THE Marvel Cinematic Universe has a rich narrative worthy of many fan theories, many of which completely change the feel of the Avengers stories. Between the comedic connections, the deep lore and world-building, and the breadth of the universe, there’s a lot of story to unravel in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially in Avengers films. Some of these theories completely change how the various Avengers progress through their stories, both in their relationships with each other and their own unique character arcs.
The best fan theories formulated about the Avengers range from twists on each member’s origins to chilling developments on other key players. Since most of them are impossible to confirm or deny, it’s a great experience to rewatch the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline with their lore in mind. Even if nothing comes of these hypotheses, they provide a fascinating twist that shows the early stages of the franchise in a whole new light.
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The Infinity Stones represent the Six Avengers
Linking them even more thematically to the Infinity Saga
The first three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe followed the Infinity Saga, a harrowing story that revolved around the six powerful Infinity Stones and Thanos’ final mission to erase half of all life with them. Each stone represents a fundamental driving force in the universe, but it is very possible that they refer to even more than that. One theory posits that each Infinity Stone represents a member of the original six Avengers. Some of the depictions are quite straightforward, with Iron Man’s genius represented in the Mind Stone and the Hulk’s strength represented in the Power Stone.
Captain America’s status as a man outside of time can be seen as indicative of the Time Stone. Other arguments are a little harder to make, with Thor’s past as a cosmic immigrant and controller of the Bifrost Bridge leading him to the Space Stone, while Hawkeye’s family and role as the “heart and soul” of the team obliges him. place in the field of the Soul Stone. The hardest comparison to assert is Black Widow’s Reality Stone, due to her ability to consider the complexities of reality like a spy.
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The Hulk saw the black widow in Soulworld
Audiences never saw the culmination of Hulk and Black Widow’s romance
If there’s one controversial aspect of an Avengers movie that’s never been resolved, it’s Bruce Banner and Natasha Romanoff’s romance in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Although it was clear that the two cared deeply for each other, they never got the chance to have closure before Black Widow’s tragic death. At least, audiences never got to see that moment, even though it very well could have happened.
Both Thanos and Tony Stark have visions of a mysterious cosmic realm called Soulworld when they use the Infinity Stones. It should follow, then, that Professor Hulk also had a vision of his own, even if it was never presented to the public. It’s touching to imagine that Bruce Banner was able to finally reconcile with his old flame once and for all on a paranormal side after bringing everyone back to life, perhaps explaining why Black Widow herself couldn’t be counted among those resurrected.
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The super soldier serum used the heart-shaped herb
There’s a reason why no one has been able to replicate Erskine’s formula
Many characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe are created as a result of trying to replicate Captain America’s super soldier serum. Even decades after his death, no one seems to be able to perfectly replicate Dr. Erskine’s work, with every fake super soldier in the MCU having a tremendous disadvantage or simply not working as intended. The only augmented human whose physical attributes are capable of matching Captain America’s is none other than Black Panther.
This could indicate that the Heart-Shaped Herb was a key secret ingredient in Dr. Erskine’s formula. Considering how closely Wakanda kept its secrets before the end of Black Panther, It would have been impossible for anyone to realize where Dr. Erskine was separating his mysterious materials for use in the chemical mixture. It’s no wonder that T’Challa, Killmonger, and Shuri are the only ones with superhuman capabilities that compare favorably to Captain America’s.
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Odin Tried to Gather All the Infinity Stones Before Thanos
Thanos wasn’t the only one who knew about the power of the stones
Thor: Ragnarok revealed that Odin wasn’t quite the benevolent father figure his children made him out to be. In truth, Odin’s rule over the nine kingdoms did not come out of nowhere, and the King of Asgard had to fight a long and bloody war of conquest with Hela at his side to establish his empire. A spooky fan theory surmises that Odin was preparing to expand his territory to encompass the entire universe by gathering the Infinity Stones.
The location where the Tesseract is hidden implies that the stone was once under Odin’s control, and Odin’s father Bor did a similar hidden treasure routine with the Reality Stone. It could be that Odin’s entire bloodline was maneuvering to dominate the universe with the Infinity Stones. Hela even comments that an Infinity Gauntlet in her late father’s possession was a mere fake, implying that she knew what a real one would look like. It could be that Odin ordered a real gauntlet in preparation for collecting the stones.
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Tony’s suits intentionally become less and less durable
There’s an explanation behind the defamation of Iron Man’s armor
Iron Man’s first suit is a pretty impressive piece of hardware, effortlessly firing shots and explosives while tearing through an entire field of enemy terrorists. From there, new iterations of the suit can be expected to become more durable, and for a while, that’s exactly what happens. However, as Iron Man’s tenure ends, Iron Man’s armor only becomes more and more fragile, falling apart with seemingly less and less effort.
While this could initially be explained by the Avengers facing stronger enemies, one theory suggests this weakness could be a deliberate concession made by Tony Stark. It could be that Tony was intentionally foregoing increased durability in favor of expanded weapon systems and maneuverability, making the upgraded armors increasingly thinner and lighter as they bristled with guns and repulsor jets. This culminates in the nanite suits used in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, which literally burns itself in powerful attacks.
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Stormbreaker was designed to kill Thor
Odin may have feared a similar fate for his next son
Hela going rogue was a terrifying event for Odin, one that forced him to use all of his magic to seal her away until his death hundreds of years later. Later, Thor finds the mold for Stormbreaker, guessing that it was a new toy left for him by his late father. However, it could very well be that Stormbreaker wasn’t designed to be used by Thor, but to be used on him, destined to be his doom if Thor went rogue like his sister.
Considering Thor’s reckless nature and pride as a warrior, it seems likely that the callous Odin learned his lesson from his early mistakes with his daughter. Stormbreaker could have been a chilling backup plan meant to take down Thor had he stepped out of line, with its very name being indicative of its purpose. Even Odin’s eventual adoption of Loki may have had similar motivations, with a child unrelated to him by blood possibly able to continue his legacy should Hela’s bloodlust prove to be a genetic inheritance.
4
Mjölnir actually reduced Thor’s power all along
Poor Thor may have been restrained by his father the whole time
Although Odin claims he gave Thor Mjölnir as a way to channel his power and focus it, it could very well be that the Allfather intended to hinder his son’s strength with the weapon. With only a select few MCU characters being able to lift Mjölnir, the legendary weapon is clearly a conduit for Thor’s lightning, with Captain America and Jane Foster gaining Thor-like powers when wielding it. This wouldn’t make much sense unless the hammer was sapping Thor’s strength the longer he held it, passing it on to the next user.
Further evidence for this theory emerges when Hela breaks Mjölnir, which finally returns Thor’s stolen power to him. This explains why Thor became so much more powerful after the events of Thor: Ragnarok proving that he is the God of Thunder, not hammers. It may be that Odin only activated this aspect of the weapon when he placed the enchantment on it, which means that it is only raised for the worthy.
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Doctor Strange may have accidentally (or intentionally) prevented his own death
Doctor Strange may have been unintentionally selfish with his predictions
One of the most memorable aspects Avengers: Infinity War is Doctor Strange’s insistence that out of 14,000,605 different possible futures, the Avengers could only defeat Thanos in one specific instance. Ultimately, it is revealed that this is a timeline where Tony dies, sacrificing himself to use the Infinity Stones. Doctor Strange, apparently aware of this, reminds Tony of his important role in the conflict with a silent finger gesture in the final Battle for Earth.
However, looking to the future is not so simple. In Doctor Strange, the Ancient One reveals that even with the power of the Time Stone, she is never able to see beyond her own death, implying a limit to the existential observation of the future based on death itself. Since he was resurrected, Doctor Strange’s “death” to Thanos’ snap gets around this rule. But it could very well be that in another timeline unseen by Strange, it is his own sacrifice, not Tony’s, that saves the universe in the end.
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Captain America already knew who Spider-Man was
Captain America knows when to stop
As an extremely righteous man with high moral standards, it seems strange that when faced with a new, seemingly human opponent, Captain America’s first move is to hurl a huge, heavy chunk of the environment at them. But that’s exactly what happens in Captain America: Civil War, when Captain America meets Spider-Man for the first time. Despite quickly realizing that Spider-Man is just a simple boy, Captain America attacks Spider-Man quite lethally, unaware of his superpowers and durability.
One theory explains this discrepancy by stating that Steve already knew who Spider-Man was before the fight at the airport. As a fellow New Yorker, Steve would likely have kept up to date with news from his hometown, especially as it pertains to web-slinging vigilantes. Captain America seems unfazed by Spider-Man’s presence in general, asking where he’s from, as if he’s already expecting a New York neighborhood as an answer. It’s no wonder Steven felt comfortable dropping an airlift on Spider-Man’s head.
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Tony Stark was injected with his own super soldier serum as a child
A wild theory with interesting legs
Returning to the super soldier serum, Tony Stark’s proximity to one of the formula’s many recreations seems to imply a set of powers beyond his mere genius. At several points, Tony Stark survives multiple injuries that, in reality, should have killed him. Ignoring the shrapnel in his heart that inspired the arc reactor, Tony is punched by the Hulk, has a vibranium shield thrown at his head and even has an entire moon thrown at him. Even with the durability of Iron Man’s armor, Stark’s ability to take punishment borders on the superhuman.
One controversial theory hypothesizes that Howard Stark, who was confirmed to have participated in the recreation of the supersoldier serum later used by HYDRA, was even killed for his involvement. It could be that Howard surreptitiously gave his son the serum in a small dose as a child, which subsequently allowed Tony to survive all sorts of injuries. Although the snap ended up killing him, it’s hard to believe that a normal, unaltered image UCM Human was able to hold all six Infinity Stones with little trouble, especially considering that all of the Guardians of the Galaxy have fought with one.