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The multiverse saga of the MCU will conclude in its 6th phase with 2 blockbuster hits: Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. Marvel Studios has been gearing up for this epic finale for several years now.
It's not until 2025 that Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars officially hit the screens, wrapping up MCU's emotionally-charged multiverse journey. However, akin to other Avengers blockbusters, Marvel Studios has been laying the groundwork for these 2 projects for years, dropping subtle hints that not everyone may have caught onto.
Both of the new Avengers films are named after classic Marvel comic book series. Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is adapted from Kurt Busiek's work, released between 2001 - 2002, revolving around the clash between Kang the Conqueror and the Avengers - Earth's mightiest heroes. With vast knowledge of time travel, Kang easily defeats the Avengers, forcing the world to submit to his rule. Yet despite everything, the Avengers remain determined not to give up and rise up to overthrow him.
Meanwhile, Avengers: Secret Wars is adapted from Jonathan Hickman's series, released in 2015 (and is the second Secret Wars iteration in the Marvel comic book universe). In this series, all timelines of the multiverse collide, every reality faces the threat of annihilation, similar to the invasion phenomenon introduced in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Additionally, Secret Wars emphasizes the personal conflicts between Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic and Doctor Doom. Perhaps this is also why Marvel Studios decided to kick off the 6th phase with the Fantastic Four blockbuster.
Below are the breadcrumbs that Marvel has laid out for the path leading to these 2 blockbusters.
Exploring the Enigmatic City in the Quantum World in Ant-Man
In Ant-Man & the Wasp, Scott Lang had the chance to delve into the Quantum Realm, described by Hank Pym as “a place where all concepts of time and space become meaningless”. In a fleeting moment, if one pays attention, we might glimpse an image of a ruined city within this realm. Cross-referencing with the original comic, only one modern city shares the same fate - that is Chronopolis.
Chronopolis is considered the headquarters of Kang the Conqueror, located in the world called Limbo - a place where all time travelers must pass through. This raises the hypothesis that the Quantum Realm is a crucial key to time travel, both in the comic version and on the big screen. Additionally, since Janet Van Dyne was trapped here for 30 years, she may also have some knowledge of Chronopolis to aid Ant-Man and Wasp in their upcoming showdown with Kang in the cinematic blockbuster Quantumania.
Unlocking Time Travel through the Quantum World in Avengers: Endgame
Avengers: Endgame serves as the conclusion for Thanos, the primary antagonist in the first 3 phases of the MCU. However, this movie also plays a crucial role in bringing Kang the Conqueror, a major antagonist of the subsequent phases, to the big screen, while confirming that the Quantum Realm can assist humans in time travel, just like in the comics.
Endgame laid down the initial time travel rules of the MCU, further developed by Disney+ series. Although these rules themselves still contain many inconsistencies, causing disagreements among Marvel directors, Endgame still delivers an undeniably important message: “We mess with time, time will mess back with us”.
Loki Introduces Kang and the Multiverse to the MCU
The Loki series is the first work to directly explore the concept of the multiverse through the Time Variance Authority (TVA) - an organization established to ensure that the main timeline of the MCU remains unbranched. Thus, just one individual making a decision contrary to nature, such as being late for work, can create a new timeline. And when people in different universes become aware of the existence of other realities, a multiverse war will erupt and could potentially destroy everything.
The TVA works for He Who Remains, a variant of Kang the Conqueror, who has defeated all other versions of himself in the multiversal war, destroyed other timelines, and is determined to maintain peace for the main timeline of the MCU. Loki concludes with the death of He Who Remains, simultaneously unleashing the multiverse, while the trickster god himself is thrust into a timeline where Kang has successfully conquered the TVA. Many fans have speculated that the current headquarters of the TVA is the enigmatic city in Ant-Man & the Wasp that we analyzed above.
Zombie Apocalypse Timeline in What If…?
The groundwork for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars continues with Marvel Studios' first animated series, What If…?, taking viewers to various different timelines. Most notably, there's the 'Marvel Zombie' reality, where almost the entire world has turned into the undead after being infected by a mysterious virus from the Quantum Realm.
The 'Marvel Zombies' comic had a significant impact on the Secret Wars event, and it's no coincidence that Marvel Studios wants to create a new series specifically for this timeline. Marvel Zombies is set to premiere on Disney+ in 2024, one year before The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars hit the screens.
Kang's Variant in Moon Knight
Until now, Moon Knight can be seen as a rather independent and enigmatic series compared to the overarching storyline of the MCU. However, Marvel Studios has cleverly woven in many subtle easter eggs to affirm that this series still resides within its cinematic universe. Among them includes Rama-Tut, the Egyptian Pharaoh, being a variant of Kang, showing that he has been active on Earth for thousands of years.
Moreover, if one pays close attention, we can see the logo associated with Kang imprinted on the attire of a minion of the deity Ammit. Such small details may play a crucial role in bringing Moon Knight closer to the Multiverse Saga and the MCU. Some fans even hypothesize that Rama-Tut/Kang is actually Alexander the Great, who was once a consort of Ammit but decided to betray her.
Doctor Strange 2 and the Invasion Phenomenon - Prelude to the Multiverse War
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness follows Stephen Strange as he traverses through various realities, causing chaos in the Earth-838 universe, and ultimately pushing his own universe (Earth-616) to the brink of destruction. The movie also demonstrates the dire consequences of multiverse turmoil.
Doctor Strange 2 reveals that if an entity from one universe disrupts another, it will lead to an invasion phenomenon, resulting in the complete annihilation of both realities. This explains how a multiverse war could unleash devastating destruction. Each time a variant of Kang interacts with another universe, the risk of war increases, leading to the collapse of multiple timelines.
Additionally, the invasion phenomenon in Doctor Strange 2 also teases 2 locations that may play important roles in Secret Wars, as these places are unaffected by the multiverse war. First is the headquarters of the TVA, situated outside the flow of time (potentially within the Quantum Realm). And second is the Citadel at the End of Time, where He Who Remains resides and operates.
Some theories suggest that different realities will collide and be destroyed at the end of time, and the invasion phenomenon cannot occur there. In the context where the TVA has been taken over by Kang, the Citadel at the End of Time may be the ultimate base where the Avengers can organize a counterattack and defeat him.
Doctor Strange 2 Paving the Way for Secret Wars
The post-credit scene of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has paved the way for a storyline inspired by a comic directly related to Secret Wars. Upon learning about the invasion phenomenon causing chaos in the multiverse, Strange decides to leave Earth-616 to prevent the worst-case scenario from happening.
For a long time, nobody knew where Strange was or what he was doing. Then, he unexpectedly returns as the leader of a revolution against the forces causing the invasion phenomenon - a group called the Beyonders. In the film version, Strange decides to accompany Clea to carry out a similar mission - to stop and reverse the invasion phenomenon in multiple realities. This detail clearly shows that Doctor Strange will play the most crucial role in the upcoming 2 Avengers films.
As per ScreenRant
