Werewolf By Night’s Surprise Avengers Mural Explained

Warning: This post contains SPOILERS for Werewolf by Night!

The opening of Werewolf by Night surprisingly features a mural for the original six Avengers. Ever since they formed in 2012, Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, Hulk, and Hawkeye were positioned as the main characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The events of Avengers: Endgame took half of them off the board, allowing Phase 4 to focus on new characters like Werewolf by Night, played by Gael García Bernal. The Werewolf by Night Disney+ special comes directly from Marvel Studios as its first-ever Special Presentation for the streaming service.

With the standalone nature of Werewolf by Night's story, viewers are sure to be surprised by seeing an Avengers mural in the opening minutes of the special. After a horror remixed opening of the Marvel Studios fanfare, the first image shown is an Avengers mural. The narrator says, "The known universe with its heroes and marvels, but what of the darkness in our modern world? This is where monsters dwell alongside those who hunt and slaughter them with pride." It is through this opening glimpse that Werewolf by Night proceeds to show a glimpse through history and how the Bloodstone family has fought monsters for generations. The Avengers mural is used to signal to viewers that while the MCU has focused on the story of the original Avengers so far, there are plenty of other heroes, villains, and creatures in the world, including the ones that Werewolf by Night features.

Werewolf By Night’s Avengers Mural Reaffirms MCU Ties

One of the keys to Werewolf by Night's Avengers mural is that it immediately reaffirms the special's MCU ties. The combination of seeing the opening Marvel Studios theme and logo followed by an image of the original six Avengers makes sure viewers know that what they are about to watch is connected to the giant franchise. It smartly gives Werewolf by Night a big MCU reference that has no bearing on the story or characters that it actually involves. Viewers might be more primed for other Marvel movie connections for the rest of the special, but the Avengers mural guarantees that there is no question about whether Werewolf by Night takes place in the MCU timeline at all.

The Avengers mural is potentially the only real MCU connection that Werewolf by Night could include anyway. Although it is made in the style of classic monster movies from the 1930s and 1940s, Werewolf by Night appears to take place in the late 1980s or early 1990s instead. This is before the majority of the Infinity Saga's story unfolds and the Avengers even formed. That is why the narrator highlights the "known universe" and its heroes in relation to Werewolf by Night's Avengers mural. Anyone watching the special knows who the Avengers are and the mural allows Marvel to track history backward from there to lead into the story.

Why Werewolf By Night Does Not Include Any Other MCU Connections

Moon Knight Werewolf by Night MCU Crossover

The lack of MCU connections in Werewolf by Night beyond the Avengers mural comes after rumors swirled that Mahershala Ali's Blade or Oscar Isaac's Moon Knight could appear. Instead, the MCU Special Presentation is almost completely devoid of connections to the larger franchise. It might have been cool to see Werewolf by Night interact with other known characters, but the decision helped keep the focus on the new supernatural characters. Using Blade or Moon Knight would only take away time for Werewolf by Night to make Jack Russell, Elsa Bloodstone, and Man-Thing shine.

Next: Werewolf By Night Ending Explained (In Detail)