I was at work earlier yesterday when I had an epiphany. And not like that you sick bastards!!! Just kidding. But has anyone stopped to consider the sheer genius behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe? And no I am not spit balling here. I have some theories that may be proven correct come May. Now, I am going to be delving in depth into the films of the MCU. Spoilers are a given. This is your last chance to turn back. Still here? Well, let’s get cracking!
Fellow CBMer Thomas Rochester has posted a three part editorial about the easter eggs and possible plot threads hinted at in the MCU movies. I’m not trying to copy his work seeing as how this article is about looking at how it all ties together and not what happens next. Although I may speculate a bit. With that said, I’m going to take you back in time to the year of 2008.
2008 was a great year for the Comic Book Movie. We had movies like Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, The Dark Knight, Hellboy II, and more. But what started in 2008 continues to grow to this day. I am speaking of the Marvel Cinematic Universe which was kicked off in the smash hit Iron Man. Iron Man helped to redefine the role of the superhero movie and plant the seed of every fanboys’ (and girls’) dream: a cohesive and comprehensible universe spanning multiple titles. Iron Man was just another origin before that. But an origin with heart and charisma. This film was chock full of Easter eggs that until later had no other point than to be there and look cool. That whole Captain America’s shield? It was just a little joke to see how many people would notice it. And notice it we did. And we got a surprise appearance by Marvel’s favorite super spy Nick Fury talking about an Avenger Initiative. Whenever Iron Man came out on DVD, I bought the Wal-Mart exclusive edition with the bonus comic. It showed that Stark he recreated the alloy for his armor based on a prototype of Cap’s shield! Need I say nerdgasm??? We as a fan base demanded more.
And Marvel delivered in spades when the next phase of their plan with the reboot of the Hulk. Whenever viewing it for the first time, I realized how much ambition had risen and grown inside of Marvel Studios. They had seen how movies could work or fail thanks to the many efforts of New Line, Lionsgate, Fox, and Sony. The Incredible Hulk had twice as many eggs and references compared to the higher grossing Iron Man. When Blonsky is injected with an “imperfect version” of the Super Soldier Serum, we see how Captain America would work on the big screen.
And then I made sense of how Banner came into this line of work: he read about Operation Rebirth! And while his ambitions were not so glamorous Banner believed that some of the bases of that formula would help increase resistance to radiation for American troops. And then there was the Stark tech in the form of sonic cannons that failed to incapacitate an enraged Hulk. I will find it highly ironic if Stark provided the machine that doused Banner with Gamma Rays. But that is entirely speculation at this point.
Marvel lay quiet for over a year. Sure, X-men Origins: Wolverine came out in 2009, but who counts that? Marvel’s next real film would be Iron Man 2. Iron Man 2 was met with slightly less positive reviews many citing that the movie serves more as staging ground for The Avengers (which by then had been announced for more than a year) than a full fledged Iron Man movie. I am not one to disagree with this but now that The Avengers is the only piece of the puzzle left unfilled I now see the quality of their genius. The most important conversation in that film occurred between Tony Stark and Nick Fury at Stark’s then ruined home after he had a falling out with Rhodey. Fury said “Your father was onto something bigger. He said he was going to start an energy race that gonna dwarf the arms race.” That may or may not the right wording but you get the gist of it. Then Fury sent him to work on trying to fix the damage caused by the palladium poisoning Stark’s body. Tony created a makeshift particle accelerator in his basement and created a new element using his father Howard’s blueprints of the 1974 Stark Expo. Because of all the vibrating, I along with everyone assume that this was Vibranium, a nigh indestructible alloy. And maybe that is what it is. But I have a theory as to what this mysterious element is. And this is what connects everything and everyone to The Avengers. But I’ll get to that in a paragraph or two. There are a few nods to Captain America what with his shield showing up in partially disassembled and obviously prototype form. There is a news cast to show you where this sequel fits into the context of the larger Marvel Universe and also hints to other characters in the form of a map. But Iron Man 2 directly advertises for Thor what with Agent Coulson abandoning ship to go check out an issue in New Mexico. And there was the little tag scene that showcased Thor’s mystical hammer, Mjolnir. But it is the year of 2011 that everything begins to come together.
In May, the God of Thunder made his theatrical debut in great form. He was received well critically and financially. And while there are hints galore at Hank Pym and the Hulk, I am more interested in SHIELD and Odin’s treasure room where some of the most dangerous weapons lie waiting to be used again. These items include the Casket of Ancient Winters, the Infinity Gauntlet, and even though it is not there, the Tesseract. More on that in a minute. SHIELD is the MCU’s bridge between the franchises. They are mentioned and shown in almost every movie concerning Marvel’s Mightiest Heroes. And while the MCU has grown, so has SHIELD. They now have real presence in this world where flying armored suits, mystical hammers, and hulking behemoths call home. And by the time that Avengers assemble for the first time, they will have evolved yet again. The tag scene after the credits this time needs a little reference. As in, you need to know what you are looking at. It has Dr. Erik Selvig be confronted by Nick Fury in an unnamed building underground. Nick Fury presents him with a case that when opened reveals a cube bathed in an otherworldly light. When Selvig asked what it was Nick Fury’s reply was simple: “Power doctor. If we can figure out how to tap it, maybe unlimited pwer.” And then the gears in my head begin to whir. An Iron Man 2 reference regarding energy…. In response and in hiding, Loki whispers “Well I guess that’s worth a look.” And Selvig repeats. This is quite a cliff hanger that I am not going to delve too much into. It’s basically another setup scene for Earth’s Mightiest. Although I do believe that Loki is possessing the doctor. This of course gives you two obvious conclusions: one Loki survived and he will do battle with the Avengers. And the cube shows up again a little over two months later…
The last movie to come out before the Avengers is perhaps the most crucial. Captain America holds the key to the origin of many of the characters that have been showcased over the past three years. Of this I am not joking. The main origin is of course that of Steve Rogers. How he transformed from a 90 pound weakling to the peak of human physical perfection. The serum that was administered was created by Dr. Abraham Erskine, German defector who wanted to with Hitler and his ego maniacal schemes. One of those schemes involved Johann Schmidt, a very sinister individual who was Hitler’s top scientist and assassin. As a reward, Hitler granted him his own research division, HYDRA. When Schmidt learned of Erskine’s formula, he coerced the doctor into treating him with an unrefined version. This caused his abilities to multiply. His strength was unmatched, his agility unprecedented and his evil enhanced beyond even Schmidt’s imagining. It had a physical effect on his appearance. His body now resembled that of a blood red corpse with a skull for a face. Erskine would later refine the serum and administer it to a good man, Steve Rogers. Like Schmidt, his bodily abilities were enhanced to the point of super human.
And because of the Vita Rays, which I believe was not given to Johann, kept Rogers from becoming a deformed monster. Then again, I may be wrong in that regard. The director stated a while back that serum enhances your very nature. But I distinctly recall Erskine mentioning that at the time, his serum was unrefined. And this easily connects to The Incredible Hulk. Assuming that General Ross managed to procure some serum from frozen packets of Rogers’ blood, the serum he concocted was not read for treatment. And he had not researched anything about Vita Rays, which are just as important as the serum itself. So in retrospect, Blonsky was going to turn into a monster eventually. But his need for more gave him the urge to mix his blood with Banner’s and then douse himself with Gamma Radiation. Which was the catalyst that caused him to transform in the Abomination. But this is not even the mind blowing part as of yet. I’ve hinted at it but not really spoke of it until now.
The energy race that Howard Stark spoke of, the element that his son Tony created, the mysterious cube that Fury showed Dr. Selvig, all lead me to one inevitable conclusion. The Cosmic Cube is the center of everything for this arc of movies leading to the Avengers!
Think about it. The Cube, or Tesseract, was stolen from Odin’s treasure room and hidden on Earth for no mortal man to wield. But the Red Skull got a hold of it. After months of fanatical searching. He broke free of Hitler and decided to go into business of his own. Using Dr. Arnim Zola’s genius, he designed weaponry that would make both the allied Forces and Axis Powers quiver with fear. It is no coincidence that the rifles and cannons used by HYDRA sound just like Iron Man’s repulsors. And when Red skull is zapped into space when he came into contact with the Cube, you can clearly see the Nine Realms. Which of course leads me to believe that the Skull will be back to torture Captain America once more. But at the end of the film, the cube is picked up by none other than Howard Stark.
Now, what do we know of Howard Stark? He is the father to Anthony Edward “Tony” Stark, the superhero known across the globe as Iron Man. He worked on the Manhattan Project which culminated in the creation of the Atomic Bomb in 1946. He was a very stern father who spent little time with his son. He died in a tragic car accident with his wife Maria sometime in the late seventies or early eighties. Tony was seventeen.
In 1942, he hosted an Expo at the World Fair similar to the 1974 Stark Expo in nature that showcased possible technologies including a malfunctioning flying car and a synthezoid, known to comic fans as Jim Hammond aka the original Human Torch. He also was heavily involved in creating and operating the equipment that created Captain America. He equipped Rogers with a better more battle ready uniform and an indestructible shield made out of Vibranium, one of the rarest metals on Earth. But it is in the late sixties and mid seventies where I believe his significance in the MCU exponentially increases.
In Iron Man 2, it is explained that Howard Stark co created the ARC Reactor with a Soviet defector by the name of Anton Vanko. When Vanko wanted to sell the reactor to the highest bidder Stark had him deported. Not very nice, but I believe that the Manhattan Project turned good natured Howard Stark into a cynical and overall grouchy guy. But where did the initial idea for the ARC Reactor come from? By the time of the first Iron Man the reactor is up and running but doesn’t really do anything. But seeing Howard find the Cube leads me to think that he wanted to replicate the energy that was emitted from it. But he lacked the technology to do it. So he left the blueprints in a place he knew only one person could find: his son Tony. Which explains why Tony got such a power boost from the new element. Why he couldn’t categorize it. It wasn’t from this planet. It was stolen from the All father’s vault. And I am sure that Thor might have some word with Tony about that if I am proven right. Do you understand the implications I am making? Iron Man’s armor is powered by Asgardian technology! But if the writers hold true to the origin of the Cosmic Cube, then he is powered by perhaps Beyonder technology! Imagine the possibilities! The doorway to the cosmic threshold of the Marvel Universe has been thrown wide open! And here is hoping Marvel is up to the task. They have done a great job already!
All of the dots are not connected or even visible as of this moment. But the big picture is becoming clearer. And I take my hat off to everyone at Marvel for finding such a simple and cohesive way of making this work! Much of what I have said is pure speculation, especially in the last three paragraphs, but I have high hopes that even if I am wrong Marvel will come up with a better idea. Whether you believe that my logic is sound, that I am just digging too deep into it, or that I have lost my frigging mind, I would like to know. Please give me your thoughts and opinions on what has transpired. The Comment Section is directly below!
Wadey out!