Some observant Avengers fans believe a one-liner from Endgame could have been used as a way to introduce Marvel’s next villain.
An awful lot happened in the three-hour final instalment of the Infinity Saga, and with multiple timelines to keep track of, you’d have thought the Russo brothers would have been too busy focusing on the main plot to think about anything else.
But as fans speculate about what could be in store for the upcoming fourth phase of the MCU, some think they might have spotted a vital clue about who will be the next bad guy.
If you’ve been to see Endgame – which hopefully you have, or else you’re in for some spoilers – you’ll know that following Thanos’ snap, we cut to five years later, when the remaining Avengers were seen trying to adjust to the half-empty way of life while still protecting the universe from various threats.
While giving an update to Black Widow, Okoye mentioned there had been an underwater earthquake off the coast of Africa. Natasha asked how Wakanda planned on tackling the bizarre phenomenon, but Okoye explained that they were simply going to leave it alone.
Now, this may not seem like much, but the line came directly before Captain America and Black Widow start discussing whales in the Hudson River.
Again, in the grand scheme of things, seeing a few whales swimming around isn’t really a groundbreaking moment, but there could be some significance in the consecutive nautical references – enter Namor, the Sub-Mariner.
According to Digital Spy, Namor is essentially Marvel’s answer to Aquaman, though he has served as a villain as often as a hero. He’s widely regarded as Marvel’s first mutant, after making his debut in the comics in 1939.
So could Namor be the cause of the unusual aquatic events mentioned in Endgame?
Only time will tell, but this may not be the first time the Sub-Mariner has been alluded to. In fact, some fans believe he may have been given a nod in Iron Man 2, when Nick Fury met with Tony Stark to discuss his place on the Avengers.
At the time, Fury was surveying a large SHIELD map which marked several points of interest. One marker pinpointed the middle of the Atlantic Ocean – potentially as a subtle reference to Namor’s underwater kingdom, Atlantis.
In 2018, Kevin Feige, the President of Marvel Studios, told IGN that Namor’s rights are ‘complicated’, but even if he couldn’t have a standalone film, it’s possible he could make a cameo in one of phase four’s upcoming movies.
It will be interesting to see if the Endgame theories are correct!
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.