Marvel's Runaways Biggest Mysteries

Marvel's Runaways cleverly cherry-picks from the source comic book source material while subverting the expectations of fans by exploring the backstories and motivations of the Pride -- leaving us to wonder just how "evil" the parents are -- and introducing new elements. Those deviations have delighted co-creator Brian K. Vaughan, and left Marvel Comics readers guessing about what will happen next.

Ahead of the debut of the fifth episode, "Kingdom," which will likely raise even more questions, we look at some of the burning mysteries of Runaways.

What's This New Ritual?

The story kicks into gear when six estranged friends reunite, only to stumble across their parents -- all wealthy pillars of the community -- involved in the ritual sacrifice of a teenage runaway. In the comics, the ceremony was intended to bring about the return of ancient monsters known as the Gibborim. In return for their devotion, the members of the Pride were promised six spots in the Gibborim's paradise after the creatures reshape the Earth. On television, however, the ritual takes a different form, and seems to serve an entirely different purpose.

Instead of being stabbed through the heart, as in the comics, the human sacrifice is placed in a high-tech sarcophagus designed by Victor Stein (James Marsters). The chamber glows, and it's hinted that she's supposed to be transported somewhere, and her life-force absorbed by the husk of an old man cared for by Leslie Dean (Annie Wersching).

We're unclear as to the mechanics of the chamber, but hopefully Victor will soon explain the engineering behind it and its true purpose. Was it supposed to heal the man? Or make him younger? In any case, the chamber failed to work properly, and Victor had to kill and dump the teen's body on the beach.

Who's the Old Man?

This aforementioned withered husk of a man is another new addition that has fans guessing as to the Pride's objectives. Some theories point to him, or it, being Leslie's father. He was the founder of the Church of Gibborim (a Scientology-like cult) that Leslie now leads, and is held in high reverence by its members. In the comics, the Deans are Majesdanians, an alien race that absorbs solar energy and re-radiates it as the colors of the rainbow; Karolina Dean (Virginia Gardner) does just that in the premiere when she removes her inhibitor bracelet, disguised as a church wristband.

Instead of the Dean's being aliens looks like they have one

In Episode 4, "Fifteen," Leslie exhibits similar powers in an eerie scene where the decaying man asks her to "warm him." She strips naked, gets into bed, and well, cuddles him as she emits her own light rays.

If this is her father (whom she said died of cancer), apart from giving us a creepy Game of Thrones family moment, maybe it could hint at a weird alien practice that the Majesdanians undertake? There's even a chance this man could be one of the Gibborim, which could be altered for television from a giant monster into a human-esque figure that needs to feed off human life. Perhaps, reviving him offers the Pride the key to immortality.

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Who Killed Molly's Parents?

The show also changed Molly Hayes into Molly Hernandez (Allegra Acosta) and killed offer her parents, also members of the Pride, in a mysterious fire that Tina Minoru (Brittany Ishibashi) is suspected of starting.

Tina also reveals that the Yorkes, who adopted Molly, got the Hernandez's entire estate, so maybe the bioengineer duo, Stacey (Brigid Brannagh) and Dale (Kevin Weisman), could well have orchestrated the their deaths.

What's obvious is that none of the parents can be trusted: Geoffrey Wilder (Ryan Sands) still displays gangster tendencies, while his wife Catherine (Angel Parker) is a lawyer with no limits; Victor is an abusive narcissist whose wife Janet (Ever Carradine) is cheating with Tina's husband Robert (James Yaegashi); and it seems Leslie mindwiped her husband Frank (Kip Pardue) to keep him out the Pride's business and potentially line him up as a potential sacrifice.

Is Molly a Mutant?

The show sticks to the comics lore here, with Molly displaying superhuman strength and what appears to be a case of narcolepsy when she uses it. In the books, she's a mutant, but given that Fox holds the rights to the X-Men, can that term be used on Runaways?

What if Molly is one of the Yorkes' scientific experiments? We've seen them develop truth serums, brainwashing serums and even a dinosaur, so could they have engineered Molly for the Hernandez family?

The Yorkes are kooky and unsuspecting, so it would be a dark turn if they killed Molly's parents just to get back the girl they view as their work. If Disney does end up buying Fox, she can easily be fast-tracked to mutant status but presently, she's just a mysterious super-girl.

Why Did Amy Minoru Kill Herself?

The teens on the TV series grew apart following the death Nico's sister Amy, and a desire by Alex Wilder (Rhenzy Feliz) to reunite the estranged friends in her memory is the catalyst for the story. In "Fifteen," we get more insight into Amy's apparent suicide, but Nico thinks there's something more sinister at play, especially after finding her sister's diary, which shows no signs of depression.

In a flashback, Tina prevents Nico from calling 911 following the discovery of Amy's body, and Nico eventually deduces that her mother used crooked cops to cover up the incident. That's confirmed in the present when Nico and Alex try to report the Pride's murder of the runaway, as well as Amy's suicide, only to find out that the same detective who helped Tina is overseeing the missing person's case.

We're left to wonder whether Amy found out about Pride and killed herself, unable to cope with her family's secret? Was she lined up as a sacrifice? Or did Tina kill Amy to silence her?

Now streaming on Hulu, Marvel’s Runaways stars Rhenzy Feliz, Lyrica Okano, Virginia Gardner, Ariela Barer, Gregg Sulkin, Allegra Acosta, Ryan Sands, Angel Parker, Brittany Ishibashi, James Yaegashi, Kevin Weisman, Brigid Brannagh, Annie Wersching, Kip Pardue, James Marsters and Ever Carradine.