Marvel may have just teased how Doctor Doom will be defeated in the MCU’s upcoming Avengers: Secret Wars, with a loophole in his likely omnipotent powers suggested by a founding Avenger. Here’s what you need to know.
Secret Wars’ Battleworld Is the Key to Defeating an Omnipotent Doctor Doom
Marvel’s new series Battleworld is a new take on an iconic part of Secret Wars lore, set on a patchwork planet made of territories torn from different worlds across the multiverse. This time, rather than the Beyonder or Doctor Doom, the creator of Battleworld is the godlike villain Korvac.
In both the 1984 and 2015 versions of Secret Wars, Marvel’s heroes find themselves on a patchwork world, forged by an omnipotent villain who pits them against each other. Fans have assumed that this will be the basic plot of the upcoming Avengers: Secret Wars movie, with Doctor Doom in his 2015 role as ‘God Emperor Doom.’
However, Battleworld introduces a new twist to the story. Battleworld #2 – from – begins with Hank Pym speculating that while Korvac is a godlike being, maintaining Battleworld is likely taking the majority of his power, leaving him vulnerable to attack.
This is a plot detail absent from the two prior versions of Secret Wars, and it’s noteworthy that it’s been introduced in a comic that’s clearly tapping into fan excitement for the 2027 movie.
Marvel often uses comics to explore ideas that later make it onto the big screen. It’s therefore possible that while Avengers: Doomsday will see Doctor Doom gain omnipotent power, forming his own composite world will drain most of it, making it possible for an assembly of heroes to defeat him.
How Doctor Doom Lost the Original Secret Wars
One of the reasons MCU fans should have one eye on Battleworld is that neither of the prior versions of Secret Wars have endings that would really work on-screen. In the original, Doom steals the powers of the Beyonder but finds them almost impossible to control.
He’s eventually defeated when the Beyonder (in the guise of Doom’s sidekick Klaw) tricks him into handing them back. Meanwhile, in the 2015 Secret Wars, Doom only has his powers thanks to the patronage of the Molecule Man, with Reed Richards persuading MM that he’s a better custodian, and can do more for the multiverse than just rule over Battleworld.
The MCU’s Secret Wars Needs a New Ending
The resolutions of Secret Wars 1984 and 2015 are both based on characters the MCU doesn’t have, and they’re not particularly cinematic. It’s clear that Marvel is assembling a huge roster of heroes for the Secret Wars movie, suggesting that there will be some kind of gigantic battle to try and defeat Doctor Doom. But how can any number of heroes win against an omnopotent foe?
Battleworld just found the answer, establishing that even a godlike being can be drained by tampering with the multiverse. While it’s still just a theory, MCU fans shouldn’t be surprised if – when Avengers: Secret Wars rolls around – Doctor Doom‘s ambition drains him of enough power that the multiverse’s heroes finally stand a chance against him.
Battleworld #2 is available now from Marvel Comics.
