Credit: Marvel StudiosThe new The Marvels trailer is showing long-time Marvel fans something rather harrowing. The real question here is, “why”?
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Since the release of the surprise blockbuster hit Iron Man in 2008, The Walt Disney Company’s Marvel Studios machine, has not stopped churning. Kevin Feige, the President of Marvel Studios, has meticulously crafted the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a superhero franchise that has been expanding ever since. The overwhelming positive response to Robert Downey Jr.’s portrayal of the Tony Stark/Iron Man, based on the popular Marvel Comics, paved the way for the popular “cinematic universe formula” where characters from different movies exist in a shared universe.
This culminated in the 2012 Joss Whedon-directed film The Avengers, where Iron Man, played by Downey Jr., is joined by Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers/Captain America, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor Odinson, Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton/Hawkeye, and Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner/the Incredible Hulk, all coming together under the leadership of Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury to confront an alien threat to Earth in the form of Tom Hiddleston’s Loki Laufeyson/Loki Odinson.
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Following the release of Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), directed by the Russo Brothers, Anthony and Joe Russo, the future of the original six Avengers was uncertain, as the films seemed to all but eliminate their continued presence in the MCU. Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man made an epic sacrifice to defeat Thanos (Josh Brolin), effectively ridding the universe of the villain. Although there has been much discussion about his return, Iron Man has been notably absent from the MCU since his heroic act.
But now, it appears that key elements that remind us of Marvel Studios’ past are being potentially actively erased.
What is missing from Ms. Marvel?
The upcoming Captain Marvel (2018) sequel The Marvels (2023) directed by Nia DaCosta, has been reshuffled within Marvel Studios’ Phase Five and delayed to debut November 10, 2023. The Marvels film centers around Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) as she takes on the role of Captain Marvel once again. She teams up with Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), the daughter of Danvers’ late best friend Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch), as well as Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), also known as Ms. Marvel, introduced in . Together, they aim to stop Zawe Ashton’s unnamed villain from achieving her goals.
With the reveal of the new The Marvels trailer, it appears that some eagle-eyed Marvel fans have noticed something rather glaring that is missing from the well-documented New York City skyline within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The original six Avengers had taken over Tony Stark’s famous Stark Tower after Tony had converted the building into Avengers Tower — an icon that’s been a marker of the Avengers team for over a decade. After Stark’s demise at the end of Endgame, it was apparently sold to a currently unknown buyer in-universe — but the Avengers Tower being missing is causing debate within MCU fan circles.
On Twitter, Dakota of Geekritique spotted the issue in The Marvels trailer with an accompanying image highlighting its absence from NYC. The keen-eyed fan laments how it continues to be missing, and notes how “insane” is it that 25 Marvel projects have passed since Spider-Man: Homecoming — in which Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan notably packs Stark tech off the Tower and seemingly vacates the premises:
Avengers Tower remains missing in THE MARVELS trailer. Insane that 25 projects have now come and gone since Homecoming and we still have no update on who bought it.
Avengers Tower remains missing in THE MARVELS trailer. Insane that 25 projects have now come and gone since Homecoming and we still have no update on who bought it. pic.twitter.com/noDLCzxnJg
— Dakota, Forensic Chronologist (@geekritique_dak) April 11, 2023
Another fan, Scott Henry, points out how it seems as if Marvel have just “put it in a different spot” — but Dakota fires back with a rebuttal:
Scott Henry: I think they’ve put it in a different spot. 😬
Dakota: I can see the confusion, but this isn’t Avengers Tower. This is 30 Hudson Yards.
I can see the confusion, but this isn’t Avengers Tower. This is 30 Hudson Yards.
— Dakota, Forensic Chronologist (@geekritique_dak) April 11, 2023
Many Marvel fans are commenting on the lack of Avengers representation in the MCU, including Ben Johnson who comments on the appalling in-canon shift from Avengers Tower to Avengers Campus:
Ben Johnson: It’s still so weird to me that they established this incredible famous headquarters from the comics and then just scrapped it a handful of movies later in favor of a very generic looking box of a building.
Dakota: And then subsequently destroy that box a few films later.
And then subsequently destroy that box a few films later.
— Dakota, Forensic Chronologist (@geekritique_dak) April 11, 2023
While others posit theories as to why it continues to be missing from modern Marvel projects, like user Ryan Paul stating it was deliberately edited out:
Ryan Paul: Prolly could’ve been edited out.
Dakota: Or more likely it hasn’t been edited in. Whenever the skyline is featured in recent years, it’s been absent.
Or more likely it hasn’t been edited in. Whenever the skyline is featured in recent years, it’s been absent.
— Dakota, Forensic Chronologist (@geekritique_dak) April 11, 2023
Zech Tyler is convinced Marvel Studios will either make the Avengers Tower debacle into a huge deal — or ignore it completely:
It’s either going to be a massive reveal or it’ll never happen. It’s nothing in between
It’s either going to be a massive reveal or it’ll never happen. It’s nothing in between
— Zech Tyler |♿️| #WeThe15 (@zechmix) April 11, 2023
Meanwhile, Frank Jones puts forward another interesting theory — and this time it ties into Marvel Studios’ upcoming Daredevil: Born Again and Echo — both highly anticipated TV series debuting this year that explore the more “street-level” teams of the Marvel superhero world. Jones hints at a deliberate action by Marvel to establish the fan-favorite villain, the Kingpin/Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) character from Netflix Marvel’s Daredevil (2015), rumored to be running for mayor in these future releases:
A certain big bald guy might have bought it
I heard he might be running for Mayor
A certain big bald guy might have bought it
I heard he might be running for Mayor
— Frank Jones 〄 #DaisyLives (@FJLightning007) April 11, 2023
Either way, it’s definitely a shame to see the legacy of the original Avengers has been simply erased like that. One would think that the tower would become a historical site of great cultural significance, and potentially stopped from being destroyed or heavily tampered with by at least some world governments, if not the public. But alas — it seems as if we will have to wait to hear real confirmation on this from Marvel themselves. Perhaps this fan scrutiny will result in more carefully chosen shots from Marvel Studios going forward.
What do you think about this key element of Avengers lore being erased from MCU history? Share your thoughts in the comments below!