Doctor Strange 2 Fallout Sets Up Avengers Vs. X-Men (Full Theory)

05/13/2022 03:17 pm EDT

Going into Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, many fans have expectations of Marvel Studios pursuing stories leading to Secret Wars. Secret Wars, in the most recent comic version of the event, sees an incursion between two universes manipulated by Doctor Doom to create a new universe where he rules as a god. With "incursion" having been spoken in the Strange sequel, all eyes are on Secret Wars... but should eyes and expectations be somewhere else that is also quite exciting, first? Like... an Avengers vs. X-Men movie?

Spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness follow. You've been warned!

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness showed off a few universes in a sequence which saw Stephen Strange and America Chavez falling through different worlds. They landed on Earth-838, the universe where Multiverse of Madness would spend a large portion of its time. On Earth-838, a group known as the Illuminati had formed and it featured the leaders of such groups as X-Men, Inhumans, Avengers, Fantastic Four, and Ultimates from this world. By the time Wanda Maximoff was done with them, each of those groups had their leaders killed. Charles Xavir, Black Bolt, Captain Carter, Reed Richard, and Captain Marvel were all brutally slain by the Scarlet Witch as she sought a world where she could live with her kids and lost control of herself as the Darkhold influenced her.

At a glance, it may be easy to think something like, "Well, this was another universe. Earth-616 and the Avengers won't face any repercussions for it. Other universes don't really matter, right?" Possibly wrong! The future stories of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are all in the hands of those filmmakers at the recent creative retreat but one decision they could be making is to have fallout from the Illuminati sequence in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It could lead to both an Avengers vs. X-Men event film and Secret Wars... or versions of both at the same time.

A key detail from the sequence which indicates there may be fallout is Reed Richards revealing to Wanda that he has kids. In the comics, Reed is the father of Franklin and Valeria Richards. Franklin has the ability to warp reality. Valeria is a natural genius. Both kids play big roles in the Secret Wars event, with Valeria helping craft the life raft to survive an incursion between universes. If Valeria, Franklin, and Reed's now widowed wife Sue want revenge against those responsible for Reed's death, might they pursue a means of multiversal travel to find Earth-616's Wanda Maximoff? Furthermore, Mordo was left alive, and he may be inclined to join the party and fuel a fire to hold Earth-616's Stephen Strange accountable for the deaths of the Illuminati members, as well.

While Secret Wars seems like to be the culmination in the vein Infinity War and Endgame for the current saga of Marvel Studios stories, Avengers vs. X-Men could serve as a story point similar to that of Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War. The comic by the same name got off to a start which felt a bit sudden and as though it existed simply for the sake of starting a feud between the two most popular factions in Marvel Comics. Scott Summers started the war over less, so it is not hard to imagine such a character learning of Xavier's death and wanting revenge agains the characters from Earth-616. Earth-838's X-Men fighting Earth-616's Avengers who could be motivated to protect their Stephen Strange and Wanda Maximoff sounds like quite a story, with the creative minds at Marvel Studios more powerful than mine able to flesh it out more thoroughly than this theory ever will.

The Avengers vs. X-Men comic is highly centered around the Phoenix Force, something which could actually rival the powers of Wanda Maximoff in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Furthermore, it culminates with Professor X being killed off and his brain being taken by the Red Skull which leads to an Uncanny Avengers comic run. There is plenty of opportunity for the MCU to play with these storylines and combine them as necessary for a movie title which would bring Marvel fans to theaters in droves but, more importantly, have an organic and meaningful story to offer.

Are you hoping to see an Avengers vs. X-Men story in the MCU? Would you be okay with the story featuring factions from different universes? Share your thoughts in the comment section or send them my way on Twitter. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in now playing in theaters. 

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