this timeline), so at least here, her character seemed like it could be phased out. However, we may be seeing different versions of Christine, which very much would explain her return. As for Mordo, I didn’t expect him to be present yet in this film, but more so be the big bad of an additional Dr. Strange movie. There just seems to be so much happening with the Multiverse that Mordo being involved seems a little off, but doesn’t make me less excited to see him return with his evil agenda.

Finally, a new face added and confirmed by the trailer is America Chavez. Now her introduction makes sense here, as she is known for moving about the Multiverse. It will be even more interesting to see the role she plays past this film, as we right now have to assume the Multiverse is going to be coming to its’ culminating point in this movie.

Rumors

So I am just going to do this one off the bat, but obviously there is the huge rumor of Tom Cruise making a cameo as a variant of Tony Stark. This has been a very disputed topic, as many fans (especially Iron Man fans) would rather see RDJ return as a different version of Tony. In all honestly, I think the concept of having a variant of Iron Man would be cool, but I would also prefer RDJ taking a different route from his usual Tony. Although, one could argue that using Tom is a way to help distinguish him as a different Tony better and would fit a little more with most of the Loki and Spider-Man variants that we have seen so far.

Another running rumor is the appearance of one or more of the mutants. Now, these will most likely be the most recent set, as they are the most relevant and it doesn’t super matter because Hugh Jackman plays Wolverine in all of them. Personally, I would love to see Hugh as Wolverine one last time. There has also been a big rumor circling about a mutant taking on Wanda, which leads me to either Jane, Professor X, or Magneto since I truly think these are the only ones powerful enough to take her on. I think the most interesting of the bunch would be Magneto since in the comics he is Wanda’s father. This storyline may not hold true for our timeline, but it could easily be a storyline in a different one. The mutants making an appearance here would also most likely be how they make their official entrance into the MCU, as there has been no concrete proof that other mutants exist in the MCU at this time.

Since I already partially brought up NWH, a running theory has been the reappearance of either Tobey’s Spider-man or both his and Andrew’s. As a big Spidey fan, I would love to see it, but as a logical MCU fan, if you are going to bring in people for a massive movie full of cameos, I wouldn’t think they would bring back two they already had six months prior. They made NWH for the Spidey fans, and I think that it should live in its own bubble. As much as I love Tobey and Andrew, I think we should leave MoM cameos for some other characters that would blow our minds just as much as their cameos in NWH did.

An additional group that is rumored (and already slated to appear later in the MCU) is the Fantastic Four. Now, this is a weird rumor because it tends to run two different ways. One direction is that we will see the old Fantastic Four (aka the good one from the 2000s) and would feature Chris Evans again as the Human Torch. I, personally, would love this after having Chris as Cap all these years. Cap’s ending was less than desirable, so it would make me feel better about Chris’s ending in the MCU. But the other route is that the new cast of the Fantastic Four would make their debut, which I’m not sure how I feel about that. I just think that there is already so much that is going to be happening in this film that introducing the new Fantastic Four could just become muddled in everything else.

Lastly, some rumors have circulated around the return of Ghost Rider and the Punisher. While these would be some interesting cameos to see in MoM, I do think these would also be better set somewhere else or in their own guaranteed return. Of course, putting them both in for the most random 5 seconds like Daredevil in NWH would work like a charm, so we will see if that’s the route Marvel goes. I do think going about these two cameos any other way could just come across as awkward when you have so many other cameos to give more time to without taking away from the future possibilities of their characters.

I know I said ‘lastly’ but I guess I should probably mention one final cameo that has continued to be rumored since pretty much the beginning of MoM shooting. Loki. This man quite literally does not go away (and that’s totally okay). Loki’s cameo would make a ton of sense since he pretty much helped open the Multiverse completely. We have a mischievous god who is wandering around in time and storylines, it seems that his appearance in a film where both are heavily involved in the plot would be obvious. Out of all of these possibilities, I will say I actually think Loki would be the most likely cameo we will see. For one, Marvel doesn’t have to do any background with his character, he is already established and in (but not technically) our universe. Two, his show buts right up against everything MoM is about and he already has met Strange (except not this Loki, also technically). And honestly, there’s about a whole essay I could write on why in general he would make sense over some of these other rumors, but I’ll leave that for another time.

Now there are various other rumors that have circulated MoM, but there just simply isn’t enough time to talk about and entertain them all. I tried to talk about the biggest of the big, the ones who have the most footing and would be fitting to the film. Who knows what we are going to get, but we do love speculating. As we start to gear up for an exciting two months with Moonknight, Morbius, and MoM, remember to keep up with all the content and all of our own material to be gaining the full experience, as Marvel just blew your mind, so let’s talk about it.

Image: “Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”, Cooper Hood, Screen Rant

The Eternals brought up a very important question: Who will lead the Avengers now that Iron Man and Captain America are gone?

In our latest podcast episode, we discuss our top picks on who could be the next leaders in the form of the Big Three. That is, who will replace Thor, Tony, and Steve? This is huge, as talks of Avengers 5 have been circulating for the past few months as rumors fly on about who may be directing it and who will be involved. Which is a whole other great question, because who even is an Avenger anymore? But I’m getting way too far ahead of myself. To hear all of all picks and why we think they would make a great Avenger leader, listen to the podcast below or click the button to find your favorite listening platform.

Pick #1: Sam Wilson – Captain America

The very first pick for both Taylor and I is none other than Sam Wilson as Captain America. I’m sure this isn’t much of a surprise, as I think it would be weird to have a Captain America who isn’t a leader of the Avengers. For all Steve stood for, and now for all Sam stands for, they are natural leaders and believe in doing the right thing. Not to mention, the military backgrounds of both of them also make them gifted in battles and strategy. Essentially, I’m trying to say Sam has very similar qualities to his predecessor, who was one of the pillars of the Avengers. He fights the little man’s fight and really the only difference as super-heroes between Sam and Steve is that Sam can fly and Steve was a super-soldier.

Pick #2: Carol Danvers – Captain Marvel

I promise we aren’t just trying to pick them because they have ‘captain’ in their name. But another very promising option would be Captain Marvel, as she would be a great filler for the Thor spot. Thor was the only OG Avenger that was continuously off-world, similar to how Captain Marvel is not always on Earth because she’s helping around the universe. She has great power and Thor himself has tested her will and confidence. Not to mention, we have seen her already popping up in Phase 4, which means she is still very involved with the Avengers (or at least who is left of them). She’s a heavy hitter and, like Sam, has a military background that allows her to naturally be a good leader. On top of this, Marvel has said Phase 4 is moving towards more cosmic and women-based stories, both of which Carol fulfills.

Pick #3: Dr. Strange (Katie) or Thor/Lady Thor (Taylor)

Now, for this pick, Taylor and I differed on who we believed would fill the role left open by Tony. I personally chose Dr. Strange, as I think he is the most similar to Tony in character. They both are the billionaire heroes who have the power of the world in the palm of their hands. And I promise I’m not entirely trying to pick them all off of their similarities to the Big Three, but it is totally hard to avoid. Strange is interesting because he has the ability to go off-world, kinda in the way that Tony did. 100% human but Strange’s mystical aspect gives him a leg up on leaving Earth. He is also insanely powerful and wields a lot of power. In a world that is changing drastically, blasting someone with a laser or punching them is slightly going to be going out of style.

As for Thor/Lady Thor, Taylor’s pick is essentially who I would’ve put for the fourth position. Thor himself makes a lot of sense, since he is already an indirect leader of the Avengers and one of the Big Three. His continual presence in the MCU could be a really successful way at keeping some sort of continuity. But of course, to Taylor’s point in the podcast, he can’t play Thor forever. So this opens the door for Lady Thor, who is going to make her appearance in Thor: Love and Thunder. Similar to Sam’s Captain America, this would be a passing of the torch moment that would keep the name and stature of one of the Big Three, but would move it to someone else who is worthy (see what I did there?). With Jane’s background of growing up on Earth, it would continue the strong connection to that planet and her want to protect it.

Now there are some honorable mentions that we talk about in the podcast, so make sure to listen to it all the way to hear some of the other possible contenders for the leader of the Avengers. Of course, these are all opinion-based, so in a year or two or even longer when the next Avengers team-up comes, if we are completely wrong it isn’t our fault. But, some of our picks are definitely great contenders for holding leadership positions. Since I mentioned it, there is not any word yet on when Avengers 5 is going to take place, nor who our team-up this time around will be, but as soon as we know of course there will be word from us. Make sure in this time of slight content drought that you are catching up on everything 2021 brought us and keeping up with all of our episodes as well, since Marvel just blew your mind, so let’s talk about it.

Image of Sam: “Sam Wilson”, HT Entertainment Desk, The Hindustan Times

Image of Carol: “Carol Danvers”, Kirsten Acuna, Insider 

Image of Thor/Lady Thor: “Thor and Lady Thor”, Kristen Abernathy, ScreenRant

Image of Dr. Strange: “Dr. Strange”, Alec Bojalad, Den of Geek

Image: “Who will lead the Avengers”, Tom Foster, TV Over Mind

The time has come to face the Multiverse in its’ full and indefinite possibilities.

While some may not have loved its’ placement, Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness trailer appeared at the end of NWH as the second post credit scene. Which of course, makes a lot of sense since it directly follows the actions of NWH and also correlates with the events within it, aka the Multiverse appearing in full. But because NWH was absolutely jam-packed, we didn’t have a lot of room to look into the trailer and the Multiverse itself, in the NWH reactions episode. But not to worry because now we have plenty of time, and we did use it, in our newest podcast episode that you can listen to directly here or press the button to find your listening platform of preference.

The biggest possibility coming from the MoM trailer is that there are three Strange’s and possibly two Wandas, as to the main poster that has dropped as well. We really endorse this idea, especially with having multiple Wandas, since it seems weird for Marvel to have her toe the line yet again with becoming a villain. After Westview, it seems Wanda has kept fairly quiet and has not led any more towns into being held captive. If she becomes a villain now, there is likely no redemption arc for her again in the MCU, a sad but very true thought. However, this could be really interesting if Marvel wants to do the House of M storyline with Wanda, since she creates, well, chaos. It is also based pretty strongly behind Wanda’s want for her children, which we already have in real time in the MCU after seeing WandaVision. So, while it is possible there are two Wandas (and at the moment that is what we are going to go with), there is also a great possibility that Wanda Maximoff is going House of M area and the MCU will eventually see her end, sooner rather than later. As a Wanda stan I really don’t endorse this, but I would love to see that storyline play out, so it’s complicated.

Going with this idea of either evil Wanda or an evil version of Wanda, it is also highly possible we are going to see the end of Wong in this film. In the trailer we see Wong being held captive and if you look very closely, his arms are being held by red magic, aka Wanda’s Chaos magic. Now, this doesn’t normally make me think a character would die, but the issue is is that Wong is currently the Sorceror Supreme, a title he can pretty much only give up if he dies. Since I don’t see Strange not having that title going forward, Wong’s death would not inherently surprise me so that Strange is able to once again be the Sorceror Supreme. Unfortunately, Wong’s death would be a means to an end for Marvel.

During the podcast, there was a lot of talk about Evil Strange and the connection with What If? This is mainly because there are a ton of tie ins seen in the trailer that play out the same way in the What If? episode, including Evil Strange himself and the city falling apart with the black goo. Because of this, the talk of an absolute point was thrown around a lot. The possibility that the absolute point refers more to Strange’s loss of Christine was an ongoing debate, as a random scene of Christine’s wedding is seen during the trailer. This could just be solidifying that the absolute time is Strange not having her at all, including in our universe where he sees her marry someone else. Evil Strange himself may be directly from the concept of What If?, coming from one of the universes not destroyed by Ultron, but we know he isn’t the one that is trapped in an endless battle against Ultron. Pretty much this just concludes this Evil Strange hasn’t had a redemption arc and is just a really, really bad guy.

While we didn’t touch much on cameos, there have been quite a few being thrown around that feel worth mentioning. For one, the possibility of White Vision appearing once again has been high. This one makes a ton of sense, as really Vision, as a character, goes wherever Wanda goes. But truly, he’s been MIA since the ending of WandaVision, holding all the memories of Vision without any of the emotional ties. Coming in here would make a lot of sense. Another possible cameo is Tom Cruise as a variant of Iron Man. If I’m being completely honest, while I find this one interesting, I would rather see cameos of our characters rather than random variants, especially if we aren’t going to necessarily see them ever again. Another huge possibility are the Mutants, unless Marvel wants Wanda to be the one to create the Mutants. This isn’t necessarily able to be ruled out, since Wanda has already created two Mutants in the form of her children and there is a little comic book relation to this storyline. Because of this, introducing the Mutants here in MoM isn’t necessarily a high hope anymore. Lastly, many expect to see a Loki cameo. I actually expect to see Sylvie more than Loki, as Loki is currently trapped in some random timeline at the TVA. Sylvie, last we knew, just opened the Multiverse and is at the end of time. She really has everything at her fingertips, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see her. Now, maybe another Loki variant (as in Tom Hiddleston Loki), that’s possible.

A few other interesting topics are covered in the podcast, so make sure to go listen to that to hear all of our thoughts on what the MoM trailer has brought us and what the Multiverse is all about. For preparation for this film, definitely go rewatch/watch the first Dr. Strange and WandaVision, along with Loki and Spider-Man: NWH. All of these are solid choices for multiverse related content or important character information. As we go back to our bi-weekly schedule until more content comes out, make sure to keep up with us by following the blog and subscribing to the podcast on whatever your favorite listening platform is. Also check out the Twitter linked on our home page. Prepare for some great episodes coming up, since Marvel just blew your mind, so let’s talk about it.

Image: “Dr. Stange and the Multiverse of Madness”, Salonie Powar, Cine Dope