Marvel's Lingering Questions: What Happened to the Council of Kangs?

Key Points:

• Marvel Studios is addressing long-standing questions in the MCU.
• The fate of the Council of Kangs and their storyline remains uncertain.
• Numerous unresolved post-credit scenes since Avengers: Endgame.
• The Eternals' fate and connections to celestial beings are still in question.
• The role of Doctor Doom is expected to be significant moving forward.

Welcome back to New Rock Stars! I'm Eric Boss, and Marvel Studios has a big year ahead—three films and several Disney Plus streaming titles. So the pressure is on to answer the MCU's longest lingering questions. It's so intense that they are basically setting the fourth Captain America film around their biggest unanswered question, calling it Celestial Island. However, there are at least 30 other questions that the studio might never answer.

So, in what's now a holiday tradition over three years in the making, let's go through all of these lingering questions and do our best to answer them, even if that answer is, "Alright, possibly never answered."

Question number one: What happened to the Council of Kangs? Did Marvel abandon the Kang storyline?
Yes! The mid-credit scene of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania showed a full Council of Kangs with a variety of different Kangs, including Pharoah Ramut, Scarlet Centurion, and Immortus, all in an arena. It was meant to set up what would be happening ahead in what was then known as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. However, with Jonathan Majors' legal drama, Marvel Studios decided to pivot away from the Kang character back to Doctor Doom, who is the villain of the Jonathan Hickman 2015 Secret War storyline.

However, I do not think Marvel Studios did or really should fully abandon what they had planned for the Kang storyline—specifically, the idea of anchor beings or Owen Reece (Molecule Man). The fact that every universe has an anchor being, who would be kind of like a doomsday trigger for that universe, is key. They only need to establish that the anchor being of the 616 MCU is Victor Timely.

All this is to say that there is a full story out there of the Council of Kangs and timeline manipulators that could still be intact from the logic of the Loki series. They really just have to establish that Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom could be someone who basically overthrew whatever that empire was and that all these different Kangs had already done things to entangle the multiverse, with Doctor Doom raising through all of it. So rather than make it Kang Prime who would be doing that, they could just make it God Emperor Doom.

Question two: Every post-credit scene since Endgame—someone here is generalizing that all of the post-credit scenes we've seen since Avengers: Endgame have been unresolved.

It's somewhat true, but let's go through every post-credit scene literally since Avengers: Endgame, starting with 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home. We had a mid-credit scene in which Peter Parker was being outed by J. Jonah Jameson, played by JK Simmons, on the news media. Then we had a post-credit scene in which we met two Skrulls who were filling in for Nick Fury and Maria Hill while Fury was on a Skrull space station. Both of these were resolved in the mid-credit scene of Spider-Man: No Way Home and the post-credit scene, arguably, in The Marvels.

Black Widow’s post-credit scene showed Val meeting Yelena at Natasha’s grave, which was resolved in Hawkeye. The Shang-Chi post-credit scene featured Shang-Chi and Katy meeting Wong, and then Carol Danvers and Bruce Banner examining the Ten Rings, which have been unresolved.

The Eternals had a mid-credit scene showing Harry Styles as Eros (aka Starfox) and then a post-credit scene with Dane Whitman meeting Mahershala Ali's Blade—both unresolved. We don't know if we'll ever see Harry Styles as Eros again, and with the Blade movie going through several rounds of development, we still don't know if a Blade movie is going to happen.

The No Way Home post-credit scene showed Eddie Brock (Venom) at a bar in Mexico, which was resolved, but not in the MCU—rather in Venom 2. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness had a post-credit scene of Strange with Clea going into the Dark Dimension, which has been unresolved and I assume will be explored in Avengers: Doomsday.

Thor: Love and Thunder showed Hercules going after Thor, which has been unresolved. There was a deleted scene from Loki Season 2 that implied Loki knew Hercules. Wakanda Forever had a post-credit scene introducing T’Challa’s son, Toussaint. I would say this is unresolved, but I don't know if Ryan Coogler intended that to set up an exact future.

However, Deadline is reporting that Black Panther 3 is happening, and we know that Denzel Washington is going to be in that movie. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania—of course, the Council of Kangs is completely unresolved.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 had a mid-credit scene with a new Guardians of the Galaxy lineup, including Alpha Groot, but we have not resolved that. Peter Quill is returning to Missouri, but we did get confirmation that Star-Lord will return, so that has been unresolved.

The Marvels showed Monica Rambeau meeting an alternate universe version of her mother as Binary, along with Kelsey Grammer as Beast, which has also been unresolved, and I assume will be addressed in Avengers: Doomsday.

Finally, Deadpool and Wolverine had a jokey post-credit scene of Deadpool replaying Johnny Storm's rant but also showed footage of Gambit still alive in the void, and then a deleted scene showed Gambit being rescued by someone through a Sling Ring portal. Based on the studio's eagerness to explore Channing Tatum's Gambit, a future title could get resolved in Doomsday. So, I think so far we’re okay to say that the answer to most of the unresolved questions is just going to be Doomsday for now.

Question three: What happened to the Eternals?

The Eternals film ended with Cersei, Kingo, and Phastos being taken away for judgment by the celestial named Arishem. Meanwhile, the others meet Starfox as they plan to help them. Supposedly, that trial is still ongoing. Marvel Studios seems to be moving away from plans for a second Eternals film, especially with the executive producer of that film, Nate Moore, leaving the studio.

On a more lore-driven question of the MCU—are celestials gods? And how are celestials and gods related? The answer to this question is more religious: how do you define a god? Something that creates your universe? Or like a spiritual overseer who protects and guides you?

The celestials, according to Marvel lore, are the creators of all the planets and heavens, but they are not the same as the gods that the sentient beings of these societies pray to and aspire to be like. Based on Omnipotent City logic and Thor: Love and Thunder, it seems like every spiritual belief system has a representative in that Congress, something manifested out of people's belief in them.

However, two celestials were seen in the background of Omnipotent City, so there may be some societies that worship celestials, in addition to them being the physical creators of all these worlds.

Question five: Did Thanos know he was delaying the emergence of many celestials with the snap? Did he do it on purpose?

This is a question connecting the dots based on Thanos's actions. We still don't know if Thanos was intentionally trying to delay the emergence or to pull a fast one on the celestials. Thanos was an Eternal in the hierarchy of beings in the MCU, and he and his brother Eros were Eternals of the planet Titan. We do not know if they had a similar relationship to the celestials that the Earthbound Eternals had with Tiamut and Arishem.

However, I think it's a compelling argument that Thanos might have done his actions out of some fear of the celestials or perhaps just to flip off Galactus.

Question six: What's going on with President Ritson's war against extraterrestrials on Earth, including the Skrulls?

This was established at the end of Secret Invasion based on the president in Captain America: Brave New World, being President Ross. I don't think they're going to address that at all; I think most of the loose ends from Secret Invasion will be left unresolved.

Question seven: How did Rocket and Nebula get Bucky’s arm? How does Bucky get it back?

This comes from the Guardians of the Galaxy holiday special from 2022, in which Nebula gave Rocket Bucky's arm as a Christmas gift to pay off his long-desired wish for this arm he mentioned in Infinity War.

James Gunn never really gave an answer as to how Nebula got the arm but implied she must have gone to Earth at some point. It was suggested that James Gunn might have done this as a bit of payback for Marvel Studios changing some canon details about the Guardians of the Galaxy.

In Thunderbolts, we see Bucky has that vibranium arm back—there's a trailer shot showing it in the dishwasher. I do not suspect Thunderbolts will address the Nebula-Rocket detail at all, as I believe there is a division between the people who make these films regarding random things that happened on Disney Plus.

Question eight: Did Cap return the stones just like that, or did he have interactions, like with Red Skull, who is the reason he was frozen in time for so long?

This is a question everyone's been asking since Avengers: Endgame. When Captain America, Steve Rogers, went back in time to return all the stones, was it that easy? The Russo Brothers and the screenwriters haven’t really had an answer, but the actor who played Red Skull was once asked in 2020 about how he thinks Red Skull would have reacted.

I find it interesting that Nebula in Endgame described Vormir as a domain of death at the center of celestial existence. If it is a domain of death, it makes me wonder if Aubrey Plaza's death from Agatha All Along might have had something to do with that return exchange. Steve Rogers might have had to promise to end his life at a specific point, and that's why he's old when we see him at the end of Endgame—maybe that was part of his promise to death, making it okay to return the Soul Stone to its original place.

So yes, there probably was a very interesting conversation between Johann Schmidt and Steve Rogers there.

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Question nine: How did Steve get the additional shield at the end of Avengers: Endgame?

This touches on whether Steve Rogers, when he goes back to Peggy Carter, stays in the 1940s of the main 616 sacred timeline and just lives in the background of it. If that’s the case, it would be hard for him to get a shield.

The Russo Brothers included this detail because they believe he was living his life in an alternate timeline. Starting in 1947 or whatever, he lived in that alternate timeline, met another Tony Stark, interacted with the people of Wakanda, and perhaps, in this alternate universe, the Marvel heroes collaborated and shared resources. He could have gotten a proto-adamantium shield and even known Wolverine and Reed Richards.

We might even answer this in Avengers: Doomsday, as I made a video speculating that Old Man Steve Rogers returns to the lake in Avengers: Endgame to give Sam Wilson this specific shield from another universe so that Sam would have a fighting chance in this upcoming incursion conflict.

Question ten: What are the Ten Rings and the Bangles, and what do they have to do with each other?

I think you're still kind of answering the question here. The Ten Rings and the Bangles might have a shared history. When I interviewed Iman Vellani almost a year ago, she implied that the Bangles might relate to the character of Eon and that the one on the moon was buried in Eon's grave.

I think initially they were going to tie in with Kang and his tech. Now, I think these are just kind of like Quantum Tech from some advanced universe, possibly connected to Victor Von Doom technology, something that can breach the rifts in reality. Both items might be relics that Doctor Doom is trying to acquire, but that exist in this universe as weapons which can be used against Doctor Doom's technology.

Question eleven: What happened to Scorpion from Spider-Man: Homecoming?

Hey, good question, especially since Sony doesn't seem to know what they're doing with their side of the Marvel Universe. I don't expect we will ever see Matt Gargan from that film again.

Question twelve: What was the Wolverine reference in She-Hulk all about?

You’re referring to a random little jokey headline on the side of a webpage that said, “man with metal claws fights in bar brawl.” I think this was simply a reference to Wolverine; however, I believe it was just an Easter egg for an Easter egg’s sake and not meant to reference an actual Wolverine with adamantium claws somewhere in the MCU.

I mention this because there were many goofy things in the art for She-Hulk, and I think this is one of them.

Question thirteen: Where is Old Man Steve Rogers?

I think this might be a question that gets addressed in Captain America: Brave New World. Joaquin Torres in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier mentioned a conspiracy theory claiming Rogers is living on the moon. I suspect we will find out that this character is dead, possibly with a gravestone appearing in a funeral scene within Brave New World.

Question fourteen: Is Wanda dead, and where is Vision?

We thought Wanda might show up in Agatha All Along, as they kept teasing her. I think Marvel Studios wants us to keep asking this question, but for now, Wanda has either expired or been crushed. I believe Agatha wants us to believe that Wanda is dead, although she may return from another universe in Avengers: Doomsday. The Scarlet Witch of the 616 universe is currently dead.

If you are referring to White Vision from WandaVision, I think he is searching for her, and we'll see more of his journey in Vision Quest.

Question fifteen: What happened to Thanos's timeline from Avengers: Endgame when the younger version of Thanos left in 2014?

This is another very interesting question we have explored over the past few years. What happened to Thanos specifically leads us to believe another branch timeline never got resolved, in which Thanos one day just vanishes.

The answer to that question may be that there are many more planets in that universe which became heavily overpopulated, leading to far more emergences happening and far more celestials, planets destroyed, and cataclysms.

Question sixteen: Who are the Avengers right now? Are the Avengers active?

Yes! I think the takeaway from the Shang-Chi post-credit scene is that some contingent of the Avengers is still communicating with each other, but they haven't been deployed on a specific mission we’ve seen. I believe Captain America: Brave New World will begin to answer that question, with Sam Wilson leading one faction and the Thunderbolts forming another. We may even see Young Avengers as yet another faction.

Question seventeen: What happened with Black Knight and Blade, referring to the Eternals post-credit scene?

I do not think we're ever going to follow up on that specific team-up. I hope we see Blade someday; I just don't know if Kit Harington is going to be part of it.

Question eighteen: Is Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. canon?

I think yes! Why not? Let’s make it canon! However, we must do something in another Marvel property under the Marvel Studios banner that firmly links it. I would be perfectly fine if they could say the events of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are taking place in another universe. Really, I think we just need a new season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as a Disney Plus Marvel Studios series.

I would love to see a TVA spin-off from the Loki series that combines some infrastructure from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and uses the multiverse mechanics of the TVA. Since Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 7 dealt heavily with time travel, connecting those two wouldn't be that hard, and we could simply have another series called Agents of the TVA that teams up Coulson with Mobius.

Question nineteen: Who saved Gambit?

This refers to the deleted scene from Deadpool and Wolverine. I think it will be Deadpool. I believe Deadpool got his hands on the Sling Ring, and that these two will join up together in the future.

Question twenty: What was Paradox's deal? What happens to Paradox?

I think he's someone who could team up with Agents of the TVA, but I believe we'll find out he could also be connected to Doctor Doom in some capacity. He is merely a rogue TVA agent, and I think there's more to his story.

Question twenty-one: Where will we see the God of Stories, Loki, next?

There are many implications from the events of What If? Season 3, which will set up what happens with Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. I think the God of Stories Loki will play a significant role in Avengers: Doomsday as a leader diametrically opposed to Doctor Doom and his own godly sway over the Avengers.

Question twenty-two: What was Agatha's and Rio's backstory?

This was something left out of the final episode of Agatha All Along—how these two met in the past. Jack Schaer talked about scenes that would have revisited the Salem 7 trial, with Rio involved. I think these two met as a result of young Agatha being interested in darker secrets that her mother, Evanora, wanted to tell her.

Rio presented herself as a possible way to achieve more power.

Question twenty-three: Did Death meet all of the characters who have died in the MCU, including Tony Stark, Natasha, Gamora, Thanos, and May, etc.?

Yes! I explored this in another video, particularly a moment in Avengers: Endgame when Tony Stark dies and looks to the side. He could be looking at Death at that moment; I think this was the implication from Agatha All Along.

Question twenty-four: Where is Tommy, Billy's brother?

Another unresolved question from Agatha All Along that could get explored in Vision Quest. There’s some kid in a swimming pool out there who drowned, nearly as a cruel prank by some other kids. That is the kid to whom Tommy's soul went. We know that kid, whoever he is, does not have that great of a life.

Question twenty-five: Who sat on the seventh seat of the Illuminati dais in Multiverse of Madness?

Based on many deleted scenes and interviews with Josh Horowitz and Daniel Craig, I'm pretty sure it was Balder the Brave who got a little cameo mention in Loki Season 2. Why did they include Balder? No one's even heard of him!

Sure, they have Balder the Brave, Thor's half-brother, and they did shoot a scene in which the Scarlet Witch killed Balder with an alternate version of Mjolnir. It is weird, though, that they left the seat empty in the movie. I think it shows how far they got into post-production with various elements still playing out.

Question twenty-six: When was Roe replaced with a Skrull?

A deleted scene in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier steelbook gave us insight into when exactly Roe was swapped—it happened after Endgame, despite the showrunner of Secret Invasion saying it occurred sometime around Civil War.

Question twenty-seven: Where did the giant Thomas the Tank Engine from Ant-Man go?

A wonderful question, and I love this question. Two options: either it was shrunken down with Pym Tech and turned back into a toy—that’s a simple explanation. The other explanation could be that maybe the Department of Damage Control got there and took anything crazy and Avengers-related, and that’s somewhere in DODC storage now.

Question twenty-eight: What happened in Budapest?

Just like Budapest, all over again—you and I remember Budapest very differently. This was a question we thought would be resolved in the Black Widow film between Clint and Natasha. I don't think we'll ever see exactly what happened in Budapest.

These two assassins were on some mission where something went south, and they were just trapped in some kind of shootout. I kind of like never knowing what happened in Budapest.

Question twenty-nine: Who were the humans who killed drunk Wolverine's X-Men mentioned in Deadpool and Wolverine?

I don't believe we will ever see what happened when those humans attacked the X-Men. I think it was the Friends of Humanity armed with Sentinel technology because the Friends of Humanity generally aren't powerful enough to kill the X-Men. They need to have some backup from Bastion, possibly involving Sentinel technology—but yes, I think it was the Friends of Humanity alongside Sentinels.

Question thirty: Is Marvel just going to ignore the fact that Robert Downey Jr. is still the face of Tony Stark in our eyes when he shows up?

I've made several videos discussing why they're bringing in Robert Downey Jr., other than the fact that he is a powerful box office figure. The fact that Chris Evans is coming back in an alternate form as well in Avengers: Doomsday tells us there are other universes where the actors from the Infinity Saga are playing different characters.

This will be a game they play in this movie, aiming to create powerful reunion moments, such as Peter Parker (Tom Holland) reuniting with Robert Downey Jr.'s character in this movie, but he's just playing a different character. This kind of eerie facial blindness is going to be something he has to navigate.

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Thanks for watching, and I'll see you next time! Bye!