We are in the multiverse now!
This film will perhaps be as important as ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Avengers: Endgame’. Imagine the mayhem now that the multiverse is set in motion
Spoiler alert!
The multiverse has officially begun.
We already know that Wanda will appear in 'Doctor Strange in the multiverse of madness'. After the exceptional projection of Wanda's power in her series 'Wanda Vision', we did not think that one of the most powerful Avengers would just retire to a cottage, right?
The Scarlet Witch is yet to show what she is capable of.
We got a glimpse of the multiverse during the post-credit scenes of 'Wanda Vision'. Just when we started to sympathise with her loss and sacrifice, watching her living on her own, Scarlet Witch hears her son's voice.
We wondered how that happened. But what does the multiverse have anything to do with that? If so, how did it begin?
Remember how 'He who remains' - the creator of the TVA, also known as Kang, the conqueror-variant version in the comics, gives a 3D summary of what he knows, which century he is from, and gives Loki and Sylvie a briefing about his dangerous variants? Yes, he was not lying. He warned them about what killing him would result in.
Nevertheless, Sylvie kills him anyway because that has always been her mission. And at that very moment, we see infinite timelines emerging.
That is what caused everything we were confused about (including the question we have had over the years about why there are three different Spider-Man movie protagonists).
The moment the timeline spreads out its limbs towards the endless other universes and timelines, it merges with every reality - including Wanda's.
It is the same time Wanda is seen in a cottage in her Scarlet Witch avatar, practicing how far her power can take her.
Suddenly she hears her son, which seemed confusing as the power she held over Westview was withdrawn. Billy and Tommy were gone, so was Vision. But now it makes sense knowing what had possibly happened in that scene.
See, MCU always has an explanation for you.
Wanda said, "You know, a family is forever," when she and Vision put Tommy and Billy to bed, it was a hint that maybe it is forever. Perhaps they exist in another timeline.
But is that it? Is that the only connection you think Marvel has with the multiverse? Not really.
Now that all the pieces of the puzzle are forming the picture, we can assume that Wanda and Doctor Strange may be time traveling a lot in 'Doctor Strange in the multiverse of madness'.
Wanda's reason to desperately travel is to find her children and Vision through any means possible.
On the other hand, Dr Stephen Strange will have a bigger mission. Being the keeper of the Time Stone, his work has been made more complicated.
It is basically the repercussions of 'He who remains' being dead. Not to forget Baron Mordo, who will add up to Strange's work.
Dr Strange will have to figure out if he has to only protect his timeline or the other ones as well. As suggested by one of the synopses of the film, Strange will be seen researching the Time Stone's abilities and powers.
This film will perhaps be as important as 'Avengers: Infinity War' and 'Avengers: Endgame'. Imagine the mayhem now that the multiverse is set in motion!
Coming back to the ending scene of the sixth episode of Loki from the first season, we saw Loki getting this expressive and vulnerable for the first time.
Although, his sentiments towards Thor were seen in 'Avengers: Infinity War' when he attempted to kill Thanos, but he dies instead.
This time, we not only see him being vulnerable, but it is clear that he has feelings for Sylvie. His voice cracks as he was seen to genuinely want Sylvie to be happy.
Always misunderstood to be the trickster, liar, and unworthy of trust, Loki's efforts fail as Sylvie made up her mind to kill 'He who remains' aka Kang's variant for ruining her childhood.
Killing Kang's variant had a major role to play in opening the door to infinite other timelines. However, even before getting betrayed by Sylvie, as Loki tries to convince her, Kang's variant tries to warn them, saying, "Better hurry. Timeline is already branching."
Thus, even before Sylvie kills him, she unknowingly sends Loki back to the TVA but it is not the one we have known throughout the series.
The timeline that was already branching was perhaps the real Kang's timeline and Loki ends up in Kang's kingdom. That also explains why Mobius did not recognize him.
Coming back to the consequences of Sylvie's action, 'He who remains' warns that his other variants are cruel and worse than he seems.
He warned that he was the only one trying to prevent the multiverse war from happening and if one of his variants does not take control to keep everything in order, there is no going back (Hint- 'Spider-Man: No way home').
We can easily say now that Thanos was not the bigger threat; Kang and the other variants will bring more chaos.
Speaking of Thanos, 'Avengers: Endgame' also contributed to the multiverse when Captain America goes back to return the stones.
In the ending scene, we find him slow dancing with the love of his life - Peggy Carter.
In the scene before that, when Captain America returns to his original old form, we are indicated that he is married. But did he marry Peggy? We do not know.
Even if he did, keeping in mind, she was already married and Steve Rogers does not seem like the character who will be a third person in a marriage. So, which timeline did he go to?
Getting back to the movies, we will get to phase four as outcomes of the multiverse.
'Spider-Man: No way home' (2021) is one of them and the name of the film itself suggests the disastrous aftermath of the timelines being out of order. It is also expected to be the biggest Spider-Man movie to have ever been made.
The rumors are that Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield will all appear together in this film. If that happens, the audience will feel the same sentiments as they did when Loki met his variants after getting pruned.
Marvel has, however, confirmed that the villain variants from the other Spider-Man movies - Doctor Octopus and Electro - will be a part of this film as a result of the timeline's branches.
Previously, we got a hint of a parallel universe when Mysterio, Jake Gyllenhal's character, jokes with Peter Parker in 'Spider-Man: Far from home', claiming to be from another universe. It seems now that may have not been a joke after all.
Was it probably a teaser?
In the upcoming- 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania', we will get to see Kang as the villain. However, it may not have a direct connection with the multiverse.
But the next series that will have a huge and direct connection with the multiverse is the anthology series 'What If…?'- coming out on 11 August.
'What If…?' is confirmed to show the various timelines of the multiverse. According to the director of the series, everything in it is a result of Loki's ending and is connected with the rest of the MCU.
As Sylvie unleashed the multiverse by killing 'He who remains', her deed is the key that will be contributing to the many scenarios of this series.
A teaser of the first episode of 'What If…?' shows Captain America returning and Peggy Carter as a super-soldier.
It is also confirmed that many characters that will be introduced in this anthology will also appear in future MCU films, which makes this series truly a crucial part of the multiverse.
So, thank you, Sylvie - am I right?
Marvel continues to serve with its incredible bits of teasers as post-credits, giving us part by part to connect.
What else are they going to release? Is that all? Or do they have much more in store for us as the after-effects of the broken timeline?