Warning: Contains spoilers for Thunderbolts Annual #1 (2013)!The Thunderbolts comic suggests there’s more going on behind the scenes than just teammates sharing a meal. What seemed like a fun stinger to cap off The Avengers may actually have major ramifications for the entire multiverse, thanks to the actions of a lesser-known Marvel Comics organization.

...audiences might be missing a major piece of the MCU puzzle.

Thunderbolts Annual #1 (2013), written by Ben Acker, Ben Blacker, with art by Matteo Lolli and James Campbell, features a twist ending that recontextualizes one of Marvel’s most famous post-credits scenes. The team embarks on a high-stakes mission, and after defeating the issue’s villain, the Thunderbolts have their memories of the adventure erased, replaced instead with a pleasant shawarma lunch.

Thunderbolts Annual 2013 by Acker, Blacker, and Lolli - the team has their memories replaced with a shawarma lunch

The memory alteration is carried out by Pandora Peters, an agent of the Wizardry Alchemy Necromancy Department, a division within SHIELD at the time. This wild development casts doubt on the validity of The Avengers’ shawarma scene.

A Throwaway MCU Joke Has Serious Implications in Marvel's Main Comics Universe

An Old Thunderbolts Comic Spills the Secrets of Shawarma with W.A.N.D.

The ending of 2013’s Thunderbolts Annual isn’t the only time a Marvel comic expanded on the Avengers sharing shawarma in their first big crossover film, but it does provide more opportunity for intense speculation and theories that could change everything within both movies and comics. If the shawarma lunch this Thunderbolts team shared is really covering up a mission for a clandestine magic group, it’s worth wondering if there’s a similar situation going on for the MCU’s Avengers. Even beyond shawarma, W.A.N.D. could be covering up the knowledge of countless adventures by replacing them with casual memories.

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The Thunderbolts team in this comic is made up of some serious Marvel heavy-hitters, along with many characters who have already made their MCU debut, including Red Hulk, Punisher, Deadpool, Elsa Bloodstone, Elektra, and more. If all of these powerful heroes can have their memories edited by W.A.N.D., the same could be said for the Avengers line-up–especially with its connection to SHIELD, which played a major role in the 2012 film. In the comics, Pandora Peters reformed the magical group after SHIELD was disbanded, and has even recruited MCU fan-favorite Wong to the team since then.

The Thunderbolts Annual’s Clever Punchline Has Potential to Shake Up Marvel’s Entire Multiverse

Could W.A.N.D. Make the Leap From the Comics to the MCU?

Pandora Peters and Wong as Agents of WAND - Doctor Strange #1 backup by MacKay, MacDonald, and Herring

Even though both the Avengers post-credits scene and the Thunderbolts Annual ending are clearly just meant to be fun, the reveal still creates implications that could be groundbreaking if explored further. If W.A.N.D. exists within the MCU, and has a more prominent role in Marvel Comics’ Earth-616 than is known, their memory-editing might hide some major Marvel secrets. There are already theories that the Thunderbolts film introducing the Sentry could rewrite the MCU’s history like his debut did in Marvel Comics, so perhaps W.A.N.D. has already been making big moves behind the scenes.

Tangible connections between the MCU and comics universes are usually left unconfirmed, with current series like TVA basically using the MCU’s Scarlet Witch while also trying to make it clear that it’s just an identical variant. However, the Thunderbolts Annual’s reveal could be a clever way to retcon some major developments into seemingly minor moments, and also raise the profile of W.A.N.D. in the comics and beyond. If the Avengers’ shawarma scene is actually a product of the same mind manipulation used on the Thunderbolts, then audiences might be missing a major piece of the MCU puzzle.

Thunderbolts Annual #1 is available now from Marvel Comics!