Marvel Studios is ramping up the lead-in to its big, all-in, Multiversal throwdown movie Avengers: Secret Wars with The Fantastic Four: First Steps opening the door this summer, and Avengers: Doomsday setting the stage in 2026 before Secret Wars finally arrives in 2027.
But even with Doomsday already sporting a massive cast that spans different worlds, there are still important characters from both the 1985 and 2015 comic book versions of Secret Wars, which will both be hugely influential to the Secret Wars movie, who still haven't made their MCU debut.
Though these ten important characters may or may not make it into the MCU, when it comes to adapting the original Secret Wars comic and its 2015 sequel, they at least ought to be considered for inclusion in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
We're not including characters that have had appearances in MCU movies or who have already been announced to appear. At the same time, we are including characters who have appeared in non-MCU Marvel movies.
Molecule Man
Molecule Man is better known as Owen Reece, an odd Fantastic Four villain whose power to rearrange matter down to its atoms is actually a product of his cosmic connection to the Multiverse. In both the original 1985 Secret Wars and its 2015 sequel, Molecule Man's powers are essential in Doctor Doom's plans to conquer reality. Molecule Man is not exactly stable, and often waffles between retirement and villainy. Partly because of this, he's also instrumental in Doom's defeat in the 2015 Secret Wars, as he betrays Doom after forging an unlikely bond with Miles Morales/Spider-Man. He then goes on to help the Fantastic Four rebuild the Multiverse.
Miles Morales
Speaking of Miles Morales, who has plenty of Multiverse experience thanks to his starring role in the smash-hit animated Spider-Verse film series, the younger Spider-Man is a key character in the 2015 Secret Wars, escaping the destruction of his own home reality and joining the heroes of the Marvel Universe in Doom's Battleworld. Miles ends up being one of the main factors in taking Doom down thanks to his strange friendship with Molecule Man, who repays Miles' kindness by transplanting him and his family into the mainstream Marvel Universe. Could Miles appear in Avengers: Secret Wars, only to then go on to officially join the MCU?
The Beyonder/Beyonders
In 1985's Secret Wars, the action is driven by an enigmatic cosmic being known as the Beyonder, who has omnipotent control over all reality. The Beyonder creates the original Battleworld, summoning forth Marvel's top heroes and villains to fight for his amusement, with the prize for victory being a portion of his power. In 2015's Secret Wars, it's revealed that there is a whole race of Beyonders who live beyond the boundaries of Marvel's Multiverse, and who are responsible for both its creation and destruction, with only Doom able to fend them off and save reality, creating his own Battleworld in the process.
The Mapmakers and The Builders
The Mapmakers are essentially the ground troops of the Beyonders in the lead up to 2015's Secret Wars, moving from world to world across the Multiverse through the path of Incursions, which cause two realities to collide and be destroyed, reprogramming any resistance to the Beyonders' cause. On the side are the Builders, the first beings to populate the Marvel Universe, who launch a reality-spanning war in order to stop the Incursions and save the Multiverse. They are ultimately destroyed by the Beyonders, leading to the creation of the new Battleworld at the hands of Doctor Doom, the only one who is able to stand against the Beyonders.
Volcana
Volcana, AKA Marsha Rosenberg, is one of two young women who are empowered by a machine created by Doctor Doom during 1985's original Secret Wars (the other being She-Hulk's arch-enemy, Titania, played by Jameela Jamil in the MCU). Volcana ends up with fiery seismic powers, making her a formidable villain – if she weren't more interested in retiring with her new boyfriend, Owen Reese, the Molecule Man. Volcana is a fun character who has motivations that are very different from other villains, who I'd love to see join the MCU, though I'll admit I'm not holding my breath.
The Venom Symbiote
Right off the bat, I'll acknowledge that the Venom Symbiote has technically had a cameo in the MCU's Spider-Man: No Way Home, but it was largely a gag that had no impact on the plot, and he didn't meet any other characters. All of that said, the original 1985 Secret Wars involves Spider-Man finding the Venom Symbiote, using it as a new costume for some time before it betrays him and bonds with Eddie Brock. It seems like a no-brainer to bring the Venom Symbiote into the MCU in Avengers: Secret Wars. And with Spider-Man 4 in the works, anything is possible.
Black Swan
If Silver Surfer is the herald of Galactus, Black Swan is the herald of Doom. In nearly every reality where she exists, Black Swan is a servant of Doctor Doom as part of a religious order who worship the Latverian conqueror under the name "Rabum Alal." Each Black Swan comes from a world in the Multiverse that has been destroyed by an incursion in the lead up to 2015's Secret Wars thanks to Doom's schemes. The main Black Swan becomes one of Doom's generals in his Battleworld reality, going on to join Thanos and his Black Order in the wake of Doom's defeat.
Valeria Richards
A lot has been said about the apparent presence of Franklin Richards in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. But when it comes to 2015's Secret Wars, it's actually Franklin's sister, Valeria Richards – Doom's beloved goddaughter, whose intellect may surpass both Reed's and Doom's, who plays a bigger role. In Doom's Battleworld reality, Sue Storm is his wife, and Franklin and Valeria are his step-children, all with no memory of the Marvel Universe as it previously existed. However, when Valeria encounters her father Reed Richards, who does remember, she aids him in his plan to defeat Doom and restore the Multiverse.
Manifold
The mutant Manifold is one of the most interesting new X-Men characters to come along in the modern era, though he actually originated as an Avenger. An Aboriginal Australian, Manifold is the student of the X-Men's enigmatic ally, Gateway, who tutors him in the art of teleportation. But Manifold's abilities go far beyond just teleporting from place to place – he can actually bend time and space by speaking directly to the universe. In Secret Wars 2015, his abilities are instrumental in saving the contingent of heroes who go on to defeat Doom, including Reed Richards, Miles Morales, and Peter Parker.
The Maker
The Maker is an evil, alt-reality version of Reed Richards from the original Ultimate Universe. In 2015's Secret Wars, the Maker winds up teaming up with the core Marvel Universe Reed Richards to try and defeat Doom, though they disagree over whether or not to kill Doom, with the Maker insisting they should. Later, the Maker betrays Reed, but his meddling is ended by the Molecule Man, who literally turns the Maker into pepperoni pizza. The Maker later became part of the core Marvel Universe and is now the main villain of the remade Ultimate Universe, which is his own engineered creation.
Both the original 1985 Secret Wars and its 2015 sequel make the list of the best Marvel Comics events of all time.
