Spider-Man Theory: Avengers Endgame Unleashed The Elementals

Could the villains of Spider-Man: Far From Home have come to Earth as a result of Avengers: Endgame? The first trailer for the Spider-Man sequel confirmed that the wall-crawler will be faced with some dangerous new threats; at least three (possibly four) Elemental beings who are wreaking havoc across Europe.

The trailer is silent as to the origin of these Elementals, and as a result there's heated discussion online. Some maintain that they don't actually exist at all, but are created by Mysterio, some suggest they could be loosely inspired by classic Spider-Man foes like Hydro-Man, and still others point to an obscure group of Marvel villains known as the Elementals, arguing that's who they really are. Right now, Marvel and Sony are remaining silent on this point.

But a new theory claims that the Elementals could have come to Earth as a result of Avengers: Endgame, with Thanos and the Avengers damaging the fabric of reality itself. It's certainly an interesting idea, and it fits surprisingly well with the ongoing narrative of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

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Page 2: How Avengers: Endgame Could Set Up The Elementals

Avengers: Endgame Could Damage The Fabric Of Reality

Thor and Rocket in the Quantum Realm in Avengers 4

The first synopsis for Avengers: Endgame teased that the stakes could be dangerously high for the last surviving Avengers. "Our beloved heroes will truly understand how fragile this reality is," the synopsis cautions, "and the sacrifices that must be made to uphold it." Attention was understandably focused on the second half of that sentence, which seems to suggest some of the Avengers will die. That should hardly have been a surprise, though, given contracts are expiring. Instead, the more interesting idea is that reality itself is at risk in some way.

Doctor Strange established that it is indeed possible to damage the time-space continuum. In one scene, Stephen Strange experimented with the Time Stone, using it to manipulate time around an apple. It was an incongruous demonstration of the Time Stone's power, but when Wong and Mordo stumbled upon it, they were horrified. "Temporal manipulations can create branches in time," Mordo warned furiously, "Unstable dimensional openings. Spatial paradoxes, time loops!" All Strange was actually doing in that scene was using the Eye of Agamotto to experiment on an apple, and yet Wong could warn, "You weren't manipulating the space-time continuum, you were breaking it."

If simply adjusting time around an apple risks breaking the entire time-space continuum, then what damage did Thanos cause when he used the Time Stone at the end of Avengers: Infinity War? He successfully reversed the destruction of the Mind Stone, and then combined its power with the other Stones to wipe out half the life in the universe. If Wong and Mordo's warnings were valid in Doctor Strange, they were surely even more valid here. Worse still, there's abundant evidence that Avengers: Endgame will be a time travel movie, with the Avengers attempting to rewrite history and prevent the snap ever happening. And according to Samuel L. Jackson, Captain Marvel is able to travel through time under her own power. Time is in flux - and as a result, it's entirely possible the fabric of reality itself will sustain irreparable damage.

Page 2 of 2: How Avengers: Endgame Could Set Up The Elementals

How Avengers: Endgame Could Set Up The Elementals

So what would happen to the MCU if the space-time continuum is torn apart? There's a comic book precedent for the idea; back in 2013's "Age of Ultron" event, the Avengers attempted to rewrite history in order to save the world from Ultron. Repeated time travel "broke" time; realities merged, portals opened between the dimensions, and - in an incredible twist - it was revealed that was a best-case scenario. As Tony Stark noted, "I think we're lucky we still exist in a cohesive linear reality." And here's the interesting thing; actual living beings made the jump from their dimension to our own. The most prominent example was Angela, a powerful warrior woman who joined the Guardians of the Galaxy. Marvel eventually revealed she was Thor's long-lost sister, kidnapped millennia ago by a race known as the Angels. Believing they had killed his daughter, Odin banished them to another dimension, and it took the breaking apart of the entire time-space continuum to break the barriers Odin had imposed.

In the comics, the classic Elementals are four powerful and dangerous beings who were introduced in Supernatural Thrillers back in 1974. They originated from another plane of reality, and first came to Earth over 3,000 years ago, setting themselves up as the Egyptian gods. Fortunately, they were ultimately banished to another dimension, from which they watched and waited for thousands of years, plotting their return. True to their name, each one of the Elementals is associated with one of the four classic Elements. Hydron is the Lord of the Waters, Magnum can manipulate the ground itself, Hellfire is master of fire, and Zephyr calls herself "Mistress of the Winds." Each of the Elementals is arrogant and self-serving and frequently undermine one another. Zephyr, once a serving girl in her reality, is the only one with a conscience.

Something similar could easily be true in the MCU as well. Perhaps the Elementals were once rulers of Ancient Egypt, just as in the comics, but were successfully banished. Stranded on another plane of existence, they've only been able to watch the Earth - until the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Those films look set to cause very real damage to the time-space continuum, and it could conceivably create a way for the Elementals to return. Tom Holland has claimed that Mysterio is the one man who can help Spider-Man against the Elementals, "because he's the only one who really understands them." The trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home showed sigils forming around Mysterio's hands, reminiscent of the spell effects used by the Masters of the Mystic Arts. Perhaps the MCU version of Mysterio is more than just a trickster, but is also a man with arcane knowledge, aware of the ancient secrets of the Elementals.

Is This Spider-Man: Far From Home's Secret?

It's a fascinating theory, and it does fit quite well. Kevin Feige teased that Spider-Man: Far From Home is all about introducing viewers to what he called "the next incarnation of the MCU." The film's purpose is to establish the post-Endgame status quo; and if that's the case, it would make sense for it to feature villains who only got to our plane of reality as a result of Thanos' defeat.

For all that's the case, though, it doesn't seem especially likely. Although many Marvel fans insist that the Elementals are inspired by the classic Supernatural Thrillers quartet, in reality they seem to be loosely based on some of Spider-Man's most iconic villains. The trailer contained Easter eggs that confirmed as much, calling out Amazing Spider-Man #28, #212, and #463. These issues are the first appearances of the Sandman, Hydro-Man, and the Molten Man, three of Spider-Man's deadliest foes, each associated with one of the four elements. And the simple truth is that there's no reason to put in this kind of Easter egg if these three bad guys weren't the inspiration for the Elementals in Spider-Man: Far From Home. Meanwhile, the trailer is actually quite unclear as to whether or not there's a fourth Elemental at all; the destruction at Tower Bridge could easily be a result of two or more of the others using their powers in concert. It's best not to assume anything with Marvel.

At the same time, it's important to remember that Mysterio is usually a villain as well, not a hero. In fact, in his first appearance - Amazing Spider-Man #2, all the way back in 1963 - he faked being a hero, hoping to gain fame and acclaim for his supposed "heroism." It seems quite likely he's doing something similar in Spider-Man: Far From Home, and that Mysterio is the one behind the Elementals, who are either his allies, or his creations. That seems a far more probable plot.