Why WandaVision's Aerospace Engineer Could Connect To Fantastic Four, Ironheart, or Others
In the latest episode of WandaVision, when Monica Rambeau is brainstorming how to construct a vehicle capable of breaching the barrier, she mentions someone that could help, saying that “I know an aerospace engineer who'd be up for this challenge.” While this is possibly a throwaway line, the episode goes out of its way to show Monica actually texting someone, presumably this aerospace engineer.
Although it should be made clear in some languages that while the identifying pronoun is indeed feminine, indicating that this engineer is a woman, in other languages, the masculine is used too. So, translations won't help narrow down the identity of this person, as the translators seemed to know just as much about the character's identity as the audience.
Could this engineer appear somewhere in the next four episodes or be name-dropped as the one who helped design the armored tank seen ramming Wanda's bubble in trailers?
ADAM BRASHEAR
Adam Brashear in the comics is a very old-timey superhero called Blue Marvel, having operated since the 60s before being shunned by the public for being black. On top of being a powerful hero of the people, Brashear is also a man of science.
In fact, he's one of the smartest characters in the Marvel universe, matching wits with the supervillain Doctor Doom. As for how he would connect to Monica Rambeau, he actually has a romantic relationship with her in the comics.
The two of them were even on a superhero team together called The Ultimates, which consisted of Carol Danvers, Black Panther, America Chavez, and, of course, Monica Rambeau and Adam Brashear. At this point, it would seem to be almost too good an opportunity to pass up for Marvel Studios not to have this team form in the MCU. There was actually a rumor in 2019 that Marvel Studios were looking to adapt this overpowered team of heroes.
All the pieces are there aside from Blue Marvel himself, and while T'Challa won't return, there will likely still be someone taking up the mantle of Wakanda's protector in Black Panther II. It would certainly be cool to see multiple teams aside from The Avengers being proactive in this ever-expanding universe.
TALOS' DAUGHTER
In Captain Marvel, one scene showed a young Monica connecting with Talos' daughter, telling her, “You have beautiful eyes. Don’t ever change your eyes.” Considering that Talos and Soren have been shown working with Nick Fury on Earth in Spider-Man: Far From Home, there's a good chance that their daughter could be on Earth too.
It was left ambiguous, but it seemed like at the end of Far From Home, Fury was stationed on an orbital station crewed by Skrulls. In WandaVision, it was stated that S.W.O.R.D. performed orbital missions, and that space station could have been one of their outposts. Monica even refers to their Skrull “allies” in the episode “We Interrupt This Program,” so Talos' daughter being properly introduced is entirely possible.
Especially if she ends up having a key role in Captain Marvel 2, which is rumored to be an adaptation of Secret Invasion, fans already have theories of Talos' daughter potentially being integral to this invasion. Some are even expecting her to turn out to be Veranke, the Skrull Queen in the comics who instigates the invasion of Earth.
ABIGAIL BRAND
With the proper introduction of S.W.O.R.D. in WandaVision, it's only a matter of time until the organization's most famous agent and director, Abigail Brand, appears in the MCU. Tyler Hayward made a point that he is only the acting Director of S.W.O.R.D., which opens the door for someone else to take his place. Hayward himself may not be totally trustworthy, especially after the latest episode.
Brand also has connections to other characters in the comics currently active in the MCU, such as Carol Danvers, who was put in charge of Alpha Flight, a low-orbit space station meant to act as the first line of defense against alien forces. Brand acted as second-in-command until Danvers resigned, and Brand took over for a short period.
The only thing holding this possibility back is that Brand isn't really a super genius on the same level as other characters in the comics. However, it wouldn't be the first time Marvel Studios changed characters when adapting them, such as making Jane Foster a scientist instead of an EMT doctor and giving Shuri the super genius intellect of T'Challa.
Regardless, Brand should be coming sooner rather than later, and the first hints of her arrival in the MCU could be helping S.W.O.R.D. break Wanda's hold on Westview.
HANK McCOY
If you're familiar with the X-Men films, you'll know that Hank McCoy was the one who built and designed the Blackbird. In the comics, McCoy's intellect is even greater than what was shown on film, actually having the honor of being one of the eight smartest people on the planet and an expert in multiple fields.
Additionally, McCoy actually has close ties to S.W.O.R.D. due to his romantic relationship with Abigail Brand in the comics. It's possible that before he experiments on himself in an attempt to cure his mutation, he's working at the secret organization as a scientist. It would certainly help trickle in references to the X-Men before making their full-blown debut within the next decade.
RIRI WILLIAMS
The character has already been cast, she has her own Disney+ show coming, and she's a genius in the comics that recreates and improves upon Tony Stark's greatest technological breakthrough! So, why is she second to last on the list? It simply has to do with her age.
Riri is more of an unlikely candidate as this mystery engineer because the way Monica spoke of this “aerospace engineer” was as if she had a personal, or at least professional, relationship with them to the point that she can casually text them. Monica was also gone for five years and only returned three weeks ago in 2023. In the comics, Riri Williams was 15-years old when she constructed her first Iron Man armor.
Just because the character's actress, Dominique Thorne, is in her twenties doesn't mean that she still isn't playing a teenager like Tom Holland. This would mean that either Monica had close ties to a pre-teen before being snapped, someone who was possibly just 11-years old, or that she pretty much instantly developed a relationship with Ms. Williams within the three weeks of returning.
It seems rather unlikely when put like that, but, who knows, maybe Riri was a famous child genius who worked with S.W.O.R.D. before Thanos came along.
REED RICHARDS
To be perfectly honest, Reed Richards is only being included since whenever an unnamed scientist in the MCU is even alluded to, everyone instantly jumps to Mr. Fantastic. Yes, it's true that he's a genius and deals with similar types of radiation that Darcy Lewis detected coming from Westview. However, what makes it less likely that this engineer is Richards is that WandaVision was in production far before development for Fantastic Four moved forward.
Kevin Feige probably wouldn't want to box in whoever came into Fantastic Four creatively when establishing them within the universe. The only other time that's actually happened was when the Russos introduced T'Challa before Ryan Coogler directed Black Panther. Not to mention that simply name-dropping such a huge character and essentially introducing him into the MCU through something so minor seems almost inappropriate.
Whoever ends up being this aerospace engineer, it's apparent that they're likely to be brought back in WandaVision. Many fans would certainly have egg on their face, including me, if this character ends up being inconsequential or an original character like Darcy Lewis.
No comments: