Reports are saying Marvel’s planning on making a Dark Avengers movie for Phase Four of the MCU, and that’s got fans theorizing that some hints at the team of supervillains have already been dropped over the years. Kevin Feige’s always got a trick up his sleeve and likes to sow the seeds for future developments along the way, so it’s certainly possible, but let’s look at all the evidence and see what we think.
Reddit user Spider-Fan96 has laid out their thoughts on how the MCU has already set up the coming of the Dark Avengers. Specifically, Norman Osborn’s rise to power and the creation of his organization that replaces S.H.I.E.L.D. First of all, the theorist begins by repeating the common idea that Oscorp will purchase Avengers Tower, following its abandonment in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
The selling of the Iconic Avengers Tower has a lot of people speculating on what it could be. To me, its obvious that Norman Osborn is buying the Avengers Tower. I’ve heard the Baxter Building a lot but it doesn’t make sense to me. First, Marvel doesn’t even have the rights to the FF yet, so it wouldn’t make sense for them to plan for something that they don’t know for sure would happen at the moment. The second thing is that they established Avengers Tower being sold in a Spider-Man movie. What better way to establish one of Spidey’s Biggest Bads than in his own movie? But also, this time he’s different. This won’t be the same ol’ Norman were used to, he has bigger and better plans. Also the foreshadowing of Avengers Tower becoming the new home of the Dark Avengers.”
The next clue is less obvious to start with, but the fan makes a good case for why it could sow the seeds for the Dark Avengers by saying that the destruction of Asgard in Thor: Ragnarok could lead to an event that mirrors the Siege storyline from the comics.
“Next big clue is in Thor Ragnarok. It’s very obvious in this movie that they are attempting to bring Asgard to Earth. Now obviously the MCU is very different from the comics but in the Dark Avengers, Norman launches a Siege on Asgard to try and get them off Earth. Obv. we don’t know if this will happen in the MCU but it seems that they could be hinting towards that.”
The Redditor then looks to the future and suggests that, from what we know, Spider-Man: Far From Home could lay the path for Osborn and his Dark Avengers even more. Set photos have shown that Samuel L. Jackson and Cobie Smulders will be back as Nick Fury and Maria Hill in the sequel but, seeing as S.H.I.E.L.D. was shut down years ago, who are they working for? Could they have joined H.A.M.M.E.R.?
“Lastly (*Spoilers*) lets look at Spider-Man Far From Home. With all the leaks out of that movie and the return of Fury and Maria Hill, it seems like SHIELD is making a comeback. But we haven’t had any confirmation that SHIELD is returning. I think this could be a classic Marvel twist, with not SHIELD coming back, but H.A.M.M.E.R (not to be confused with Hammer Industries) In the Dark Avengers, Norman reforms SHIELD into a new organization called H.A.M.M.E.R. I think that would make a great twist for FFH, especially if Spidey is working for them. Having him unknowingly work for Norman would add a great twist to their relationship that we haven’t really seen before and definitely be a way to differentiate their relationship from the Sony Movies.”
These points certainly give us a lot of food for thought, but what do you think? Are the Dark Avengers really on the way? And has Marvel already planted seeds for them? Let us know in the comments section down below.