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By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Somewhere along the way, the Marvel fandom went a little crazy. I’m not talking about just getting hyped for upcoming releases like Spider-Man: Brand New Day or Avengers: Doomsday; after all, it’s perfectly normal for fans to be excited about their favorite franchises. No, I’m talking about how countless fans have become conspiracy theorists, scouring every trailer discrepancy or every red carpet appearance for secret clues. These fans have embraced their inner Doctor Strange, and they won’t stop until they’ve explored every possible future for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If you doubt this, just check out the recent fan response to the dress Zendaya wore to Brand New Day’s premiere.
Eagle-eyed fans quickly spotted what appeared to be black dahlias on Zendaya’s dress, and this triggered what felt like endless speculation from fans. Some thought that the pattern was a symbolic warning that someone close to Spider-Man (maybe even MJ) would die in the upcoming film, while others thought she might have been mourning the death of a certain character on her breakout show, Euphoria. These are just a few theories thrown out by fans who ignored the likeliest possibility: that the black dahlias are just a symbolic throwback to the necklace Peter Parker got MJ in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Noticing The Pattern
So, this latest story comes to us from the same place as all good celebrity drama: the red carpet. At the premiere of Brand New DayZendaya wore a black dress. Form-fitting at the top and frayed at the bottom, it created a very flattering look for the Euphoria star. But crazed Marvel fans were less concerned with her overall aesthetics and more concerned with what they thought they saw woven into the pattern. Specifically, there were seemingly black dahlias on the dress, and this sent comics nerds into a frenzy on social media.
In case you don’t know, black dahlias have a lot of symbolic meaning. Some think they simply represent mystery, transformation, or even newfound power. Others (thanks largely to the unsolved Black Dahlia murder) believe they are a symbol of sorrow, betrayal, and other tragic events. Many Marvel fans seized on the more negative connotations of the symbol and claimed that Zendaya is mourning the death of a fictional character. Many fans believe this is a reference to her own character, Rue, dying on Euphoria. Others are convinced it is a subtle warning that MJ will die in Brand New Daypossibly making way for a new love interest for Spider-Man.
The Truth Hiding In Plain Sight
Another popular theory is that Zendaya’s dress symbolizes Venom, a character who is defined by betrayal, transformation, and death. It’s an interesting theory, but it wouldn’t really make sense for MJ to become Venom in Brand New Daya movie that is already crowded with both heroes and villains. However, the movie does notably give a much larger role to Mac Gargan; he is playing Scorpion in the movie, but in the comics, he eventually dons the symbiote and becomes Venom. Given that the comics Peter Parker didn’t get the symbiote until the first Secret Wars event, and the fact that we’ll be getting a Secret Wars movie next year, Gargan as Venom could eventually happen.
While some of these theories are fun and even downright compelling, these Marvel conspiracy theorists are really missing the forest for the trees. If anything, this pattern on Zendaya’s dress is likely a reference to the Black Dahlia necklace that Peter Parker gave MJ in Spider-Man: Far From Home. It could just be a winking homage or, if you’re a hopeful romantic, it could even be a hint that MJ and Peter get back together in Brand New Day. We won’t know until the movie comes out, but my spider-sense is telling me these conspiracy-pilled fans will wish they spent less time cooking up crazy theories and more time simply enjoying these movies!
