The Vision: Let's start from the beginning with a casualty from Infinity War not addressed by the reversal of The Snappening. Because the Russo Brothers chose to have the Great Disappearance undone rather than prevented, deaths precipitated by Thanos's collection of the gems continue to stand. So Vision's death at Thanos's hand--caused by his ripping of the mind gem from the hero's brow--is still in play. That said, it's also well known that Paul Bettany is preparing to reprise the role in "WandaVision" on the new Disney Plus streaming service. So what gives? Is he dead or isn't he?
- Vision is an android and can presumably be rebuilt. I'd originally thought that this would be a subplot within Endgame because of a small but notable aspect of how his death was depicted--his body's loss of color. In the comics, Vision is dismantled at one point by government agents. While he is rebuilt by Hank Pym, his personality cannot be salvaged and the character takes on a very robotic and emotionless demeanor as well as a grayish white appearance. That seemed like a story arc they might have been initiating.
- Wanda Maximoff can do literally almost anything. Many speculate that Scarlet Witch's powers will continue to expand throughout future phases of the MCU and that she might even be the key to integrating the Fox and Disney movie universes. At a minimum, she surely has one resurrection in her. And I also find it interesting that Emily Olsen has hinted at WandaVision having a 1950s vibe. Marvel married these characters in the comics and even gave them a miniseries in which they tried to live a "normal" suburban life with kids. In the end, it proved to be a bit of magical wish fulfillment--another avenue Marvel could explore for reuniting the star-crossed pair.
Thanos: This one is the most straightforward opportunity for resurrection, as Thanos is quite simply persona non grata in the land of the dead--at least as far as the comics are concerned. In the comics, he is motivated by a fascination with and unrequited affection for the embodiment of Death--an apparition that manifests itself to him on a regular basis. It is for her that he seeks to balance the scales of life and death in the universe, and it is her approval that he continuously and unsuccessfully seeks throughout multiple campaigns. And simply put, she's just not having it. So Death has, on occasion, expelled Thanos from her domain either to give him a chance to prove himself or--just as likely--to get away from his fawning. So Thanos could very easily turn up like a bad penny in the MCU following a similar story arc.
Iron Man: On some level, I don't want to see this one reversed--as Robert Downey Jr. had such a great run as this character and it ended in a reasonably satisfying way. However, he leaves an undeniable hole in the fabric of the movie universe. And while there are numerous characters who could pick up the mantle--Riri Williams (as Ironheart), Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan, Harley Keener--there are also plenty of ways in which Stark could return to the MCU himself.
- His brain engrams are out there. As promiscuous as Tony Stark may have been in other regards, there's never really been a good accounting of how free he was with his brain engrams. It is a major aspect of Avengers Age of Ultron that Tony's mind is a big foundational piece of the Ultron AI. So doesn't it follow that his mind is on file out there somewhere? Could it be downloaded to either serve as support for a new Iron Man (perhaps Harley?)? Or could it inhabit and drive an armor or android outright? And let's not forget that Ultron himself technically dies off-screen in a final confrontation with The Vision. Do we know for certain that he was obliterated?
- They could also leverage time travel. So the Avengers essentially have a time machine in the garage now, right? But let's assume that they resist the impulse to pluck a contemporary Tony from a recent point in time--avoiding the creation of additional ripples in the time stream and additional alternate realities. Even so, there are several time-related storylines from the comics that could still apply.
- Recasting the role with a young Tony. In a somewhat infamous story from the 90s, Tony revealed himself to be a traitor to the team that had been corrupted by Kang--essentially turning him into a sleeper agent. In the end, those Avengers would perform their own "time heist" of sorts by bringing a teenage Tony to the present to confront and outwit his future self. While the story had some issues and wasn't necessarily well received, elements of it could be tweaked to suit these circumstances.
- Discovering Tony is alive and well in a different time. More promising is a story that I've been wondering about a lot since Endgame. In a truly iconic two-part tale from the 80s, Iron Man and Doctor Doom get tossed back in time to King Arthur's court. While they aren't stranded there for very long in the comic story arc, there are some plot elements that seem like they'd be ideally suited for the MCU--almost too many, as if it's not coincidental.
- The audio stinger that occurs after the end credits of Endgame is seen by most as just a tribute to the original Iron Man movie. But what if it was to foreshadow Tony working with period appropriate tools--perhaps in a blacksmith shop? That's all he'd have available to repair his armor back in Arthurian England.
- It's been heavily hinted that a character from that period--the likewise time-tossed Black Knight, Dane Whitman--is going to appear in the MCU. What better opportunity than a movie crossover with Iron Man?
- It's also extremely interesting that Tony's daughter in Endgame--a character created for the MCU and not present in the comics--shares a name with Morgan Le Fay, Tony's primary protagonist in the original 80s time-travel story and a recurring foe who has struck at him and the Avengers even in the present day. I'm sure this is a long shot--and maybe too obscure of an Easter egg--but certainly worthy of consideration.
- Learning that the Tony that died was a doppelganger. I think this one is a greater likelihood for Black Widow, but some of the logic I explain below could apply to Tony as well.
Black Widow: So let's start with the fact that I know everyone at Marvel is insisting there will be no resurrections where Natasha is concerned. I'd argue that this could be a misdirect from the studio that reportedly filmed 4 alternate versions of the ending of Endgame in the interests of secrecy. But one could also argue that the "no resurrections" assertion could still be true from a certain perspective--assuming that the Natasha who died was a doppelganger of some sort.
- First, it's a given that a Black Widow movie is happening--so that's a factor to consider. The movie could well be a prequel--a feature-length swan song for Scarlett Johansson in much the way that Endgame was dedicated to Robert Downey Jr. But what if it starts off in prequel mode and then reveals that Natasha was replaced by a doppelganger? (Perhaps just after the events of the first Avengers movie?)
- If that seems crazy, consider the following: Black Widow's role in Captain America Civil War--where she bounces between the factions--mirrors the story arc for Spider-Woman Jessica Drew in the comic version. Interestingly, Drew would later be revealed as the leader of a Skrull invasion using the passage of the registration act to play both sides and foment chaos.
- But the Skrulls are good guys now, right? Hold on for a moment. Empires like the Kree and Skrulls have long been shown to alternate between good and bad in the comics--as they are diverse societies with ever-changing political dynamics. So just because the Skrulls come across as sympathetic in one story doesn't cement that status for all time. Also, note that Marvel Studios could pick a different way to tell a Secret Invasion story--much as the Marvel Ultimate Alliance game series did in making a nanotech virus the source of the invasion in its second outing.
- While I realize this is another long shot, I'd love to see a story where an amnesic Natasha Romanov is living under the guise of school teacher Nancy Rushman--an identity she assumed in one of my favorite multi-part stories in Marvel Team-Up back in the 70s. In that story, Black Widow lost her memory as a coping mechanism following torture at the hands of Viper and Silver Samurai--but I think it's an outcome that could be easily spliced to the Secret Invasion narrative.
While some of these possibilities are much less likely than others, this thought exercise helps to remind us that the MCU is working with house money where willing suspension of disbelief is concerned. Comic book stories are rife with stunning reveals and improbable outcomes--giving Kevin Feige and company an unusual amount of latitude. So we'll just have to see where and how they use it.
Next time: How kaiju almost convinced me to buy a house.
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