WARNING: Spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
The first 3 Phases of the MCU all built up to Avengers: Endgame, and the franchise is already setting up Secret Wars as its next Phase-ending event. There are two different runs of Secret Wars comic books from which the MCU could adapt their Multiverse endgame. The first is built on cameos, as a group of Marvel Comics’ most popular heroes are forced into a battle against a super-group of villains. Though this cameo-reliant approach appears to be the model the MCU’s Phase 4 is striving for, it is 2015’s Secret Wars comics that would instead provide the franchise with the perfect main event.
This edition of the Secret Wars storyline is built on character development and rounding-out certain heroes’ arcs. Until Disney acquired Fox, the chances of an MCU Secret Wars had been slim due to the narrative’s reliance on of the Fantastic 4; but Mr. Fantastic introduction hints at the potential of making this adaptation a reality. The story concerns an incursion event in which two universes are destroyed. A small group of heroes survive the destruction and awake on Battleworld – a constructed universe different from their own, ruled over by the renowned Fantastic 4 villain, Doctor Doom.
Providing a reason for Phase 4’s cameos and allowing Marvel Studios to provide satisfying conclusions to many of their heroes at once, Secret Wars is the perfect way for the MCU to move on from Avengers: Endgame. There is still a lot of setting up to do before this storyline can become a reality – notably the introduction of the Fantastic 4 – but considering the 11 years that went into laying the foundations for Thanos' final confrontation, it isn’t improbable that the franchise could use this Secret Wars storyline to end Phase 5 or 6. If the MCU’s newly-introduced Illuminati are anything to go by, Marvel Studios may have already started laying the groundwork for a future adaptation of Secret Wars.
Phase 4’s Cameos Are More Than Just Fan-Bait
Phase 4 of the MCU has been criticized for its reliance on cameos to date. While this has always been a part of the franchise dating back to Nick Fury’s repeated appearances pre-Jane Foster becoming the Mighty Thor and returning to the MCU in the process.
However, Phases 1-3 should be used as proof that the MCU rarely makes decisions without thinking about the wider picture, and while fan-bait is a strong marketing strategy, it is unlikely that these cameos are intended to serve that purpose alone. A more feasible explanation could be drawn if Secret Wars is understood to be the franchise’s next Endgame-level event. In this way, the cameos are not necessarily meant to be just for the fans but instead demonstrate the presence of other universes and establish characters that would likely be drawn into Doctor Doom’s Battleworld.
Secret Wars Would Be Bigger Than Endgame
Thanos was the biggest challenge that the Avengers have ever had to face in the MCU, but an adaptation of Secret Wars would overshadow the work of the Mad Titan. Borrowing from the 2015 storyline, the surviving heroes would not only be forced to come up against the MCU’s Doctor Doom – as was the case with Thanos in Avengers: Endgame – but they would also be faced with other (potentially more powerful) versions of themselves. One of the comics’ central conflicts rests not between Reed Richards and Doctor Doom but between Richards and the Maker (the Mr. Fantastic of Earth-1610). If the MCU was to adapt this storyline, then there is no reason why the leader of the Fantastic 4 would be the only hero to meet his alternate self, as the franchise’s cameos have built the potential for many variants to cross paths.
The size of Secret Wars would only be increased if Marvel Studios were to combine the comic book storyline with their own lore – continuing the trend from many of the studio’s adaptations such as MCU’s next main villain, and the collision between universes in Secret Wars could see the villain assume Marvel comics' Doctor Doom role and profit the most from the incursion. The Loki season finale established He Who Remains (Kang) as the overlord of the Multiverse, so it would make sense that the villain may use the two universes’ destructions to his advantage.
Secret Wars Allows The MCU Its Much-Needed Reboot
Perhaps the main reason for an MCU adaptation of Secret Wars is the plot’s ability to hit the reset button on the franchise. After Avengers: Endgame served to effectively disband the Avengers with the departures of Iron Man, Captain America, and Black Widow, a franchise-wide reboot has become an increasingly probable concept. Phases 4 and 5 will replace certain heroes, but the overarching narrative focus on the Multiverse provides the studio with the valuable opportunity to begin their storylines anew.
With key actors’ contracts reaching their end and the inability to tell popular comic book stories due to the death of foundational MCU characters such as Iron Man, Secret Wars would allow the MCU to introduce replacements and rebuild the franchise’s conception of the Avengers from the ground up. This is not to say that every hero will be recast with their former storylines forgotten; instead, the franchise's focus may move to an alternate universe where some characters look the same and others differ greatly. Instead, Doctor Strange 2 set up the prospect of an MCU Multiverse-led reboot - and Secret Wars would provide the perfect opportunity to make it a reality.
