Here we go again. WandaVision, the groundbreaking Marvel series on Disney Plus was a great success with critics but suffered the wrath of viewers. The critic score on RottenTomatoes.com is a certified fresh 91% whereas the audience rating drops to 81%. Not a huge difference and not much of a concern, right? Wrong. If you look at the language trending on social media after the series wrapped you'll see that Marvel fans felt betrayed and disappointed. Why? Insane theories and unachievable expectations set by YouTubers. One particular YouTuber (no names) got theory after theory after theory completely wrong, and each week he doubled down. Claiming his erroneous theory could still happen despite it being thoroughly debunked by the events of the show, while in the same video crafting another unfounded theory with no evidence. Yes, I know what theories are and the entire point of the exercise is not having real evidence to support your speculation. It's a guessing game. You through shit at the wall and see what sticks. However, after several miserably failed attempts that directly contributed to viewer complaints, maybe he should have stopped. Perhaps he should reconsider his YouTube niche. Each time one of his theories failed to materialized millions of his subscribers were frustrated. Not at him, at Marvel and that's not right.
- Reed Richards built the magical barrier breaching vehicle
- Ultron will be resurrected in Vision's body
- Dr. Strange will save the day
- Hexagon boundary is a nexus gateway to another dimension/universe
- Hexagon is connected to the gateways used for rapid space travel in the MCU
- S.W.O.R.D Director Hayward is Hydra
- Dottie is a major villain
- Actors in the commercials are Wanda's parents
- Magneto (Wanda's father) will debut, calm her emotions and save the day
- Pietro is from the Fox X-Men movie universe
- Mephisto is behind it all
Supposedly there is a deleted scene with Benedict Cumberbatch's Dr. Strange getting involved, so I guess I shouldn't have included that one. Still, almost a dozen failed attempts and never did I hear any concession. After the fan backlash that he was complicit in I heard no apologies. Did he have to, no. It just would have been nice to see him take some personal responsibility. I unsubscribed from that channel and stopped watching his videos, so his indifference no longer affects me. If I revealed which channel I was talking about I'd encourage you to also unsubscribe. I also avoided videos with "theory" in the title or in the description, from other YouTubers. As a result I didn't get inundated with Falcon & the Winter Soldier theories except the one about Chris Evans returning as Old Man Cap, which of course did not happen.
Now, after only one episode of Loki the theory crafting is so out-of-control it's unavoidable. The predominant theory is that one of the three time keepers seen in the art and architecture of the Time Variance Authority offices is Kang the Conqueror. Kang is a time traveling villain with strong, undeniable connections to the TVA, but it's highly unlikely.
Could Marvel make the change? Of course they could, they deviate from the comics all the time. Kang the Conqueror is coming to the MCU, but the actor set to portray Kang, Johnathan Majors has never been linked to the production, by IMDB, trade magazines, set photos, travel schedules, leaks, or otherwise. Furthermore, Marvel Producer extraordinaire Kevin Feige and Disney executives are keenly aware that the MCU films are the real powerhouse and that not every MCU fan is a Disney Plus subscriber. Including a major, foundation-shaking event in a Disney Plus show could potentially alienate, confuse or even anger members of the audience and (like the theorized debut of Mephisto or Magneto in WandaVision) the debut of Kang the Conqueror in Loki would be such an event. At least in my opinion, Marvel and Disney would save that for the big screen. That is not to say Kang couldn't appear in a brief cameo, during the post-credit scene of the final episode for example. They could have filmed it with a green screen backdrop at Johnathan Majors house and avoid any of the obstacles of a set visit, listed above. This is actually what they did to guard the secret J.K. Simmons cameo in Spider-Man: Homecoming. However, in order to preserve major events for the MCU I can virtually guarantee Kang's big introduction will be in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
But I could be wrong and if I am I'll eat my words. If history repeats itself and the YouTubers are wrong they'll move on to their next video without a care in the world. This rant is being posted on Tuesday. New episodes of Loki stream Wednesday on Disney Plus. Some of the YouTubers have already seen the second episode and know more than most I do. So their Kang the Conqueror theory may have already been confirmed and they're just being aloof, but I doubt it.
Long story short, do not allow the YouTubers or clickbait websites to ruin the enjoyment you get from watching Loki with insane fan theories, spoilers, and unachievable expectations. Watch the show on your own terms.
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