The multiverse is on the brink of collapse, and Doctor Doom’s infighting threatens to change the universe forever. But the real question on everyone’s mind is: What exactly is Secret Wars? Which Secret Wars is Marvel Studios going to adapt? What role might Robert Downey Jr. play as Doctor Doom? Where does Doctor Strange fit into all of this? And what other pieces of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) are already in place? Let’s dive deep into everything we know about Secret Wars and how Marvel has been laying the groundwork for this epic storyline.
Just as Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame were the culmination of the Infinity Gauntlet and Infinity storyline, Avengers: Secret Wars is going to be the culmination of multiple Secret Wars events. Multiple Secret Wars have occurred in Marvel Comics: one in 1984 and another in 2015. Both storylines feature the Beyonders and Molecule Man, with Doctor Doom playing a crucial role. However, the 2015 Secret Wars is more important.
Let’s understand what happened in Secret Wars first. Doctor Doom, Doctor Strange, and Molecule Man face the Beyonders to save the multiverse. The final incursion begins between Earth-1610 and Earth-616. The superheroes of both Earths face each other. Meanwhile, Mister Fantastic from Earth-616 and Mister Fantastic from Earth-1610, also known as the Maker, make a plan to survive the destruction. Mister Fantastic selects a few heroes and important scientists, while the Maker tries to save himself and the supervillain team, Cabal. This Cabal includes Maximus, Black Bolt’s brother, Black Swan, Terrax, and Thanos with his two Black Order members.
On Earth-616, Mister Fantastic had started the Future Foundation for the future of humanity. Meanwhile, Earth-1610’s version is called the Children of Tomorrow. The Maker sends a doomsday and his Children of Tomorrow team to Earth-616. Black Bolt, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Black Widow, and Beast are killed, and Stark Tower is destroyed. On the other side, Kingpin organizes a viewing party where all the villains gather to watch the incursion. However, their party is interrupted by Punisher, who kills all the villains along with the dying Earth.
A mutant named Manifold teleports the superheroes that Mister Fantastic wanted to save onto their lifeboat. Cyclops, merged with the Phoenix Force, destroys the Children of Tomorrow. Afterward, he teleports onto Mister Fantastic’s ship, which also has Spider-Man, Mighty Thor, Captain Marvel, and Peter Quill on board. Mister Fantastic and Black Panther take the ship into the middle of the incursion. Suddenly, an electric shock hits their ship, separating the part containing Mister Fantastic’s wife Susan, the Thing, and the Future Foundation. Before Mister Fantastic can save them, they are destroyed. The two Earths collide, and everything turns white. In this white void, Doctor Doom’s mask appears, followed by the void turning black, and the lifeboat reaches a mysterious place.
A new young Thor appears, joining the Thor Corps. The Thor Corps is a police force made up of different versions of Thor. This new Thor is given a post at Higher Avalon, where another Thor tells him how God Emperor Doom created the Earth and the universe. Both Thors then go to Bar Sinister to bring Baron Mister Sinister to Castle Doom, where Doom has called for a gathering at the World Tree. This is Battleworld, divided into different domains. God Emperor Doom rules all of Battleworld, and each domain is ruled by a baron, except for the Deadlands, Perfection, and New Xandar, where Marvel Zombies, Ultron Sentinels, and the Annihilation Wave reside. To protect the other domains from these, the Shield is located in between them—a giant version of Ben Grimm.
Baron James Braddock of Higher Avalon suspects that Baron Hyperion of Utopolis is planning to go against Higher Avalon. In Doom’s gathering, Sinister denies these accusations and challenges Braddock for a fight. Braddock agrees but loses. However, when Sinister is about to finish him off, God Emperor Doom intervenes. To save his brother, Baron James sends him to the Shield, where an old Thor and the young Thor take him to fight the zombies on the other side. He jumps into the Deadlands and is killed while fighting the zombies.
In Utopolis, an object surfaces during an earthquake—it’s a lifeboat from Earth-1610. God Emperor Doom’s daughter Valeria informs Sheriff Strange about it, mentioning that the object is older than the age of the Earth. Strange sends the young Thor and the old Thor to investigate the area. When the excavator unknowingly opens the door, a weapon emerges and kills the old Thor. The new Thor immediately rushes back to inform Sheriff Strange about what happened.
We then see that the craft contains the Maker and the Cabal, where Thanos is informed by the excavator that they are in Battleworld. Sheriff Strange gives a report to God Emperor Doom on all the domains of Battleworld. Standing before a statue of Molecule Man, they both reminisce about how Strange himself could have become an emperor but chose not to, and how God Emperor Doom faced the Beyonders, saved parts of different Earths, and created Battleworld. The Thor Corps is called to Utopolis to investigate the Cabal’s lifeboat. The Thor Corps is sent to capture the Cabal, except for the Higher Avalon Thor. As they leave, Sheriff Strange calls Miles Morales’ Spider-Man out of the craft. Miles then explains that when his Earth-1610 started to be destroyed during the incursion, he hid inside the ship.
On the Isle of Agamotto, Sheriff Strange explains Battleworld to Miles and also informs him that another lifeboat has been found. The Thor of Higher Avalon opens the craft, awakening the surviving heroes of Earth-616. Sheriff Strange recognizes them as heroes from his timeline and tells them they have been asleep for eight years and that God Emperor Doom saved them when he created Battleworld.
In Utopolis, the Thor Corps confronts the Cabal and the Maker. They fight Thanos, the Cabal, and the Maker. As the battle continues, one Thor immediately goes to God Emperor Doom and informs him about Utopolis. Sheriff Strange and the remaining survivors arrive at the scene. God Emperor Doom unleashes his powers on the Cabal and the lifeboat’s superheroes. Cyclops, merged with the Phoenix Force, faces God Emperor Doom and, for a moment, gains the upper hand. However, as soon as God Emperor Doom recovers, he snaps Cyclops’ neck. Sheriff Strange safely teleports everyone else to different places, and in a fit of rage, God Emperor Doom kills Sheriff Strange with his energy blast.
After Sheriff Strange’s funeral, God Emperor Doom visits the realm beneath Doctor Strange’s statue, where we see Molecule Man residing. Molecule Man reveals that the Beyonders created reality but decided to destroy it when they got bored. They placed a Molecule Man in each universe, and once all Molecule Men were killed simultaneously, the multiverse would end. Doctor Strange, Doctor Doom, and Earth-616’s Molecule Man combined all the other Molecule Men to create a bomb, which they used against the Beyonders. The Beyonders were killed, and the Earth-616 Molecule Man absorbed all their powers and channeled them into God Emperor Doom, who then created Battleworld.
God Emperor Doom’s daughter Valeria begins to suspect her father after the Future Foundation finds the source of his powers. Mister Fantastic and the Maker team up to find the source of God Emperor Doom’s powers. Both instruct their respective Spider-Men, Peter and Miles, to sneak into Castle Doom. Inside the castle, they encounter Valeria, who refuses to join them. Valeria asks who killed Sheriff Strange, and Peter confirms that no one from the lifeboat is responsible. The two Spider-Men then descend into a trapdoor beneath Molecule Man and meet him face to face. Miles gives Molecule Man a hamburger from his pocket, and the Spider-Men ask him about the source of Doom’s power. Molecule Man replies, “You’re looking at it.”
Meanwhile, Namor and Black Panther arrive at the Isle of Agamotto, where Sheriff Strange had already given them the Key of Agamotto. They gain access to powerful artifacts collected by Strange, including the Siege Courageous and the Infinity Gauntlet, which only works in Doomstadt. The Siege Courageous can transport anyone anywhere and grant them the appropriate physical form for that location.
On the other side, Thanos is captured by the Hell Rangers. He talks to an alternate version of Ben Grimm, who created the entire Shield, and convinces him to stand against God Emperor Doom, causing the Shield to collapse. It is revealed that the Prophet leading the rebellion is none other than Maximus, who is leading an army to Castle Doom. Baron Sinister seizes the opportunity to go against Baron Pryor, but Baron Apocalypse intervenes, bringing the Thor Corps with him. The Thor Corps join the fight against God Emperor Doom. Baron Maestro also arrives with his Worldbreaker Hulk army.
Both Reed Richards seize the opportunity to steal the most valuable items in the multiverse. Black Panther and Namor head to the Deadlands to recruit an army. Black Panther commands both Wakanda and the Necronomicon army. The Maker and Star-Lord head towards Castle Doom, but a Hulk crashes their ship. Maestro calls God Emperor Doom to deal with them, but then the giant Ben Grimm advances, destroying everything in his path.
Susan, Valeria, and Black Swan try to protect God Emperor Doom. The Thing continues his rampage, but then Franklin and Galactus arrive. Franklin tells the Thing that God Emperor Doom is his father, but the Thing also remembers that Franklin is Susan’s son and lets Galactus, under Franklin’s control, destroy him instead of fighting him. Seeing this, Susan breaks into tears. Valeria then asks Susan to come with her. In Castle Doom, while Star-Lord is repairing his ship, Black Swan attacks him. Star-Lord tells Black Swan to surrender and leave, but she refuses. At that moment, Star-Lord inserts Groot’s toothpick into the World Tree, merging it with the tree to form a giant Groot.
Witnessing this, Susan and Valeria head to the Molecule Man and Sheriff Strange’s statue but stop when they see Mister Fantastic and the Maker. God Emperor Doom arrives on the battlefield and gives Thanos a chance to become his baron. Thanos refuses, stating that he is already a god. In response, God Emperor Doom grabs Thanos by the spine and incinerates him. The battle continues as Captain Marvel sees zombies arriving through the Siege Courageous, with Black Panther emerging from the crowd, wielding the Infinity Gauntlet. Black Panther uses the Gauntlet’s power to end God Emperor Doom’s reign.
God Emperor Doom, with the power of the Beyonders, and Black Panther, with the power of the Infinity Gauntlet, clash. Meanwhile, Susan fails to recognize Mister Fantastic and accuses him of being one of the murderers of Sheriff Strange. Mister Fantastic then reveals that it was God Emperor Doom who killed Sheriff Strange. Mister Fantastic and the Maker meet with Molecule Man. The Maker betrays Mister Fantastic, trapping him in a temporal bubble where he begins to turn into a monkey. Molecule Man intervenes, saving Mister Fantastic and shredding the Maker into pieces.
On the battlefield, God Emperor Doom realizes that Black Panther was merely a distraction and teleports himself to Molecule Man’s statue to confront Mister Fantastic. God Emperor Doom tries to destroy Reed with his power but discovers that Molecule Man has taken away his powers to make the fight fair. Reed and Doom face off, with God Emperor Doom shouting why everything always happens between him and Reed. He mocks Reed, saying that if he is such a genius, why didn’t he find a way to save the entire multiverse. Reed retorts that Doom is a hypocrite; upon becoming God Emperor, he stole the Beyonders’ powers and took away Reed’s life and family, making them his own in Battleworld.
God Emperor Doom admits that if Reed had those powers, he would have used them better. Hearing this, Molecule Man transfers the Beyonders’ powers into Mister Fantastic, who immediately begins to destroy Battleworld. Witnessing this destruction, Black Panther uses the Reality Gem to create Wakanda and teleports there. He meets three of the brightest Wakandan children and assigns them the task of understanding the stars.
Miles Morales returns to the restored Earth-616, now known as Earth Prime. Along with him, his friends and mother, who had died on Earth-1610, have also returned. Molecule Man brought them back because Miles gave him a hamburger. Still struggling to comprehend what has happened, Miles joins Peter Parker’s Spider-Man to save the city.
Meanwhile, Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Valeria, Franklin, members of the Future Foundation, and Molecule Man are all working together to restore the multiverse. Reed is directing Molecule Man’s unlimited power, while Reed’s son Franklin is shaping the universe. They are restoring the universes, with Molecule Man sending his fragments as anchors into them. Reed even considers seeking Doctor Doom’s help, and we see Doom with his face healed.
After reading this incredible story, it’s almost clear to you what Secret Wars is. But the thought-provoking question is: how will this happen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? It will be mind-blowing because Battleworld already exists in the MCU, which means the Secret Wars have already begun with the destruction of the universe through incursions. Incursions have already started happening in the MCU, as we saw in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Doctor Strange himself has gone to stop incursions with Clea.
In Secret Wars, incursions occurred between different Earths. We have already seen multiple Earths in the MCU. Earth-616 is the main Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Earth-838 is the universe of the Illuminati. We have also seen Monica Rambeau on another Earth, and the Fantastic Four storyline is going to take place on a different Earth. In Secret Wars, it was revealed that the Beyonders created the universes and would use Molecule Man to destroy them. In the MCU, the Celestials created the universe, and now that the birth of a Celestial Tiamut has been stopped, they have come to judge the existence of the universe. Perhaps in the end, they will also think of destroying the universe. How will Doctor Doom take the power of the Celestials?
If Doctor Doom appears in the Fantastic Four, we may see a Celestial-level being, Galactus, whose powers Doom might be able to take. All the pieces are in place for Secret Wars to happen. With the announcement of Robert Downey Jr.’s return, Marvel has reignited the excitement among fans, reminiscent of the days of Infinity War. There are still many stories to discuss and many parallels to match.
This story is incredible, and Marvel Studios has a chance to make it even more amazing. Currently, Phase Five is underway, and Phase Six will begin with the first steps of the Fantastic Four. Many project slots are vacant in Phase Six, and those are the ones you should keep an eye on.
