The presence of one particular monster in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a subtle hint that could begin Namor's MCU setup before Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. It's no secret that Marvel will be opening the floodgates of the multiverse in Doctor Strange 2, introducing new characters like America Chavez as well as legacy Marvel characters like Patrick Stewart's Professor X. There are already several theories about who the real villain of Doctor Strange 2 will be, and one of these monsters is already linked to Namor, the Sub-Mariner.

Namor first appeared in Marvel Comics #1 in 1939. His superpowers include extreme agility, endurance, the ability to fly, and amphibious powers such as communicating with sea life and underwater breathing. Namor has ties to the Avengers, the X-Men, and the Illuminati, making his setup in Doctor Strange 2 that much more likely because members of all these groups and more will be appearing in this film.

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The arrival of Gargantos teases a subtle link between Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Gargantos is a sea monster confirmed by the Doctor Strange 2 trailer to be one of the villains of the upcoming MCU sequel. In the comics, Gargantos is commanded by King Naga, a humanoid supervillain who rules over the underwater kingdom of Lemuria. Naga has often battled Namor, the Sub-Mariner, who is rumored to make his live-action debut in the Black Panther sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Gargantos has already appeared in the Namor: The Submariner comic book series, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to suggest that the Marvel writers could be setting up the appearance of Namor himself in the MCU.

Doctor Strange 2 Trailer Gargantos

Gargantos makes several appearances in Marvel comics as the monstrous servant of King Naga. The savage sea monster also appeared in X-Factor Annual Vol. 1 #14 in 1986, specifically in "The Saga of the Serpent Crown Chapter 10: Emperor of Death!" In this issue, Prince Namor of Atlantis has to fight the beast yet again in order to protect the Serpent Crown, a magical artifact that gives the wearer immortality. While these classic Marvel stories probably won't appear onscreen anytime soon, Namor might make an appearance earlier than expected.

The MCU has a long history of dropping hints and Easter eggs in certain projects with the intention of setting up characters that audiences won't even meet until years later. A good example of this is Tony Stark's first run-in with the Ten Rings terrorist cell in 2008's Iron Man, which fans would later come to realize was a copycat version of The Mandarin, Wenwu's actual group by the same name in Shang-Chi. Given the MCU's track record of setting up new characters over multiple films, it would not be a surprise to see Marvel's Sub-Mariner at the very least get mentioned onscreen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness well before his more-than-likely live-action debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

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