Theory: Zendaya's "Michelle" is an Inhuman??

This blog was started to write about my hunch that Zendaya is playing Spider-Woman in the upcoming SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING coming to theaters July 7, 2017. In 1 more month we'll all find out what the big mystery is, but today I was struck with a new possibility:


Could Zendaya be playing this character?

Image copied from Marvel.wikia.com; I don't own the rights to this picture!

Her name is Michelle and she's only featured in the Civil War II comic storyline. In the comics, she is a college student who gets exposed to a mutagen substance called Terrigen Mist. The exposure trapped her inside a cocoon, and she came out as a monster that ended up attacking people, then later fighting Ironheart: Iron Man's young black female successor.


Below, Michelle's appearance in the comics and Zendaya's appearance in the 2nd SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING trailer look interestingly similar:




Image copied from ProjectFandom.com; I don't own the rights to this picture!

Image copied from Seventeen.com; I don't own the rights to this picture!

The background scenery in the pictures also looks similar. Zendaya's hair is naturally wavy, almost like the girl in the comic panel.


If you haven't seen the trailer yet, the image of Zendaya and Spider-Man is during a clip where Zendaya's character is yelling "My friends are up there!", implying that Spider-Man has to save people from a high point (or possibly a bad guy, the Vulture, is holding "Michelle's" friends hostage in the sky). But in this video of extended clips from the trailer, Zendaya's character says that she sits with Peter and Ned because she doesn't have any friends.


So does Zendaya's "Michelle" have friends or not? The comic version of Michelle has friends. Earlier I guessed that Zendaya's character is spying on Peter Parker and only pretending to be a high school student. But this could be one of the things that make you go hmm about "Michelle"...

Clue #1: The Inhumans

Phase 4 of the MCU was reportedly going to start with a movie for The Inhumans, but since the characters have been added to the TV show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, it doesn't seem likely that a movie is going to happen. However, the Inhumans are getting a IMAX screen premiere for the first 2 episodes of the upcoming TV show, which will happen in September - just a few months after SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING hits theaters.


Michelle has a link to the Inhumans because her college friend Ulysses was turned into an Inhuman by the same Terrigen Mist that turned her into a villainous creature. At first my theory was that phase 4 of the MCU will center around a Skrull invasion, and I think that's still possible with the inclusion of CAPTAIN MARVEL. But what if the Inhumans were originally supposed to be in the MCU in order to have Terrigen Mist devastating the world? Then it's possible that Michelle was placed in SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING because she'll end up being a character who gets affected by Terrigen Mist in the sequels.

Clue #2: Ironheart

Image copied from Screenrant.com; I don't own the rights to this picture!

As mentioned above, the character Michelle battles against Ironheart in her own comic book run. Ironheart / Riri Williams looks a little like Zendaya, and there's a possibility that Ironheart will be in future MCU movies since:

• The battle against Thanos in the upcoming movies Avengers: Infinity War part 1 and 2 will probably kill off some major characters.
• The MCU is slowly moving in new superheroes that weren't part of phase 1 and 2: characters like Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel, and of course Spider-Man. This implies that some of the older Avengers are going to fade off screen for the newcomers to have the spotlight
• If Ironman possibly retires or dies, Riri Williams might decide to take over as Ironheart in the MCU
• Marvel just recently debuted her character in the comics last year. Maybe the comics were released to prepare for the character being introduced on the big screen

I think Marvel could possibly turn Zendaya's "Michelle" into the new Ironheart, and in that case she would probably turn out to be a friend or sidekick of Spider-Man. She could even be the answer to fans who really wanted to see Miles Morales as Spider-Man on the big screen - who knows? If Zendaya's "Michelle" does end up being Ironheart, her character has been described as an intellectual introvert, which would be a similar match against the "Riri Williams" character of the comics. But if Zendaya's "Michelle" is the same Michelle in the comics, then she must end up being somebody that the superheroes are going to fight.

Clue #3: Civil War II

Image copied from Marvel.wikia.com; I don't own the rights to this picture!

I think there are a few interesting things about this comic run:

• The comics were first published right in the same month that SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING started filming last year. Before June 2016, the character "Michelle" didn't exist except as Michelle Gonzalez.

Some of the events in the comics match right up with how the MCU has been unfolding on screen:

• "Civil War II" happens right after the original Civil War between Iron Man and Captain America. Is it a coincidence that CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR was the movie that first introduced Spider-Man to the MCU?
• "Civil War II" involves a battle with Thanos, who is confirmed to be the main villain in AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR 1 &2 coming soon.
• "Civil War II" features the Inhumans, who were originally supposed to be part of the MCU phase 4. It also features the characters we're going to see in upcoming movies: Spider-Man, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and it even features Spider-Woman (my original guess as to who Zendaya is playing in the movies).

All this is just food for thought, like the rest of this blog. I think it's safe to say that Zendaya is NOT playing Mary Jane, but she must be playing somebody important if her nerdy character is going to be in Spider-Man sequels.


What do you think? I'd love to know your thoughts!


Sincerely,


A Comic Girl