Back in the summer, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige teased that the majority of the superheroes in the MCU will soon be female. Though next year’s Captain Marvel will undoubtedly be a crucial step in following through on that claim, some fans are suggesting that Avengers 4 will bring another new heroine into the fray, albeit via a character who’s been with the franchise from the very start.
Ever since Stark Industries CEO Pepper Potts joined the fight at the climax of 2013’s Iron Man 3, Gwyneth Paltrow’s presence in the MCU has been kept pretty limited, remaining absent from the series for several years before making a surprise cameo at the end of 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. But while her screen time in the recent Avengers: Infinity War didn’t give her a huge boost in prominence either, it seems that May’s upcoming sequel will fix that.
For a while now, there’s been a lot of speculation pointing to Pepper suiting up as Rescue, a mantle she assumed in the comics at one point after Tony gave her her very own Iron Man suit. It all began when the actress posted a set photo of herself in a mocap suit, which was certainly suspicious. And now, we’ve got a leaked, though very blurry, image of some Avengers 4 action figures. Both pics can be seen in the gallery below, and when put together, they certainly point to Pepper donning her Rescue armor.
Yes, as you can see, there’s a mysterious action figure standing next to the one of Iron Man and fans are speculating that this suit belongs to Pepper, given that it’s got a feminine look to it and boasts a similar color scheme to the Rescue suit seen in the animated Iron Man TV series from the 90s (a photo from which we’ve also included in the aforementioned gallery). Of course, Marvel’s yet to confirm any of this, but we’d say the evidence is pretty overwhelming at this stage.
With any luck, maybe the first Avengers 4 trailer will tease Pepper’s role in the film? It’s set to arrive before the year’s over – likely in November – and once we’ve got a firm date for when you can see it, we’ll be sure to let you know.
