‘Avengers 4’ Theories: Why Fans Believe Pepper Potts Will Become Rescue

The home release of “Avengers: Infinity War” is allowing fans to analyze the epic Marvel movie in a whole new way. Some fans realized that “Avengers 4” spoilers might even be revealed in the subtitles. There’s new “evidence” to support the theory that Pepper Potts will take on her comic book superhero persona Rescue — but fans might be off.

[Spoiler alert: “Avengers: Infinity War” spoilers and potential “Avengers 4” spoilers ahead!]

In “Avengers: Infinity War,” Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) heads to space. He gets a call from Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) as he enters the Black Order’s spaceship, but it gets cut off. When Pepper hears he is on that ship, she tells him to come back, and Friday (Tony’s AI system) says they’re losing Pepper.

“I’m going to—” is the last thing heard, and it’s tough to identify an accent. Some fans assumed that Pepper’s sentence was cut off midway through. While many thought that an action was coming afterward, the subtitles claim that the sentence is complete. She says, “I’m going too.” Is Pepper going to space in “Avengers 4”?

Not so fast. The subtitles don’t clarify who is speaking, but that doesn’t sound much like Pepper. It sounds more like Friday. She’s letting Tony know that his AI system is cutting out. He’s on his own now (at least until he discovers Spider-Man followed him).

However, that doesn’t mean that Pepper isn’t becoming Rescue. There’s actually other evidence that supports this fan theory. In fact, Pepper donning a suit and becoming Rescue is a theory that IBT speculated about last year after Paltrow posted some suspicious “Avengers 4” set photos and videos.

The footage, posted to her Instagram story in December, showed her in a black t-shirt and motion capture pants. That wouldn’t really be necessary for Pepper’s usual wardrobe. The actors who wear mo-cap suits, like Downey and Mark Ruffalo, have characters who are, or who wear suits that are, largely CGI. What’s happening to Pepper Potts that would require special effects all over her legs?

In the comics, Pepper gets a suit made by Iron Man and starts using the code name Rescue. Considering “Infinity War” made it look like he just has a garage of suits ready to go, it wouldn’t be surprising if he had a Rescue suit waiting, especially after Pepper wore one of his suits in “Iron Man 3.”

Of course, this fan theory all depends on Pepper surviving Thanos’ destruction. Half the universe disappeared, and viewers never saw what happened to Pepper.

“Avengers 4,” which will have a better title that should be revealed at the end of the year, is slated to hit theaters May 3, 2019.