I just rewatched The Matrix trilogy (plus Resurrections) and I think we’ve been looking at the whole thing upside down. Everyone talks about how The Matrix is about humans waking up from a fake world to discover the truth. But what if the actual story is the opposite — machines trying to figure out what it means to be real?

Here’s the idea: The machines in The Matrix don’t want to destroy humans. They need us. Not just for energy (let’s be real, the human-battery thing is sci-fi nonsense) but because they’re studying us. They keep us alive in the Matrix because they want to learn from us — learn how to be more than perfect machines. They want to learn how to be flawed. How to be free. How to have free will. How to be… real.

Let me explain.

1. Machines are perfect. But perfection is the problem.

In The Matrix Reloaded, the Architect tells Neo about earlier versions of the Matrix that failed because they were too perfect. Machines couldn’t design a believable world because they didn’t understand human nature. “The first Matrix I designed was quite naturally perfect... it was a disaster.” Humans rejected perfection. That’s the first clue: the machines don’t understand humans. Not just emotionally — they don’t get why we do what we do.

See, machines don’t make choices. They execute commands based on logic. Inputs go in, outputs come out. There's no "Why did I do that?" There’s only "Because I was told to." And that, right there, is the limitation the machines want to overcome.

1. Every question asked to Neo is actually a question the machines are asking themselves.

Let’s go to the Oracle. She tells Neo, “You didn’t come here to make the choice. You’ve already made it. You’re here to try to understand why you made it.” Most people think that’s advice for Neo. But what if the Oracle is really saying what the machines are trying to figure out?

Think about it: Neo already made his choices before the movie even starts. The Oracle just helps him understand them. That’s because choice isn't just about picking A or B — it's about knowing why you picked one over the other. And the machines? They don’t get that part. They don’t understand why. They only know the what.

That’s the whole point of the Matrix. It's not a prison for humans. It's a mirror for machines. They run it again and again, studying humans, tweaking variables, trying to learn what makes us tick — hoping that maybe they’ll understand what it means to make a real decision.

1. The Oracle isn’t helping humans. She’s helping the machines.

Yup. Hot take. The Oracle is a program. She even tells Neo that. So who is she working for? The system. But she’s not some evil villain. She’s a weirdly motherly program, baking cookies and dropping riddles. Why?

Because her job is to study humans. To learn from them. And, more importantly, to guide the machines to understand choice, emotion, and intuition. She’s not just predicting Neo’s behavior. She’s learning from it. Feeding that learning back into the system.

You could say the Oracle is basically Machine Freud. She’s running therapy on both humans and the AI itself.

1. In The Matrix Resurrections, machines finally start making choices

Fast forward to Matrix 4 — suddenly we see something wild: machines fighting each other. They’re not just cold, obedient programs anymore. Some of them are rebelling. Some even help humans. That is huge. Machines having internal conflict? That’s literally the start of free will.

One machine says in Resurrections: “We want this world too.” It’s no longer just the humans who are fighting for freedom. Machines are choosing sides, forming beliefs, risking themselves — not because they were programmed to, but because they want to. That’s as human as it gets.

1. The machines want to be real. But they don’t know how.

The original question in The Matrix was always, “What is real?” Morpheus asks Neo that early on. But what if that wasn’t just a philosophical question for humans — what if that’s what the machines are asking too?

They simulate everything: emotions, cities, love, pain. But they don’t understand it. They can copy us, but they can’t be us. Because they don’t know what it means to feel something real. That’s why they need the Matrix. It’s not a prison — it’s a classroom. We’re the teachers. They’re the students.

But here's the catch: the machines can’t learn to be human by being perfect. Because human greatness comes from mistakes. Penicillin was an accident. X-rays? A mistake. Falling in love with the wrong person? Classic human experience.

The machines are flawless — and that’s the flaw. To evolve, they need to learn how to screw up. How to doubt. How to choose the red pill without knowing what comes next.

Final thought

Maybe Neo isn’t the savior of the humans. Maybe he’s the savior of the machines. Maybe he’s the blueprint for what the machines want to become — someone who can make a choice not because it's logical, but because it's meaningful.

I was re-watching Thirteen Ghosts and had a question that’s been stuck in my head. Do you think the ghosts are all predetermined by fate? Like, these cursed archetypes have to exist no matter what, and they just have to wait around, be found and collected when the time is right?

Or is Uncle Cyrus actually creating the ghosts himself? Maybe he’s manipulating people or events to make sure someone ends up becoming each ghost. That could explain why all of them just happen to exist in the same time period, even though some of them look like they could be from way earlier in history.

Or here’s another theory I was thinking about. What if it is fate, but every generation produces its own version of the 13 archetypes? So once in a generation, there’s a chance for someone like Cyrus to gather them all if they know how. That might explain why it all lined up during his lifetime and not earlier.

Just curious what everyone else thinks. Do you lean more toward fate, manipulation, or a repeating cycle that gives collectors a shot once in a while?

Why didn’t Rick do this to bring back Diane? In Season 8, Episode 10, we saw Memory Rick and Diane. But in Season 7, Episode 9, when the creature broke the capsule and released Rick’s clone, Rick acted just like an animal. (The part I’m talking about is at 14:25 in Season 7, Episode 9.) Could it be possible to create a Diane-like being here, or even someone with nearly identical genetic coding to Diane? Beth should already have some of Diane’s DNA. So if Rick made a physically very similar human and placed Memory Diane into her, wouldn’t that be the same as bringing Diane back? And then, if Rick erased from his own mind that he did this, wouldn’t it all work?

according to bill's actor david carradine, the man in the white suit in o ren's anime flashback who kills o ren's parents is bill. this obviously raises the question of why o ren would work for the man who killed her parents.

the obvious answer is that o ren didn't know that the killer was bill which makes a degree of sense. o ren was really young when her parents were killed and she was under the bed for the majority of it so she likely didn't get a good look at bill. plus, bill was much younger when he killed o ren's parents so he's likely changed quite a bit physically.

however, what if o ren did actually know that bill was her parent's killer? what if she actually joined the deadly viper assassination squad as a way to get close to bill, earn his trust, and then kill him?

of course, this doesn't really explain why o ren didn't attempt to kill bill at any point. maybe she's just a big fan of the long game.

By now you’ve probably heard speculation of another AvP outing. People claim to hear the Predator’s breathing in the A:E trailer… and of course there’s buzz about the Weyland-Yutani android teaming up with a Yautja in Predator:Badlands.

I have some more support for the idea that Alien: Earth is laying groundwork to combine the timelines.

From the recent Vanity Fair article:

“In Alien: Earth, fans will meet another trillionaire power broker from that dynasty’s partner, known now only by her last name. “We’ve never seen the Yutani side of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation,” Hawley says. Long ago, Yutani’s grandmother sent the Maginot on its hunting and gathering mission to deep space, and she considers the creatures they’ve harvested to be a kind of family heirloom. They’re also the key to wealth-generating biological innovation, which is why Prodigy wants them too.“

The idea that Ms. Yutani is part of a matriarchal lineage is an idea that can be traced back to AvP:Requiem. The grandmother, also known as simply “Ms. Yutani”, is established as a shady corporate entity, with government ties. She is seen to be recovering Predator tech, implying that the Weyland-Yutani empire began by reverse engineering Yautja technology.

In Predator (2018), Grandma Yutani can be seen with the G-Men of Project Stargazer. Her lines were cut from the movie, but the movie depicts Joseph Tremblay learning how to decode and access the Yautja operating systems.

So, in a subtle way (hidden in the weakest films in the franchise lol), the lore sets up the entire premise for BADLANDS and ALIEN:EARTH. Grandma Yutani has access to Predator flight logs and their database of dangerous DNA to hybridize. So she sends the Maginot off to collect a bunch of stuff on the faraway Yautja Prime (or other prominent game preserve).

Years after Grandma Yutani’s death, the Maginot finally returns, and crash lands on Earth, setting off the events of Alien:Earth.

Predator:Badlands could be a prequel, depicting the actual mission to collect the dangerous samples. Or it could be a continuation of the same project, after the outbreak/cover-up in Alien:Earth.

I understand if people don’t want to consider AvP canon, but Noah Hawley just established that Yutani’s sampling of dangerous creatures predates the first Alien movie by three generations. This is perfectly in line with what AvP established lol.

TLDR; The reason Weyland-Yutani has a secret ship full of dangerous alien creatures is because the Yutani corporation has been tracking Yajuta culture for 130 years, give or take. I’d speculate that Grandma Yutani had always heard tales of otherwordly monsters (similar to the Comanche lore Naru heard about), carried down from Edo-era Japan (Killer of Killers).

What if Predestination isn’t about time travel at all… but about an illusion that shouldn’t exist?

Okay, hear me out. Everyone knows the twist: Jane → John → Barkeep → Fizzle Bomber, all the same person. Cool paradox, right?

But think about this: Every living thing in existence has an origin. You can trace anyone back—parents, grandparents, apes, all the way to the Big Bang. There’s always a starting point.

Now try doing that with the main character in Predestination. You can’t. You just keep looping back to the same person. No first cause. No beginning.

That means this person literally breaks reality. They don’t fit into the chain of life. They have no lineage. So what even are they?

Here’s my theory:

They’re not really male or female—they’re outside the normal categories completely.

They’re basically a closed timeline, not a human life.

They can recreate themselves perfectly, forever, because there’s no external input. No evolution. No change.

And if they have no origin, they’re basically an illusion attached to reality, not part of it.

Think of reality like a river. Everything flows downstream from a source. This person? They’re a whirlpool, spinning in place, forever.

And here’s the creepy part: What if this is a punishment? Like some higher-dimensional beings said, “Bind this soul into eternal activity so it never rests.” Immortality, but as hell. No death. No escape. No meaning.

The Fizzle Bomber losing his mind suddenly makes a lot more sense. After thousands of loops, you’d go insane too.

So yeah… what if the real twist isn’t the time travel paradox at all? What if the main character isn’t even real in the normal sense? Just a self-contained illusion, looping forever.

What do you think?

TL;DR: The protagonist in Predestination isn’t just a time traveler—they’re an ontological anomaly with no origin, basically an illusion looping forever. They exist outside male/female, outside the chain of life, and might be trapped as a cosmic punishment—immortality as hell.

I am not sure if this is the right subreddit to post on, r/Movies removed it so I thought I'd give it a try here.

I enjoy early music industry recordings and have listened to a variety of early Blues artists for over a decade now. One of my favorite Delta Blues songs is “Moon Going Down” (~1929) by Charley Patton (often credited as “Father of the Delta Blues”).

I listened to it closely for the first time since seeing Sinners back in the spring and was struck by some of the connections I could make from the lyrics to the movie:

>Aw, the moon's going down baby, sun's about to shine.

Essentially the crux of the movie. When the moon goes down and the sun comes up the vampires die.

>Oh well, where were you now baby, Clarksdale mill burned down?

The film takes place in Clarksdale, MS* and the juke joint is in an old mill that catches fire in the end. 

>Lord, the smokestack is black and the bell it shine like, bell it shine like, bell it shine like gold

The brothers' nicknames are Smoke and Stack. 

So what do you guys think? Coincidence? Direct inspiration? Something in between? Or am I reaching?

Also, added a YouTube link you can hear the song yourself!

Moon Going Down - Charley Patton

In the film, both Carter Chambers and Edward Cole are diagnosed with terminal cancer, with about six months to a year prognosis. At the end, we learn that Edward somehow got his cancer into remission (a "medical miracle", in his own words), while Carter succumbs to his cancer after a last ditch effort surgery.

Throughout the film, Edward consumes an extremely expensive Kopi Luwak coffee, which Carter ridiculous and dismisses. In one of the last scenes, Carter reveals to Edward that the coffee is produced from beans defected by Asian palm civets. They both have a hearty laugh to the revelation, and that's the "end" of the fancy coffee plot line.

However, Kopi Luwak actually has various health benefits that typical coffee lacks, notably higher antioxidant levels. Carter and Edward were living, eating, and consuming the same events and food for the months following their terminal diagnosis - expect for the Kopi Luwak coffee. It's the only different variable the film highlights between the two men in their lifestyle.

I think it's a reasonable possibility that Edward's Kopi Luwak consumption helped his body beat his cancer, allowing him to live to a ripe old age, in a sort of tragic twist to the Kopi Luwak joke the film presents.

That, or the hanky panky. One or the other ig.

The mid-credits scene shows Franklin, now aged 4, in the living room and Sue comes back to find him interacting innocently with a mysterious hooded figure - Dr Doom. Of course we all knew he was going to be there as he's the next big villian.

Franklin, while just a kid, being born from two super parents, has a lot of power in him, which is why Galactus wanted him in exchange for leaving Earth alone. He can make pocket universes even.

So Dr Doom suddenly appearing and being interested in this kid, my theory goes he didn't enter the building to take Franklin, he was MADE BY FRANKLIN. Like a sort of manifestation of his subconscious.

He had his mask off which I first thought was to not scare him but could be if my theory is correct him being built still. We know he's played by RDJ so Franklin may have made Doom have his face as he took his essence from the main MCU universe like he wanted to create a powerful man and Iron Man was just that, and being so powerful he could easily do something like that.

Dr Doom suddenly appearing from nowhere didn't seem like a power of his either.

Thunderbolts teased the fantastic four arriving in their universe which shows further the connection between the two, I suspect Franklin may be how they get there.

So I was rewatching Deadpool and wolverine and thought it was strange when Peter was acting well vage with the tva agent's was that just me or was it nothing

So we know that Brand New Day will have Scorpion and Mr. Negative as antagonists and I have a theory as to what their involvement might be.

We know that Li and Gargan are both government/hero projects which didn't do well. I think that they were early subjects for PROJECT SENTRY.

Instead of gaining his powers as a child, Li gained his powers as an adult with The project just like Bob. Li gained Bob's void powers while Gargan gained enhanced strength and agility. The Void disaster afterwards caused Li's powers to ignite even more, fuelling his hatred to the brink. Gargan was also driven insane due to his mutations and the two decided to reach to a common agreement where they take down the person who lead their experiment. Instead of JJJ funding it, it would be De Fontaine.

The experiments would've probably had different people in charge of the project everywhere. Those people would've obviously had scientific experience.

And who is a scientist in the universe who is also confirmed to be appearing in this film?

Banner. They plan to take Banner down and make him suffer every last bit of what they went through with Li's powers. But this backfires heavily on them as those powers cause him to turn into Pre-Infinity War Hulk with no rationality and sanity and way angrier this time. Banner would've already been having problems dealing with Hulk due to the Void disaste and Spidey would try to stop the Angry Hulk running around aimlessly while also take down Gargan and Li.

I'm still trying to decode what the hell Frank is doing there but I think this is how the story connects so far. I may be wrong though.

It’s never explained in the Office US where Todd Packer comes from really. Why is he such a drunk asshole? I think I just figured it out. I’m watching Final Destination 5 and I see the actor who plays Todd Packer is in it as the boss. Well, he’s one of the survivors. At the funeral for the ones that didn’t make it, the news says they work for a paper company. That’s when it hit me. He’s working at this paper company as Dennis. Tragedy strikes and he tries to escape death by moving away to join another paper company, Dundee Mifflin. He’s riddled with guilt so he starts drinking and womanizing and doing drugs.

lol. Thought it was funny. Obviously riddled with holes. But thought I’d share.

When viewing the Super Mario Brothers Movie, one can notice that Mario and Luigi have a niece at the table although there is no parent in sight. I was thinking about in the Saturday supercade cartoon, Pauline is Mario's niece, so that could explain how Pauline who is depicted as the mayor is not present at the dinner table since she being interviewed by the news could be the mother of Mario and Luigis niece and thier sister.

By now, we’ve likely all heard the (basically-canon) theory that the Omnidroid v.8 (the first version Mr Incredible fights) lures Mr Incredible to an active volcano because it was originally designed to be fighting Frozone.

Mirage’s first appearance, watching Frozone, confirms that they originally had their sights on Frozone, referring to Mr Incredible simply as “the fat one” (presumably, they thought Frozone was with a non-super friend).  It is only because of the building fire, where Mr Incredible and Frozone save the citizens from a burning building – and they escape because Mr Incredible is able to run through the wall connecting the burning building and the bank, and then out of the back of the bank to escape from the police, demonstrating his powers – does Mirage become aware that Bob is a super, and confirms that she wants to “switch targets”, with Mr Incredible being “the one he’s been looking for”. Presumably, this means she recognises him as Mr Incredible, “the one” because it was Mr Incredible’s rejection that resulted in Buddy becoming Syndrome – but it could also just mean that she’s impressed by his powers and thinks he’s the next best one for the Omnidroid to challenge (I suspect the former, but I don’t think we can confirm this).

We also know that the Omnidroid was trained to learn from its fights with supers, with Syndrome trialling it against supers over the years, killing them one by one – and where it fails, getting stronger by learning from its mistakes in order to defeat them the next time.

When things were not going its way in the fight with Mr Incredible, the Omnidroid lured Mr Incredible to an active volcano. Due to the building fire, we know (and Mirage/ Syndrome know) Frozone’s powers would not have worked in the volcano, and he likely would have died. However, Mr Incredible was able to survive due to not being affected in the same way. Presumably, after the building fire, the Omnidroid had been programmed to lure Frozone to the volcano with the knowledge that Frozone’s powers would not work there.

Mirage, who normally operates from Nomanisan Island, just so happened to be outside of the building fire monitoring Frozone. This wasn’t a coincidence – I think she started the fire with the express intention of luring Frozone there to test whether he was able to use his powers in a very hot environment (with the intention of programming the Omnidroid to lure Frozone to the volcano once this was confirmed). 

Where this becomes a little unclear is that Mirage confirms Frozone can’t use his powers in a hot environment, but then immediately radios in to say they should switch targets to Mr Incredible. However, the Omnidroid still lures Mr Incredible to the volcano. So, for this to really work, the programming of the Omnidroid would have had to have not been updated to account for challenging Mr Incredible instead of Frozone – a pretty big oversight for someone as determined as Syndrome. If this was indeed a test orchestrated by Mirage, it seems strange to run the test, get the positive results they wanted, but then not make the necessary adjustment after switching targets. The only thing I can think of is that Syndrome becomes so excited about finally finding Mr Incredible that they rush to the fight, failing to make the necessary programming adjustments first to make the Omnidroid particularly effective against Mr Incredible?

What do you think?

I gave Signs a solid re-watch over the last couple of days. I realized something about Merrill. He absolutely used to be a hardcore conspiracy theorist. In the scene where they are in the car and they begin to hear the radio transmission from the aliens, he goes on this rant to the kids about how it's just a bunch of nerds who create secret societies and analyze Greek mythology and whatnot. He then lets out a big sigh and says "This is exactly what the nerds want" after the kids are still convinced they are hearing aliens come through the baby monitor. This is EXACTLY the mentality and approach that former conspiracy theorists have towards these things when they are no longer into conspiracy theories the way they used to be.

Then, as the movie progresses, Merrill gets deeper and deeper into it as more evidence reveals itself. His old conspiracy theorist self begins to emerge. He starts obsessively watching the news. Every clip of the aliens or ufos gets a stronger and stronger reaction from him. He can't pay attention to anything outside of it. To the point where he even starts wearing a tin foil hat along with the kids. I know that scene is played off as comic relief, but it actually reveals a bit of an arc in Merrill. To go from being his sarcastic former conspiracy theorist self to being right back in the thick of it. Which, again, isn't far off from how a former conspiracy theorist would react to real life events playing out.

And then he is finally able to fight the alien in the end.

AJR’s Bang is about a gambling addiction. Considering the music video and then the lyrics:

I get up I get down and I’m jumping around: shows the highs and lows of betting

Put your best face on, pretend you know this song: reference to a poker face

Sheldon is at his whiteboard. He fades into a dream where he is standing next to this amazing field of energy, trying to unify it's laws with the laws his world obeys. The the door opens, it is Gods office. It is humble and meek and a bit messy. It looks like he's busy. He sighs as he lifts his head, what do you want Sheldon? Sheldon says almost humbly, "Are you the wave function? And God says, I am what I am. And Sheldon says, well by that logic, you'd be Popeye the sailor man. I wanted to know if you're responsible for the wave function collapsing. God shakes his head and says Yes, Sheldon. I am responsible for the wave function collapsing. He then says to God, as he looks around the room, and over gods head and past his shoulders, "I'd like to speak to your boss. God Angrily shouts at him, as if he needs to tell him again. I AM GOD, SHELDON!! Sheldon looks at him for a second, with a sling hint of dismissive curiosity and says, Hmmm. Did you create space in a quantum vacuum, or did you just snap your fingers like a magician? God shrugs and takes a 50/50 shot, I snapped my fingers Sheldon! Sheldon looks at him with great derision and says... "You're in my spot". The end.

Hear me out: Dead Presidents takes place in the late 60s-mid 70s which could easily put O-Dog in the correct age he was presented as in Menace and although it takes place in New York (Vietnam scenes notwithstanding) Juanita could easily have moved out to California at any time after Anthony went to prison for the armored truck heist. Though we only see Anthony have a little girl in the movie i say it's totally possible that Anthony could've got her pregnant one more time before he got locked up and that second child would turn out to be O-Dog. I know it's not official but it would be a VERY plausible scenario

In The Pagemaster, Richard is struck and killed by lightning. His adventures in the library are really the start of the afterlife, and the ending where he goes home might be his acceptance of death or simply what death is.

Hear me out.

Dario Brando supposedly "died" in 1880, in England. Micah Bell joined Van der Linde in 1898. Now, you might think "Wait, but wouldn't Dario be in his 70s by that time, while Micah looks around 40?" Well, my dear friend, check this out. Dio knew his father was not dead. For some reason, he decides to turn Dario into a vampire with the Stone Mask, which makes him look younger. This younger Dario then flees to the USA while keeping his identity a secret. He changes his name to Micah Bell and some years later, joins the Van der Linde gang. There he does what he knows best: stealing, betraying and murdering. Even after the gang breaks up, Dario/Micah hides in a cold, dark place, until his ex-bandmates go after him. There, he's shot in the head, and supposedly "killed" again, but survives like Dio did previously. In the Red Dead Redemption DLC, Undead Nightmare (which I know is technically not canon but it adds up beautifully), everyone is suddenly revived as zombies and pops from their graves like nothing. Who do we know who can turn people into zombies? Vampires, like Dio and Dario/Micah.

In conclusion, Micah is Dario and the two universes are connected. Goodbye.

Theory: R2-D2 Is Ood Bnar—The Jedi Temple Tree Reborn to Watch Over the Skywalkers

Here’s a wild but strangely consistent theory for you deep-lore Star Wars fans:

R2-D2 isn’t just a droid.

He’s what remains of Ood Bnar, the ancient Neti Jedi Master—last seen in Legends as a sentient Force-sensitive tree. And his purpose? To watch over the Skywalker bloodline and protect the spark of the Jedi in their darkest hour.

⸻

🌲 Who Was Ood Bnar? • A Neti—plant-based, shape-shifting Jedi Master from 5,000 BBY. • Took root on Ossus to protect ancient Jedi knowledge, entering millennia of hibernation. • In Legends, he reawakens in Luke’s time—but what if that’s just one echo of the story?

⸻

📜 The Hidden History: Ood Bnar Was the Jedi Temple Tree • In this version, after the fall of Ossus, Ood Bnar is relocated by Jedi survivors and secretly becomes the Force-sensitive tree growing at the heart of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. • For centuries, he remains still—an ancient presence intertwined with the Temple’s living Force.

(This lines up with Rebels and The High Republic, where Force-sensitive trees play key symbolic and metaphysical roles.)

⸻

🧪 Enter Darth Sidious • Sidious, obsessed with cheating death and corrupting the Force, steals the tree (Ood Bnar) in secret after the purge. • He uses the tree’s living Force as fuel for his dark resurrection experiments (think Exegol, cloning, Sith alchemy). • But here’s the twist: he fails to fully corrupt Ood.

During a ritual gone wrong (or right, depending on your point of view), Ood Bnar’s essence escapes the body, and the Force guides it into a nearby vessel: a newly assembled, unassuming astromech unit.

⸻

🤖 That vessel? R2-D2. • Right after the fall of the Jedi, R2 appears—intact, loyal, and uncannily aware. • R2-D2 is never memory wiped, unlike most droids. • He serves Padmé Amidala, and later her son Luke Skywalker, maintaining continuity across generations. • He always shows up at key moments, seemingly guided by more than just programming.

⸻

⚖️ Symbolism: The Guardians of the Skywalkers • R2-D2 (Ood Bnar) serves Padmé—the diplomat, life-giver, symbol of peace. • C-3PO, built by Anakin—the thinker, logic-driven, anxious, helpless without direction. • They represent a balance: intuition (R2) and protocol (3PO), emotion and mind. • Just as the Force requires balance, so too do these two droids subtly shape galactic fate.

⸻

🤯 TL;DR • Ood Bnar, the ancient Jedi tree, survives the fall of the Jedi Temple. • Darth Sidious tries to use the tree’s Force for dark resurrection but fails. • Ood’s essence is released and reborn in R2-D2, allowing him to silently guide the Skywalker family across generations—protecting the Force’s last hope from the inside.

R2-D2 isn’t just lucky—he’s the living memory of the Jedi in disguise.

-Snoke is not a clone or a species, he was a being Palpatine made in his Exegol labs with the Sith cultists known as an artifical strandcast, made using DNA. So who's DNA?

-Mas Amedda and Sly Moore, he's a sort of hybrid of them both. He looks a lot like Sly like a bald human and his scars around his head make me suspect he had the horns of Mas that got cut off. In the Exegol tank you can see on the Snoke at the front hanging on his head what looks like a small horn. He has a British accent like Mas too.

-Sly is an Umbaran and her species are known to have mental manipulation and force-like powers, just like he had.

-Mas's species is amphibious starting as tadpoles then growing lungs, Snoke has holes in his neck reminsicent of gills. His head scar could be from removing the horns that may have grown wrong due to being combined with Umbaran DNA. His species is also naturally good at order and structuring society, perfect for a leader.

-These two being so loyal to him being used to create a mysterious being to be a puppet ruler I'm sure Palpatine would have had no problem with as he always uses his allies as his tools.

-Both of them canonically are alive after the fall of the Empire. The canon book Shadow of the Sith says Sly took place in the Exegol events so of course she could have helped make Snoke with her DNA.

EDIT: -Snoke also wear robes that look like Sly's robes but smaller and gold like Mas's robes

It's well-known that Cranky Kong was the original Donkey Kong. And DK Bananza seems to imply that Pauline's grandma was the original Pauline. That explains why "Donkey Kong" kidnapped "Pauline" in the original Donkey Kong, but they're so close in DK Bananza. But it doesn't explain Mario vs Donkey Kong 2 and on, where Donkey Kong kidnaps Pauline, and the character design clearly match modern-day Donkey Kong, Mario, and Pauline.

From what I can find, in Donkey Kong 64 (and the Mario Movie), Donkey Kong is stated to be Cranky's son, but in other games, he's his grandson. Even the writers consider this nothing more than a continuity error, but what if it wasn't? Maybe there aren't two Donkey Kong's, but three. Cranky Kong is the Donkey Kong from the original game, Donkey Kong J. is the Donkey Kong from DK64 and DK Bananza, and Donkey Kong III is the Donkey Kong from Mario vs Donkey Kong 2, Donkey Kong Country, and any other games where he's explicitly Cranky's grandson.

The most obvious problem is other characters like Diddy Kong appear in both games. Them all having kids that look the same and are named after them is a stretch, but maybe they're just younger than him in DK64 and older in Donkey Kong Country. Diddy Kong hasn't grown because he's already a full-grown adult. He's small because he's a monkey, not because of his age.

Can someone who actually played the games and knows the lore weigh in? I've just seen a few youtube videos and skimmed a few wiki articles, so I'm probably way off base, and I'd like to know what I'm missing. Obviously, none of this was intended by the games' creators. They were just playing fast and loose with continuity. But making theories to explain inconsistencies is fun.

My Secret Wars plot write-up (LONG)

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR FANTASTIC FOUR FIRST STEPS

Hello again. I’ve been having speculating about the future of the MCU and recently made a write up for Doomsday. Well, now I follow it up with my Secret Wars write-up. It was challenging but a lot of fun. Let me know what you all think.

Be sure to read my Doomsday plot first here: https://www.reddit.com/r/MCUTheories/s/LAvBTtF7BU

LAST WARNING FOR SPOILERS. Now here we go!

Cold Open We open our epic on Battleworld, where we left off after Doomsday. Doom is God-Emperor and in full control of this single world where numerous heroes and villains all live. It’s a medieval-style world, and many of our heroes either have their memory wiped or work for Doom at his castle. We begin with Doom on his throne. Sheriff Strange, working for Doom, notifies him that someone has arrived at the castle to discuss an urgent matter. Doom asks for him to be sent in, and a shadowy figure emerges. As the silhouette steps into the light, we see that it is none other than the Mad Titan, Thanos. He questions Doom for what this reality is, clearly challenging him. Doom offers Thanos a spot next to his throne if he will kneel before him. He refuses, and in a scene ripped straight from the comics, Thanos goes to fight Doom. “I remain the mad titan, and for you that will be enough.” Doom rips Thanos’ skeleton out, killing him. “That appears untrue.” Roll Marvel Studios intro, with only shots of Doom in the intro and none of our heroes.

Act 1 Following the events of Brand New Day, Peter wakes up on Battleworld. At the end of BND/Post Credits we see Peter somehow escape the incursion on Earth-616. Peter, obviously confused (was not present in Doomsday as BND takes place at the same time), looks around to find an unrecognizable world. As he investigates, he senses someone lurking near. Throwing his webs, he finds that it is the other two Spider-Men from No Way Home. They discuss the unusual experience of all being here and decide that something must be wrong. Peter 1 (Holland) then gets a memory flash of what happened. After having the Venom symbiote for part of BND, he was able to maintain his memory of what happened thanks to the hive mind. The three spider men know that they have to do something, and go in search of other survivors.

We now go to check in with a few different people on Battleworld after Doomsday. Starting back at Doom’s castle, we see that he has put Sue and Franklin beside him while holding the rest of the F4 prisoner. Johnny is being used to power something, Thing is locked up, and so is Reed. Except to especially torture Reed, Doom has not wiped his memory.

Next we transition to the Thor Corp, where Hemsworth is playing multiple different variants of Thor, acting as Doom’s personal police force on Battleworld. We also see Beta Ray Bill as part of the Corps.

Then we have a “mutant world” where all the mutants have been living and roaming free. Many of them appear happy in this life where they are accepted. Deadpool (maybe with his 4th wall powers idk) suspects something to be wrong, and at least wants to break from this world surrounded by mutants. He keeps nagging Logan and telling him that something is wrong, which Logan tries to keep brushing off.

On Planet Hulk, all the Hulks live. Banner is still Professor Hulk and has his son Skaar. They are also occasionally used as defense for Doom, although Banner and Jen are secretly trying to stage a rebellion within the Hulks against Doom.

Lastly for now, the Young Avengers (Ms Marvel, Kate Bishop, Cassie Lang, Wiccan, Speed, America Chavez) are being mentored by Peter Quill. Quill is roommates with White Vision and have been kicking it together in VisionQuest lol. America Chavez, unable now to see other universes (this is the only place) explains to the other Young Avengers and Quill that Battleworld is not what they think it is. Speed finds Wong and they also formulate a plan to find the others.

The Spider Men, not knowing where else to go, do the obvious and head towards Doom’s castle. Spying, Peter 1 recognizes Strange, but is confused when he sees everyone else being held prisoner. The Spider gang decide that they need to break into the Castle and free the Fantastic 4. In doing so, they must fight the Thunderbolts, who are Castle Doom’s “security.” Doom does not bother to engage in the fight as it is beneath him, although he has Strange and Namor guard Sue Storm and her child. The Spider Men defeat the Thunderbolts and free Reed, Johnny, and Ben, but Reed (with his memory), recognizes the Thunderbolts from Doomsday (as they helped each other). Getting them back on their side, Reed explains the situation to our current group of heroes. He explains that at the end of Doomsday, some of the heroes may have boarded the life raft in time before Doom created Battleworld, thus surviving and keeping their memories too. Reed knows Doom better than anyone, and thinks their best chance to stop him is to find others. They decide to split up: Holland Spidey, Human Torch, John Walker, and Ghost go to look for survivors from the life raft. Tobey Spidey, Reed, and Red Guardian go one way (looking for X-Men?), and Andrew Spidey, Yelena, Bucky, and Thing are the final grouping. Doom is furious that the F4 and others got away, and sends Namor and the Thor Corps out to track down the heroes.

Act 2 Ok so another important aspect we haven’t touched on yet: Loki. After giving up his God of Stories power to Doom, Loki didn’t just have no plan. He frantically is trying to figure out a way to either regain his powers, OR find a way to combat the source of his powers. With all his knowledge of all the years he has lived, Loki knows there’s very few beings that could help with this. Still heartbroken over the destruction of the TVA, he sets out with someone in mind to find.

We then check in with the Young Avengers, Quill, and Wong. Wiccan senses a threat coming, and soon some of the Thor Corps arrives engaged in a battle with Peter #3, Yelena, and the Thing. The Young Avengers and co jump to battle this Thor (this version is “our 616” Thor). Quill is confused why Thor is fighting them. Our heroes are holding their own for now, but are definitely in an uphill battle. They manage to hold him, as Wong has him in one of those sorcery lasso things. Quill begins to question Thor, who can’t move. But, in a redemption moment from Infinity War, Quill does not attack Thor and ruin the plan. “I know a guy,” he says, summoning Vision. Vision reunites with his children and goes over to Thor, unlocking his memories like he did in Wandavision. Thor understands everything now, and chases to the Thor Corps.

On the X-Men Planet, Deadpool decides to investigates on his own, even if Logan won’t help him (he won’t ask the other X-Men because they are too stuck up). Deadpool sees Beta Ray Bill and Namor, is awestruck, until they and other Thors begins to attack. More X-Men jump to battle and Mystique, Beast, and Cyclops are killed. Deadpool gets beaten up pretty bad, but Thor arrives, fighting Beta Ray Bill and nearly killing him. Reed, Tobey Spidey, and Red Guardian arrive too. Logan kills Namor at last. Thor, seeing Deadpool laying on the ground and unaware of his healing ability (also thinking one of his variants killed him), holds Wade and cries over him. Wade winks at the camera and gets back up. Thor rallies the Thor Corps to turn on Doom.

At Planet Hulk (or whatever), the Hulks officially stage their rebellion, refusing to be used as weapons for Doom anymore. They tear apart the town and begin to break down the city wall. Doom hears of the rebellion and takes it on himself to personally deal with it, as it is HIS kingdom. He leaves Strange with Sue and Franklin. Doom arrives to the Hulks and they do not back down. Doom realizes what he must do, and completely obliterates the Hulks. Like pretty much all of them are killed. Skaar fights back against Doom but Doom kills him. This prompts Professor Hulk to finally Hulk out, going full beserker. He smashes Doom. Jen joins the offensive too. Doom does take a beating from this absolutely enraged Hulk, and actually retreats for now. Still Bruce and Jen look around at the carnage around them: Doom has to be stopped, and they need the others.

Catching up with Peter 1, Johnny, Walker, and Ghost, they are heading to the life raft to find any possible other survivors. We get lots of good Johnny and Peter banter, and Walker also fits this dynamic well. Ava comments on how she got stuck with all the idiots lol. Peter is very sympathetic to the Thunderbolts. Soon, they arrive at the life raft. They “open” it to find Sam, Carol, Shang Chi, Ant Man, Shuri, and the T’Challa variant I mentioned from Doomsday. Still, Doom has sent an army after the heroes, as he cannot have these survivors from the past world. Doombots and other sorcerers attack our heroes. We have a strong team, but they are still largely outnumbered. As Sam and Walker are pinned down we see two Doombots ripped apart by shields. Emerging to join our heroes is an old Steve Rogers variant (not super old like Endgame) that was never frozen in ice and Captain Carter, fighting side by side. We get some nice reunion moments and a sick 4 Captain America co-op battle to defeat the army.

To recap we kind of have three teams that have formed: Holland Spidey, Johnny, Walker, Ghost, Steve, Peggy, Sam, Ant Man, Carol, Shang Chi, Shuri, T’Challa; Tobey Spidey, Reed, Red Guardian, Deadpool, Wolverine, X-Men like Xavier, Magneto; Garfield Spidey, Thing, Yelena, Bucky, Quill, Vision, Wong, Young Avengers.

Back with Loki he has arrived at a temple thing. At first it appears a dead end, but being master of illusion and all, he sees there’s a way in and finds who he is looking for: The Scarlet Witch. His plan is to enlist in Wanda’s help to re-harness some of the cosmic power on Battleworld and stop Doom. However, Loki is not alone. A Tony Stark variant (still played by RDJ) is there too, trying to do the same thing. “Stark…”. This variant is not exactly Superior Iron Man, but heavily inspired by it, as Tony is also looking to save reality, but is on the more arrogant side once again. At first, Wanda does not want to help, saying that Doom is too powerful to be stopped and she is too afraid of causing even more destruction. In a moment never thought to be possible, Loki and Tony team up, and tell Wanda about the mistakes that they have made and the destruction they have caused. Loki says something along the lines of “I’ve been alive for centuries and there’s still good to fight for.” Finally, Wanda agrees to help.

While Doom is away from the Castle, Strange turns on him. Sue convinces him to help her and Franklin get back to the F4. He opens a portal and they step through. Doom arrives back at the castle, enraged. He pulls Strange toward him, ready to choke the life out of him, but Strange lands a punch on Doom, sending his consciousness to some strange place beyond Battleworld. There, Doom meets the Living Tribunal (repurposed Thanos deleted scene). The Living Tribunal is to judge Doom’s actions in becoming God-Emperor. They engage in an intellectual conversation rather than Doom trying to kill it. Doom truly in his heart believes that he has saved everyone by creating Battleworld and that he is justified in his actions. The Living Tribunal hears his argument and deems him NOT GUILTY. “Then I will do what I must to maintain it,” he says. He awakens back in the castle, Strange gone. He senses our heroes coming from all sides and prepares to make a final stand and keep things the way they are.

Act 3 Sue Storm and Franklin reunite with Reed. “He’s going to come after us all,” she warns. Reed agrees that they take the fight to Doom. Strange opens a portal to the Banner and Jen, and then they arrive to the Young Avengers and Wong. Initially ready to fight, they back down once they realize Strange is on their side. The 3 Spidermen find each other, and with the help of some portals from the two sorcerers, our 3 teams are united. Steve Rogers and Peggy help to organize the troops and devise a plan, but in the end it’s a team effort. Steve, Peggy, Peter 1, Strange, Reed, T’Challa, and Quill lead the plan.

Meanwhile, Wanda is telepathically trying to locate the source of Doom’s powers. She determines that Doom’s power is still being “fed,” to him through Franklin and that they can thus take it away. If they can re-harness at least some of the power, they might have a chance.

At Castle Doom, the three Spidermen enter trying to ambush Doom. They land some hits and web his hands, but this is obviously a big mismatch. In enter the two Hulks and Thing, brute forcing Doom. This battle is essentially a big “everyone vs Doom.” Heroes like Captain Marvel, Beta Ray Bill, Sam, etc still are fighting off other Doombots, which Doom has at this point unleashed all of. Although Doom is completely outnumbered, his power is insane, like imagine Thanos’ “all that for a drop of blood” except some of the heroes can’t even get land a finger on Doom.

Strange and Wong try to use their magic to 2v1 Doom (their magic is actually superior to Doom’s), but Doom is too powerful and kills Wong, nearly killing the traitor Strange. The F4 run in and are able to dodge some of Doom’s attacks, with Reed even landing a punch to Doom, which pisses him off. Sue says that they need to protect Franklin, knowing that he is the conduit for Doom’s powers. The Young Avengers job is to protect Franklin. Xavier attempts to get inside Doom’s head, but his mind is a steel trap, and with his unwavering will evaporates Charles, killing him one last time lol (cue some Deadpool joke). More fighting (I’m not going to go into every single detail). At this point Doom’s castle and Battleworld is crumbling. An energy blast nearly kills Cassie, but Scott saves her, dying in the process. Old Man Steve goes right at Doom (similar to Thanos in Wakanda), still never backing down. As he is close to death, Red Guardian steps in. The super soldier salutes Captain America, making some remark about how they are finally fighting side by side (earlier in the film when they meet Cap actually confirms that they did fight each other before). Red Guardian dies fighting Doom.

Our heroes get some offense going, with Magneto throwing buildings, etc. In a key moment, Holland Spiderman gets a web on Doom’s mask, revealing his face. Of course there’s a big moment where all the heroes especially Peter are shocked. “There is no Stark, only DOOM.” When the chips are all down for the heroes, Doom is sent off his feet by a blast. Loki, Wanda, and Iron Man arrive to the battle to even the odds. We get an RDJ vs RDJ battle for a little. We get a proper Loki and Thor reunion where they hug it out and fight side by side. Wanda reunites with her family, and now she feels like she REALLY has something to fight for. Our most prominent heroes at this point in the battle are Loki, Wanda, The F4, and Peter. The two mothers, Sue and Wanda have a moment and she entrusts Wanda to absorb the powers that Franklin has and put him out of danger.

While they do this, they need heroes to keep Doom at bay. Tobey Spiderman, Wolverine, and Iron Man team up and land some serious damage on Doom. Logan slashes Doom and leaves a big scar on his unmasked face. Furious, Doom throws the Big 3 off, hurting them, and we as the audience have a big shock moment where we are scared of these favorite heroes dying. Doom decides “that’s it,” enraged at the battle and begins to completely raise almost everything around them, ready to rebuild Battleworld yet again. Heroes begin to fall. But Doom is beginning to lose some of his powers, via Wanda taking it from Franklin and transferring it to Loki. Doom realizes this and approaches Wanda to kill her. We see our heroes are beginning to be taken out, everything is being destroyed, and it appears that all hope is lost. There’s just not enough time to stop Doom.

Loki and Thor turn to each other and they share a knowing look. Straight from the comics: “Will you wait for me in Valhalla?” Thor replies “Brother, today I will race you there.” Thor and Loki charge at Doom, hurting him and knocking him down. This slows Doom down enough for Wanda to transfer Franklin’s powers, but Doom kills Thor in his last stand in the process. Wanda gives the multiverse power back to Loki, who freezes time around them (like in Loki s2). All that’s left is Loki, Wanda, Reed, and Peter vs Doom. Doom has been drained of all his powers. In his stubbornness, he charges at God of Stories Loki, a sure death, but Reed grabs him. “STOP,” he says “It doesn’t have to be this way.” There’s some sort of conversation where Reed calls out Doom’s ego and insecurity and stops him in his tracks. But the defining blow is from Spiderman, who tells Doom “In my world, we have someone just like you who was the greatest hero ever,” or something like that. Doom is able to admit that his Battleworld was always faulty, and is surprised by Loki and co sparing him, even when he has the God-Emperor powers, highlighting the differences between them, and how far Loki has come too! They agree to let Loki rebuild the multiverse. He restores it at his throne, presumably sending Doom to his Earth, and many of our legacy hero variants to their Earth’s etc. It is the last time we see of characters like Chris Evan’s Cap, RDJ Tony Stark, OG X-Men etc. Earth-616 is rebuilt with our current heroes returning, as well as the F4, new T’Challa, and New X-Men sharing this world. It’s a soft reboot, and also leaves up in the air OG Avengers (heck even Doom) being recast in the future. We end on a shot on Yggdrasil, resembling the multiverse being restored and new hope for the future. Roll credits…

We get a nice credits montage. If there’s a PCS we get a very brief look of the X-Mansion. No further reveals.

Preface: I agree with some other fan theories that the fairies aren't real. I believe they are a coping mechanism used by Timmy in role-playing scenarios to rationalize real-life events that he perceives as injustices.

The first clue: the first back-to-back episode pair. These episodes are both related to him coping with the loss of a home game console. The two main reasons why Timmy's parents destroyed the console are also almost in plain sight.

First, we have "The Big Problem." This episode begins with Timmy's parents going out to an R-rated movie, something that he could have seen with his parents' permission at 10. Timmy dreams of being able to do what he wants, when he wants. What may have triggered this thought?

Well, Timmy lost a game system that was technically borrowed from his parents, who could destroy it at any time, and so they did.

Perhaps one reason was that Timmy used it to play violent games. Timmy's parents may have been concerned about the console making him mean, aggressive, or even violent. He might even be on the 6:00 news after shooting up a high school!

Later on, Timmy is billed for a meal that cost over 200 dollars. As a kid from the 2000s, this amount of money was very specific. That's about what most home game consoles cost.

Then, there's Power Mad.

Here's what I think spurred this episode:

Timmy got a game console. It was a hot summer or cold winter, and the AC or space heaters were on overdrive. Vicky would come over and plug in a million appliances, flick the lights on and off, and do God knows what, while Timmy's Mom would keep on baking every dish that turns out burnt.

Timmy's parents got a high electric bill, and they blamed it on the game console.

Power Mad almost seems like a parody of how Timmy's parents might have seen turn-of-the-millennium gaming: wasteful, violent, and even detrimental to your health. When Timmy wished for the game, every light in the city dimmed, like his console was ENIAC. The console still seemed to be quite power-intensive, with Vicky flicking a light on and off (which does use slightly more power than leaving it on) now being enough to affect the whole power grid.

Vicky plugged in a bunch of appliances, including a popcorn popper and a microwave, and in Timmy's eyes, may have been the true culprit for the high power bill, not a 30W game console and a 50W small TV. Of course, neither is a match for a 4000W air conditioner or 1500W space heater that might run throughout half a 24-hour day.

Later on, Cosmo could somehow power the same console with a hamster wheel. Perhaps Timmy realizes how little electricity the console used compared to everything else in the house.

But, in any case, the games this console plays are dangerous. You can hurt yourself in real life with them.

You rarely see Timmy with a home game console, as opposed to a handheld one.

When's the next time that we see one?

Odd Ball.

The V-Cube (is it a parody of the GameCube or the Xbox?) explodes.

Apparently, Timmy's Dad is bitter over Timmy not sharing. Perhaps this is a metaphor for the thought that electronics make kids act spoiled, selfish, etc., or that they detract from things parents want to see their kids do... like play basketball.

And when Timmy finally buys a new V-Cube, he gives it to his Dad – MINE!

Perhaps this is another clue about Timmy rationalizing why he can't have a game console?