The Marvel Cinematic Universe spent nearly a decade building up the storyline of the Infinity Saga by introducing new Marvel heroes to the big screen, all of which culminated in 2018's unforgettable Avengers: Infinity War. This film ended on a dramatic cliffhanger that was continued with Avengers: Endgame.
With the MCU preparing for new phases that will presumably build towards another epic event movie, it's a good time to look towards the future by exploring the history in the comics to determine which major comic event could be used as the inspiration for the next epic crossover movie like Infinity War.
10 The Goddess Brainwashed Heroes As Her Army During The Infinity Crusade
The Infinity Gauntlet storyline that went on to inspire the MCU's Infinity Saga featured Thanos' attempts to use the powerful Infinity Stones to remold the universe in his image, which was stopped by the powerful being known as Adam Warlock. Warlock was able to wield the Infinity Gauntlet by purging his evil and good aspects, creating Magus and Goddess, respectively.
While Magus created evil doppelgangers of Marvel heroes during the comic Infinity War, The Goddess attempted to erase evil from the universe by brainwashing the religious heroes of the Marvel Universe to serve as her army during The Infinity Crusade. She also created the powerful Cosmic Egg using multiversal Cosmic Cubes that further threatened the Marvel Universe.
9 The Marvel Universe Was Rewritten By Scarlet Witch In House Of M
Following the events of WandaVision, the looming threat of Scarlet Witch and her reality-altering chaos magic looms large over the next phases of the MCU, which could point towards a live-action take on 2005's House of M event.
Following Wanda's destabilization and destruction of the Avengers in Avengers: Disassembled, she used her powers to recreate reality in the hopes that she would be able to end the constant fighting. This led to a world dominated by mutants where a number of Avengers and X-Men lived out their dreams while others were stuck in nightmares, which could tease the MCU's dark future.
8 The Avengers Fought A War With The Galactic Builders During Infinity
While much of the Infinity event focused on Thanos' attack on Earth and the Inhumans in order to find and destroy his son Thane, the death of the character in the MCU almost eliminates that possibility on the big screen. However, Infinity also featured a cosmic war between the Avengers and a powerful alien race known as the Builders who targetted Earth after the timeline was broken.
The storyline not only featured epic cosmic battles with the Avengers, but it also helped redefine the team's place in the larger Marvel Universe as they were forced to unite the Marvel Universe together to fight the Builders. Given the MCU Avengers' time travel escapades from Endgame and their increasing presence in the larger cosmic universe, Infinity could still play a huge role.
7 The Serpent's War Fell On Earth With Mystical Hammers In Fear Itself
The Fear Itself event introduced a new Asgardian threat known as The Serpent who served as the God of Fear and sought to re-establish his hold on Midgard by spreading fear using powerful agents empowered by mystical hammers just like Thor's Mjolnir.
Fear Itself transformed a number of Marvel heroes and villains like Thing and Hulk into Asgardian-enchanted warriors while the world was overrun by fear, which would put Thor in the lead for the next Infinity War-like movie while also giving established characters powerful new roles and Asgardian-enchanted weapons.
6 The Chaos War Saw The God Squad Take On The Chaos King
Thor isn't the only Marvel god who has been called on to protect the Marvel Universe from an ancient and powerful threat, as was seen during the Chaos War when the Olympian Hercules returned to life to lead the battle against the ancient deity Amatsu-Mikaboshi, the Chaos King.
With the entire world left unconscious following the murder of Nightmare by the Chaos King, Hercules assembled a team of gods that included Thor to save the world from the Chaos King while deceased Avengers returned to assist in the fight, which could provide the opportunity for dead MCU characters to make a reappearance in a climactic saga-ending film.
5 Time Ran Out Due To Destructive Universal Incursions In Secret Wars
The Avengers dealt with a devastating series of universal incursions during the "Time Runs Out" storyline that saw parallel realities in the multiverse colliding with each other and destroying both, unless one reality was taken out first.
The Avengers tried to save reality by taking out other Earths, though the incursions proved to be unstoppable and reality was saved and rebuilt at the last moment by an overpowered Doctor Doom during the Secret Wars event. Not only is Doom rumored, but Secret Wars also led to a rewritten universe that brought multiversal characters together which could be explored in the MCU.
4 Malekith Brought His Armies & The War of the Realms To Midgard
The War of the Realms followed a long-running Thor storyline that included the appearance of Jane Foster's Mighty Thor as Malekith the Dark Elf returned to unite the various Realms against each other in an all-out war that would leave him in complete control.
With Jane Foster's Mighty Thor set to appear in the MCU and Thor as one of the few remaining original Avengers in the MCU, it's very possible that a crossover-heavy event like War of the Realms could be adapted in some way for an epic conclusion to the next few phases.
3 Norman Osborn Created His Own Dark Avengers During Dark Reign
With the MCU set to explore the Secret Invasion event in an upcoming Disney+ series, it's possible that Norman Osborn and his Dark Reign could appear in future phases of the MCU which has already somewhat been teased with the debut of certain characters in the MCU following Endgame.
Osborn may be better known as the Green Goblin, but he was the leader of the Thunderbolts when he took the shot to stop the war with the Skrulls, earning him a new status as the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. This allowed him to create his own Dark Avengers that he used to go to war with Asgard during Siege, which could definitely match the epicness of Infinity War.
2 Captain America Was Revealed As A Hydra Agent In Secret Empire
Secret Empire featured one of Marvel's biggest twists when it revealed that the newly reborn Steve Rogers (who had previously returned to his actual age) was actually a secret Hydra agent with plans to secretly take over the country using his trusted name. The evil Captain America found followers in other manipulated Avengers and went to war with the superhero resistance.
He became a new threat that became known as Hydra Supreme after the real Steve Rogers was brought back to life by the sentient Cosmic Cube named Kobik. Hydra Supreme and Secret Empire would be a great way to bring Chris Evans back to the MCU while also giving him a chance to play a villain in what could be the biggest surprise of the MCU as well.
1 The Marvel Universe Was Nearly Destroyed By The Annihilation Wave
One of the biggest Marvel storylines that also nearly brought complete destruction to the Marvel Universe was called Annihilation and featured the frequent Fantastic Four villain Annihilus as he attacked from the Negative Zone with a powerful armada known as the Annihilation Wave.
While the Guardians of the Galaxy hadn't actually formed yet in the comics, they joined cosmic heroes like Nova, Quasar and Silver Surfer to fight back the Annihilation Wave, which could lead to the debut of a number of new heroes in the MCU to prepare for the huge cosmic event.