From multiverse incursions to the Illuminati
to the obvious reintroduction of the Fantastic Four,
Kevin Feige and company have used one project
as the North Star for their Phase 4, 5, and 6 plans.
Feige outlined exactly where the MCU is going to
and how Phase 6 is going to climax
with two Avengers films, the Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars.
That will complete the second saga
of the MCU, The Multiverse Saga.
Secret Wars might be the most important Marvel crossover
of the past decade.
Like everything in comics, nothing
is simple and straightforward.
There are multiple versions of Secret Wars
and the Secret Wars we're going to be dissecting today
is Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic's modern classic
released in 2015.
However, the history of this project
dates all the way back to 1984.
Originally conceived under the title Cosmic Champions,
the project was created as a marketing stunt.
Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter
was approached by Mattel to license the Marvel characters
for a toy line to compete with Kenner's DC Superpowers line.
Dr. Doom and Spider-man, the Marvel Secret Wars collection.
Other figures each sold separately.
This project would see a new character named The Beyonder,
pulling all the Marvel heroes and villains
to a neutral plane of existence called Battle World.
In order to ascertain which is mightier, good or evil,
this 12-issue maxiseries was the first of its kind
and was written by Shooter with art
by Mike Zeck and Bob Layton.
Flash forward to the mid-2000s, and Jonathan Hickman
is a rising star at Marvel.
The writer worked for years constructing
a universe-sprawling epic, something
that would redefine what the long-form superhero story could
be.
His highly acclaimed Fantastic Four run
would introduce the multiversal concept
to the Council of Reeds, a superteam composed
of Reed Richards from every dimension in the multiverse.
This basic concept of taking a multiverse look
at the various Marvel characters would
be a theme built throughout Hickman's Fantastic Four,
Future Foundation, Avengers and new Avengers work.
Throughout all these books Hickman grappled
with an existentially tormenting idea,
everything dies, it's a returning chorus
throughout all of his work.
Much of Hickman's Avengers work centers on the Illuminati
as they attempt to grapple with an unwinnable scenario,
they discovered that the multiverse is collapsing,
their universe will die.
So the Illuminati take it upon themselves
to travel the multiverse killing errant dimensions in order
to preserve their own.
This puts them at odds with Captain America
and the Avengers.
Reset the timeline.
This all reaches a crescendo in the Avengers
arc titled Time Runs Out.
We follow our stalwart Marvel favorites
as they attempt to save their universe from The Beyonders
as they are systematically collapsing the multiverse,
only unlike every other tale in the mighty Marvel Manor,
our heroes lose.
Hickman and Ribic's Secret Wars was constructed
with a specific purpose, Marvel Editorial
was expressly looking for a fitting sendoff
to the ultimate universe, a.k.a.
Earth-1610.
Hickman took this challenge on with gusto.
The lead up to Secret Wars destroyed the House
of M universe, 2099 universe, Age Of Apocalypse universe,
and the 1602 universe.
By the time the nine-issue miniseries Secret Wars
commences, there are only two universes left,
616 and the 1610.
And despite the best efforts of every character in the Marvel
universe, these two dimensions seem destined
to careen into one another.
You, our friend, had caused the annihilation
of another universe.
Secret Wars starts with a special craft
known as The Raft, occupied by Reed Richards and a ragtag
group of heroes.
They crash land on a mysterious piece of land unstuck
from the multiverse.
We quickly realize that Doctor Doom
has stolen the powers of The Beyonders,
and has snatched fragments from the multiversal dimensions
as they were being destroyed, and soldered them together.
The remaining shards of reality have been melded into a plane
called Battle World, held together solely by Doom's will.
In this new reality, he has christened himself God.
Doom rules over various fiefdoms that
are based on different eras of Marvel Comics continuity.
Multiple versions of every character roam freely.
The police force is populated exclusively
by every version of Thor.
Another.
However, all is not as well as it
seems on Doom's battle world.
Thanos, Maximus, The Maker and friends
constructed their own dimensional escape pod
in case the worst occurred.
This craft has brought a crew of villains to this new paradise.
Mr. Sinister and this team of villains
eventually end up staging an uprising against Doom,
while Mr Fantastic and his crew work
to learn more about how Doom is keeping this reality intact.
The answer?
He's keeping Molecule Man prisoner
as a means of continuing to harness The Beyonders powers.
I suppose you'll have to learn by spending the next 1,000
years as a battery.
By sharing the same name as the 1984 miniseries that
created the idea of a crossover, this book
works as a thematic bookend to the concept
of serialized storytelling, and the Marvel universe itself.
We follow Reed leading his group of extra dimensional Freedom
Fighters against Doom for the fate of all existence.
Does this story feature Black Panther
with the Infinity Gauntlet?
Yes.
Cyclops with the Phoenix?
Yes.
How about a Doom that is so strong,
he kills Thanos with his bare hands?
Absolutely, yes.
Despite being a literal universe-sprawling mega epic
that involves nearly every character in the Marvel canon.
At its core, it's a story about Marvel's first hero
and its first villain, Mr. Fantastic and Dr. Doom,
the twin archetypes of good and evil.
It's the perfect coda to their relationship,
because after all, everything dies and then is born again
because everything lives.
Now if you've been paying attention to the films and TV
shows that have rolled out over the course of Marvel's Phase 4,
you probably keyed into some specific things
we talked about over the course of this video.
The dangly thread in all of this, though, is Kang.
Kang does not play a major role in Secret Wars.
However, the film that has been announced that directly
precedes is titled Kang Dynasty, meaning he's obviously
going to be the reason the multiverse completely collapses
and Battle World is born.
You plunge your blade in my chest
and an infinite amount of me start another multiversal war,
and I end up right back here anyways.
Could Kang take Doom's place in the MCU's adaptation?
Unlikely.
They know they need Victor Von Doom
to be their key antagonist.
It's more probable that he would take
the role filled by the Molecule Man in the book.
The means by which Doom is keeping the powers
of the Beyonders in his grasp.
Alternatively, Kang could take the place of the Beyonder.
Overall, the fact that Phase 6 is
going to be climaxing in Secret Wars
is almost unprecedented in its scope.
The secret message underneath all of this buildup
is that Secret Wars is how Marvel Entertainment is
going to wipe the slate clean.
At the end of the comics, we find Peter Parker Spider-man
and Miles Morales Spider-man swinging
through the newly reborn 616 universe,
both coexisting in harmony.
This is a metaphor for the fact that the Marvel universe is now
united, one cohesive storytelling playground.
The MCU is going to most likely be doing something different,
but also very similar.
Expect there to be a reshuffling of actors, characters,
and continuity.
Like any good classic crossover, Secret Wars
is going to be about housekeeping
the universe as much as it's about saving it.
Could we see a new Tony Stark cast or could we
see Chris Evans reprising his role as the star-spangled
Captain we all know and love?
That's anyone's guess.
If this is pulled off correctly, a large- scale Secret Wars
adaptation could have us all saying everything lives.
Well, that's it for this episode of Nerdstalgic.
Which MCU project is going to lay
the next big piece of the Secret Wars puzzle into place
comment below.
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