8 Potential MCU Connections
Ever since Marvel began to branch out from films to television and then Netflix many fans have been anxious for them to live up to their name and connect the different products. In the early days of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D Marvel often made significant connections between the show and the films with episodes that directly dealt with the fallout of the films right up to Avengers Age of Ultron. At one point Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D even got a cameo from Nick Fury himself, Samuel L. Jackson, which further strengthened the bond of the show to the films. However in recent seasons those connections have become much less significant and a lot more scarce. Many fans have wondered how so much of the Marvel Cinematic Universe can take place in New York and certain characters not interact or cross paths. I for one have asked the question how Netflix’s Luke Cage could cause such a ruckus in the streets of Harlem and not draw the attention of both the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D? For years now fans have gotten the run around in terms of answers on if the Netflix, TV, and film content will ever cross paths again and if so just how significant will the connections be. Many of us would love to see characters from the Defenders interacting with characters on the Avengers and the cast of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D as a means of not just seeing our favorite characters together but also strengthening the cohesiveness of the MCU. With the upcoming introduction of the Inhumans who debuted on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D the question of connections once again arises. Will the Inhumans royal family appear on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D? Will Coulson’s team or at the least Daisy Johnson appear on The Inhumans? Will the Avengers actually take notice of the Inhuman presence on Earth and address it? I don’t have the answer to these questions, but I do have a few simple and easy ways to connect the different content within the MCU.
Misty Knight and Mack are Cousins
In the comics we know that Misty Knight is an upcoming NYPD officer who was severely injured attempting to stop a bomb attack which resulted in the amputation of her right arm. Misty was eventually given a mechanical arm by Marvel’s cash cow Tony Stark. In episode 11 “Now You’re Mine” of the Luke Cage Netflix series Marvel teases fans with the possibility of Misty losing her arm when she is shot in the arm and looses a large amount of blood. Misty of course gets medical attention before it’s too late and she of course keeps her arm, but the possibility is still there. However if Misty is ever to actually lose her arm and have it replaced who would do it? In the MCU Tony and Misty have no connection to each other so why would Tony give this random NYPD detective a new arm? So the way to avoid this entire thing….make Misty and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D‘S Mack related. Imagine a scenario where Misty loses her arm and her closest living relative is contact and we find out that relative is none other than Mack. Mack in an attempt to help his cousin out asks if Fitz would be willing to create her an arm similar to Coulson’s hand. This would be a simple and easy connection between the Netflix and ABC content.
Vulture, Scorpion, and Kingpin are prison buddies
Spiderman-Homecoming spoiler Alert: During the midcredits scene of Spider-Man Homecoming we see that Adrian Toomes has been sent to prison and while being walked in he encounters none other than Mac Gargan played by Michael Mando. The two have a quick exchange about figuring out Spider-Man’s secret identity and Gargan hints at having friends outside who’d love to pay him a visit. During the course of this scene we don’t see which prison the two men are in, but could it be possible that the two are being held in the same facility as the Kingpin himself Wilson Fisk? Spider-Man and Kingpin have quite a bit of history and since Spider-Man’s introduction into the MCU fans have wanted to see the two interact and go head to head. Well one of the best ways to put the web-slinger and the Kingpin in direct contention with each other is by making Wilson Fisk the person who funds and organizes the Sinister Six as his personal crime flunkies.
Justin Hammer upgrades the Sinister Six
Since The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Sony has been eager to attempt a Sinister Six based movie going so far as to essentially gear the entire film towards setting up the characters and the tech. Even after a 3rd film in the series was canceled Sony still had plans for a Sinister Six film. Spider-Man Homecoming Spoiler Alert: The midcredits scene from Spider-Man Homecoming shows that its clear Sony still has every intention of trying to get the Sinister Six on the big screen. The Sinister Six are going to appear at some point anyway so why not use this as an opportunity to not only strengthen the ties between Sony and Marvel, but to also bring back a cool character from Iron Man 2….Justin Hammer. The MCU is notoriously Tony Stark heavy and almost every aspect of the MCU is tied to him somehow so maybe its time we let someone else have some scientific fun. I’d love to see Justin Hammer ,who was played by the insanely talented Sam Rockwell, reintroduced into the MCU as the person the Kingpin hires to upgrade the Sinister Six’s costumes and tech.
The First Sorcerer Supreme is from K’un L’un
In the Doctor Strange film we learn that the creator of magic, founder of the Masters of The Mystic Arts, and the first Sorcerer Supreme was Agamotto. The film does not offer us much on the life or history of the character which we may very well find out more in sequels, but for now its a blank slate. In the comics Agamotto is the product of one of the Elder Goddess Oshtur’s tears. Oshtur is known to take interest in the worlds beyond Earth and to travel this and many other universes. One day while traveling she was so emotionally moved by children playing that she she’d a single tear, this tear would manifest into Agamotto. While many fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are in no way fans of the Iron Fist Netflix series that doesn’t change the fact that the show holds a lot of potential in terms of concepts for the MCU. Wouldn’t it be interesting if in the Doctor Strange sequel we find out that during her travels Oshtur she came to K’un L’un and she was so moved by what she saw that she shed the tear that would become Agamotto?
The Mandarin’s Rings are from Kamar-Taj
In Iron Man 3 fans found out that Sir Ben Kingsley wasn’t the real Mandarin, but the real villain was instead actually being played by Guy Pearce. It was later shown in the Marvel One-Shot All Hail the King that the rabbit hole actually ran deeper than anyone thought. It’s revealed that Trevor had offended the real Mandarin by impersonating him. Ever since then fans have been clamoring and hoping that someday we get a glimpse at the real Mandarin in the hope that he is more like the traditional incarnation of the character. Wouldn’t it be interesting if when we finally meet the Mandarin we see him or her wearing the traditional 10 rings and we find out that instead of alien tech they are magical artifacts stolen from Kamar-Taj? Kamar-Taj is of course the home and training grounds for the Masters of the Mystic Arts in Doctor Strange.
Aaron Davis used to work for Cottonmouth
Spider-Man Homecoming Spoiler Alert: In Spider-Man Homecoming we find out that Donald Glover’s character is none other than Aaron “Prowler” Davis, the uncle of everyone’s favorite Afro-Latino wall crawler, Miles Morales. In the film we find out that Aaron’s criminal background is still intact and he even gives mention of his nephew. In the Luke Cage Netflix series we learn that Cottonmouth has a pretty large criminal organization so would it be so far-fetched to believe that prior to his death Aaron Davis may have worked for him? It’s also entirely possible that if he did work for Cottonmouth he may have left his organization once he was murdered and the keys to the kingdom were handed over to Black Mariah Dillard. This would be a simple connection that could tie Luke Cage to Miles Morales whenever he finally appears on-screen in the MCU.
The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D paid Luke Cage a visit
In the season finale of Netflix’s Luke Cage we see Luke squaring up in the streets of Harlem with his brother Diamondback. It’s a superpowered fist fight that inevitably drew the attention of not just the nearby Harlem residents but also the news. There is absolutely no way that a superpowerd being like Luke could have a fist fight in the streets on national television and not draw the attention of not just S.H.I.E.L.D, but also the Avengers. Someone from Tony to Fury, Coulson, or Daisy would have had to either inquire about Luke or show up to Seagate prison in person to talk to him about his powers. So why not make it an encounter mentioned in passing? Why not have someone on the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D show mention going to Seagate to recruit Luke or even showing off the footage of his fight in the background? We know the Judas bullets from the series were mentioned on the show randomly so you may as well just mention Luke as well.
The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D know about everyone
Since the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe S.H.I.E.L.D has played a huge part in the binding and bringing together of this entire universe. It was Fury and Coulson who scouted and recruited the many different candidates of the Avengers Initiative. It was Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury cameo at the end of the first Iron Man movie that kicked this entire universe off into what we know today as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. S.H.I.E.L.D for all of its faults has always remained one of the top intelligence agencies especially when it comes to powered individuals. As an intelligence agency wouldn’t it make sense for S.H.I.E.L.D to know about the Spider-Mans, Luke Cages, Daredevils, Ant-Mans, and Doctor Stranges? I’m not saying any of the actors have to make full-blown cameos on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, but it would be nice to see little easter eggs like footage of the heroes playing in the background on one of the monitors. It would be nice to see files for these characters on someones desk or to see Mack and Fitz showing each other cool footage of the newest enhanced individual. We know Spider-Man has footage on Youtube…so why not let the Agents watch it? It would be the quickest and easiest way to establish the most minimal connection between the Netflix series, the TV content, and the films without having to pay actors an arm and a leg to appear for 30 seconds on-screen.
