The MCU might introduce a wild take on a long-standing supervillain squad, either as a familiar Marvel hero team in Avengers: Doomsday or as their comic-accurate selves in Avengers: Secret Wars. As the wait for the Multiverse Saga’s conclusion approaches, Marvel Studios has officially confirmed twenty-seven characters for Avengers. Doomsday. Yet, multiple major heroes and villains are still missing, and many notable MCU figures may miss out on the conflict anyway.
Heroes like Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, Wolverine, ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool, Wong, and Star-Lord could be confirmed to appear in Avengers: Doomsday soon, but Marvel could also save their return for Avengers: Secret Wars. Other characters from Marvel Comics’ various Secret Wars storylines may not appear in the MCU’s Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars, as there won’t be enough room for everyone on the big screen. However, other characters could play a similar role.
The Cabal Protected Earth-616 From Incursions In Marvel Comics
The Cabal Became Unexpected Heroes Before Doctor Doom Kicked Off Secret Wars
In Marvel Comics, the Cabal is an alliance of powerful Marvel supervillains formed by Norman Osborn following the events of Secret Invasion. Osborn ᴀssembled Doctor Doom, Loki, Namor, Emma Frost, and the Hood to control various global threats independently of the Avengers and the Illuminati. The Cabal hasn’t appeared in the MCU, largely due to character ownership reasons, as key members like Osborn and Emma Frost belong to other live-action universes.
When the multiverse began to break down, the Cabal was reformed to prevent oncoming incursions from destroying Earth-616. As the Avengers and the Illuminati failed to make the hard decisions in time, the Cabal destroyed other Earths out of sheer self-preservation. The Cabal never abandoned their morally reprehensible roots, but they ᴀssumed a burden the heroes could not bear.
The MCU May Already Be Adapting The Cabal In Avengers: Doomsday
Other MCU Teams Might Take The Cabal’s Place In Avengers: Doomsday
A team-up between Fox’s mutants and the MCU’s Avengers has been teased by the return of several X-Men stars in Avengers: Doomsday. However, things are never so simple when it comes to Marvel crossovers. Doctor Doom might pull the strings to pit the Avengers against the X-Men, possibly by placing their respective universes at stake. Only that, instead of simply fighting for their timelines’ survival, the X-Men may also be planning to stop all possible incursions by destroying other universes preemptively.
If the Avengers fail to pull the trigger, any other MCU team could destroy an alternate timeline to save Earth-616
Otherwise, another set of characters might make the same decision at some point in Avengers: Doomsday, leading to internal conflict between heroes. Talokan, Wakanda, the New Avengers, or even the Fantastic Four, for example, might disagree with the Avengers on how to handle oncoming incursions. If the Avengers fail to pull the trigger, any other MCU team could destroy an alternate timeline to save Earth-616.
Avengers: Doomsday Might Set Up A More Accurate Cabal For Secret Wars
A Multiversal Cabal Of Marvel Supervillains Could Play A Role In The MCU’s Secret Wars
Instead of adapting the Cabal’s influence on multiversal incursions in Avengers: Doomsday, Marvel Studios could set up a more accurate version of the supervillain team for Avengers: Secret Wars. With the multiverse wide open, new alternate-universe variants of characters like Norman Osborn, Emma Frost, and Thanos could team up with Earth-616 villains to take the reins of the war against Doctor Doom. Like his comic book counterpart, Tenoch Huerta’s Namor could switch sides to ensure his and his kingdom’s survival.
