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But the Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer seems to set Sink’s character up as a villain, rather than as a hero. That means it’s impossible to rule a curveball out; that Marvel is telling a very different story, and that Sink is actually a totally different character. Some early rumors can already be ruled out; the powerset doesn’t correspond with the pyrokinetic Firestar, a popular theory up until this point. But what theories would still work?
3. Shathra
When Sink was first cast for Brand New Day, there were claims she was playing a character known as Shathra. A wasp goddess opposed to the spider-totems, Shathra hunted Peter Parker at a time when his powers were mutating. The Brand New Day trailer confirms Spider-Man’s powers are mutating, complete with a web cocoon scene evocative of a spider-totem story, so Shathra would potentially fit. Marvel could retcon their version of Shathra simply as a wasp totem, created as a counterbalance to Spider-Man.
That said, this does feel a little less likely right now. Shathra’s powerset was very different to the psychic abilities seen on display in the Brand New Day trailer; Sink’s character feels rather more like a psychic than anything else, lacking the kind of brute strength associated with Shathra. This option can’t be ruled out, but it is a remote possibility right now.
2. Typhoid Mary
A second major theory is that Sophie Sink is the MCU’s version of Typhoid Mary, a villain traditionally associated with the Hand (who are also in Brand New Day, as confirmed by the trailer). Typhoid Mary suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder, and each of her personalities has a different power; one is a telepath. The trailer certainly gave a sense of psychic control almost as an infection, which would be appropriate.
Again, though, Typhoid Mary doesn’t seem especially likely right now. The character was played by Alice Eve in Iron Fist Season 2. Marvel has finally begun acknowledging the old Netflix shows (Jon Bernthal’s Punisher is in Brand New Day), so this doesn’t seem like the right time for a recast. Typhoid Mary would fit with the overarching story, but the case isn’t particularly strong.
1. Rachel Grey
The final option is Rachel Grey, a lesser-known X-Men character who – in the comics – is the daughter of Cyclops and Phoenix from a dystopian future timeline. The design for Sink’s character does feel evocative of some versions of Rachel, and it’s easy to see how she could fit into this story; her telepath appears to be a prisoner of Damage Control, who could be using her to psychically track targets. What’s more, this is the Multiverse Saga, where time travel is all the rage.
That said, Rachel feels like a stretch, simply because she wouldn’t justify this level of secrecy. A more likely scenario is that Marvel has absorbed some elements of Rachel’s story into Jean’s own, perhaps making her a hunter (or “Hound”) for Damage Control, but that this is indeed the MCU Jean Grey. For now, though, we’ll simply have to wait for further evidence to determine the truth.
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