The theory suggests that all the X-Men that we have seen in the MCU, belong to Earth 838.

Wanda Maximoff’s assault on the Illuminati citadel left the premiere superhero team of Earth 838 dismantled and massacred. The Illuminati was survived by Baron Mordo and the missing member of the team who was expected to be seated in the empty chair (heavily rumored to be Daniel Craig’s Baldur the Brave).

Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness did not stick around to show us the consequences the deaths had had on Earth 838. However, one theory suggests that Wanda’s massacre might not have done as much damage as audiences had been led to believe.

A theory suggests that Charles Xavier and Maria Rambeau survived Wanda Maximoff’s assault

The theory, brought forward by Reddit user u/JohnnyChopper08, posits that Maria Rambeau, who we last saw in The Marvels alive and well in a universe where the X-Men exist, is the same character that was slaughtered by Wanda, along with her teammates in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Further, Hank McCoy, Beast of the X-Men, who was looking after Monica Rambeau when she found herself in a parallel dimension, referred to the fact that Charles Xavier (who had also died in the massacre) had requested an update, confirming that if this is indeed Earth 838, Charles Xavier had been resurrected and was alive and well.

The theory goes on to say that the Beast that we see at the end of The Marvels, along with Professor Charles Xavier in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness sported the same costumes that they did in X-Men: The Animated Series, implying that Earth 838 might just be the universe that we saw in the Doctor Strange sequel and The Marvels.

The theory also posits that Wolverine, who is set to make an appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine, seems to be wearing the same or a similar costume as he did in the show, which could imply that the universe that Wolverine ‘let down’ was in fact Earth 838.

However, there are a few things that do not add up about the theory

To begin with, the theory assumes that Binary, which is the name Maria Rambeau goes by in the universe that we see at the end of The Marvels, is the same character as Captain Marvel, who we see in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, both played by Lashana Lynch. The idea is that Captain Marvel went Binary at the brink of death. However, Wanda categorially drained the hero of her power, which would have made the transformation impossible, given that it requires Captain Marvel to absorb a lot of energy to activate.

There is also the fact that the score used in Beast’s introduction was from the soundtrack for X2 and X-Men: Days of Future Past, both of which are from the Foxverse and not X-Men: The Animated Series. The soundtrack for the latter did make a cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, during Professor X’s introduction. This version of the OST was slowed down, and a little more grandiose. However, the X-Men: The Animated Series theme is also heard when Kamala is revealed to be a mutant on Earth 199999, which was a slightly sped-up version of the soundtrack, begging the question if this might be sufficient evidence that the character belongs in different universes.

This theory is finally debunked by the fact that Hank McCoy, who we see at the end of The Marvels, finds the idea of a parallel universe ridiculous. Given that Charles Xavier (played by Patrick Stewart) of Earth 838 was murdered by a multiverse hopping witch, it might be a stretch to assume that one of the leading minds of this Earth was completely unaware of the fact that the multiverse is an active part of reality, especially given the number of times the X-Men has dealt with time-travel in both the Foxverse, and The Animated Series.

As for Wolverine being from Earth 838, this is just pure conjecture that barely has any proof to support it, and must hence be accepted with a grain of salt until further information is revealed.

However, Wolverine’s costume does have some significant variations from what we have seen in X-Men ’97 and X-Men: The Animated Series, which would again lead us to believe that this Wolverine is from another universe altogether. What we are aware of is the fact that this Wolverine is not from the main Foxverse, given that that character met his end in 2016’s Logan. There is also the fact that Hugh Jackman is at least a whole foot taller than the Wolverine that we have seen in X-Men: The Animated Series.

Deadpool & Wolverine is set to hit theatres on July 26t, 2024