The Marvel Cinematic Universe has rich narrative worthy of many fan theories, many of which completely change how The Avengers' stories feel. Between the comic connections, deep lore and world-building, and the sheer breadth of the universe, there's a lot of story to unpack in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, particularly in the Avengers movies. Some of these theories completely change how the various Avengers progress through their stories, both in their relationships with each other and their own unique character arcs.
The best fan theories formulated about the Avengers range from twists on each member's origins to chilling background developments from other major players in the background. With most of them being impossible to confirm or deny, it's a great experience to rewatch the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline with the knowledge of them in mind. Even if nothing ever comes of these hypotheses, they provide a fascinating twist that shows the first few Phases of the franchise in a whole new light.
10 The Infinity Stones Represent The Six Avengers
Further thematically tying them to the Infinity Saga
The first three Phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe followed the Infinity Saga, a harrowing story which revolved around the six powerful Infinity Stones and Thanos' ultimate quest to erase half of all life with them. Each stone represents a fundamental driving force of the universe, but it's very possible that they could refer to even more than that. One theory posits that each Infinity Stone represents a member of the original six Avengers. Some of the representations are quite straightforward, with Iron Man's genius represented in the Mind Stone and the Hulk's strength represented in the Power Stone.
Captain America's status as a man out of time could be seen as indicative of the Time Stone. Other arguments are a little harder to make, with Thor's past as a cosmic immigrant and controller of the Bifrost Bridge landing him with the Space Stone, whereas Hawkeye's family and role as the "heart and soul" of the team puts him in the camp of the Soul Stone. The hardest comparison to assert is Black Widow's Reality Stone, owing to her ability to consider the complexities of reality as a spy.
9 The Hulk Saw Black Widow On Soulworld
Audiences never got to see the culmination of Hulk and Black Widow's romance
If there's one controversial aspect of an Avengers movie that never got resolved, it was Bruce Banner and Natasha Romanoff's romance in Avengers: Age of Ultron. While it was clear the two deeply cared about one another, they never got a chance at closure before Black Widow's tragic death. At least, the audience never got to actually see this moment, though it very well could have happened.
Both Thanos and Tony Stark have visions of a mysterious cosmic realm called Soulworld when they snap using the Infinity Stones. It should follow, then, that Professor Hulk got a vision of his own as well, even if it was never presented to the audience. It's heartwarming to imagine that Bruce Banner was able to finally reconcile with his old flame once and for all in a paranormal aside after bringing everyone back to life, perhaps explaining why Black Widow herself couldn't be counted among the resurrected.
8 The Super Soldier Serum Used The Heart-Shaped Herb
There's a reason no one could replicate Erskine's formula
So many characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe are created as a result of attempting to replicate Captain America's super soldier serum. Even decades after his death, no one seems to be able to perfectly replicate Dr. Erskine's work, with every knock-off super soldier in the MCU either having a tremendous drawback or simply not working as intended. The only augmented human whose physical attributes are able to evenly match Captain America's is none other than the Black Panther.
This could indicate that the Heart-Shaped Herb was a key secret ingredient in Dr. Erskine's formula. Considering how closely Wakanda guarded their secrets prior to the ending of Black Panther, it would've been impossible for anyone to realize where Dr. Erskine was sorting his mysterious materials for use in the chemical concoction. It's no wonder that T'Challa, Killmonger, and Shuri are the only ones with superhuman capabilities that compare favorably to Captain America's.
7 Odin Tried To Gather All The Infinity Stones Before Thanos
Thanos wasn't the only one who knew about the stones' power
Thor: Ragnarok revealed that Odin wasn't exactly the benevolent father figure his sons had made him out to be. Indeed, Odin's rule over the nine realms didn't come from nothing, and the King of Asgard had to wage a long, bloody war of conquest with Hela at his side in order to establish his empire. One haunting fan theory guesses that Odin was gearing up to expand his territory to encompass the entire universe by gathering the Infinity Stones.
The Tesseract's hiding location implies that the stone was once under Odin's control, and Odin's father, Bor, did a similar hidden treasure routine with the Reality Stone. It could be that Odin's entire lineage was maneuvering to overtake the universe with the Infinity Stones. Hela even remarks that an Infinity Gauntlet in her late father's possession was a mere fake, implying that she knew what a real one would look like. It could be that Odin commissioned a real gauntlet of his own in preparation for gathering the stones.
6 Tony's Suits Intentionally Get Less And Less Durable
There's an explanation behind the Iron Man armor's denigration
The first Iron Man suit is quite the impressive piece of hardware, effortlessly tanking gunshots and explosives while wading through an entire camp of enemy terrorists. From there, one might expect further iterations of the suit to only get more durable, and for a time, this is exactly what happens. However, but the end of Iron Man's tenure, the Iron Man armors only become more and more fragile, falling apart with seemingly less and less effort.
While this might initially be explained by the Avengers going up against stronger enemies, one theory suggests that this weakness might be a deliberate concession made by Tony Stark. It could be that Tony was intentionally forgoing increased durability in favor of expanded weapon systems and maneuverability, making the updated armors ever thinner and more lightweight as they bristled with weapons and repulsor jets. This culminates in the nanite suits used in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, which literally burns itself up in powerful attacks.
5 Stormbreaker Was Designed To Kill Thor
Odin might've feared a similar fate for his next child
Hela going rogue was a terrifying event for Odin, which forced him to use all of his magic to seal her away until his death hundreds of years later. Later on, Thor finds the mold for Stormbreaker, guessing that it was a new toy for him left to find by his late father. However, it could very well be that Stormbreaker wasn't designed for use by Thor, but for use on him, meant to be his doom should Thor ever go rogue like his sister.
Considering Thor's foolhardy nature and pride as a warrior, it seems likely that the callous Odin might've learned his lesson from his first mistakes with his daughter. Stormbreaker could've been a chilling backup plan meant to take Thor down should he ever have stepped out of line, with its very name being indicative of its purpose. Even Odin's ultimate adoption of Loki might've had similar motivations, with a child unrelated to him by blood possibly able to carry on his legacy should the bloodthirst of Hela prove to be a genetic inheritance.
4 Mjölnir Actually Reduced Thor's Power All Along
Poor Thor might have been held back by his father all along
While Odin claims that he gave Thor Mjölnir as a way to channel his power and focus it, it could very well be that the All-father meant to hinder his son's strength with the weapon. With only a select few MCU characters being able to lift Mjölnir, the legendary weapon is clearly a conduit for Thor's lightning, with both Captain America and Jane Foster gaining similar powers to Thor upon wielding it. This wouldn't make much sense unless the hammer was actually sapping Thor's strength the longer he held onto it, passing it along to the next wielder.
Further evidence for this theory arises when Hela shatters Mjölnir, which ultimately returns Thor's stolen power back to him. This explains why Thor became so much more powerful after the events of Thor: Ragnarok proving that he's the God of Thunder, not hammers. It could be that Odin only activated this aspect of the weapon upon placing the enchantment on it which causes it to only lift for the worthy.
3 Doctor Strange Might've Accidentally (Or Intentionally) Avoided His Own Death
Doctor Strange may have been unintentionally selfish with his predictions
One of the most memorable aspects of Avengers: Infinity War is Doctor Strange's insistence that in 14,000,605 different possible futures, the Avengers could only beat Thanos in one specific instance. This is ultimately revealed to be a timeline in which Tony dies, sacrificing himself to use the Infinity Stones. Doctor Strange, seemingly aware of this, reminds Tony of his important role in the conflict with a silent finger gesture in the final Battle for Earth.
However, looking into the future isn't so cut-and-dry. In Doctor Strange, the Ancient One reveals that even with the power of the Time Stone, she is never able to see further than her own death, implying a limit to the existential observation of the future based on one's own demise. Because he gets resurrected, Doctor Strange's "death" to Thanos' snap circumvents this rule. But it could very well be that in another timeline unseen by Strange, it's his own sacrifice rather than Tony's that saves the universe in the end.
2 Captain America Already Knew Who Spider-Man Was
Captain America knows when to pull his punches
As a blisteringly righteous man with high moral standards, it seems odd that when confronted with a new, seemingly human opponent, Captain America's first move would be to drop a massive heavy piece of the environment on them. But this is exactly what happens in Captain America: Civil War, when Captain America encounters Spider-Man for the first time. Despite quickly realizing that Spider-Man is just a simple kid in over his head, Captain America attacks Spider-Man quite lethally, unaware of his super powers and durability.
One theory explains this discrepancy by asserting that Steve was already aware of who Spider-Man was prior to the airport fight. As a fellow New Yorker, Steve would likely have kept up to date with his hometown's news, especially where web-slinging vigilantes are concerned. Captain America seems quite unfazed by Spider-Man's presence in general, asking him where he's from as if he already expects a New York City borough as an answer. It's no wonder Steven felt comfortable dropping a sky bridge on Spider-Man's head.
1 Tony Stark Had His Own Super Soldier Serum Injected As A Child
A wild theory with interesting legs
Going back to the super soldier serum, Tony Stark's proximity to one of the many recreations of the formula seems to imply a powerset beyond his mere genius. At multiple points, Tony Stark survives multiple injuries that, in reality, should have killed him. Ignoring the shrapnel in his heart that first inspired the arc reactor, Tony gets punched by the Hulk, has a vibranium shield thrown at his head, and even has an entire moon thrown at him. Even with the durability of the Iron Man armor, Stark's ability to take punishment borders on the superhuman.
A controversial theory guesses that Howard Stark, who was confirmed to have had a hand in the super soldier serum recreation later utilized by HYDRA, and was even killed for his involvement. It could be that Howard surreptitiously gave the serum to his son in a small dose as a child, which subsequently allowed Tony to survive all manner of injuries. Although the snap ended up killing him, it's hard to believe that a normal, unaltered MCU human was able to hold all six Infinity Stones with little issue, especially considering the entire Guardians of the Galaxy struggled with one.
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