The X-Men are coming to the MCU and Marvel fans are patiently – and not so patiently – awaiting the arrival of mutantkind in the franchise. Seeing as we’re not expecting a proper reboot movie for a few years, though, it’s likely that the concept of mutants will be introduced incrementally into the MCU to get audiences ready for the super-team themselves. Given that, is it possible that we’ve already met the franchise’s first mutant? Maybe, as that’s what this new fan theory argues.
As shared by user u/Fenwick84 on the r/marvelstudios subreddit, the theory goes that none other than Janet Van Dyne, mother to Hope, wife to Hank Pym and the original Wasp, is the MCU’s first mutant. The evidence, it’s argued, is hidden in Ant-Man and the Wasp. Once Janet is recovered from the Quantum Realm, she’s gained some superhuman abilities, with many scenes seeing her demonstrating telepathy and enhanced empathy. She even describes her transformation as “not quite adaptation, but evolution.”
Technically speaking, according to this theory, Janet would be a mutate and not strictly a mutant. As per Marvel lore, a mutate is someone who’s developed superhuman powers due to being exposed to mutagenic agents – in this case, the extra-dimensional energies of the Quantum Realm. There’s no way of claiming that Janet is a traditional mutant – i.e. that she was born with the X-gene – but the concept of a mutate is only a few steps away from introducing bonafide mutants.
As one user mentions in the comments, there’s also the hope that Scarlet Witch, and by extension Quicksilver, will be retconned as mutants in the MCU, maybe even as Magneto’s children. It would be smart to use Wanda Maximoff as a way to bridge the Avengers and the X-Men, but we’ll have to wait and see whether that’s on the table.
For now, though, tell us, do you think there’s anything to this Marvel theory? Let us know in the comments section down below.