WandaVision is only a week away from premiering. It will kick-off a new era of multiversal stories. The first teasers already are teasing that not everything is as it seems. Yet, it will only be the beginning, as Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness will be the franchise’s first horror film. It will affect many other films and projects, such as Spider-Man 3 and the upcoming What If series, whose recent trailer teased the existence of Marvel’s zombies. It gave me an idea about what other comic elements we could see get adapted in the film. They can explore so many aspects of the diverse multiverse. I had so many ideas that I will primarily focus on one short story featured in the film. I also had to consider what was already on the horizon, as we know that Blade will introduce us to the likes of vampires. Without
Welcome to the Wasteland
I confess that part of this idea came from the recent Marvel’s Avengers reveal that Hawkeye’s storyline will be Future Imperfect. It inspired me to revisit the Old Man Logan storyline, which introduced us to a screwed-up post-apocalyptic world known called the Wasteland. With some wondering, if they might bring back characters from the Fox universe, the Wasteland would be a perfect remnant. Perhaps the part of the multiverse that they explore is the consequences of when they failed X-Men: Days of Future Past. Everyone is gone, and the Sentinels won. From the ashes of the world, a fractured civilization was trying to cling to whatever was left. In its remnants, a new leader emerged who would rule it under his own rule of violence.
Doctor Strange finds himself lost in the middle of what seemed to be a desert. There he meets a man named Logan. Unable to continue his travel for the time, he is welcomed by the kind stranger, who has an eerie resemblance to Hugh Jackman. He tells him the story of how the Sentinels destroyed mutants and humanity all the same. After some time, they were no longer a threat after being deactivated by a random EMP blast. Finally, mankind had some hope. Well, at least that was until a sudden invasion of monsters from beyond the stars. Creatures that everyone calls the Brood, who would infest one city after another. They replace the symbiotes that were present during the Old Man Logan storyline. In their wake, a hero emerged, who saved them from this new threat. In a way, he started becoming the leader of the Wasteland.
Facing a Familiar Face
Strange realizes that there is one object he needs to continue his multiversal travel, and it so happens to be in the hands of that very ruler. The only issue was that they were looking for lives beyond an area infested with the Brood. Luckily, Logan offered his help as a guide through the Wasteland to find the mysterious leader. As every good film needs an action sequence, they soon realize that the Brood has still been expanding. It seems that the mysterious leader wasn’t able to keep them at bay after at all. In the middle of the plague, there stood the one that was supposed to destroy them. In reality, he was controlling them through a strange device. Strange instantly recognized who the ruler is, but at the same time, it seemed like someone else. It was the Hulk. It was a version of the character we haven’t seen since 2008’s The Incredible Hulk.
Once he noticed his visitors, he sends the Brood after them. Suddenly, Logan pulls out three claws on each hand to protect Strange from the onslaught, whose magic was facing its limits. He realizes that the item he needs is the thing that lets Hulk control these beasts. As they get closer, Logan confronts the Green Goliath. The good doctor tries to cry out to Banner and uncover why he would do this. The now-bearded titan reveals that the post-credit sequence from the original film meant that Hulk was slowly taking over Banner’s mind. The Sentinel and Brood invasions were merely stepping stones for him to finally taking over so he could take his vengeance on the world. He would stand above everyone else so that they would learn fear.
In their conflict, Strange can get the missing piece but doesn’t want to leave Logan behind. He tells him he has nothing to worry about as the confrontation rages between two immortal beings surrounded by what seems to be an endless horde of alien bugs. Strange leaves the Wasteland behind, scared of the realization of what horrors could unfold once Banner loses control someday. He swears to make it up to his new-found friend. Perhaps the man known as Logan exists in his world as well. These thoughts remained in his mind as his travel through the multiverse of madness continues.
