Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Marvels!
The mid-credits scene for The Marvels gives Marvel fans what they’ve long waited for, but probably not in the way they expected. The stinger shows Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) waking up in the Fox X-Men universe where she’s greeted by Binary, who just happens to be Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch) in this universe, and Beast, voiced by Kelsey Grammer, reprising his role from X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men: Days of Future Past. This scene tells us far more than it appears at first glance, so let’s dig into everything it reveals about what’s coming for the X-Men in the MCU, including how it can address a key issue about Deadpool 3.
Where In the X-Verse Is Monica?
The first question this scene raises is, which version of the X-Men universe is it set in? There’s the original X-Men universe, the First Class universe that takes places in the past featuring younger actors, the X-Men Origins: Wolverine universe that’s also in the past, the Days of Future Past universe in a post-apocalyptic future, and the Logan universe which is set in a bleak, not-so-distant future. Then there’s the Deadpool movies, which seem to take place in the present day but feature the younger First Class X-Men actors. And let’s not forget about Earth-838, where Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) murdered Professor X (Patrick Stewart) along with the rest of the Illuminati. The X-Men movie continuity has become so tangled over the years that it’s hard to keep it straight, but there are some clues as to where exactly Monica wound up.
We not only see Beast in the lab where Monica wakes up but we hear him mention that “Charles asked for an update,” of course referring to Professor X. Given that Beast and Professor X are both alive and working in the X-Mansion, plus the fact that Grammer is back as Beast, it’s a pretty clear indicator that we’re in the original X-Men universe. More specifically, we’re most likely in the reset timeline that Wolverine created at the end of DOFP, where certain traumatic events never happened and the X-Men are all together in the X-Mansion, working together to raise and teach the next generation of mutants. Remember that when Wolverine woke up and explored the mansion in this “happy ending” universe, Beast appears for a moment to chide Logan (Hugh Jackman) for sleeping in, and then Logan meets with Professor X in his office. We are still many years before the events of Logan or any other hellish future where mutants are all but extinct.
As if to underline the fact that this is the DOFP universe, the DOFP theme is played at the end of the mid-credits scene. This means that all of the other X-Men who had been killed off are still around, namely Jean Grey and Scott Summers.
What the Comics Tell Us
Binary does have an association with the X-Men in the comics, but it seems like she was mostly there because the writers wanted to throw a curveball at Monica when she woke up and demonstrate that she’s in another universe, and what better way to do that than have her mother Maria, alive and well, dressed up as an unfamiliar superhero? In the comics, Binary isn’t a mutant but another alias of Carol Danvers. Aside from her being there to do a number on Monica, Binary shows us that this universe now has other active superheroes outside of the X-Men. Beast says it was Binary that found Monica, so it’s likely that Maria is a space-faring superhero in this universe and knew to contact esteemed scientist Doctor Hank McCoy after finding Monica drifting unconscious in the cosmos.
While the filmmakers had their reasons for stranding Monica in the X-Verse, it seemingly would have been more fitting for Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) to wind up in the X-Men universe instead. After all, Kamala Khan has a mutation and she’s clearly on the path to becoming an X-Men member in the MCU, just like she did recently in the comics. Being among established X-Men could help Kamala learn more about her mutation and the nature of her powers. Plus she could learn about how the world has mistreated mutantkind in this universe, which would prepare her for the hardships to come once the X-Men join the MCU in earnest.
On the other hand, Beast was the perfect choice for this scene, and not just because he’s a scientist who can explain why someone just appeared from another universe. In the comics, Beast was a long-running member of the Avengers and has deep ties to their lore. He acted as a liaison between the X-Men and Avengers, became best friends with Wonder Man, and joined the covert squad of Secret Avengers. So it’s nice to see that Beast was there for proper first contact with the MCU, home of the Avengers.
Does The Marvels Set Up Deadpool 3?
Now that Monica has been recovered by the X-Men, what happens next? Our best guess is that this scene is a setup for Deadpool 3, which as of this writing is the next MCU movie, scheduled to be released in May 2024. The film will see Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool crossover with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, properly this time. The Marvels’ mid-credits scene actually helps establish the setting for that movie and potentially addresses a much-debated issue: we all saw Wolverine die at the end of Logan, so how can he show up in this threequel? Well, if Deadpool 3 picks up where this scene left off, then we know the story takes place just after DOFP when Wolverine is very much alive.
We’re assuming that Deadpool, and perhaps some of the X-Men, will make their way to the MCU over the course of the movie, so it could be Monica that helps them travel from one universe to another. Binary appears to be wearing a set of Quantum Bands, which we know have the power to open a breach between universes, so with Monica’s guidance they could travel back to the MCU.
For more on The Marvels, check out our review of The Marvels and learn more about Binary from The Marvels mid-credits scene.
