Arguably the biggest franchise in pop culture at the moment, the MCU has drawn people in for over a decade with their numerous. This year happened to be especially big for the franchise, as it saw the release of two of its biggest movies: Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War. With the latter being the massive crossover that fans had been yearning for since The Avengers, it got a lot of attention from all angles. Poised to change the MCU forever, it and the other two MCU movies this year were subject to plenty of rumors and speculation.
Black Panther was going to answer questions from Captain America: Civil War while being a bridge to Thanos' upcoming arrival. Avengers: Infinity War was going to be the mark that suggested whether certain long-running theories were true or false. There were so many things riding on this year's Marvel movies for the fans, and it seems that's only going to continue through the release of Avengers: Endgame. It's interesting to note how just about all major theories had to be changed for the upcoming Avengers film, as this year's Marvel movies changed the game and subverted expectations. Between Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Ant-Man and the Wasp, there were plenty of rumors and thoughts floating around about how each of them would affect the MCU. Now that the year is almost over, we're taking a look back at 10 MCU rumors or theories that came true in 2018 and 10 that were proven false.
20 TRUE: THE DESTRUCTION OF XANDAR
When the Power Stone was discovered and left on Xandar in Guardians of the Galaxy, everyone knew that the Nova Corps wouldn't be strong enough to protect it from Thanos. With the release of Avengers: Infinity War on the horizon, many people speculated that the Mad Titan would destroy the entire planet just to get his hands on the Stone.
While the film never showed us how Thanos wrecked Xandar, Thor confirmed that the planet was destroyed just a week before the film took place. The first time we see the villain on-screen, he already had the Power Stone in the Infinity Gauntlet.
19 FALSE: HEIMDALL HAD THE SOUL STONE
One of the most popular theories about the Infinity Stones was the THANOS theory. It stated that each letter in the name corresponded to where each of the Stones were located. The 'T' stood for Tesseract, 'A' was for Aether, and so on. The only letter remaining was 'H', which led many to think that Heimdall was the one who had the Soul Stone.
It would explain how he could see anyone in the world. However, this idea was proven false, as the Soul Stone was located on Vormir rather than the old Asgardian. Thanos himself destroyed the theory by taking Heimdall's life himself.
18 TRUE: INFINITY WAR TEASED THE AVENGERS 4 TITLE
After Avengers: Infinity War came out and ended on a cliffhanger, many were wondering what the next Avengers film would be titled. Since it was no longer Avengers: Infinity War Part II, it led to a lot of rumors about what the title could be. Some theorized that the title was hidden in Avengers: Infinity War through some dialogue through Doctor Strange.
After giving up the Time Stone, he told Tony Stark that they were "in the endgame now." This proved correct, as the title for the upcoming movie was revealed to be Avengers: Endgame. This title was also leaked a few times.
17 FALSE: HELA IS MCU'S DEATH
Hela was the villain of Thor: Ragnarok and the goddess of death. Some speculated that after her supposed death in that film, she would return in Avengers: Infinity War as the subject of Thanos' obsession in the same way that he was in love with Death in the comics.
However, that proved to not be the case. Not only was Hela's demise at the hands of Surtur seemingly final, but she did not reappear in Infinity War in any capacity. Instead of pining for some goddess, Thanos was turned into a character with complex motivations and was made the central character of the film as well.
16 TRUE: LOKI WOULDN'T MAKE IT
There was a rumor floating around that a major character would pass away in the first few minutes of Avengers: Infinity War, cementing Thanos' place as the biggest and baddest villain the MCU had ever seen. With shots from the trailer showing Loki holding out the Tesseract, there was reason to believe that Loki would be the one to bite the dust at the start of the film.
This proved to be true, as Loki had a major redemption moment before meeting his end at the hands of the Mad Titan. With the phrase "No resurrections this time," it seems that Loki is certainly gone for good.
15 FALSE: QUICKSILVER'S RETURN
When it comes to deceased MCU characters returning from the grave, Quicksilver always comes to the top of the list. Avengers: Infinity War was rumored to bring back at least one character from the grave, so many people assumed that the speedy Quicksilver was the one to get that treatment.
Despite seeing the actor on set, Quicksilver didn't appear in Avengers: Infinity War. Red Skull was the character who returned in the film. That said, there are still plenty of rumors suggesting that Scarlet Witch's brother could reappear in Avengers: Endgame, so we'll see if that holds any weight next year.
14 TRUE: THANOS WOULD WIN
Marvel constantly talked about Thanos being the best villain they'd ever put on screen leading up to the release of Avengers: Infinity War. This in combination with the fact that there was still another movie to come led some people to believe that the Mad Titan would win at the end of Infinity War.
This was further enhanced with teases of him destroying half of all life with the snap of his fingers. Despite how tragic it was, this is what happened in the film. Thanos gathered all the Infinity Stones, destroyed many characters along the way, and restructured the universe in the only way he saw fit.
13 FALSE: LOKI AND THANOS WILL WORK TOGETHER
Loki has always been one to turn on his allies just to save his own life. With Thanos headed to the refugee Asgardian ship, some people believed that he would inevitably team up with Thanos and help the Mad Titan wipe out half the universe. After all, Thanos was the one who sent Loki to attack New York with the Chitauri.
Instead of going back to his old tricks, though, Loki took the opportunity to make his final stand and pull the wool over Thanos' eyes. Unfortunately, it proved unsuccessful, as Loki would be the only one to bite the dust in the end. At least he went out nobly.
12 TRUE: ANT-MAN CHARACTERS GETTING SNAPPED
After the game-changing events of Avengers: Infinity War, we only had to wait two months until the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp. Taking place during the events of Infinity War, this led to speculation that we would see the effects of the snap on the Ant-Man crew. While this didn't happen in the main film, it did occur during the post-credits scene.
While going on a test run into the Quantum Realm, Scott Lang was trapped after Hope, Janet, and Hank all turned into dust. It left an otherwise jovial film on a surprisingly dark note. The wait for Avengers: Endgame is surely going to be a long one.
11 FALSE: SILVER SURFER IN INFINITY WAR
There were plenty of rumors that new characters would appear in Avengers: Infinity War, going even as far as the X-Men making their debut. However, the one that seemed to gain the most traction was that Silver Surfer was going to make his MCU debut. After there was a casting list for the film that included Norrin Radd (the Silver Surfer's alter ego), fan speculation was rampant.
However, the Russo Brothers debunked those rumors, with the Disney/FOX deal not being completed by the film's release. As expected, Silver Surfer did not appear in the film, much to the disappointment of his fans everywhere.
10 TRUE: BANNER WEARS THE HULKBUSTER
In the first trailer for Avengers: Infinity War, we saw that Wakanda was going to be a massive setpiece in the film, featuring plenty of heroes and villains in a massive battle. One shot revealed that the Hulkbuster suit from Avengers: Age of Ultron was going to make a reappearance.
However, based on its haphazard movements and the fact that Tony Stark was seemingly on Titan at the time, many people believed that he wasn't the one piloting it. Instead, most people thought that Bruce Banner was the one in the Hulkbuster suit, as there was another shot showing him at Wakanda.
9 FALSE: TONY STARK IS RELATED TO THE SOUL STONE
Leading up to the release of Avengers: Infinity War, the Soul Stone was the only Infinity Stone that hadn't appeared in a previous MCU film. This spawned countless theories about where it was and who had it. One such theory believed that Tony Stark was somehow related to it.
Some believed that he himself was the Soul Stone, which explained why his body could handle all sorts of technology connected to it. Others suggested that the arc reactor was the key to figuring out where the Soul Stone was hidden. However, Stark was only granted with the curse of knowledge and had nothing to do with the Soul Stone.
8 TRUE: VISION GETS DESTROYED
The Vision was created in Avengers: Age of Ultron by the titular villain. What made him so powerful was that the Mind Stone was embedded in his forehead, which granted him an insane array of powers. The film ended with him becoming a member of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. However, fans knew that it was only a matter of time before he had to go against Thanos.
There were plenty of theories to suggest that Vision wouldn't only get the stone removed from his head, but get destroyed in the process. Despite the Avengers' attempts to save him, Vision was demolished by Thanos at the end of the film.
7 FALSE: THE INTRODUCTION OF VENOM
When it comes to the MCU's Spider-Man, plenty of fans were just waiting for the time when Marvel decided to introduce the Venom symbiote and bring that character to the universe. There was a theory floating around that Avengers: Infinity War was going to introduce it. With the Avengers going to Titan, Spider-Man included, it was a prime opportunity to introduce the symbiote as well as give it a way to travel to Earth.
This proved false, as the MCU isn't going to use Venom anytime soon. Sony still has the rights to the character, and the Venom movie was a strange success at the box office.
6 TRUE: THE LONGEST MCU MOVIE
Avengers: Infinity War had to do a lot of things. It had to establish Thanos as a villain, show him acquiring all the stones, explain what the Avengers were doing and how they teamed up yet again, blend the Guardians of the Galaxy with the roster, and pit many characters against each other.
With all of these tasks as well as some rumors on movie websites, the movie was theorized to be two and a half hours long. This proved true, as Avengers: Infinity War is the longest MCU movie to date. However, that record is looking to be broken by Avengers: Endgame, which is clocking in around three hours right now.
5 FALSE: CAPTAIN AMERICA WOULD LOSE HIS LIFE
Another MCU movie, another rumor that Captain America was going to fall in action. After rumors that he would die in Captain America: Civil War, the rumor came up again that he would lose his life in Avengers: Infinity War. This was bolstered by a shot in the trailer showing him holding back Thanos by himself.
However, the rumor was the opposite of what happened. With everyone seemingly disappearing, Captain America was one of the few characters who survived. That said, there are still plenty of rumors that he'll lose his life at the climax of Avengers: Endgame. We'll see in the near future.
4 TRUE: BUCKY WILL APPEAR IN BLACK PANTHER
At the end of Captain America: Civil War, Captain America and Bucky were given refuge in Wakanda, where the people there were working on a way to free Bucky from Hydra's programming. With the release of Black Panther at the beginning of this year, many people believed that Bucky would turn up again in the film, perhaps alongside some other Avengers.
However, Black Panther proved to be T'Challa's film up until the very end. One of the post-credits scenes showed Shuri talking to Bucky about him being fixed. This was a direct tie to Avengers: Infinity War, where Bucky was living the life of a farmer.
3 FALSE: WAKANDA HAD THE SOUL STONE
There were plenty of Soul Stone theories back in the day. Because Black Panther was the last MCU movie before Avengers: Infinity War, many believed that Wakanda held the Soul Stone. After all, it was more technologically advanced than any other place in the world. Some speculated that was because the Soul Stone created it.
However, the movie came out, and not only was the Soul Stone not in Wakanda, it wasn't in the movie at all. The Soul Stone was instead used as a plot point in Avengers: Infinity War, as Thanos went on a journey to find it and throw his own daughter off of a cliff.
2 TRUE: THOR GETS A NEW WEAPON
Toy leaks were the bane of Avengers: Infinity War, and they brought up some of the most accurate rumors for the film. One rumor that sparked because of these toys was that Thor was going to get a new weapon. This was bolstered by the Russo Brothers stating that Thor would have some "radical transformation" in the film.
Despite shots in the trailer concealing the weapon, the rumors and leaks were accurate. Thor, with the help of Rocket and Groot, created the Stormbreaker ax, which granted him powers beyond even what his own father Odin had back in the day.
1 FALSE: HAWKEYE IN ANT-MAN AND THE WASP
One of the most notable absences in Avengers: Infinity War was Hawkeye. Despite bringing back everyone for that movie, Marvel didn't use Hawkeye or Ant-Man. This led some to believe that we would learn about Hawkeye in Ant-Man and the Wasp, considering that both characters were absent from in Infinity War for similar reasons.
However, Hawkeye did not appear in Avengers: Infinity War, meaning that his next appearance after Captain America: Civil War will be Avengers: Endgame. There are plenty of theories about what he's doing in that movie and why he changed his superhero identity, so we'll see about those next year.