Who Owns Avengers Tower Now?
As the MCU charges to the end of Phase 4, and Phase 5 rapidly approaches, there are still questions which remain unanswered. Questions relating to characters, plot points, and in some cases, massive buildings in New York with surreptitious ownership. Avengers Tower, formerly Stark Tower, had its contents removed during Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) because the building was sold and the Avengers moved to a new compound. Then, in Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) the building was under new management and had seen some fancy changes to the exterior. Years have passed in-universe, everyone returned after The Blip and the world is moving forwards, so who exactly is inside that building?
Coincidentally, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) inadvertently answered this question. Doctor Strange is fighting Gigantos, the one eyed tentacle monster, scaling a large building in New York. In the background of this sequence we have our answer: nobody owns the Avengers tower because it isn’t there anymore! That’s right, the VFX team* didn’t add Avengers tower to the New York skyline in its designated location. Disney may have pulled their usual Stalin routine and retroactively altered this image, but fans have already seen what cannot be unseen.
*Side note - It’s important to acknowledge this wasn’t intended as genuine criticism. Given recent reports of VFX artists being treated poorly by Marvel Studios, nobody should be criticising them. Their work is fantastic, and they should be treated with the respect they deserve, by the studio and by fans.*
Since Far From Home there’s been no significant sightings or mentions of Avengers Tower, but we’re all aware it’s still there. A new owner has definitely taken over, and I’m sure we’ll see them revealed in Phase 5 or 6, but for now its fun to speculate. So I want to go through some theories as to who could be operating inside the former Avengers HQ. The theories below are diverse in range and in no particular order. This is all speculation, I have no insider knowledge, I’m just here to enjoy myself.
So without further ado, let’s get hypothetical and ask: who owns Avengers Tower now?
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Popular theory - Reed Richards / The Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four are coming to the MCU, and they’ll need a base of operations in New York like always, so why not move into a state of the art building already designed for superheroes?
I like this theory, and Fantastic Four are my favourite Marvel team, but personally I think it’s too obvious. Fans are expecting this theory to be true, however it’s not a particularly imaginative choice. Substituting one team of heroes for another is not only quite lazy, but it immediately places the FF in the shadow of the Avengers. If the FF are here to make some serious noise, it’s best to let them do their own thing.
Chances of this happening are fairly high, but I remain hopeful a more creative theory comes to fruition.
Existing theory - S.W.O.R.D
I don’t want to linger on this theory, because it’s quite boring. I’m intrigued to see more of S.W.O.R.D, and I think they’re going to play a big part in upcoming projects like Secret Invasion and The Marvels, but I’ll be disappointed if we’ve waited this long for an underwhelming answer.
Is it possible? Yes.
Is it interesting? Not at all.
Existing theory - Qeng Enterprises
This might not be a name which is widely known, but it could be soon. Qeng Enterprises is owned by Nathaniel Richards, AKA Kang the Conqueror, the next big villain for the MCU. They can travel in time, and have an infinite number of variants, so it stands to reason they could plant them self in the timeline as a successful business owner. It would also echo a similar story from the comic books, where Stark Tower was sold to Qeng Enterprises.
What makes this theory even more interesting is it sort of already happened. Episode 5 of Loki revealed that anyone pruned from the main timeline is sent to a dumping ground at the end of time. Among various comic book references in this nightmare wasteland, there’s a brief shot of a building which physically resembles Avengers Tower, but clearly boasts the name Qeng. Obviously this building could have come from an infinite number of timelines, but could it be a small glimpse of bigger things to come?
I like this theory. There’s something really daunting about a big villain operating in plain sight as a respected part of the establishment. This might have just been a cool Easter egg from Loki, but either way I’m happy we saw this chilling image in some form.
Debunked theory - Norman Osborn
This was an interesting idea for quite a while, and one which could have been plausible. However, No Way Home confirmed there is no Oscorp on Earth-616, and therefore no version of Norman Osborn either. It’s unlikely we’ll see the building housing pumpkin bombs any time soon.
Curveball theory - Rand Enterprises
This one I’ll admit is a bit wild, but bear with me.
Rand Enterprises is the international corporation owned by Danny Rand, AKA Iron Fist. I wasn’t a fan of the Iron Fist Netflix series, but I do like quality world building. If the Netflix characters are being utilised in the MCU moving forwards then it’s best to integrate via existing projects. Kingpin debuted in episode 5 of Hawkeye, Daredevil appeared briefly in No Way Home, and both worked so well because they felt organic. It would be cool to see the tower in the background of an upcoming project with “Rand Enterprises” displayed. It’d be subtle evidence the MCU is expanding and more heroes are on the way.
New Theory - Countessa Valentina Alegra De Fontaine / The Thunderbolts
Julia Louis-Dreyfus is appearing sporadically in the MCU, assembling questionable characters for a team named after General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross - surely they need a base of operations like other teams?
I quite like this theory, because it takes a left turn on audience expectations. Instead of handing the building to another team of heroes, the lounge area could be where villains and morally grey characters take their shoes off and relax. It would act as haunting symmetry to show the former Avengers HQ handed to such a dysfunctional group, but it’d be strangely entertaining.
Also it’s hugely unsettling to think the HQ once inhabited by Captain America could be where John Walker regularly wipes blood from his knock-off shield. It’s a nasty, skewed mirror image, but I think it’d be really impactful.
Curveball theory - The law firm that She Hulk works for
This theory is a little tame in comparison to others, but I like it. From recent trailers we’ve seen that She-Hulk is joining a law firm who assist with super human affairs, which in the MCU is big business and could bring in enough money to afford such a high value property.
This theory might not be a popular choice, but I think it’s awesome. It’d be a cool side step if the building has moved from housing super humans to representing them in the courtroom. It’s a nice bit of symmetry and it’s less overt than simply moving ownership from one superhero team to another.
Curveball theory - A.I.M
We’re all so caught up on which heroes have taken over the building, we need to consider some more villains. Advanced Ideas Mechanics are a villainous organisation dedicated to gaining power and toppling governments through technological genius. They could easily make a home for themselves in a building previously kitted out with Stark Tech.
This theory is solid. We had confirmation at SDCC that MODOK is finally coming to the MCU in Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, and MODOK is linked to A.I.M, so it’s possible!
New theory - Wilson Fisk AKA Kingpin
Again, we’ve all assumed the tower was taken over by more heroes, but what if the opposite is true? Perhaps the tower has become Fisk Tower, base of operations for one of Marvel’s biggest and most terrifying villains.
For this to work we need to consider the timeline. The Avengers moved out in 2017, then when we next see the tower it’s 2023 in-universe and it’s occupied. However, the Kingpin in Hawkeye isn’t necessarily at the height of his powers. It’s possible he lost territory and status if he was dusted during The Blip, so now he’s trying to reassert himself in the criminal food chain. If that’s true and he’s reclaiming lost power, I’m not sure he’d still have a luxurious Fisk Tower. Then again, he may have just been mixing with lower tier criminals in Hawkeye to keep them in line, and he very much remains a big shark among small fish. Future appearances in Echo and Daredevil: Born Again will hopefully tell us more about his current status.
This is one of the best theories. It’s a similar feeling to the building being owned by Kang. There’s something scary about a huge villain having their name in massive letters in the city skyline. In that respect, it’s also similar to Trump Tower: a villain’s name looms heavy over everyone in the city and reminds us they are evil. Although obviously Kang and Kingpin have one key difference from Trump: they’re competent.
Existing Theory - Mephisto!!
Joke served, move on.
Potential theory - No one important
There’s a strong possibility fans are over-complicating the situation and are getting carried away. Maybe the whole point of mentioning the sale of Avengers Tower was to focus on the new Avengers compound, but fans are getting distracted. It may transpire the building has been sold and no one important is occupying it now.
This wouldn’t be the first time fans have run wild with theories. When weekly episodes of WandaVision were streaming, bigger and more bombastic theories were emerging every week. For example, Monica Rambeau referenced having friends who could help with the Westview situation, and fan speculation went off the charts. However, rather than being the Fantastic Four as speculated, it was in fact just everyday S.W.O.R.D agents. It made total sense within the context of the story, and yet it seemed underwhelming because the fans had convinced themselves anything was possible. If there’s a sad lesson to learn from Phase 4 projects like WandaVision and Multiverse of Madness it’s that not everything is possible, and it pays to keep our expectations reasonable. I’m not here to stamp on anyone’s fun, because I too am a passionate Marvel fan, but I think we could all benefit from staying level-headed. If you think Doctor Doom or the X-Men have somehow taken over Avengers HQ, then that’s great and I’m happy for you. But just think back to all of the wild theories and rumours for Multiverse of Madness, then consider how virtually none of them came true. It’s just something to think about.
Ultimately, when we ask the question of who owns the Avengers tower, the simple answer might be “someone else. It’s not important.”
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So that’s just a small number of possibilities. Out of the theories listed above I think Fantastic Four is the most likely, however my personal favourite is Kingpin. I like the idea of any villain moving into the building because it’s such a contrast from the Avengers, but Kingpin is one of my favourite villains, so for me he takes priority.
Thinking about it, this isn’t such a wild topic for speculation, because broadly speaking there’s a limited number of outcomes. The tower is inevitably owned by another superhero team, some form of villain, a big corporation, or no one significant. Having said that, there’s still room for Marvel to serve a wildcard choice and take us by surprise, so I remain optimistic the answer to this question will be satisfying.
Hopefully we’ll start to see answers soon. She Hulk: Attorney at Law starts streaming this week on Disney Plus, so at least that’s one theory which will be confirmed or denied.
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