If you’re a Marvel fan, Secret Wars is a comic that should be on your must-own list. It’s a fusion of the two biggest super hero teams of Marvel working together against major villains. If that doesn’t get your attention, this is the same storyline that introduces the black Symbiote. That’s right, black-suited Spider-Man was born here, paving the way for the debut of Venom. There was a lot going on in this comic and it involved the development of chief Marvel characters. In short, the whole thing was just epic.
I re-visited Secret Wars not too long ago and thought to myself one thing: can this be adapted for the MCU? The Marvel Cinematic Universe ended its latest phase with one serious bang. Avengers: Endgame did a magnificent job of tying up certain character arcs and opened the door for incoming heroes. The movie’s impact relied on the anticipation that was building up ever since 2008. The character development from each movie built up to the critical moment that was Endgame, and the results were just awesome.
So how does this tie back to Secret Wars? Well, for starters, it includes some of the biggest characters from Marvel that haven’t been introduced in the MCU yet. Does a particular team of heroic mutants come to mind? Yes, the X-Men had a big presence in this comic and they didn’t exactly play nice with The Avengers. All the major members of the iconic team were there, including Wolverine, and they acted as a separate unit, choosing to not fight with The Avengers. They held their own against the villains, but they did come to blows with other heroes. Both teams took their licks, but when push came to shove, they chose to unite and defeat the villains.
Speaking of villains, Secret Wars included some big Marvel villains the MCU has yet to introduce. Galactus, Kang the Conquerer, Doctor Octopus, and even Doctor Doom were all brought together to take on the heroes. Who exactly brought them together in the first place? The immensely powerful cosmic entity called The Beyonder. This villain has near omnipotent power and proved to be a serious threat to the Marvel Universe. His main motivation for bringing heroes and villains together on his planet of Battleworld was literally just to observe. He enjoyed watching them fight and wished to see who was the strongest. For a villain, his motivations are unusual, but they work for him, and his insuperable power made him a very dangerous villain.
Secret Wars included another superhero team that the MCU included yet. I’m talking about The Fantastic Four, a team that was bought from Fox, much like the X-Men. Now that all of their teams are back under their roof, Marvel has the chance to portray them in the light of the MCU. The Fantastic Four really needs it, considering how underwhelming their past movies have been. A movie revolving around Secret Wars would be a perfect opportunity to have the Fantastic Four and the X-Men come together and meet The Avengers. Being transported to Battleworld would be a baffling experience for the heroes and without Tony Stark around, The Avengers are going to need a guy with some brains. For the record, that guy would be Reed Richards.
Reed Richards, or Mr. Fantastic, served as a valuable ally for the heroes and used his intelligence to help them prevail in the end. His two loyal companions, The Human Torch and The Thing, provided for some serious muscle to his uncanny intellect. The Invisible Woman was the only member missing during Secret Wars. Other heroes made up for her presence, including the cunning Spider-Woman and the green strongwoman called She-Hulk. These are two female heroes that I for one have been dying to see in the MCU for a while. Spider-Woman is basically what she sounds like, which is a female version of Spider-Man, while She-Hulk is basically a female version of The Hulk. It sounds redundant, but these heroes have been significant to Marvel.
Julia Carpenter, the second Spider-Woman, became closely associate with Spider-Man, both as friend and foe. Jennifer Walters is the cousin of Bruce Banner and she gained the powers of The Hulk when he saved her life by giving her some of his blood. Spider-Woman hasn’t been confirmed to appear in the MCU anytime soon, but She-Hulk will be getting her own show on Disney Plus. This should get any Marvel fan excited, since it will give The Hulk another supporting character. They have a close relationship and She-Hulk has always been the more reasonable of the two, balancing out brains and brawn perfectly. Having another Hulk around won’t feel redundant, due to She-Hulk’s intelligence and leadership capabilities.
As for the heroes we’re already aware of, their current arc would fit into Secret Wars perfectly. In the comics, Bruce Banner became Professor Hulk, James Rhodes became Iron Man, and Spider-Man was becoming a more experienced hero. These character arcs can carry on into a Secret Wars movie, while introducing some new heroes. The Avengers lost some of their greatest members in Endgame, meaning some heroes will have to step up. Who can lead the team now that Captain America is retired? The list is long, but the next few phases will lead up to that. A struggle for leadership will cause The Avengers to cooperate with wise leaders like Mr. Fantastic and Professor X. If any heroes can match Cap in terms of leadership, it’s those two.
The most crucial aspect of Secret Wars is what villains it introduces. The world-eater, Galactus, the time-traveling Kang the Conquerer are major Marvel villains that can rival Thanos for the next ultimate MCU villain. The biggest villain that took part in the comic was Doctor Doom, the archenemy of the Fantastic Four. Doom hasn’t just plagued The Fantastic Four, but every Marvel hero team as well. His actions in Secret Wars cemented his status as a serious villain in the Marvel Universe and even temporarily granted him ultimate power. Doom has the potential to be the next Thanos for the MCU, and a Secret Wars movie would give him that chance to claim it. It’s a debut we Marvel fans are dying to see and one we’ll hopefully get soon.
Secret Wars brought many Marvel heroes together, making it perfect for a Endgame-level MCU film. It can have the X-Men and The Fantastic Four finally team up with The Avengers. It can also introduce some serious villains and give us another Thanos. The list of opportunities is just endless. If we’re patient, we just might get exactly that.
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