For a while now, fans of pop culture have been using the internet to spread intriguing theories about their favorite tv shows, books, and musicians. But recently a Reddit user on /r/FanTheories created a thread introducing an idea about a popular series that we all know and love. In the past the /r/FanTheories subreddit has sprouted hypothesized fascinating arguments about pop culture, like “What if Jar Jar Binks was actually originally written as a sith lord?”
The site’s newest thread centers itself around the ever popular series of films from popular entertainment company “Marvel”. These films have been traditionally been viewed as independent singular pieces of entertainment. until now. The thread, written by user /u/comicsfan89 asks if all of these “Marvel” films are perhaps set in the same universe.
It is an insane theory, surely. But /u/comicsfan89 presents some interesting pieces of evidence that really make you think.
Crazy Cameos?
Firstly, take a look at these scene from popular box office hit “Captain America: Civil War”. In this particular frame, you’ll see popular marvel character “Captain America”.
Makes sense so far? Well get ready for this. If you just look to the other side of the frame, you’ll see a strange man in a metal suit. This is believed among fans to actually be a character called “Iron Man”, popular from the “Iron Man” series.
Of course, one might see this and think this is just a one off thing. But example of this technique is seen in this shot, where “Cap” is facing off against an offscreen foe.
Again, this shot might seem straightforward, but there’s a lot more to the film’s composition than you might think. If you look closely, in the shot’s negative space you are able to see figures /u/comicsfan89 argues resemble “Black Widow”, “Thor”, “Iron Man”, “The Hulk” and “Hawkeye”.
Do these scenes where multiple “Marvel” characters appear in the same shot imply anything more than a whimsical easter egg from the film’s production team? Perhaps not. But it really does make you think.
Hints from high places?
In a 2012 interview unearthed as part of /u/comicsfan89’s theory, the film’s creator, Josh Whedon, hints “It was a dream come true to see all of these huge heroes in one film”. Could these “huge heroes” potentially be the characters from various Marvel films? It is certainly plausible.
Moreover, in another interview, Marvel CEO Isaac Perlmutter offers another suspicious statement: “It is a challenge making cinematic environments where Stark, Banner, and Thor coexist”. When Perlmutter refers to “Stark” and “Banner”, could he actually be referring to popular Marvel characters “Tony Stark” and “Bruce Banner”, a.k.a. Iron Man and The Hulk? When he mentions “Thor” could he be actually referring to popular hero “Thor Odinson” a.k.a. Thor? Could this be potentially alluding to a single cinematic universe where all the Marvel characters are actually interacting with one another?
We may never know.
