EDITORIAL: 4 AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON Theories

In typical fashion, the internet has immediately begun dissecting every frame of the trailer for references, easter eggs, plot points, cameos and what have you. The trailer has also added more fuel to the raging fire of speculation and raised some new questions. Who is that woman in front of the lake? Who is Andy Serkis playing? What’s happening to Black Widow? We won’t know until the film comes out, but for the meantime, let’s speculate. I’ve put together a collection of theories based off what we’ve seen in this trailer and the last, interviews with the cast and crew and other stuff. Let’s get going!

1. Black Widow Is In The Red Room

Black Widow’s origin story may not be as popular or well-known as the other Avengers’, but it’s still one of the most interesting. Widow was brainwashed at a young age and turned into a lethal Russian spy at the covert ‘Red Room’ facility. It was here that she gained her considerable skills in espionage, weapons and fighting, as well as mental conditioning to ensure she remained loyal to the cause. In the trailer, we see what appears to be a younger Black Widow being pushed down onto an operating table by a woman in blue, who then reaches for some surgical tools. (So I guess that disproves the theory it was Strucker using those tools to experiment on the twins.)

This is most likely a flashback to her time in the Red Room. A recent retcon of Natasha’s origins said that she was given some sort of Soviet super-soldier serum, and has actually been alive for over eighty years. Though I highly doubt they’ll go with that version, the administration of said serum could be what we’re seeing here. We see her holding some pretty big guns- perhaps this is a flashback to her being sent to kill Hawkeye. It is also said that Widow was given false memories to ensure her loyalty, one of which was that she had been a ballerina. Remember those ballerinas in the first trailer? I guess this confirms that they were part of a flashback to Widow’s past. And speaking of flashbacks……..

2. Scarlet Witch Shows Everybody Their Fears

If you saw the leaked AOU clip from Marvel’s Phase 3 vent, you’ll know that at some point in the film Scarlet Witch uses her mind powers to give the team some sort of visions. In the clip, Cap says of Thor ‘we still don’t know what the Maximoff kid showed him’, and says that whatever she showed Tony made him do ‘something stupid’. My personal theory about this is that Scarlet Witch shows all of them their worst experiences/ greatest fears, which in turn affects their behaviour throughout the film. I don’t know what Stark’s greatest fear could be, but I think that it will be the reason he decides to activate the ‘dormant peacekeeping program’ that eventually evolves into Ultron. Cap did say it ‘made him do something stupid’, after all.

For Banner? It’s easy- he sees the Hulk going out of control and killing innocent people. Maybe he helps Tony design and build the Hulkbuster armour as a contingency plan in case the Hulk ever went crazy (which we know he will). For Widow, maybe this could be where we have the flashback to her in the Red Room and her false memories. I’m not sure what Thor’s could be, but it seems that it gave him some questions (in the clip, Stark says that ‘Thor didn’t say where he was going for answers). It seems that cap didn’t have one, or at least wasn’t very affected by it. Hawkeye? No idea. Maybe a flashback to his time as a minion of Loki perhaps.

3. Andy Serkis Is Ulysses Klaw

A common theory, but no less valid. For the uninitiated, Ulysses Klaw is a supervillain who is most well-known for being the arch-nemesis of T’Challa, the Black Panther. He was originally a scientist studying vibranium, who created a sonic gun of sorts powered by the stuff, and later went on to be converted into a being of pure sound. Klaw is an expert with vibranium, and numerous rumours have suggested that Ultron will travel to Wakanda to get some vibranium to make his final form (likely the one from the EW cover). So, the theory is that Ultron enlists the help of Klaw- a mercenary as well as a scientist- to help him retrieve vibranium.

Chris Hemsworth already namedropped vibranium at SDCC 2014, and Cap’s shield is made of the stuff, so we know it exists in the MCU. Klaw has worked with Ultron in the past (they were both Masters of Evil) and having both Wakanda and Klaw appear in AOU would definitely help raise awareness and anticipation for the Black Panther movie. ON IMDVB, there’s an extra listed as ‘Klaue’s Mercenary’, which could mean he’s one of the henchmen working for Serkis. Plus, he’s wearing a claw necklace. That’s some Gotham level subtlety right there.

4. The Mystery Woman Is Hela

Perhaps the biggest talking point from this trailer is the identity of a mysterious woman, seen standing in front of a pool of water. Many have speculated that she could be a Wakandan, possibly T’Challa’s sister Shuri or a member of the Dora Milaje, the Panther’s elite female bodyguards. However, seeing as how this pool is remarkably similair to the one we saw Thor screaming in from the first trailer, I think that this is in fact Hela, queen of Hel, the Norse land of the dead.

It’s been confirmed by Kevin Fiege that not everyone makes it out of this one alive. There are certain characters that we know for sure aren’t going to die (Cap, Iron Man, Hawkeye etc). However, due to the existence of Hel, the Norse Land of the Dead, they could have Ultron kill Thor and then have him turn up in Hel with Hela in the post-credits scene. I think this would work really well, as it would enable the team to have a really significant ‘loss’ in the fight against Ultron whilst also letting Thor appear in Ragnarok. They could have the film start out with him escaping Hel, which would be really cool to see.

So, those were a collection of theories for Avengers: Age of Ultron. Thank you all for reading, and make sure to leave your thoughts in the comments below. I’ve been PaddingtonBear7. Good day!