What Avengers: Secret Wars Could Be About Based On The Marvel Comics
The Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase Six will conclude with "Avengers: Secret Wars," as the Multiverse Saga is set to reach a dramatic end with the much-anticipated project — and two comics may inspire the film.
The MCU has slowly been building to the events of "Secret Wars," introducing key multiversal elements such as incursions in films like "Spider-Man: No Way Home" and the dangers of different realities and powers across space and time in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." It also takes a deep dive into the sacred timeline in "Loki." With "Deadpool 3" and "Avengers 5" also set to explore new sides of the Marvel Multiverse, those projects may culminate in the sixth "Avengers" movie being one of the grandest and widest-scale films to ever be in the MCU.
Given its name, "Avengers: Secret Wars" will likely be based on two comic books. The first, 1984's "Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars," makes all the heroes across the Marvel Universe battle in a different world against the Beyonder. Meanwhile, the modern version of "Secret Wars" from 2015 nearly destroys the Marvel Universe as other universes collide, creating a combination world featuring different versions of heroes from Earth-616 and beyond. But what happened in those comics, and how many elements may "Avengers: Secret Wars" pull from the page?
The first Secret Wars was a glorified toy commercial
"Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars" (by Jim Shooter, Michael Zeck, John Beatty, Christie Scheele, and Tom DeFalco) features the greatest heroes and villains from Earth getting taken to a planet called Battleworld created by the cosmic being the Beyonder. The project was conceived to make Marvel a significant player in the action figure game and served little purpose beyond having some of the publisher's most iconic heroes battle it out. That said, the story was every young comic book reader's superhero fight fantasy.
The heroes battle villains with fights on Battleworld featuring A-list characters, such as Spider-Man, Hulk, Iron Man, Doctor Doom, Kang the Conqueror, Galactus, and Magneto. While the 12-issue event has many deaths, including Kang's, nearly everything is undone by the time the story ends and the heroes and villains return to Earth. A few key storylines spun out of the events, like Spider-Man gaining his symbiote suit, bringing it back to Earth, and setting into motion the creation of Venom.
"Avengers: Secret Wars" may see the Beyonder take on a similar role to his comic book counterpart in the 1984 story — although it's also possible another bad guy, such as Kang or Doctor Doom, takes his place in bringing the heroes and villains together to fight. Additionally, the film could take inspiration from the event and lead to Spider-Man getting his alien suit in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, it's more likely that "Avengers: Secret Wars" will be based on its more modern title.
Adapting Secret Wars could change the Marvel Universe
In the 2015 version of "Secret Wars" (by Jonathan Hickman, Esad Ribic, Ive Svorcina, and Chris Eliopoulos), the creative team takes the original "Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars" and shakes up the idea of Battleworld into a high-concept, sci-fi epic.
The comic sees incursions destabilize and destroy several alternate realities across the Multiverse, including the Ultimate Universe, Earth-2099, and the "Age of Apocalypse" timeline, leading them to collide with Earth-616. Doctor Doom works alongside Molecule Man and Reed Richards to use the Beyonder's powers to save a small portion of what's left and form Battleworld.
The planet is all that is left as the greatest heroes and villains try to survive their new normal. Battleworld features many variants of the most recognizable faces in the Marvel Universe. Ultimately, Doom rules the new reality while becoming God Emperor Doom, taking on any threat thrown his way, including an epic slaying of Thanos. All told, "Secret Wars" serves as a soft reboot of the universe for Marvel while placing Miles Morales' Spider-Man on Earth-616 after the Ultimate Universe was destroyed.
If "Avengers: Secret Wars" is based on the 2015 comic, that would allow Marvel to showcase heroes from all across the Multiverse in a battle featuring one of the singularly most powerful versions of Doctor Doom ever. Seeing the heroes work together with their multiversal counterparts means Marvel could use all different versions of characters from the past, present, and future. Plus, the event could serve as a reset of the Multiverse, as the reformation of the Marvel Universe could lead to many changes. Considering how the MCU has already introduced the concept of incursions, a live-action adaptation of the 2015 "Secret Wars" appears inevitable.