Warning: This post contains spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness detail could set up Secret Wars for Avengers 5. Doctor Strange 2, the 28th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, delved into the multiverse more than any of its predecessors. The titular hero fought another version of himself and Wanda Maximoff (aka, Scarlet Witch), who wanted to unlock the multiverse to be with her children by taking America Chavez’s powers. However, the film may have set up an even bigger threat by traveling across the multiverse.
Traversing the multiverse may lead to endless possibilities — like Doctor Strange meeting the members of the Illuminati — but it isn’t without its consequences. Should anyone travel through the multiverse for too long, they risk causing an incursion, which results in two worlds crashing into each other and obliterating one entirely from existence. In Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth-838 caused an incursion by using the Darkhold to dream walk to another universe in a bid to locate and defeat Thanos, ultimately causing the destruction of the other world. Doctor Strange of Earth-616 used the Darkhold to possess his doppelgänger to defeat Scarlet Witch, causing another incursion that Clea, a sorceress from another dimension, alerts the former Sorcerer Supreme to in the film’s post-credits scene.
The introduction of incursions could lead to the MCU tackling the Secret Wars comics storyline in Avengers 5. In the comics, the incursions are caused by the Beyonders, aliens who exist beyond the realm of the multiverse, being at war with Doctor Doom’s cult. The Beyonders want to destroy the multiverse at once through Molecule Man, a being with the ability to control matter and demolish every world if activated by the Beyonders. The increasing incursions ultimately lead to the destruction of most of the multiverse, with only two worlds left that collide to form one — dubbed Battleworld — thanks to Doctor Doom. While the MCU will likely make adjustments and changes to the Secret Wars storyline, the incursions in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness could be the first step to setting up this arc for Avengers 5. Such a devastating shake-up within the multiverse is the best way to bring all of the superheroes together from different worlds.
Secret Wars could be a bigger event than Avengers: Endgame because the entire multiverse would be at stake. And Avengers 5 would be the best film to fully kick off this plot. It’s also the only way to top the aforementioned film, which featured all the superheroes introduced in the first three phases of the MCU. Superheroes from all over could work together to defeat Doctor Doom and reinstate the multiverse, saving trillions of lives. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has already confirmed that more incursions are happening throughout the multiverse and that they can be repaired somehow. It’s possible things will get worse before they get better, with incursions increasing to a point that Doctor Strange and Clea can no longer prevent them all.
Introducing the multiverse, and specifically America Chavez, who can travel to different worlds, Kang the Conqueror, and incursions in the MCU’s Phase Four suggests something big is coming. Even revealing the Illuminati’s existence on Earth-838 hints that another version of this secret team could get involved in the Secret Wars arc. The puzzle pieces are all there and, though the MCU will likely diverge from the comics, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness made the possibility of Secret Wars happening all the more real.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now streaming on Disney+.