From the blog Super Connectivity
by Charlie Esser for the Nuff Said Podcast
Today I want to get a little fan-ficy and explore some concepts that struck me recently, but I hope you enjoy the journey along with me. As always there is the possibility that something I say could spoil something you haven’t yet read or seen yet, so read with caution.
When we talk about connections it’s important to remember that when looking at works inspired by other works there can be connections in other works that may or may not continue on into the current work.
As an example, Carl Crusher Creel will be joining the MCU this fall as a villain in Marvel’s: Agents of SHIELD. Now, for those not in the know, Crusher gained his powers when Loki essentially spiked his water because he seemed like just the sort of Berserker to pick a fight with Thor immediately upon gaining super powers.
No really, he slipped him a super powered Mickey.
Now, does this mean the invisible hand of Loki will be involved in Crusher’s creation? It’s hard to say, but this sort of thing is exactly what I suspect Loki has been doing for decades. Coming to earth, unseen and causing Mischief in typical trickster god fashion. You might have noticed that when Loki comes to Earth, he wears normal earth clothing, not Asgardian garb like everyone else. I personally think that is because he has been to Midgard more often than we know, and even when unseen, he prefers not to wear “mother’s drapes” as Tony Stark might quip.
Regardless of whether or not my fan theories prove closer to or further from the truth, the reality is just having Crusher Creel in the story doesn’t mean either that we will get an Asgardian cross over, let alone the Absorbing man. The powers that are creating this story can use anything to create it, but at the same time, the possibility is there to have an Asgardian tie in the writes see fit.
So as we ask, what is possible for the Marvel Cinematic Universe we can look at what has been presented in the comics, we can look for clues in the films themselves, but we can also look at the mythos on which those original comics were based as well.
Loki, Thor, and Odin all exist in a separate literature, and in the public domain. This is why when you look up films on Netflix for Thor and Loki, nothing from the MCU is likely to show up.
Pictured above not actually Chris Hemsworth
So what is the mythos of Asgard, and how might that play into the greater mythos being created in the MCU?
Firstly, Asgard is a magical place. No really, it is a place of Magic, which exists in its own dimension where the laws of physics are quite different. It is a place where neighboring giants and trolls and dwarves gallivant about making peace and war as the mood strikes with the Asgardians.
That magical place, as all magical places is in time doomed. Something about myth, as humans end, so too do we want our legends to end as well, and the more magical place the more spectacular the final battle must be. Ragnarok is Asgard’s last stand, featuring the death of Thor, the Death of Balder the Brave, and the end of all things, as well as (because we do like happy endings) a new beginning for man, Midgard, Asgard and the Asgardians.
But before that dark day should come, Odin sought to find a way to delay it as far as he could into the future. And so he went to the Norns and traded his eye so that he might have the gift of prophecy and learn to turn the tide of the future.
The gift of Odin’s eye is a particularly powerful symbolic image, the loss of vision in exchange for greater sight, but how might this story play out in the MCU.
There are six infinity stones in the comics and in the MCU. Each Stone has a particular aspect, Space, Soul, Mind, Reality, Power, and Time. The Space stone (The Tesseract) we know was once in Odin’s Treasure Room, the Power Stone (The Aether) was held by the Dark Elves and is now in the possession of the Collector, The Mind Stone was once Thanos’ and is now in the hands of Hydra (theoretically this is the stone in Loki’s scepter) and the Soul Gem Called the Orb is currently held by the Nova Corps. This leaves Reality and Time. I suspect that Thanos holds at least one of these. If his only stone was the Mind Stone which he lost to Loki, he likely would not be as feared as he is. As to which stone, we can only speculate, but I think it must be the reality stone because of the Norse Myth we previously discussed.
You see, If Odin Traded his eye for Knowledge of the future, it might just be that knowledge came from the Time Stone. We know that ancient and powerful beings held the stones, some even tried to share the power of them (shades of the Illuminati, perhaps an ancient version in which Odin might well have been a member) and we know that at one time Odin held the Tesseract, which he used to build the Rainbow Bridge, and to unite the 9 Worlds under his rule. But with peace, comes worry, for all kingdoms fall in time, and the only thing that can give a King true power is wisdom. So Odin goes to the Norns, three Magical Women who know the past, hold the present, and see the future, and asks them for the power of their knowledge so that he might protect his kingdom for as long as possible. These three ancient and powerful beings agree to trade Odin this power, the power of the Time stone, in exchange for something, represented in this magical exchange by his eye.
With the time Stone with Odin he cannot keep the Tesseract in Asgard, for to keep two stones so close together would too dangerous, and no other great being can be trusted with a stone to protect without the temptation to bring them all together. So Odin goes to the simple beings of earth, whose powers are few, but whose courage and cleverness is great, and trusts them to hide his stone, perhaps even asking that it be kept from his own eyes to see, (his wife Frigga could cast such a spell, a spell perhaps she later shows to her beloved son Loki as well).
This is important, if this theory plays out, as then all six stones can be accounted for (something we need to have occur by Avengers 3 I would imagine) And so, In Thor 3, perhaps leading up the our Final Infinity War in Avengers 3, all the pieces can be put in place.
Loki’s Masters of Evil including Lorelei (who was to be taken alive) and Crusher Creel are in place to serve as fodder against the Avengers and perhaps the Guardians of the Galaxy, As Loki collects the stones he has placed in plain sight and which he alone knows how to retrieve, leaving only the Time Stone to complete the puzzle. For which however he must find where Odin hid it. Imagine his difficulty at the realization that it is hidden within Odin’s covered eye.
It is just speculation, but as it all connects throughout every piece of the MCU, we shouldn’t be afraid to ask, what is the next step, and where it all leads, and as always, What If?