Warning: SPOILERS for Runaways season 3
—
Season 3 of Runaways sets up a future threat for the team in Ultron’s son, Victor Mancha. Through three seasons of adventures, the Runaways have gone up against escalating threats – from their parents, to the Gibborim aliens, and finally with Morgan le Fay (Elizabeth Hurley), their ability to save the world was thoroughly tested. While the Runaways and their parents were able to work together to defeat Morgan, the victory came at a cost, as Gert Yorkes (Ariela Barer) died in the penultimate episode of the series.
In the series finale though, Runaways takes to a time-traveling story where Chase Stein (Gregg Sulkin) from 2028 goes back to 2022 on the three year anniversary of Gert’s death. He does so to try and stop Alex Wilder (Rhenzy Feliz) from 2028 from killing the Runaways, as he believes one of them is responsible for planting a bomb in his office. While Chase and the 2022 versions of the Runaways do stop Alex, they all then go back to 2019 to try and save Gert’s life. They are successful in doing so, which allows Runaways to end on a mostly happy note. But, the finale also teases that a dark future with Ultron’s son might await the team.
Click the button below to start this article in quick view.
The first tease for Victor Mancha comes early on in the finale when 2028 Chase saves Nico Minoru (Lyrica Okano) in 2022 from 2028 Alex. She notices how different he looks, specifically the giant scar he has wrapped around his neck. Chase tells her never to trust someone named Victor, leading her to assume that his dad Victor Stein did this to him. But Chase clarifies that this scar is not from his dad and rather someone else named Victor. At the very end of the episode then, 2019 Alex finds a note from his 2028 self that, among other things, mentions that he should “Hide Mancha.” Without specifically stating his full name, Runaways still lays the seeds for Victor Mancha with these two teases.
In the comics, Victor Mancha was created by Brian K. Vaughn and debuted in 2005’s Runaways #1. The issue ends with the Runaways being greeted by a dying Gert from 20 years in the future, who warns them that Victor Mancha aka Victorious becomes the most powerful person in the world and just killed some of the biggest superheroes around. Yet Victor appears to just be a normal kid living in California at first and only discovers his powers when the Runaways confront him. It is eventually revealed that Victor is a cyborg created by Ultron after his mother helped Ultron construct a new body. He plays a prominent role in the comic series and is eventually accepted by the Runaways.
With several ties to the Marvel Cinematic Universe already, Runaways appeared to be setting up the introduction of Victor Mancha in a future season. Ultron has not been seen since 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, but an Easter egg in Spider-Man: Homecoming shows that his bodies are still around. Even if Runaways couldn’t use Ultron himself in future seasons, they could rework Victor’s origin a bit to have him be another one of Ultron’s contingency plans and then just mention the sentient robot by name. Based on the glimpses of the future provided in season 3’s finale too, it appears Mancha went down a more evil path and may even be an ally to Alex.
Whether or not future seasons of Runaways would’ve seen him do the same, there is no doubt that Victor would’ve been introduced. In the lead up to season 1, producer Josh Schwartz told Screen Rant that they wanted to focus on the original Runaways comic run before getting to Mancha’s storyline. After three seasons, it appears that season four could’ve been the time for Victor Mancha to join Runaways, as either a hero or villain. Unfortunately, with the series ending after three seasons, we’ll probably never get to meet Victor.
