The Season 2 finale of Marvel’s Runaways has been out for a while now, and with the recent release of the Season 3 trailer, there was a lot to unpack from just 1 minute’s worth of action. Also from the looks of the trailer, the upcoming season is going to be even more intense and dramatic than the last.
Here are some things that the third installment of the show could set up for this merry band of misfit superheroes:
1. The Fate of the Others
Season 2 Episode 13, “Split Up”, was without question the most action packed, drama riddled episode of the season. It was the rest of the kids VS Chase and the parents of PRIDE. However, as the episode neared the end, the body snatched parents of PRIDE, Tina Minoru, Victor Stein (Jonah’s new body) and Stacey Yorkes, had kidnapped Karolina, Chase and Chase’s mom, Janet. Fans come to find out they were kidnapped as healthy vessels for the rest of the Magistrate royal family.
Meanwhile, Gert and Old Lace have been kidnapped by her father, Dale. At first it looks like it’s in Gert and Old Lace’s best interest because Dale says it’s to protect them both from Stacey, who has had her body taken over by an alien. Then the fact that Dale is also PRIDE, it’s probably for another sinister reason, as well as to prevent his own child from saving the world. Their fate hasn’t been concretely, but Dale should definitely sleep with one eye open because Gert’s psychic link with Old Lace could work in her favor, for lack of a better term.
2. The “New” Runaways
With some of the gang being kidnapped last season, it set up an unlikely group to take the lead reigns to fight the bad guys in season three.
Alex, Nico and Molly are the remaining core three of the original group. They also being the core three, they were pretty devastated to find out that Chase, Gert and Karolina hadn’t returned.
Leslie Dean, Karolina’s mom, who was held captive by her husband earlier in the season, Frank Dean, is a surprising addition considering she was the founding members of PRIDE. Alex is wary of her joining, rightfully so, considering she tried blame a ton things on him and his friends. However, in light of the events that have happened to her, she wants to help the kids take down the other parents. Add onto that she is carrying Jonah’s baby, and heir to the Magistrate throne, her best protection will be Nico, Molly, Xavin and Alex.
Xavin, who was the newest character to join the ranks, is still a mystery. Most fans of the comics will know that the character is a Skrull, which made their MCU appearance in Captain Marvel and Spider-Man: Far From Home. However on the show, she’s known as a Xartan. Both Skrulls and Xartans are races of shape-shifting aliens; an ability Xavin showed towards the end of the season that could prove to be very useful. Since this show is so good at Easter eggs, hopefully as Xavin’s character evolves over the season to help fight alongside the team, there may be a mention of a green-skinned alien that was her races’ “competition”.
Read more about Runaways Season 3 on the next page:
3. The Magistrate and The Gibborim
“When the ship blew up, The Magistrates took different bodies…The fourth member of the family, is the darkest and most dangerous of them all.”
Not exactly the most encouraging words coming from Xavin. Tina and Stacey are already body-snatched by two of the royal family, with Jonah hijacking Victor’s body as his new host. But, when watching the trailer, there are three possible options, that are shown, as to who the fourth member of the royal family could be.
At 0:16 in the trailer, we see Janet Stein walking on water. It’s clear in that moment that something peculiar has happened to her. No human could walk on water, unless they were from the Bible. Which leads viewers to believe something has inhabited her body.
“Who’s the host?”
“It could be one of the kids.”
“Tina” and “Stacey” exchange, as they try to figure out the answer to that question. Later on in the trailer, Chase is shown two separate times being extremely aggressive: once while using the Fistigons, and once using a bat on some innocent bystanders. Those actions don’t match up with Chase’s actual personality if really thought about. The third, and definitely the most likely: Nico. In the trailer, you can see her using dark magic to, what it supposedly looks like, erase people. Having used dark magic before in Season 2, Nico is definitely the most likely candidate to be the forth member; that smirk she gave after defeating her parents was a telling sign.
Having taken over Victor Stein’s body, The Magistrate, aka Jonah, he made sure his family line would survive. That’s bad news for Leslie; she unfortunately is carrying the heir to the throne, and Karolina’s little brother or sister. However, with the track record of PRIDE, and what the Gibborim are known for, the other members could turn on Jonah and sacrifice his new child to feed their strength and greed for power. And since the are also being teased in season three, it could also mean, like the comics the could meet an explosive demise.
4. Morgan Le Fay
Marvel has a good history of casting alluring actors to play some of their best villains. Tom Hiddleston as Loki and Cate Blanchett as Hela are two of the most notable ones. When it was announced that Elizabeth Hurley would play the evil sorceress of Arthurian Legend, Morgan Le Fey, that was another check in the win column. She definitely has the chops to portray such a character, considering her work as Queen Helena on The Royals and The Devil in the movie Bedazzled. Elizabeth as Morgan Le Fay will provide that much needed tension between herself and the Runaways, especially her and Nico.
“Stop fighting it, Nico. There’s no need to be afraid of the Darkness.”
Those words can be heard by Morgan Le Fay to Nico in the beginning of the trailer, with faint caws in the background while Morgan Le Fay emerges in front of Nico…shifting out of the shape of a raven. Throughout Season 2, Raven Easter eggs were hidden. In Greco-Roman mythology, Ravens are known for being associated with Apollo, the God of Prophecy. They are also considered symbols of bad luck as well as being messengers to the mortal world. Considering who Morgan Le Fay is as a character, those two bits of information could be played up in Season 3.
“You don’t want to lose Nico to the Darkness. The truth is, she’s been mine for a long time.”
Morgan ends up confronting Karolina with this line towards the middle of the trailer for Season 3. When hearing these words, one has to wonder what they mean. In season two, there was a prophecy about how two lovers would come together to end the conflict between each of the races. Xavin was the one to tell the group that it was she and Karolina would be the ones to end it. Yet, with what has happened between Nico and Karolina, evidence is leaning towards the two of them; two “star-crossed lovers” to end the war against the Gibborim and Jonah.
5. The Bloodletting
Since Nico got her hands on The Staff of One, fans could only hope that she would grow to become a powerful witch as she used it. In Season 2, it was confirmed there was a connection to Doctor Strange. Two separate times, Nico gets the same markings around her eyes as Kaecillius, the movie’s main villain. The connection: both appear when dark magic is being used. The difference between them is that Nico’s marks are just starting out, whereas Kaecillius’s are deeper set, a sign that he’s been using dark magic for a while. Nico eliminating a slew of dirty cops, and defeating her parents are clear signs that she has most definitely tapped into dark magic.
In the Season 3 trailer, fans finally get to see the moment that is synonymous with Nico’s character in the comics finally becoming canon: the Bloodletting. From the moment her finger got pricked in Season 1, it was a matter of time before The Staff became bonded to her. Having said that, what is also noticeable, is that the marks around her eyes. It looks like they have become deeper set as a darker purple, leading viewers to think that Nico has been using more dark magic. Following The Staff emerging from her chest, it does look like that a bunch of people have been “erased” by Nico. Though small and big screen never cross, if Nico keeps going down the path she is on, the possibility of some form of the Dark Dimension could be another plot point of the season.
“We know what The Staff did to you.”
In the trailer, we hear Robert Minoru say this to Tina Minoru. That statement could only mean that when Tina first got The Staff Of One, and was using it herself, she too experienced some of the same side affects and urges as Nico. With it being described as technology from her company, Wizard (an homage to the characters comic origins), it was tied to Tina alone. But, when it pricked and bonded with Nico, and with what its use is for, Tina may not have been entirely truthful about where it came from. Something that powerful could only be made in magical means. Another ironic connection between Doctor Strange and Marvel’s Runaways, is that both have a Tina Minoru included in their slue of characters. The link is clearly established between the two. Could Tina be hiding a secret? That secret being that she studied the Mystic Arts before meeting Robert, having Amy and Nico, and establishing her company, aptly named…Wizard. That could explain how The Staff Of One is passed down from Tina to Nico, as well as Robert’s statement in the trailer.
6. The Crossover
“Who are you?”
“And what the hell have you done?”
The end of Season 2 of Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger saw Tandy and Ty getting on a bus because Brigid gives them a tip about “dead girls along a beach”. Where have fans heard those exact words? Yep, Marvel’s Runaways. That being said, dead girls on a beach could also be tied to Nico “erasing” several people earlier on in the trailer, and that’s why Tandy and Ty have come to the Hostel asking Nico what she has done. With that, Cloak and Dagger could also be in California to get some information on Roxxon, which has it’s ties back in New Orleans (Cloak & Dagger), New York (Agent Carter), California (Runaways), and appeared in other places in the MCU (Daredevil, Agents of SHIELD, Iron Fist). Maybe Roxxon is somehow managing to channel the dark magic that has been given off by Nico, and using it for illegal projects. Or, Ty and Tandy could have also found out about the Gibborim, leading them to find their history to The Runaways. Tying in with missing kids, it would be the perfect way to have both groups join forces to get rid of both bunches of villains.
With the premiere merely a couple months away, Season three is sure to bring a lot of emotions, both good an bad. Fans can only hope that their favorite group of teenage superheroes succeed in bringing down the bad guys, and prevent yet another disaster from consuming the world.
Marvel’s Runaways is set to premiere December 13th on Hulu.