Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Secret Wars

  • “Everything Dies”: Why the MCU Should End

    “Everything Dies”: Why the MCU Should End

    Part of the Journey is the End

    The Marvel Cinematic Universe is not only the biggest movie franchise of its time but the biggest movie franchise of all time. Even if it might have peaked for some when Avengers: Endgame hit theaters in 2019, there’s little reason to think that its cultural impact in 2022 hasn’t surpassed that. With Disney+ now available, the number of projects being released each year has more than doubled, and Marvel Studios doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon with more than two dozen projects set for release in the next few years alone. But all good things must come to an end and this means that the MCU as we know it should eventually do the same, although on its own terms so as to become something more.

    New Avengers #1 (2013)
    New Avengers #1 (2013)

    It certainly does not come down to a lack of demand, but that should not be the only metric Marvel Studios should take into account when making franchise-wide decisions. Identifying issues that might be hurting a massive franchise that has passed its 14th anniversary is extremely important, especially if Marvel has its sights set not only on the next few years but, more significantly, on the next couple of decades. 

    Storyline Issues

    The stories being told are the core of the MCU and issues that prevent them from being as good as can be should be addressed as a top priority. These can be due to several things, but most end up being a consequence of the same core issue: the shared universe.

    Avengers: Endgame (2019)

    Due to the intricacy of having so many stories being told through different IPs that either need to come together or stay apart in a way that feels justifiable, it’s perhaps fair to say that both movies and TV shows have had to compromise when it comes to the stories they set out to tell. A character that would have been perfect for a certain situation might not be available due to having a scheduled appearance somewhere else. Or maybe it is felt that its introduction deserves a bigger stage. While choices being made always aim at a better overall franchise, they end up not helping each individual project to be as good as it could be. This problem is only getting bigger and more noticeable as the years go by with the number of storylines, characters, and major events being introduced, especially since earlier storylines didn’t take into account the now real possibility of using a number of previously unavailable characters. While it still seems manageable at the moment, Marvel Studios should now be looking into how to stop while they’re ahead, in order not to hurt the entire brand in a way that might put their past achievements on the line.

    Accessibility Issues

    Going back to 2019, as Avengers: Endgame was set to premiere, both new and old fans were often gearing up for a complete MCU rewatch as the culmination of 11 years of storytelling was soon approaching. At the time, it only took watching 21 movies, something that while being no small feat, pales in comparison to what is needed to accomplish the same thing today.

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

    As of now, the post-pandemic MCU has not only added 5 new feature films (soon to be 6), but also 6 new TV shows (soon to be 7), something that likely isn’t helping with how new fans approach the franchise as a whole since it is becoming increasingly difficult to go back and experience it in its entirety. This will probably lead to casual fans choosing select projects to watch while feeling daunted by the magnitude of the rest of the franchise, meaning they’ll probably be missing out on the connective tissue between IPs that makes the MCU so special. So, in a way, and considering the previous point regarding storylines, they might be experiencing lackluster stories without the bonus of the shared universe experience. Die-hard fans will have another vision, as living through the interconnectivity between the projects might somewhat help to hide the imperfections needed to get there. But since Marvel Studios should be focused on bringing in new fans, while of course still appeasing old ones, the fact that the MCU has become too big for newcomers should be a cause for concern. A nice jumping-on point would do the trick, since new fans haven’t gotten that yet, not even after Avengers: Endgame.

    How it Should All End

    So, considering all this, should Marvel Studios just call it a day and shut down? Of course not. As stated above the MCU as we know it should perhaps end, but only for a neo-MCU to rise from its ashes. And as all signs point to the overall storyline being told at the moment leading to a Secret Wars-inspired event, Marvel Studios might just have an ace up its sleeve when it comes to approaching its future beyond the aforementioned event. If they choose to, obviously.

    Secret Wars #0 (2015)

    Marvel Studios has been pretty loose when adapting comic events. Age of Ultron, Civil War, and Infinity War are all examples of that. So even if Secret Wars is coming, there is still much room for how it will end up getting translated into live-action. But if the ending somehow stays similar, it may solve just about every issue pointed out above faced by the MCU. At the end of the 2015 comic series, following the collapse of the multiverse and the creation of Battleworld, Earth is restored as Marvel’s Earth-Prime. While not making everything that came before meaningless—in fact, it was everything leading up until then that made this new Earth both a possibility and a reality—this allowed for stories to be retold from a fresh perspective, while also allowing for better integration of all storylines into a single, unified universe. And this is what the MCU will need by the end of its Secret Wars.

    Why It Will Be for the Best

    For several years, there wasn’t either the budget or the character rights to put the perfect MCU on screen from the start. And nowadays, it has become an issue how to integrate certain characters that should have been a part of it earlier on. Certain storylines were simply avoided due to those constraints while others, even though they worked, had to be adapted in a way that perhaps diminished their appeal and overall impact. Allowing the MCU to scale itself down only to follow that up with a steady-paced growing, aware, and capable franchise that is willing to use all its moving parts/characters/storylines in the best possible way, could only mean good things for this new incarnation of the MCU in the long run.

    Secret Wars #9 (2016)

    Several actors could keep playing the same characters, new ones would enter the frame, and even legacy characters would be able to return without making audiences feel cheated in the way they were invested in their previous iterations. It would just be a case of letting go in order to both cherish and appreciate the past but also accept that a brighter future might be ahead. No sacrifice made up until then would have been in vain and it would all still have started in a cave with a box of scraps.

    The MCU is dead. Long live the MCU!

  • How ‘Multiverse of Madness’ Sets the Path to Marvel Studios ‘Secret Wars’

    How ‘Multiverse of Madness’ Sets the Path to Marvel Studios ‘Secret Wars’

    With just a few lines spoken by John Krasinski’s Reed Richards, Marvel Studios seemingly set its course to its next big event: Secret Wars. The project, once seen as “too big” to be done correctly, is one on the list of projects that Marvel Studios’ favorite sons, Joe and Anthony Russo, have said would bring them back into the fold and one that has swirled around insider circles for a few years now. The first hints to its eventual arrival came during an animated sequence in Loki but the truest indicator of Marvel’s intent to bring the thrice-done comic event to the MCU came in Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness when Richards briefly explained the concept of Incursions. The concept of Incursions was given all the explanation it needed in the film, but for those unsure of how that concept leads to Secret Wars, we’re here to help.

    Incursions made their way into the Marvel Comics lexicon in 2013 when writer Jonathan Hickman introduced the idea in New Avengers Volume 2 when T’Challa witnessed one. As was the case in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, smart guy Reed Richards explained the concept to the audience.

    New Avengers #2 (2013)

    Over the course of a page and a half, Richards-with the aid of very Hickman-esque illustrations-gives his “Everything Dies” speech in which he explains to the Illuminati that as a result of the early “death” of an alternate Earth, the contraction of the multiverse had begun. The death of that Earth caused the first Incursion, the collision of two other Earths that lead to the destruction of both of them. One Incursion sped up the timeline for another, accelerating the ends of each of the universes in which those Earths existed and it would only be a matter of time before the final Incursion destroyed the entire Multiverse.

    New Avengers #2 (2013)
    New Avengers #2 (2013)

    The Incursion of Earth-616 that T’Challa witnessed was stopped when the Black Swan (a fascinating character who we can only hope makes her way into the MCU) destroyed the other Earth, sparing Earth-616. The knowledge of the Incursions sent the Illuminati scrambling to devise a plan to save their universe. Ultimately, Earth-616 and Earth-1610, the Ultimate universe, were the last standing and as their Incursion began, the heroes of both worlds fought to destroy each other, with both sides ultimately falling short and being destroyed. A group of heroes, led by Richards, who had built a “life raft” found themselves on a new planet known as Battleworld and worked together to unravel the great mystery of where they were and how Doctor Doom came to be in charge. Those events made up the 2015 event Secret Wars, which takes us right back to where we began. Marvel Studios is building towards an adaptation of Secret Wars.

    Avengers #44 (2015)

    If you’ve paid attention for a few years, you’ve heard it from me that this event was in the making, but this is the closest Marvel Studios has come to admitting it. And with John Krasinski’s Reed Richards-who VERY closely resembles the Richards written by Hickman over his time on the Fantastic Four, New Avengers, and Secret Wars- being given the job of explaining the concept of Incursion to the MCU audience, it seems like it will indeed be Hickman’s version of Secret Wars that is adapted, rather than either of the previous comic events. Hickman’s version is by far the most cinematic of the options available but is also problematic in that it is loaded with dense scientific concepts that might make for a tough sell to general audiences. As we know, Marvel Studios doesn’t go with straight page-to-screen adaptations of their comic book stories, so it’s more likely than not that the MCU’s Secret Wars will simply be 616 vs. 1610, allowing for dead heroes to reappear as their 1610 counterparts. What does this mean for Doctor Doom, the Molecule Man, and other characters who played a huge role in the comic event? Probably nothing good.

    It is interesting to see that Marvel Studios has chosen Stephen Strange’s sequel to lead the charge to Secret Wars. Strange does play a key role in the 2015 event as one of Doom’s right hand, but readers would certainly not consider him “central” to the story. Whatever the case, we are likely still at least 3 years away from Secret Wars and there’s lots of building to be done, but with the mention of Incursion, it should now be clear to fans that the project is now the inevitable end to the developing Multiverse Saga.

  • Marvel Studios Already Teased the End of the Multiverse Arc

    Marvel Studios Already Teased the End of the Multiverse Arc

    Avengers: Endgame Director Joe Russo made a great statement earlier today that “too much of one thing is a bad thing.” It was about the current trend of superhero films embracing the multiverse in their storytelling. To be fair, we’ve been quite spoiled with Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s way of handling its multiversal guests from Spider-Man’s cinematic past but not every project will manage that balance. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is just around the corner and has already teased the return of another legacy actor from Marvel. Yet, doesn’t it seem like we’re rushing through it?

    The next entry in the MCU’s Multiverse Arc could’ve been dragged out quite a bit with multiple storylines exploring various multiversal scenarios. Even No Way Home could’ve split up its cameos and had one film introduce Andrew Garfield before building up to Tobey Maguire. Even Strange’s next adventure is introducing multiple cameos from across the multiverse in one neat package that is very likely the film’s version of the Illuminati.

    They could’ve dragged this out quite a bit more, especially if you consider Loki, the series that kickstarted the multiverse, technically focused primarily on a single character’s “variety.” It eased us into the concept with the TVA, the rules of the concept, and opens the gateways to the fact that the same actor doesn’t have to play every version of the character. It’s strange to think how it eased us into the project before No Way Home just went: “Here are five classic villains, two former Spider-Man actors, and if Strange didn’t do his job there would’ve been millions more!”

    It almost seems like the speed-up was on purpose. Yet, not to bank purely on the fact that the nostalgia will be strong with viewers, but to use the concept before it overstays its welcome. Revisiting the series that started it all, you start to realize why they are taking this route. They know exactly where it is heading and are spacing out the project in a way to build up to a film that may even surpass Avengers: Endgame in its size. Even if was indirectly teased, there’s no way it won’t end with a film based on Secret Wars.

    The multiverses will collide and Kang the Conqueror is at the center of it all. So, it wouldn’t be too surprising to think that his storyline will end in a Secret War crossover. If we look at time as a flat circle, they are bound to repeat history and a new TVA would be formed in its wake. The Sacred Timeline will once again form only to be destined to break again. Our favorite heroes don’t know it but their stories are trapped in a loop. Even if they win the fight with the future He Who Remains being left behind, the story would still manage to find a nice way to end it.

    Once we’ve exited the Secret Wars event, we might continue the stories of the various heroes, but the multiverse will no longer be a focal point moving forward. While it’s unclear if it’ll take three phases to get to that point, it seems that Marvel Studios has unshackled itself from a single overarching narrative but rather splitting up multiple roads. One thing is for sure, we already know where this one path will end and it seems that we’re on an express train towards it before it loses any momentum.

  • How The ‘No Way Home’ Mid-Credit Scene Could Lead to ‘Secret Wars’

    How The ‘No Way Home’ Mid-Credit Scene Could Lead to ‘Secret Wars’

    In 1984, Marvel Comics published Secret Wars, it’s first ever line-wide crossover event and, in fact, the first event of its kind by any comic book publisher. Secret Wars saw all of Marvel’s heroes and villains transported to the mysterious Battleworld by the Beyonder, one of the most powerful beings in the multiverse. The Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man and hosts of villains, Doctor Doom key among them, were grouped into teams to do battle with one another with the promise that the Beyonder would grant them their every wish should they “slay” their enemies.

    It was an incredible premise that sold more copies than anything Marvel had published in 25 years and spawned two direct sequels and, in 2015, another sprawling, line-wide Secret Wars event orchestrated by Jonathan Hickman. In Hickman’s Secret Wars, inhabitants of Earth-616 and Earth-1610 found themselves on an all-new Battleworld after the collision of their respective universes destroyed each of them. Hickman’s event once again featured Doctor Doom but leaned much heavier into the concepts and constructs of the multiverse. At the conclusion of the event, Earth-616 was restored and, for a time, served as the only Earth in the Marvel Universe.

    In 2019, it was first brought to my attention that Marvel Studios had an eye on developing Secret Wars. In the two years since, there have been multiple, significant developments on that front. The Russo brothers, who once indicated that it would take an event the size of Secret Wars to bring them back, have entered into negotiations with Marvel Studios to return for an unannounced project; Marvel Entertainment recently made moves to secure the rights to characters featured in the original Secret Wars events; the concept of the multiverse was deeply explored in Loki and head writer Michael Waldron may have tipped us off that the studio was headed in the direction of a Secret Wars project; finally, stories began being told through What If…?, Spider-Man: No Way Home that allowed multiversal variants of characters to begin interacting with one another. And it is one such interaction from the mid-credit scene of Spider-Man: No Way Home that might be the biggest piece of evidence yet that a Secret Wars project is headed our way.

    We learn from the mid-credit scene of No Way Home that while most of the characters who came through portals during the miscasting of Doctor Strange’s spell ended up converging in New York City, Eddie Brock spent his time drinking in Mexico and getting a brief history lesson about the heroes and villains of this dimension. When Strange’s new spell sent everyone back where they belonged, a piece of the symbiote was left behind. It certainly doesn’t make any sense given how we saw Strange’s spell work on everyone else, but the symbiote is here and once Peter finds it, it’ll set the stage for Secret Wars.

    Marvel Studios has often indicated that they don’t intend to create projects that are direct adaptations of the comic books on which they are based. They are more likely to grab onto catchy titles and moments from those arcs. For example, Captain America: Civil War was nothing like the comic book event but it did recreate an iconic comic book panel. The studio is likely to do the same with Secret Wars and nothing from that event is more iconic than Peter Parker first donning the black, symbiote suit with the large, white Spider logo across the chest.

    Getting Parker in the black, symbiote suit is almost certainly a key precursor to Marvel Studios Secret Wars project. so the symbiote fragment being left behind in No Way Home to eventually be found by Parker is the first big step in preparing him for whatever version of the story they choose to tell. As was pointed out during the premiere of No Way Home, Tom Holland’s contract calls for one more appearance in a Marvel Studios film and there’s no bigger project in the works than Secret Wars. It could potentially reunite Holland with the Russo brothers, who introduced his Spider-Man to fans in Civil War and made him a significant player in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Given what we’ve already seen in Loki and what the post-credit scene teaser for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness suggested, the multiverse is going to be in disarray and it’s all but certain that a major battle between universes is in the cards. The pieces are all in place now, including Spider-Man looking the part. All we need now is the official announcement.

  • The Russo Brothers Negotiating Their Return to Marvel Studios

    The Russo Brothers Negotiating Their Return to Marvel Studios

    Two years after they completed an incredible 6-year run in the MCU, Joe and Anthony Russo have entered into negotiations to return to Marvel Studios. The Russos struck gold for Marvel Studios with 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier and completed the Captain America trilogy with 2016’s Captain America: Civil War before moving on to helm the 2-part conclusion to the Infinity Saga in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War and 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. The tandem made it clear that they had planned to take a break from the MCU but now, according to The Wall Street Journal, they’ve begun planning their return.

    As exciting as that sounds, however, it is worth noting that negotiations with the directing duo recently reached an impasse in the wake of Scarlett Johansson’s lawsuit against Disney following the hybrid release of Black Widow. WSJ reports that the uncertainty about how films will be distributed and how the talent will be paid in the new landscape carved out by COVID has become a speed bump in the Russos’ return.

    In 2019, the brothers made no bones about the project that would be most apt to entice them to return: Secret Wars. With Loki openly teasing a multiversal war and the multiverse breaking open in Spider-Man: No Way Home, a Secret Wars film seems like more and more of a sure thing. Indeed, I’ve heard on several occasions-ranging from 2018 to just a few months ago-that an adaptation of Secret Wars is on the big board at Marvel Studios.

    As both studios and creatives navigate these uncharted waters, it’s no surprise that one side or the other (or both) would have concerns about how to share the financial pie. There’s still not enough of a sample size to prove whether or not Disney’s Premier Access strategy, which they employed with Black Widow, can work; on the other hand, it’s hard to imagine large studios continuing to sit on films for years while waiting for the COVID pandemic to “end.” Given the Russos passion for Marvel Comics and their past successes with adapting comic book story lines, let’s all hope Disney can find a way to bring them back into the fold.

    Source: The Wall Street Journal

  • How ‘WandaVision’ Lays the Groundwork for a Hexagonal ‘Secret Wars’ Battleworld

    How ‘WandaVision’ Lays the Groundwork for a Hexagonal ‘Secret Wars’ Battleworld

    It’s a hexagonal multiverse, and we are living in it. The latest episode of WandaVision has started to expand. Interestingly enough, even as it grew, it kept its original shape. As such, the hexagon represents something more than just a wordplay on Wanda’s hex abilities. We are still waiting for an official confirmation why such a focus is given to this shape. We know that this Disney+ series will act as a set-up for future multiversal storylines of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Spider-Man 3. If we are about to enter other parts of the multiverse, we may see this structure return in the future. We have seen something similar to how Marvel has approached a connected multiverse in the comics. It made me wonder if we might get Secret Wars‘ famous Battleworld consisting of multiple hexagonal shapes.

    Originally, Secret Wars was a storyline that ran from 1984 until 1985. A strange entity, who goes by the Beyonder, decided it would be fun to throw various heroes and villains into a world known as Battleworld. There they have a selection of alien weapons and technology. It was Marvel’s first attempt at a Battle Royale storyline that got two sequels. However, the latest incarnation of 2015 introduces us to a concept where multiple dimensions started to converge. As the map below showcases, different sections originally belonged to a part of the multiverse. It included the HYDRA Empire from the Secret Empire run, Old Man Logan‘s Wastelands, and so many more.

     

     

    In the comics, the third version of Battleworld, the one shown above, was created after Doctor Doom and Doctor Strange defeated the Beyonder. Their universe got threatened by incursions of others colliding with each other. After Doom took the Beyonder’s powers as his own, he put together Battleworld from the remnants. If WandaVision is setting up the multiverse, it may be setting the ground rules for how the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s version of Battleworld may be structured. Instead of going the route of multiverses colliding, they introduce us to the concept of pocket dimensions jumping into existence. They take the shape of a hexagon when introduced or created within a new world. It also isn’t the first time we’ve seen this shape in the MCU. What also supports this theory is the way space travel works in the MCU. In Guardian of the Galaxy Vol. 2, we learn that Hyperdrive travels through different dimensions. The gateway between them is in a hexagonal portal. The Kree even built their entire architecture around that shape.

     

     

    As such, it could be the structure for a future Battleworld or the entirety of the multiverse. The different universes that Doctor Strange will visit in the upcoming Multiverse of Madness may get connected through this shape. He uses the sling ring in a round shape to travel from one location to another in the mainline dimension. So, once he tries to travels in the multiverse, it may change into the hexagon we first witnessed in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Marvel Studios has always been very good at creating rules to keep everything together, which we saw with their time travel antics in Avengers: Endgame. They may be slowly setting the foundation that will connect all future multiversal stories in the coming years. Once the building blocks are set, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see a Secret Wars storyline in a few years as the next major crossover event that could replicate Endgame‘s success. I think we are just at the beginning of a major storyline that is about to unfold.

  • 5 Marvel Comics Events Fit For the MCU

    Marvel Comics most recent event series, Empyre, is in the midst of its run and has received mixed reviews to this point. It’s place in the long and storied history of Marvel’s major events will ultimately be determined by how it ends and what impact it has on the future of the line but I’ve already seen a lot of fans speculating how it could tie into the MCU down the road. While we’ll have to wait to see how that goes, let’s look at some other events that could also be great fits for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

    Secret Wars (2015-16) by Jonathan Hickman

    How Marvel's 'Secret Wars' Reboot Could Leave Comics Fans ...

     

    Jonthan Hickman’s work has trended toward the cinematic and Secret Wars is probably the most definitive example of that: it is a story absolutely intended to be adapted to the screen. While a lot of people would argue that a film adaptation of this is over a decade away, I would counter that it might not take quite that long (though I do think the film might benefit from the decade long build up-complicated thoughts, I know). Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness is the first step towards this film becoming a reality and the addition of Disney + as a medium on which to tell additional stories will allow the requisite foundations to be laid.

    The story itself is one of Marvel Comics all-time gems: as the Multiverse destroys itself, Doctor Doom saves fragments of each world and creates a new world where things are as he makes them but not everyone has forgotten their past lives. Now I see no road to a film adaptation that doesn’t go through Doom, but the idea of bringing characters from their disparate universes into one created by God Emperor Doom would certainly challenge, if not top, the Infinity Saga. Ten years from now will we see the Doctor Strange sequel as the beginning of the Secret Wars Saga? We could only be so lucky.

    The Korvac Saga (1978) by Steve Gerber

    The Avengers Make Themselves Feel Better for the Korvac Saga

    One of my all-time favorite events that’s really more of just a long run in Avengers (issues 167-177), The Korvac Saga is a fascinating story that calls into question the nature of good and evil and refuses to give an answer, forcing the reader to look inward for the answer.

    Michael Korvac, a spacetime refugee from an alternate universe where the Badoon turned him into a cyborg before he defeated them and tried to destroy Earth, arrives in the 616 universe where he immediately hacks into Galactus’ ship and finds himself loaded up with the Power Cosmic. Basically, Korvac finds himself with the power and knowledge of a god and heads to Earth planning to make it his own, personal paradise. The story, which sees the original 31st century Guardians of the Galaxy team up with the Avengers, forces the reader to think about what they would do should they have to power to truly “heal” the world. Why are the Avengers, a group that have spent their entire collective history fighting against evil, trying to stop Korvac from acting in a way that essentially completes their mission for them by eliminating it?

    As I said in the open, the event will make you question your beliefs and might even make you a bit uncomfortable. It would take quite a bit of work to retcon the OG Guardians from hillbilly space pirates to the kind of heroes that they are here, especially Starhawk, but that’s a possibility when you have an entire multiverse of characters at your disposal. So yeah, there are a few things to work out, but this one is absolutely meant for the screen!

    Siege (2009-10) by Brian Michael Bendis

    As soon as we visited New Asgard in Avengers: Endgame, this one entered the realm of possibilities. Everything about New Asgard fits into the pre-existing politics of the MCU and it isn’t much of a stretch to consider that people are not going to feel good about a group of alien refugees living on Earth, especially if things go south there as I expect they will in Thor: Love and Thunder.

    In the comics, Siege sees Norman Osborn, manipulated by Loki, invading Asgard which, at the time, is located in Broxton, Oklahoma. While it is increasingly unlikely we’ll see Osborn involved if Marvel Studios The-One-Above-All decides to adapt this even for the MCU, we can take comfort in knowing that the studio has already adapted some major events with some major changes and it’s worked out ok so far. In this case, I would fully expect General Ross and his Thunderbolts to be the aggressors; at the same time, I could easily be talked into Tom Hiddleston’s unreformed Loki finding his way into the mix, just like the comics. If there’s any reason I could come up with for seeing more of Hiddleston, it would be to see him in a purely evil role and that could be offered to him here.

    Siege is a crazy, visceral event with some really memorable panels (Sentry ripping Ares in half is definitely the best example) and it includes a cast of characters that would be tough to assemble on screen in the current MCU, but given just how well it fits thematically, I think it’s got a decent shot of making the jump from page to screen.

    Annihilation and Annihilation: Conquest (2006-08) by multiple writers

    Annihilation Omnibus Getting New Printing | Cosmic Book News

    Annihilation was the comic event that brought me back into the fold as a Cosmic junky and, arguably, elevated Marvel’s Cosmic characters to a new level. It’s hard to follow up something as sprawling as Annihilation, but Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning not only did it but topped it with Annihilation: Conquest, an event that saw the return of Ultron and led to a new version of the Guardians of the Galaxy coming together, the team that ultimately inspired the MCU version that everyone has grown to love.

    The two stories are truly massive, drawing in nearly every major Cosmic character, race and entity from Marvel’s vast stable and redefining some of them in ways that fans didn’t even know we needed. From Galactus to the Space Knights to the Shi’ar to the High Evolutionary, these events truly touched all the bases. Should they be adapted to the MCU, Disney + series may be a better fit than trying to squeeze them into a pair of 2.5 hour films and there’s certainly some work to do to get the existing universe from here to there, but it’s all doable and should absolutely be done.

    The road to Annihilation begins with the introduction of the Fantastic Four and the Negative Zone, allowing for the cinematic debut of The Living Death Who Walks along with some other key characters. If you’ve read my 5-part Nova series, you know that Richard Rider would have a big part to play in these stories as well and, along with what would certainly be some new members of the Guardians, would bridge the gap to Conquest. The return of James Spader as Ultron there would be a major selling point for fans who felt he didn’t get his just due in Avengers: Age of Ultron and would also help tie the Earth-bound stories to the Cosmic corner. If Marvel Studios has any hopes of correcting course on their Cosmic stories, these two stories should be their North Star.

    Rise of the Midnight Sons (1992) by multiple writers

    The 10 Most Powerful Members of Marvel's Midnight Sons, Ranked

    A six-issue event that spanned five different title, Rise of the Midnight Sons brought together nine occult-related characters (also called the Mystic Nine) to take on Lilith, the mother of demons. While we are unlikely to see all nine original comic book members on the team should it appear in the MCU, it certainly seems like Kevin Feige could be lining up an adaptation. The effort to bring Ghost Rider and his associated mythology into the MCU proper, the development of Blade, which is almost certain to stick closer to the source material than the prior iterations, and the rumors some other “horror-based” characters such as Dracula, Werewolf By Night and others all at least give us hope.

    The original event, to be honest, is a little all over the place, but that’s what happens sometimes when you have too many cooks in the kitchen and it’s something that could easily be straightened out by the studio. This story could easily be adapted into something nice like, Doctor Strange: The Rise of the Midnight Sons, and work as the same sort of event film for that franchise as Civil War did for Captain America. The big selling point for this is event would be the idea that it would serve as a launch pad for the other characters’ properties by giving them the spotlight in the film. I think we’d be likely to see it do for some characters what Civil War has done for Sam, Bucky, Zemo and Sharon. This one would be a VFX extravaganza, but it’s definitely something that would put butts in seats and be worthy of a few buckets of popcorn.