James Lezcano

Bookstore Cafe Owner. Marvel/MCU fan. Host of The JJS Podcast. Also a person.

[James Lezcano @JamesLezcano]

It seems you must take some form of a physical action with the stones in order to activate them, especially in conjunction with other stones. A hand squeeze seems sufficient for using one stone, as Thanos does this repeatedly, but something slightly more is needed for something like wishing away a substantial portion of life throughout the universe. However, mere thought alone can’t be all that’s needed, as the wielder is thinking tons of thoughts all the time. There must be a unification of thought, intent, and action.

[James Lezcano @JamesLezcano]

I believe the big reveal they’re hiding is that RDJ was never supposed to be born as Tony Stark. He was always supposed to be born Victor Von Doom, but Kang altered his history to have him fulfill the Sacred Timeline while eliminating himself in the process. The perfect outcome for Kang.

When Steve returns the soul stone in what turns out to be the 828 universe, not 616, the stone releases a soul that was sacrificed in that universe, which is Victor Von Doom. At some point, Doom dreamwalks and awakens in the body of his charred, post-snap variant, Tony Stark. I believe this is what will be shown in the extra four minutes of Endgame Encore.

[James Lezcano @JamesLezcano]

@Hattori__don I say bring back the Intermission. It’s worth it.

[James Lezcano @JamesLezcano]

@DailyMarvel97 I believe Tony’s specific wish was for Thanos and his entire army to vanish, but for Thanos to vanish last so he could see his army dissipate first and know he lost before he was gone.

[James Lezcano @JamesLezcano]

Not to sound obnoxious, but I did actually foresee RDJ returning somehow. I think most people did. Although, I was anticipating him returning as the next Jarvis-like AI or something to that effect, given how the hologram of him was somehow able to look directly in Morgan’s eyes where she was sitting in the room, which doesn’t make sense if the message is pre-recorded. I did not foresee him returning as Doom however.

[James Lezcano @JamesLezcano]

I believe the only way to explain it would be that Erskine found that the serum interacts with things like cortisol, testosterone, and adrenaline in very specific ways. So if someone has an elevated baseline of these things when the serum is injected, (which are typically associated with aggressive or consistently stress-inducing behaviors), it can destabilize and result in a reaction that produces physical anomalies, which is likely to only exacerbate the person’s issues.

[James Lezcano @JamesLezcano]

This is a great question and honestly I thought it would have been interesting to have it where all the pregnant women who were blipped and returned had children who eventually became the mutants of the 616 universe. It would have been a cool explanation for where the different powers came from.

[James Lezcano @JamesLezcano]

The power of the reality stone is only localized. It can only remake the local reality to varying degrees, the lowest of which is merely as an illusory effect. The most potent effect it can have can literally reorder the reality of a given thing but only while it’s nearby and only while being actively used. (This why he was able to turn Quill’s blaster into a bubble gun, the other guardians into spaghetti, etc.)

I believe Thanos needed all the stones to achieve what he was attempting because he needed the reality stone to suspend/supersede the laws of physics, the space stone to reach everywhere in the universe, the power stone for the kinetic energy to dissipate life forms seamlessly, the mind stone to broadcast his will across the cosmos, the soul stone to apply to all life, and the time stone for it to happen instantaneously everywhere to negate the limitations of general relativity. (ex. something he does right now doesn’t mean a million years in the future or the past on the other side of the universe due to his physical location).

[James Lezcano @JamesLezcano]

@MarvelStudios

Just an idea on how to resolve this whole #AvengersDoomsday runtime thing while also doing something novel and kinda cool for moviegoers:

Bring back the Intermission.

[James Lezcano @JamesLezcano]

@MCUScoop If true, I think that would be a mistake. The film is worthy of bringing back the intermission. I think Marvel should consider it.

[James Lezcano @JamesLezcano]

@GwantoSamuel I think people waving away the fact that RDJ was cast as inconsequential are gaslighting themselves and it’s unclear why. He is playing Doom, in some capacity, for a specific reason pertinent to the story. It would be foolish not to do that.

[James Lezcano @JamesLezcano]

I believe Cap returning the Soul Stone is what triggers the events of Doomsday.

By the stone’s logic, or as Schmidt put it, “a certain wisdom,” it exchanges a soul for a soul. So since he never made a sacrifice there to retrieve the stone, Cap doesn’t owe the stone a soul, it owes him one.

It’s unlikely Cap was aware what universe he was in, or that he would listen to anything Schmidt of all people tells him, so if he returns a stone in a different universe than the one Natasha was sacrificed in (it’s appearing to be 828), then the soul the stone released is whatever soul was sacrificed and trapped in that universe. It may turn out to be Victor Von Doom’s, or someone else close to him.

[James Lezcano @JamesLezcano]

Muscle memory, Strange’s spell wasn’t sophisticated enough to nullify all forms of memory, just immediately accessible conscious memory. He would have had to add a dimension of specificity to the spell to encompass all forms and any semblance of memory of Peter for Ned to completely forget him at that level.

[James Lezcano @JamesLezcano]

Based on what can be pieced together, Doom’s point is that there is a throughline of fatalistic physics that a universe is supposed to operate around. The Avengers and others have violated this, in small ways attempted to make the universe around them bend to their will, and it causes inevitable apocalypses of universes as the logic of events begins to breakdown.

Imagine if someone else had the power to dictate where you’ll be born, who you would be raised by, or if you’d exist at all, simply because of a personal desire they had. Doom surmises if people are inevitably going to have the power to shape entire realities, then the only one who is “worthy” to do so is him.

[James Lezcano @JamesLezcano]

I was quoted in this piece and it feels pretty surreal.

[LADbible @ladbible]

Crazy Avengers: Doomsday theory suggests Doom isn't played by RDJ but villain is another MCU character https://t.co/mSbEdL7LQb

[James Lezcano @JamesLezcano]

@ladbible Appreciate the quote!

[James Lezcano @JamesLezcano]

This is possible I suppose. It’s just difficult to ignore the fact that Chris Evans being Human Torch in the early 2000’s F4 film is not cinematically equivalent to RDJ being Tony Stark for the entire MCU franchise.

I think people are certain there’s a more powerful explanation largely due to their faith in the Russos’ storytelling instincts; it’s clear there was a strategic purpose behind casting him in particular for this specific role. We are only speculating as to what that reason could be.

[James Lezcano @JamesLezcano]

I think the way they’re going to do it is it will turn out RDJ was always supposed to be born Victor Von Doom, not Tony Stark. Kang rewrote his history for the Sacred Timeline. I think Loki’s liberation of the multiverse inexorably led to Cap returning the soul stone in 828 and it released Victor’s soul in exchange, retroactively allowing him to live out his true life and exist again.

[James Lezcano @JamesLezcano]

The moment struck me different, I felt he was expressing genuine confusion. How could she be giving birth in April if he was born in May? The conversation kept flowing and he was under a time table so it explains why he didn’t think much of it at the time but I think this small detail was intentionally inserted by the Russos, who at the time were planning to bring RDJ back somehow, I just don’t think it was planned for him to return so soon but other factors forced them to improvise.

[James Lezcano @JamesLezcano]

I believe Steve returned the stone in what is seeming likelier and likelier to be the 828 universe. When he did that, by the stone’s logic, it had to return a soul in exchange because Steve never made a sacrifice for the stone. A soul for a soul.

It is the release of that soul that I believe leads to the rise of Doom.