the-mcu-theory

[the-mcu-theory]

Here we go! Today’s date is Wednesday 10th June 2020 and it’s time for another “what if” scenario!

Drumroll please...

What if...

Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff (Or Clintasha to the shippers, that includes me) were canon in the MCU? (written by Natasha)

Well, thing would be quite different (no thanks to Joss Whedon). Before the first Avengers movie, we got to know that Clint and Natasha are quite close and the events of Budapest (that probably be explained in the solo Black Widow movie) are classified. Only Clint and Nat knows what actually happened there and then.

But what would happen if they told the Avengers about their “secret relationship”? Also, would things be different if Whedon didn’t give Clint a family? Of course there is the possibility that Laura and the kids are not his, but they are Clint’s brother, Barney’s...

But let’s forget about Barney for a moment. 

What would’ve happened if Clint realised his feelings for Nat but didn’t act upon it? (Probably the same thing that happened in the movies). But what if he did?

What would be different?

That’s what I’m here to talk about.

This is mostly about the actors’ themselves but there will be references and plot explaining to Clintasha as well. There will be some theories and rumours about the Hawkeye Disney+ series, like if Barney Barton will be in it and who is Kate Bishop and if she is actually Clint’s daughter, Lila.

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Jeremy Renner plays Clint Barton AKA Hawkeye in the MCU. But of course he wasn’t the studios’ first choice. Jensen Ackles, who plays Dean Winchester in the mega hit TV show, “Supernatural” was considered for the role.

Ackles originally auditioned to play Captain America, but Marvel ending up choosing Chris Evans. The studio reportedly liked Ackles enough to offer him the role of Hawkeye, but the actor already had a commitment to Supernatural, so they gave the role to Renner.

Scarlett Johansson plays Natasha Romanoff AKA Black Widow in the MCU. But of course, like Renner, she wasn’t the first choice. Emily Blunt, who played Mary Poppins in “Mary Poppins Returns” was considered for the role.

Scheduling conflicts prevented Blunt from accepting either role, but she told Yahoo Entertainment later on that she had no regrets about the decision.

But that was a good decision from Marvel Studios.

After filming for the first Avengers movie, both Scarlett and Jeremy have grown closer. They did press together for Captain America: Civil War, doing interviews together. As well as that, Scarlett got her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Jeremy did a speech at the ceremony with her.

During the filming of Avengers: Endgame, they became closer, especially after filming Natasha’s sacrifice scene on Vormir. 

We’re not sure if Jeremy is set to star alongside Scarlett in the Black Widow movie, but there are rumours going around about a cameo appearance from Renner in a post or mid credit scene in the movie.

I don’t know about you but Clint should get a big part in the movie itself as Barton and Romanoff’s relationship throughout the MCU and, to the fact that they were on a mission in Budapest (and the movie is mostly set in Budapest) suggests that he should have a massive part to the movie.

But maybe the Hawkeye series (which will be on Disney+) will give flashbacks or something along those lines about Clint and Natasha’s mysterious relationship.

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Now onto answering those questions.

What would happen if they told the Avengers about their “secret relationship”?

Well, if Clint and Natasha had a secret relationship that only themselves know about, and they eventually tell Steve, Tony, Thor, Bruce and the other Avengers about it, it would probably be in Age of Ultron. The whole scene with Natasha flirting with Bruce would not happen. But maybe Steve talking to Bruce about Nat could still happen.

Would things be different if Whedon didn’t give Clint a family?

Of course it would be different. The whole situation with Barton becoming Ronin in Endgame would be totally different, as his motivation to kill criminals in Tokyo was all on his family. But if we consider the “Clint’s family is actually Barney’s” theory, the Ronin transformation could be the same.

What would’ve happened if Clint realised his feelings for Nat but didn’t act upon it? And if he did, what would happen?

If Clint realised he loved Nat more than jut best friends, but he didn’t act upon it, Jeremy wouldn’t like it (Just joking! But he would be pissed, probably). But I think the events of the MCU would be the same (especially the Vormir scene). But if Barton did confess his feelings to her, (depends on if she loves him back, she probably doesn’t, but let’s just say she does) then the Vormir scene would be totally different. They probably get another pair to go there instead. Maybe some unpopular characters perhaps? (Not sure who but you can think of some)

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Of course, I know what you’re all thinking...

Who’s Barney?

Well, let me explain.

Barney Barton is Clint’s brother in the Marvel comics. There is loads of theories and fancasts (that’s when people imagine different actors as characters that aren’t in the movie, but are in comics) surrounding this character. For example...

People suggest that Jeremy Renner is actually playing Barney in the MCU, instead of Clint. But that’s is unlikely.

The most popular fancast for Barney is Daniel Craig, who plays James Bond and Benoit Blanc in the murder mystery, Knives Out. 

And I got to say, I totally agree. Craig should play him in the Hawkeye series.

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Now, in the Hawkeye series, there is speculations on Kate Bishop, who is Hawkeye’s “student”. He passes the mantel of Hawkeye to her and that starts off the Young Avengers. 

Now, I think Lila, who is Clint’s daughter is actually Kate. As the beginning scene of Avengers: Endgame shows Clint teaching Lila the art of archery. 

So, could this have been foreshadowing the series and that Lila changes into her “alter-ego” Kate Bishop? It could be possible.

Speculations of who could play Kate in the series is Katherine Langford, who played Hannah Baker in “13 Reasons Why”, as well as Meg Thrombey in “Knives Out”. So, that could make sense to cast Daniel Craig as Barney, as they have both worked together before.

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That’s it!

Hopefully you have had fun reading this, as much as I have had writing this (especially my love for Clint and Jeremy). If you have any suggestions on other scenarios, just send an ask to us!

This is Natasha signing off!

[the-mcu-theory]

Here it is! Our first ever “what if...” scenario!

I bet you’re excited! (And if you’re not, then why are you reading this?)

Okay, here it is... Drumroll please.

What if...

Steve fell off the train instead of Bucky? (written by Rebecca)

Well, the whole timeline of Steve becoming Captain America would be very different, indeed.

One of two things could happen.

Bucky becomes the new Captain America and joins the Avengers as an OG Avenger, instead of Steve.

Bucky doesn’t join the Avengers at all, leaving a place of leadership to be missing.

Well, let’s go through each movies that Steve was in and evaluate each one, shall we?

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Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

The following is a Wikipedia entry of what happened in this movie AFTER Bucky falls from the train:

“Using information extracted from Zola, the final Hydra stronghold is located, and Rogers leads an attack to stop Schmidt from using weapons of mass destruction on major American cities. Rogers climbs aboard Schmidt's aircraft as it takes off. During the subsequent fight, the Tesseract's container is damaged. Schmidt physically handles the Tesseract, which opens a wormhole into space, sucking him into it. The Tesseract burns through the plane and is lost in the ocean. Seeing no way to land the plane without the risk of detonating its weapons, Rogers crashes it in the Arctic. Stark later recovers the Tesseract from the ocean floor but is unable to locate Rogers or the aircraft, presuming him dead.”

Now if we analyse each of the things that could’ve happened if Steve fell instead of Bucky...

This would turn out the exact same, except replace the face of Chris Evans with Sebastian Stan and visa versa. But of course the Peggy relationship would be different (maybe that what if scenario about Peggy becoming Captain Britain might come true?)

None of this would’ve happened if Bucky didn’t become Captain America. Barnes would’ve been still stuck in the 1940s and died there as he wasn’t injected with the super soldier serum that Steve did. Of course, Steve would’ve taken Bucky’s place at HYDRA (cue HYDRA Cap, but that will come later in the sequel)

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The Avengers (2012)

I’m not going to copy and paste the whole Wikipedia plot of the Avengers onto here, otherwise that would be too long to read, so here is a shorten version that someone wrote on IMDB (trust me, it is shorter than the Wikipedia entry).

“S.H.I.E.L.D. has located the mysterious Tesseract device and the Army's super soldier Captain America. The Tesseract is actually a gateway to an entirely new world called Asgard. A mysterious being known as Loki arrives on earth and immediately assumes that he can rule all human beings. But that irks S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury the wrong way. As Loki escapes with the Tesseract, Nick Fury believes this is an act of war against Earth. His only hope is to assemble an actual team of super heroes. Dr. Bruce Banner, who turns into an enormous green rage monster known as the Hulk. Tony Stark and his venerable Iron Man armor. Captain America, the Stark Enterprises created super soldier. Thor, the god of thunder, protector of Earth and his home planet of Asgard, and Loki's brother. Master assassins Hawkeye and Natasha Romanoff. Together they will become a team to take on an attack that will call them to become the greatest of all time.”

Let’s analyse again... 

The whole movie would be the same, except for a few bits. Whilst the whole boxing scene would be scrapped, the introduction of Bucky as Cap would be similar (with the memories of the events of the First Avenger and Steve falling off the train). The leadership part would be missing. Bucky considers himself as a very introverted person, so the leadership skills would turned towards Stark, which would be different for the other movies (as well as Iron Man 3).

For this scenario, the introductions would be the same, except the Cap intro. That would be replaced by either Carol Danvers, Scott Lang or Hope Van Dyne (probably not Scott but it could’ve been a possibility).

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Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

This is the most important part of the franchise. Again, this is another IMDB plot summary of the Winter Soldier cause it’s shorter than the Wikipedia entry.

“Two years after the alien attack on New York, Steve Rogers starts to adjust to the modern world and works as an agent of SHIELD. However, Steve disagrees with the rules of today as he faces a world of threats and complexities. When Director Nick Fury is killed by a mysterious assassin called the Winter Soldier, Steve is warned not to trust anyone, only to find himself being framed for not sharing information. On the run, Rogers launches an investigation into a deadly conspiracy which reveals that SHIELD has been infiltrated by his old arch nemesis HYDRA, who have been hiding in plain sight. With only Black Widow and Falcon as backup, Rogers must once again suit up and defeat HYDRA from launching their ultimate weapon before it's too late.”

Analysing...

To be honest, this whole movie would’ve been the same, but instead of Bucky being the Winter Soldier, Steve would’ve revealed himself as Hydra Cap (or Militant, as it’s known in the comics). Probably not with the whole green and black suit colours, but with red and black (just like Bucky had in the CA:TWS with the red star on his metal arm). Bucky would’ve still met Sam Wilson and their TV series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier would still go on (but more on that later).

The events of the movie could’ve still happened (due to Pierce’s plans and Sitwell being an undercover SHIELD agent working for HYDRA). But Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton would probably be the main protagonists of the movie, fighting Hydra Cap together.

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Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Here is yet another plot summary from IMDB about this movie.

“After a successful raid on a HYDRA base, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner create an Artificial Intelligence called Ultron, a peacekeeping protocol designed to help the Avengers protect the world from their enemies. But things go wrong when Ultron sees the human race as a threat and sets out to destroy it along with the Avengers. Now the Avengers, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, the Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye, must reassemble to stop Ultron from causing mass destruction. Aside from this, the Avengers also must take on the powerful twins Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch as well as the new entity called Vision. Also, the Avengers find that things may never be the same again after discovering a power beyond their comprehension.”

Analysing...

This movie would be the same, as well as Pietro dying (RIP Pietro). But it is a possibility that Clint would not have a family, due to the fact that he was on the run with Tasha. Also, it is a possibility that Brutasha (Ship name for Bruce and Natasha) would still happen, but it is a low one as maybe during the events of CA:TWS, we find out that Clint and Tasha have a secret relationship that we don’t know of until the Black Widow movie, (which won’t be mentioned in this post but probably in a later post about the Clintasha ship).

With Bucky out of the way, this bit of the movie (courtesy of Wikipedia), “As Stark leaves and Barton retires, Rogers and Romanoff prepare to train new Avengers: Rhodes, Vision, Sam Wilson, and Wanda...” will happen without him. Barton would not retire and help Tasha with helping to train them. But the theory that Stark went to his safehouse (mentioned and visited in Endgame) could happen in this version. But of course, if the, before mentioned, characters in the first Avengers movie were to replace Bucky, then they would train the newbies with Tasha.

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Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Here is another important movie in the franchise! And here it is, another plot summary!

“With many people fearing the actions of super heroes, the government decides to push for the Hero Registration Act, a law that limits a hero's actions. This results in a division in The Avengers. Iron Man stands with this Act, claiming that their actions must be kept in check otherwise cities will continue to be destroyed, but Captain America feels that saving the world is daring enough and that they cannot rely on the government to protect the world. This escalates into an all-out war between Team Iron Man (Iron Man, Black Panther, Vision, Black Widow, War Machine, and Spider-Man) and Team Captain America (Captain America, Bucky Barnes, Falcon, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, and Ant Man) while a new villain emerges.”

Analysing...

Again, to be honest, this whole movie would’ve been the same. Yeah. That’s it. But number two, on the other hand...

...Would not happen at all. Well, actually, the Sokovia Accords were about the Battle of Sokovia in AoU, but the whole argument between Steve/Bucky and Tony wouldn’t happen. Unless either Carol, Scott (probably not Scott) or Hope would disagree with Stark, then it would go along with the original movie. But for the sub-plot (which is Hydra Cap killed Tony’s parents) would only be mentioned. So that’s mean Baron Zemo’s introduction would have to wait until the Falcon and Winter Soldier series. As of Spider-Man and Ant-Man’s introduction (of course, after Scott’s solo movie), that would be the same (unless of course Scott was the OG Avenger to replace Steve or Bucky).

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Avengers: Infinity War & Avengers: Endgame (2018 and 2019)

Two plot summaries from IMDB... (Points number 1 and 2 will be for Infinity War from both scenarios and points 2 and 4 will be for Endgame)

“As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic shadows: Thanos. A despot of intergalactic infamy, his goal is to collect all six Infinity Stones, artefacts of unimaginable power, and use them to inflict his twisted will on all of reality. Everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment, the fate of Earth and existence has never been more uncertain.”

“After half of all life is snapped away by Thanos, the Avengers are left scattered and divided. Now with a way to reverse the damage, the Avengers and their allies must assemble once more and learn to put differences aside in order to work together and set things right. Along the way, the Avengers realise that sacrifices must be made as they prepare for the ultimate final showdown with Thanos, which will result in the heroes fighting the biggest battle they have ever faced.”

Analysing...

So, for IW, Bucky would be back as Captain America to fight Thanos with the rest of the Avengers (except Hawkeye as he is playing tag. I’m just joking xD). But instead of him being the one to help Vision and Wanda, and take the others to Wakanda, it would’ve been Sam (maybe to foreshadow the fact he will become the next Captain America in Endgame). Steve, of course, will be awoken from his cryogenic sleep from Civil War and reunited with his buddy. But when Thanos snaps his finger, Steve would be the first person to be disintegrated (or maybe it would turn out the exact same as the original with Bucky going with Wanda etc...  and Steve staying?).

As for Endgame, Barnes would probably lead grief counselling sessions for survivors (like Steve did). Then, the same thing will happen like the original. But the ending will change. Bucky will give the mantel of Captain America to Sam Wilson and maybe, go back to return the stones, find Red Skull, of course, and maybe go back to the first Cap movie to reverse the roles (so he fell off the train instead of Steve, like in the original MCU timeline).

For the second scenario, I think the movie will go along as normal. But if Carol replaced Steve as the “Captain”, then Fury would never need to send a distress signal to Carol, as she is already there (and the mid credit scene is no longer needed, but I think that wouldn’t happen, due to the fact that Carol is too strong when she is put up with a Norse god, a Gamma radiation monster, two SHIELD assassins with no superpowers and a tech genius with a sarcasm as a superpower. Of course, for Steve and the cryogenic sleep would never happen because no one rescued him in Civil War and he would still be with Hydra.

Endgame, however, would be totally different to the first scenario. There would be no “grief counselling sessions”, only Banner, Stark and Lang would go to New York (which means no Cap v Cap fight). It is possible that the “going back to the 1970s” plan could work with just Stark, but Scott would go with him as well. Unless Carol went with them, then the Cap v Cap fight (with Carol instead of Steve) would still happen. Both the funerals for Stark and Tasha would still happen. But who would return the stones? Probably either Scott or Barton.

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Now time for the last part (finally!), the future movies and TV shows!

First up is the Falcon and the Winter Soldier. There isn’t an official synopsis for the show yet, but here is a Wiki entry...

“After being handed the mantle of Captain America at the end of Avengers: Endgame, Sam Wilson teams up with Bucky Barnes in a worldwide adventure that puts their abilities to the test.”

This part will be a combination of the two scenarios to save time.

The casting of the show has only got 4 characters, in line for the show. Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Baron Zemo (Daniel Bruhl) and Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp).

And, of course US Agent (the “fake” Captain America) played by Wyatt Russell.

For scenario 1, the series will play out the exact same way (depends on if Bucky goes back in time to fix everything). 

Scenario 2, however, would be very different. Sebastian would be missing from that cast list, but would be replaced by Evans (who would play Hydra Cap once again). As for Zemo, this would be an introduction to the MCU (unless he would get introduced in the Black Widow movie).

Secondly, it’s the Black Widow solo movie and other TV series (such as the Hawkeye series and WandaVision). Here is a unofficial synopsis of them (that means it’s not official by Marvel Studios).

“Following the events of Captain America: Civil War, Natasha Romanoff finds herself alone and forced to confront a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Romanoff must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.”

“In April 2019, a limited series focused on Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton / Hawkeye was reported to be in development, with the plot involving Barton passing the mantle of Hawkeye to the character Kate Bishop.”

“Set after the events of Avengers: Endgame, Wanda Maximoff and Vision begin to suspect things are not as they seem as the two live their ideal suburban life.”

Even though, we don’t know exactly what will happen in the future of the MCU (especially Phase 4), I cannot say what would happen if Steve fell from the train instead of Bucky. But maybe check in with us in about 4 to 5 years when these TV series/movies have come out fully.

So, that’s it for this scenario! Hopefully you have had fun reading this, as much as I have had writing this. If you have any suggestions on other scenarios, just send an ask in to us!

This is Rebecca signing off.

Until next time!

[the-mcu-theory]

Welcome to the page!

My name is Rebecca and I am the proud owner of this Tumblr page! Alongside my friends, Natasha, her sister Jenna and our friend Heather, we collab on this particular profile to bring you such theories and “what if...” scenarios for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as news, fanart, fanfiction recommendations and loads of other random stuff to do with the MCU. 

The header was designed by @hettie-drysdale​ AKA Heather and most of the research to the theories are dedicated to @nbarnes​ AKA Natasha and @jenna-writes-marvel​ AKA Jenna, the two sisters on here!

We hope this will be a popular profile across the Tumblr community and the MCU community. We might include the comics for references and/or quotes but it’s nothing more than the 22 and counting Marvel movies so far in the MCU.

For now, enjoy some gifs from those very movies!