The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)
is a machine with literally hundreds of hours’ worth of watch time, but in the middle of all that, there have been a few stories that got lost along the way that should be revisited with Avengers: Doomsday
and Avengers: Secret Wars
. The fact is, as the MCU continues to expand, it becomes a bigger challenge to tie everything together. As a mega franchise, it features dozens of heroes, and numerous villains for each to interact with.
And since it draws inspiration from the extensive library of comics that have been released over the course of more than 60 years, it leads to a lot of ground available to cover. As fans of these stories, the people behind the MCU also drop clues about potential storylines and characters that can be expanded on, but it’s hard to revisit every single one. But the potential for Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars to bring these characters and storylines back could finally tie up the loose ends of the MCU.
8
Scorpion’s Return To The MCU
In 2017, Spider-Man: Homecoming brought the web-slinger to the MCU for his first big solo outing. And alongside our hero, the film introduces a handful of central characters from the comics. Ned Leeds is a popular character in comics who got his on-screen debut, along with Vulture, played by the incredible Michael Keaton. And beyond that, the movie hinted at several other characters who could be brought back at a later date.
Among them, one of the most exciting was Mac Gargan, aka Scorpion, one of Spider-Man’s greatest rivals in the comics, played by the exceptional Michael Mando. However, despite showing up nearly a decade ago, the character has never been seen or even mentioned since his debut. But Secret Wars will likely need to pull in a lot of villains and heroes to populate the Battleworld.
7
Starfox Gets His Own Story
While Eternals was not well-received, and it ended up being one of the least profitable films from the MCU, the movie did set up some interesting plot points. For instance, the introduction of Celestials has recently been revisited in Captain America: Brave New World, directly addressing the narrative of Eternals. However, one other exciting character was introduced in the post-credits scene.
Played by none other than the global pop star Harry Styles, Starfox was introduced at the end of Eternals as he appeared on their ship and promised to help them. Well, while the Eternals 2 appears to be a no-show, Starfox is a character who deserves to have his story told. In the comics, he is the brother of Thanos, and with Styles playing the part, it seems an awful waste to discard the character.
6
Dane Whitman Got His Hands On The Ebony Blade (And Blade Reached Out To Him)
Speaking of talented performers, Kit Harington was cast to play the minor role of Dane Whitman in Eternals. However, in the comics, Whitman plays a much bigger role as an iconic superhero who wields the Ebony Blade. Now, while the character was clearly still an average human at the start of Eternals, the film also provided a brief tease of what he would become with Whitman about to pick up the Ebony Blade.
And making things even more interesting, this same scene also gave Mahhershala his first official appearance in the MCU as Blade, though he was never physically on-camera. Instead, the actor’s voice can be heard speaking to Whitman. This is an extraordinary detail that promises so much more to come. And yet, the tease has yet to be built upon. However, Secret Wars would be the perfect place to bring in both characters.
5
Skaar Enters The Fray Properly
Evidently, many of these teases come from the post-credits and mid-credits scenes of other movies and TV shows. The same goes for Skaar’s arrival in the MCU at the end of She-Hulk. Skaar is the son of Bruce Banner’s Hulk, and his arrival in the MCU promised the biggest leap in the story for this character to date.
Admittedly, many of the teases that came in Phase One of the MCU teased the arrival of other Avengers, and the big payoff mostly came when the team came together in The Avengers. Since the Multiverse Saga has avoided featuring any Avengers movies until Avengers: Doomsday, it seems even more likely that these movies will pay off at least some of these set-ups, with Skaar being one that is incredibly likely to appear alongside his father, and one of the few remaining original Avengers.
4
Hercules Tracking Down Thor
Thor: Love and Thunder was a controversial entry in the MCU, and potentially one of the weakest Thor films to date. However, it did introduce a whole pantheon of other gods who could return in the upcoming Avengers movies. But if we are honest, the most exciting character who was promised to appear was Hercules, as played by Brett Goldstein.
Hercules was á´€ssigned by his father to find Thor. And this promised rivalry between a Norse god and the Greek demigod could prove to be one of the most thrilling storylines in the future of the MCU. Especially as Chris Hemsworth has been playing the character since 2011, and he appears to be approaching the end of the journey with his character. Hercules would be the perfect replacement for the god of Thunder in the MCU.
3
Whatever Happened To The Council Of Kangs?
Obviously, there were issues outside the MCU with the actor who played Kang, but the fact that the big bad who was being set up to be central to the Multiverse Saga is now suddenly absent is an odd loophole. Had the character been killed in Ant-Man: Quantumania, and that was the end of their story, it would have been underwhelming, but at least it would have been a resolution.
However, instead of a neat resolution, the character was then further weaved into the narrative of the MCU with a post-credits scene featuring hundreds of Kangs in the Council of Kangs. Even if Kang is not a major part of the narrative going forward, it feels like a tremendous issue if the Council is not addressed, potentially with a scene where Doctor Doom wipes them out.
2
Spider-Man: No Way Home Teased Venom’s Arrival In The Post-Credits
Back to our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, at the end of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock is transported to the MCU alongside his symbiote friend, Venom. Then, at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, this appearance is further confirmed when the post-credits scene shows Eddie being sent back to his own universe. But despite his disappearance, there is a small part of the Venom symbiote that stays in the Sacred Timeline.
This needs to be addressed in the MCU, and whether Spider-Man: Brand New Day picks up the storyline, or we get to see a symbiote show up in the next two Avengers movies, it needs to be addressed in some way. And ideally, if Peter Parker comes into contact with the symbiote at some point, it’s time to get the symbiote Spider-Man story we all deserve on the big screen.
1
Is Doctor Strange In The Dark Dimension With Clea?
Finally, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness revealed some wild new dimensions that exist beyond the walls of the 616 Universe. However, when the story was said and done, and Doctor Strange was back home, he had an interesting encounter with the mysterious Clea, played by Charlize Theron, before he hatched a third eye in his forehead and jumped into the Dark Dimension.
Now, this is a pretty wild setup for a future story, but if Doctor Strange is to play any part in the upcoming Avengers movies, he needs to come back to the Sacred Timeline. But beyond that, the third eye, and the introduction of Clea are huge points in the comics that trigger a lot of other events in his story. So, for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars needs to address what happened in some way to get the character back and introduce his new mysterious friend.
Upcoming MCU Movies
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Thunderbolts*
- Release Date
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May 2, 2025
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The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- Release Date
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July 25, 2025
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Avengers: Doomsday
- Release Date
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May 1, 2026
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Spider-Man: Brand New Day
- Release Date
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July 31, 2026
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Avengers: Secret Wars
- Release Date
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May 7, 2027
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