15 Wild Fan Theories About Marvel Movies That Are — Yeah, I'll Say It — Marvelous

Come on in and *MARVEL* at these fan theories!

As a human woman, I have two very specific, very distinct interests: movies based on Marvel comics and absolutely wild fan theories that are just so ~out there~, they HAVE to be true!

Marvel Studios

So, with that in mind, I once again took to my absolute favorite subreddit, r/fantheories, to collect some of the wackiest, wildest, most marvelous Marvel movie fan theories — guaranteed to blow your darn mind — and compiled them into this easy-to-enjoy list! Ready? Here we go:

1. S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't make a mistake by playing the wrong baseball game when Steve Rogers woke up in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) — they did it on purpose because they were testing him.

Marvel Studios

"Steve Rogers was selected not just for bravery, but for displaying intelligence beyond the other soldiers and being clever. So, I think S.H.I.E.L.D. played an old baseball game on purpose because they wanted to make sure the original super soldier was still entirely with it.

If he hadn't noticed that the date had already passed, it would have been cause for concern. It was likely the first of a few subtle tests they planned to do to make sure he wasn't too damaged after being frozen in ice for 70+ years, but he passed their first test immediately."

—u/PornoPaul

2. The reason why everyone in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) sounds like they're in a PG-13 film is because we're hearing all of the dialogue through Peter Quill's universal translator.

Marvel Studios

"My theory is that there's a reason why the language in both of the movies in this franchise feels incredibly juvenile. I believe that it's because we're actually hearing it all the way Peter Quill hears it through his universal translator, which is mentioned on screen in the first movie's mugshot scene.

Quill was taken from Earth when he was only 8. He probably stopped actually learning English shortly after, since he was traveling to all different planets that likely didn't speak any Earth-bound languages. As such, his language (and all of the language he heard) is stunted to that of a pre-teen boy. Additionally, any profanity he knows likely would've come from movies and TV shows he saw before he was kidnapped."

—freelanceastronaut

3. Matilda (1996) is actually a stealth X-Men movie.

© TriStar / courtesy Everett Collection, 20thcentfox / ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection

"This one's a little out there, but stay with me:

I think Matilda is actually the daughter of Moira MacTaggert and Charles Xavier from the X-Men movies. She has the same hair color as Moira and telekinetic powers like Xavier.

Maybe Moira had Matilda, gave her up for adoption, and Matilda's existence is one of the things changed by the Days of Future Past time-travel; meaning her movie would be a prequel to the original X-Men trilogy. All of the timing is just vague enough to justify her being erased and/or still existing depending on what year she was conceived."

—u/LogicDog

4. Peter Parker's ability to create and repair his own high-quality costumes in the original Spider-Man trilogy are just another facet of his new superpowers.

20th Century Fox

"Something fans constantly bring up as a plot hole with most incarnations of Spider-Man is how he can both create and easily repair his high-quality costumes, being that he's a poor teenager with no other experience in sewing or costume design in general.

I think the answer to this 'plot hole' is easy when you consider that the spider bite may have simply given him another power — seamstress skills on par with those of a spider spinning its own webs. This could also be spun (pun intended) to apply to how he knows how to easily produce non-organic webbing."

—FaxIzGad

5. John Walker from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is one of the many failed sons of Ego from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017).

Walt Disney Co. / ©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection, Disney+

"I know this sounds obvious because Wyatt Russell (John Walker) is the son of Kurt Russell (Ego) in real life, but that aside, hear me out:

In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2, we learn that Ego went about the universe having as many sons as possible, with the objective of creating a kind of demigod. In the end, that demigod turned out to be Peter Quill.

We also learn that Ego churned and sacrificed millions of his own sons, and yet, he didn't really know about Quill until he heard about a man who could hold an infinity stone. Following this logic, it's possible that Ego had multiple sons on different planets and just lost their lead.

So, I think it's possible that Walker is Ego's son and, as such, inherited an improved physiology, which is what allowed him to exceed any other soldier who might be chosen to be Captain America, but still not entering into super soldier territory."

—u/Hallbard

6. Natasha Romanoff didn't die in Avengers: Endgame (2019) — she's still alive and waiting on Vormir.

Null / ©Walt Disney Co./courtesy Everett / Everett Collection

"I've seen a lot of people talking about how the Soul Stone works to preserve souls, and how you can exchange a soul for a soul as a possibility for why Natasha might be brought back eventually, but I think it's actually more simple than that:

I don't think Captain America ever went back to 'return' the Soul Stone. How could he? What was he going to do — toss it off the cliff? If the idea was to limit disruption to the alternate timeline, that wouldn't work. When Thanos got there in the other timeline, he would just find a stone and wouldn't need to sacrifice Gamora. He could just profit off Black Widow's sacrifice. This would completely screw up all kinds of things going forward in that timeline.

So, instead, I think Cap went back and stopped Clint and Natasha when they landed on the planet. He told them what was going to happen and explained that for things to work out, Nat would have to remain on the planet as if she had died. She could set her suit's return point to after the final battle, so as to make sure she didn't interfere with the one ideal timeline where Thanos was defeated. Clint's grief is still real as he has basically just abandoned her on another planet and has no clue if he'll see her again.

We know that when a timeline is changed by removing an infinity stone, it creates a parallel one without the associated infinity stone. We know that returning the stone will return the reality back to the main timeline, or effectively stop it from branching at all. This was explained by the Ancient One and Banner. It stands to reason that stopping the infinity stone from being taken would accomplish the same thing, effectively eliminating that branch from ever happening and restoring that alternate timeline to the original.

So, in the end when Hulk snapped, he couldn't bring Nat back because she is still alive!"

—u/theseanbeag

7. Also, Tony Stark didn't ~fully~ die in Avengers: Endgame (2019) — instead, he uploaded his consciousness to his own technology and is now an A.I. version of Tony Stark.

Marvel Studios

"In the comics, when Iron Man died, his consciousness became an A.I. while his body died. Then, Iron Heart took his place. I believe a version of this is what's going to happen in the MCU as well.

At the end of Avengers: Endgame, the 'hologram' of Tony turns to face his daughter, Morgan. He faces her exact position, as if he knew she was there. A hologram doesn't just do that.

So, my theory is that Tony's consciousness was backed-up into his Iron Man helmet before his 'death,' and he remains alive as an A.I., similar to the comics."

—u/Carrot-Imaginary

8. Drax cannot see things that do not move, and realizing this about himself gives him the "invisibility" idea in Avengers: Infinity War (2018).

Marvel Studios

"Both at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 and during the opening battle scene of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Baby Groot was getting his groove on behind Drax's back. Then, when Drax looked at him, Baby Groot froze, at which point Drax appeared to no longer see him. Almost like he'd vanished.

My theory is that Drax eventually came to the realization that things that don’t move (or move incredibly slowly) are essentially invisible to him (similar to how the vision of the T-Rex is described in Jurassic Park).

What Drax didn't realize, however, was that other species don’t have this same handicap. So when he tried his hilarious invisibility bit in Avengers: Infinity War, he was unable to comprehend why it was so absurd to the others."

—u/joebadiah

9. Matt Damon wasn't some random Asgardian playing the role of Loki — he was literally Matt Damon in Thor: Ragnarok (2017).

Marvel Studios, Lions Gate Films

"Loki seems just self-indulgent enough to be the kind of guy who would go and get a famous actor from Earth for his role in a play. So, I think Loki went to Earth and snatched up Matt Damon for the role, as opposed to some random Asgardian actor."

—u/TruthorTroll

"To add weight to this theory, Matt Damon actually was the god Loki in the movie Dogma. So, the MCU's Loki probably would've gotten a kick out of that and chose him for that specific reason. Plus, we already know Kevin Smith exists (and, by extension, the film Dogma) in the MCU based on Stan Lee's cameo in Captain Marvel!"

—u/Khclarkson

10. The weapon Stormbreaker in Avengers: Infinity War (2018) was made to break Thor, not be wielded by him.

Marvel Studios

"I'm not talking about the comics, just strictly the MCU:

I believe Stormbreaker was a weapon forged for Thor, but not for Thor to wield. It was made to handle Thor, if necessary. Odin knew what had happened with Hela, and the similarities to pre-Thor movie Thor and Hela were quite similar: vain, warmonger-ish conquerors.

Odin saw the parallels and knew what he would have to do. If Thor ever got out of hand, Odin would have the perfect tool to combat Thor. Not kill him, but break him with a weapon more powerful than Mjolnir.

An axe made, literally, to break the storm."

—u/JKaro

11. M'Baku became the king of Wakanda in the five years during the snap in Avengers: Endgame (2019).

Null / ©Walt Disney Co./courtesy Everett / Everett Collection

"I had this idea for quite a while, but I noticed that M’Baku was able to run at the same pace as Captain America, Thor, AND Black Panther during the charge against Thanos’s army in Endgame.

This got me thinking: when T’Challa and Shuri were dusted in Infinity War, who ruled Wakanda during the five years? My theory is that M’Baku took the throne and became the Black Panther during that time. Black Panther established that — at the very least — M’Baku was a match for T’Challa, as seen in the waterfall scene for the throne of Wakanda. Then, during the battle in Wakanda in Infinity War, both Cap and Black Panther out-paced M'Baku (and their own army) against the marauders.

He is the most capable person to lead Wakanda in their darkest time, and with the royal line of succession broken, I think he may have taken the throne — not out of personal reasons, but out of necessity."

—u/Dreadful_menace

12. The Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and in Avengers: Endgame (2019) are the same Thanos.

Null / ©Walt Disney Co./courtesy Everett / Everett Collection

"My theory is that Tony Stark's snap sent Thanos and his army back to 2014, instead of killing them. So, the Thanos we see in Infinity War and Endgame are the same iteration of Thanos.

Throughout Infinity War, Thanos constantly talks about destiny and inevitability. Some of Thanos's first lines in Infinity War are 'I know what it's like to lose. To feel so desperately that you're right, yet to fail nonetheless. It's frightening. I ask you, to what end? Dread it, run from it, destiny arrives all the same. And now it is here.'

Which failure is Thanos talking about? Sure, he could be talking about the starvation on Titan, OR could he be talking about the events of Endgame, which for him have already happened? Is it possible Thanos already knew how his story would end? He knows that he will successfully obliterate half the universe, he knows Thor will behead him, and he knows that all his work will be undone — but he does it anyway, believing it to be his destiny, and that his actions are inevitable."

—u/BlackcurrantCMK

13. Captain America in Avengers: Endgame (2019) proves that Vision was never "worthy."

Marvel Studios

"For those of you who haven’t seen Avengers: Age of Ultron in a while, one of the standout moments of the film is Vision casually lifting Thor’s hammer when he’s first created, then outright wielding it later during the fight in Sokovia. At the end of the film, Steve and Tony are arguing with Thor about how he pulled it off. Their two theories are that either 1) as a machine, Vision doesn’t count as a living being and can lift the hammer like an 'elevator' could lift it, or 2) Vision's a genuinely pure soul who — as a being on 'the side of life' — is worthy of protecting the human race.

Vision’s up there with my favorite Avengers, so I’m sorry to do him dirty like this, but...my theory is that Avengers: Endgame kind of implies that the 'machine' theory was the right one all along and only Thor and Steve are truly worthy.

Steve lifts the hammer during the final battle. Like Vision, he can call the hammer to him and swing it around — but UNLIKE Vision, he can actually summon lightning, and uses that as part of his attacks. Now, remember the inscription on the hammer:

'Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.'

Thor’s power is lightning. It's not being able to lift the hammer. When Thor uses his power, the hammer works as a conduit for that. He doesn’t get the lightning FROM the hammer itself and Thor: Ragnarok establishes that. The lightning is the power of Thor, and the lightning is what Steve can use — whereas Vision can’t."

—RabidFlamingo

14. Thanos "adopted" Gamora in Avengers: Infinity War (2018) specifically to sacrifice her for the Soul Stone, but — when he grew too attached — he adopted Nebula, planning for Nebula to be sacrificed by Gamora instead.

Marvel Studios

"I believe Thanos knew the price that had to be paid for the Soul Stone, which is why he 'adopted' Gamora in the first place, knowing that he had no family or loved ones of his own. However, in raising her, he found himself genuinely coming to love her and could not bring himself to harm her. So, my theory is that he adopted Nebula and planned to send Gamora and Nebula to seek out the Soul Stone together with the intention of Gamora sacrificing her sister.

This is why he constantly pit the two against each other in combat, to be absolutely certain that Gamora would always be the victor. Every time that Nebula lost, he would replace a part of her body with cybernetics — not to make her stronger, but the opposite, making sure she would always be at a handicap against her sister. This would also foster a deep resentment in Nebula, ensuring that she would be willing to fight to the death, even if Gamora tried to refuse. This remained his plan until he realized Gamora turned on him and he had to dispose of her.

This would also explain why Nebula seemed to know the price of the Soul Stone, but not Gamora. In Infinity War, Nebula commented that Thanos returned from Vormir with the Soul Stone, but not Gamora, and instantly knew her sister was dead."

—u/LemoLuke

15. And finally — this very meta theory concerning Dr. Strange in Avengers: Infinity War (2018):

Marvel Studios

"Every single fan theory that was posted online before Avengers: Endgame was released was one of the many possible futures Doctor Strange saw in Avengers: Infinity War. So, they're all correct!"

—u/ShouldBeAnUpvoteGif

Which of these wild fan theories was your favorite? Do you have a theory of your own about your favorite Marvel movies? Share yours in the comments below!

Some theories were edited for length and/or clarity. H/T Reddit.