MCU Phase 5’s Most Important Multiverse Saga Setup Isn't What You Think

MCU Phase 5 will be full of multiverse setups like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Loki season 2, but its most significant contribution to the Multiverse Saga is much more subtle. After most of Marvel’s Phase 4 was criticized for the apparent lack of a bigger plan, the MCU has revealed its plans for Phases 5 and 6, which will culminate into Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. Though the multiverse will obviously be the MCU’s main focus in the next couple of years, Phase 5’s most important releases for the Avengers story are not multiverse-related.

Considering that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will feature Jonathan Majors Kang or that Loki kickstarted the MCU’s multiverse story, it is safe to assume that Quantumania and Loki season 2 will be essential for the Multiverse Saga. Still, more than continuing the multiverse setups, Phase 5 can shape The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars by changing the power balance in the MCU. More than three years after Avengers: Endgame, the status of the Avengers as a team has been a mystery, and the only indication of what is the current scenario for superheroes in the MCU was She-Hulk’s confirmation that the Sokovia Accords have been revoked. Marvel’s Phase 5 will see Secret Invasion, Captain America: New World Order, and Thunderbolts – all of which can explore the political status of the Avengers and other heroes and villains in the MCU, rebalancing the franchise at large.

How Marvel’s Phase 5 Will Shape The Next Avengers Lineup

Essentially, Secret Invasion, New World Order, and Thunderbolts can establish what the Avengers’ role during Phases 5 and 6 will be. In the comics, Secret Invasion was followed by the Dark Reign arc, which saw Norman Osborn rising up as a hero after his Dark Avengers team helped save the day. Considering how the MCU is known for combining different comic book concepts into one, the Thunderbolts can play a similar role to the Dark Avengers. Even with no Norman Osborn involved, other questionable forces like Val and Thunderbolt Ross could now become major players in the MCU – which would cause the Avengers to bend their morals in order to fight those silent threats.

Marvel’s Upcoming Releases Have To Be More Than Just Multiverse

While the multiverse concept is allowing the MCU to take the franchise to the most unexpected places, as seen with Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Phases 5 and 6 must be more than just multiverse stories. Cameos like Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield in No Way Home or the Illuminati team in Doctor Strange 2 can build an instant level of expectation, yet they can only be used so much before becoming a gimmick rather than something the story asks for. With the Multiverse Saga being much shorter in terms of duration than the Infinity Saga, things will obviously move a lot faster toward The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars. Fortunately, releases like Secret Invasion, New World Order, and Thunderbolts can offer the non-multiverse-related stories the MCU needs.

Before the Avengers assemble to fight Kang in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, the MCU has to first establish what is the current balance of power in the franchise. The Skrull invasion, the Leader’s role in Captain America 4, and the formation of the Thunderbolts are all events that can influence that balance of power. It remains to be seen how well those MCU Phase 5 releases connect, and how they will affect the future of the franchise going forward.

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