Jenna Ortega had the funniest reaction when Paul Rudd explained the infamous Avengers: Endgame fan theory to her in 2025. The theory has floated around the internet since 2017, and fans have never fully let it rest. It pairs a tiny hero with a very large villain, and Marvel Studios wisely never filmed it. Rudd has fielded questions about it for years, but that day the listener had no clue what he meant.

As fans spent years debating a plan to bring down a giant villain, Ortega needed it explained from the beginning.

Jenna Ortega had never heard of the Thanus theory, so Paul Rudd explained it on the spot. The theory claims Ant-Man could have beaten Thanos by shrinking, crawling inside him, and growing to giant size.

“I thought he was already big… the purple one?” she asked while promoting Death of a Unicorn in an interview with ComicBook.com in March 2025.

Once Rudd said he could get really small, she cried, “Oh, that’s right, you’re called Ant-Man! Damn, wow.”

A ComicBook.com interviewer started it by asking whether Ant-Man could stop Doctor Doom, played by Robert Downey Jr., the same way fans believed he could stop Thanos. Rudd called it a great question, then wondered whether the trick would have worked on Thanos, who held the Space Stone by then. Ortega admitted she had no idea what was happening, while Rudd conceded he had not explained it well. The clip continues to make the rounds online.

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While Ortega struggled to place Thanos, she was not a total stranger to Marvel, thanks to a tiny childhood role.

As a child, Jenna Ortega appeared in the 2013 film Iron Man 3 as the Vice President’s daughter. The role was non-speaking, and she is visible for only a few seconds, seated in a wheelchair during a family scene. She has said it was one of her first jobs. All of her lines were cut, and the film did not even credit her by name, so the cameo is easy to miss.

The character carries weight in the story, since the Vice President, played by Miguel Ferrer, strikes a deal with the villain over Extremis technology because of his daughter’s disability. During the 2025 press run for Death of a Unicorn, Ortega said she had moved on from Marvel and was not interested in returning. Fans still imagine her as White Tiger, but no Marvel project has confirmed anything. For now, her funniest Marvel moment remains asking about the purple one.

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What are your thoughts on Jenna Ortega’s reaction and the Thanus theory itself? Let us know in the comments.