The following contains spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, now in theaters.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness took the future possibilities of the next big Marvel Cinematic Universe event to a whole new level. By the end of the film, it's explained that Doctor Strange's multiversal travels opened up his reality to an incursion event. This meant that two worlds could collide but what would only allow for one world to survive or none at all. Without missing a beat, fans quickly assumed this could be the start of an adaptation of Secret Wars, which has been the name for multiple events in Marvel Comics.

Secret Wars was often an event that brought together famous heroes to battle against a powerful threat or unite to decipher a dangerous plot that could end all of reality. With this event all but confirmed to be in the MCU's future, the only question remained: which one would be the main focus in a live-action space. But more importantly, which event would best fit the established narrative and circumstances.

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Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars Was Marvel Comic's First Crossover Event

Marvel Comics' Secret Wars The Heroes rushing forth

Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars, by Jim Shooter, Mike Zeck, and Bob Layton, was the first event that Marvel created where heroes would crossover to fight a potent threat. They paired with the toy company Mattel to sell a brand new toy line of Marvel heroes and villains alongside the story. The event saw the Marvel heroes called by a strange feeling to Central Park. Once gathered, they were transported to Battleworld, an arena commanded by the cosmic being, The Beyonder. There, they would fight against many other Marvel villains to see if good or evil would be the victor.

The story's simplicity makes it an excellent fit for the MCU to adapt, or at least cherry-pick characters like The Beyonder to take part in it. But aside from an all-out battle between heroes and villains, its simplicity may also leave little to no impactful narrative for audiences to connect with, unlike the Infinity Saga.

Secret Wars II Was Much Smaller In Scale But Grand In Implication

Secret Wars II Avengers

Secret Wars II, by Jim Shooter and Al Milgrom, was a direct sequel to the original story, but rather than have a massive battle break out between Marvel's heroes and villains, it was much smaller in its scale. It was also the first event to have other series' issues tie into the story. The plot focused on The Beyonder's curiosity about humanity and desire to live like a typical human. However, he found himself easily corrupted by the negativity that people could occasionally evoke, and it was up to Marvel's heroes to stop The Beyonder before he went too far. While the story had lower stakes than the original, it helped explore the extent of The Beyonder's powers and why he was such a threat to the universe. Although the story was heavily introspective towards its main antagonist, the overall narrative may be far too small in scale to be a massive conclusion for another arc in the MCU. That said, the story is still beloved for what it did to humanize such a powerful enemy as The Beyonder.

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Secret War (2004) Showed Nick Fury's Dark Side But Wasn't A World Ending Event

Secret War 2004

2004's Secret War by Brian Michael Bendis and Gabriele Dell'Otto took a new direction from past Secret Wars events. In a post 9/11 world, the story focused on threats to national security. Specifically, Latveria denying Nick Fury entrance to the country to stop an operation by Lucia Von Bardas that would've armed criminals with powerful weapons. Frustrated at being told no, he gathered a small collection of heroes to infiltrate the country and eliminate the threat. However, those involved were brainwashed to forget the events. Sometime later, their forgotten sins came back to haunt them, and Fury's secret war broke out in the open, and the heroes were forced to pick up the pieces. The series was crucial as it helped set the stage for events like Civil War (by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven), Nick Fury's absence, and Captain America's distrust of high-ranking officials. However, while the narrative was powerful, thematically, it lacked the same stakes as its previous world-ending events. As a result, the MCU may not want something so small scale after threats like Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet.

Secret Wars (2015) Was A Personal Story That Affected The Multiverse

Secret Wars Reed Richards Doctor Doom

2015's Secret Wars by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribić was the culmination of years of storytelling that began with Hickman's run on Fantastic Four. Much like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, a series of events led to an incursion of the 616-universe and the Ultimate universe. Once they collided, Doctor Doom used the power of The Beyonder to create a pocket reality known as Battleworld, where he ruled as God-Doom, and the heroes of both universes were none the wiser to the changes made. However, an arc containing heroes from both universes survived the incursion, including Reed Richards. What made this story perhaps the most narratively impactful of all the Secret Wars events was it served as a final confrontation between Reed and Doom at the time. There they confronted their feud head-on and asked what one could and should do when faced with the power of a God. Because of the narrative impact, this story may be the best choice for the MCU, provided the appropriate characters, like Reed and Doom, have time to be set up and fleshed out before.