A couple of months ago, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige hinted that the majority of the superheroes in the MCU will soon be female. Though next year’s Captain Marvel will undoubtedly be an important 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 since film number one.
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 franchise has been kept very 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, one of the few lines that she did get is being pounced on by certain fans as an indication of big things to come.
What’s more, the line being scrutinized is a seemingly incomplete one, and serves as her last words of the movie. The moment comes when Pepper calls her fiancé Tony Stark, begging him in vain to get off Ebony Maw’s spaceship and come back down to Earth. Though her final line is cut off by a bad connection, this is what we hear: “I’m going to-”
At least that’s what we thought we heard. But now that Infinity War‘s available on home video, some fans on Twitter are pointing out that the subtitles offer a slightly different spelling for this line, suggesting that with one little extra ‘o,’ Pepper’s words herald the arrival of her Iron Man-esque alter ego Rescue.
The other day I was watching Infinity War with subtitles and the last thing Pepper says to Tony on the phone is “I’m going too.” I always thought she said “I’m going to-“ and got cut off. Pepper is totally gonna suit up as Rescue in A4 pic.twitter.com/RXCCW3kt1Z
— banzo (@BasedGarbanzo) August 18, 2018
im watching avengers infinity war and canonically pepper says to tony before the call gets cut off, "I'm going too" just after Tony confirms that he's in the spaceship
hmmm… Rescue? hmmmmm pic.twitter.com/eviCKef4g1
— ❄ McFleury (she/her) ❄ (@ohnoenya) August 20, 2018
Infinity War: the CC of Pepper calling Tony says "I'm going too". Is this a mistake or is Rescue showing up in Avengers 4?
— Hellions Team (@HellionsTeam) August 14, 2018
While the subtitles on the Infinity War Blu-Ray may not be the most authoritative of sources on the future of the Marvel franchise, this would certainly make for a welcome development. Iron Man 3 hinted that Pepper had the potential to become a formidable fighter with the right tools at her disposal, such as a technologically advanced suit of her own. Better yet, with so many fans predicting that Tony Stark’s final hour is near, this could serve as a worthy means of continuing the Iron Man legacy while giving Rescue an emotionally loaded backstory.
Again, there’s not much to go on for this theory at the moment, but with half the cast of the MCU currently out of action, there’s certainly a big opportunity for Avengers 4 to do a lot more with Pepper when the film comes out on May 3rd, 2019.
