‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ Rumor: Mysterious Female Character Plays a Pivotal Role in the Future of the MCU

Ever since we saw the second trailer for ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron,’ we’ve all been wondering about the mysterious woman undressing in the cave. We’re not alone in our speculation that this character has something to do with Black Panther’s fictional home of Wakanda, but a new rumor suggests that she’s actually another Marvel comic book character, and one who could play a key role not just in the upcoming sequel, but in the future of the MCU as well.

Recently, Schmoes Know reported confirmation that Andy Serkis’ live-action role in the film is indeed that of Black Panther villain Klaw. And while we won’t be officially meeting Chadwick Boseman’s new hero until ‘Captain America: Civil War,’ it appears that Marvel is already introducing elements of his story to get us better acquainted with Black Panther.

The site is now reporting a rumor about the mysterious woman in the cave, previously assumed to also have connections to Wakanda (we speculated that she might be one of the Dora Milaje, the personal bodyguards of T’Challa/Black Panther). According to the report, she’s actually Mantis, a skilled martial artist trained in the comic books by the Priests of Pama, who is also able to communicate telepathically with a race of sentient plants (well OK).

Mantis has at various points been affiliated with the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy, so if she is involved in ‘Age of Ultron,’ Marvel could very well be using her to eventually set up the onscreen union of the two teams. The character also has ties to both Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, and in the comics, she’s been romantically involved with the Vision, which has caused some problems.

Schmoes Know admits that they’re not 100% on their information, but there is another possibility: we’ve known for some time that actress Claudia Kim (spotted on the rooftop party scene before Ultron crashes in) is playing a character named “Dr. Cho,” but there are no Marvel comic characters by this name—the closest we have is Amadeus Cho, which may have inspired her character attributes. But Dr. Cho may not be her real name, and if Mantis is in this movie, it could easily be Kim’s character using an alias, which wouldn’t be surprising. Another thing to note: Mantis is of Asian descent.

We may not be much closer to figuring out who either of these mysterious female characters are, but director Joss Whedon previously revealed that there are four prominent female roles, and both Kim and the woman in the cave could be the other two in addition to Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch and Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow (that is, if Cobie Smulders’ Agent Maria Hill isn’t playing a larger role this time out).

We’ll find out soon enough when ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ hits theaters on May 1.