The Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Super Bowl trailer has left the Marvel fandom reeling. It’s given folks so much footage to analyze for clues and hints at what’s to come in the Benedict Cumberbatch-starring sequel, and some are dissecting it thoroughly.
With Patrick Stewart’s Professor X now confirmed to be appearing, the potential for further crossover characters is basically endless. As theories evolve, though, we might be starting to narrow it down.
For one thing, a glowing armored figure briefly glimpsed in the trailer initially had folks convinced that it was Superior Iron Man, an evil Tony Stark from the comics — with the common idea being that he was going to be played by Tom Cruise. As higher-quality screengrabs have come in, however, this glowing figure now appears to be a woman of color, which has got fans thinking this must be Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), last seen in WandaVision.
The below GIF offers a clear look at the mystery hero. But is it Monica?
The Marvel True Facts Instagram account shared a still of the mysterious figure to either give credence to the Monica theory — or to refute it in favor of something else.
If it is Monica, then she’s cut her hair short since the Westview incident. So what if it’s not Monica — but actually her mother Maria, as played by Lashana Lynch in Captain America? Although the Earth-616 version died in flashbacks seen in WandaVision, it’s possible this is a variant of her who maybe became Captain Marvel instead of Carol Danvers. The glowing figure’s hairstyle is reminiscent of Lynch’s look in Bond movie No Time To Die.
Then again, a reunion for Monica and Wanda Maximoff would be interesting to see, and it would make sense to remind audiences of the heroine prior to her return in a major way in next year’s The Marvels. All in all, we can safely say this isn’t Tom Cruise — sorry, Cruise fans — and the odds are this is one of the Rambeau women.
We’ll find out which when Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness blasts into cinemas on May 6.