The Marvel Cinematic Universe is currently building toward Avengers: Secret Wars, and a new theory suggests that Earth-616 may not get far in the upcoming multiversal war. Everything known about Avengers: Secret Wars suggests that the film could show the combination of every Marvel property ever put on film. From Howard the Duck to Venom: The Last Dance, no specific property would be unfit for inclusion in the MCU’s enormous team-up film. With such an enormous scale to pick from, however, it becomes hard to see how well the MCU’s own heroes would fare in such a fight.

Marvel’s Multiverse Saga has been a tumultuous patch in the franchise’s history, with some significant successes and some major failures. The interweaving of different stories has also been difficult, with some of the shows in the MCU timeline further complicating how the overall franchise approaches its stories. However, when it has worked, such as in Deadpool & Wolverine and Spider-Man: No Way Home, it has worked well, and audiences have responded in kind. Following this, there is much anticipation for the story and cast of Avengers: Secret Wars that the studio will hopefully be able to live up to.

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Earth-838 Has Some Significant Advantages In Marvel’s Multiversal War

Should the MCU develop into its own multiversal war – as has been teased throughout the Multiverse Saga, with the looming threat of incursions between universes having been brought into the spotlight for the franchise – it’s hard to say the main timeline would definitely come out on top. Earth-838 – the universe seen during the Illuminati scene in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – would pose an enormous threat during any clash of universes.

In this timeline, the Illuminati were able to defeat Thanos and stop him from destroying the Infinity Stones. This means that the people of this universe still have access to them and still have the ability to use them as weapons in their multiversal warfare. The Infinity Stones are weapons of incredible power that would surely be an enormous asset during the events of Secret Wars.

Granted, the Illuminati were handily taken care of by Scarlet Witch in that film, and clearly do not pose the greatest physical threat compared to her. However, Wanda Maximoff from Earth-616 died, and few figures that are that much of a threat appear to exist on that timeline. In addition, the Earth-838 iteration of the Scarlet Witch is shown to be still alive, and would certainly fight for the existence of her own timeline. With so many of their own pieces lost, it is clear that Earth-838 has some advantages over the 616 timeline that would be hard to ignore.

The MCU’s Other Timelines Have More Major Advantages

Literally Anything Is Possible Across Marvel’s Multiverse

If it can be thought of, it can be considered in Marvel’s enormous multiverse. While universes like that of The Amazing Spider-Man and other pre-existing Marvel heroes may also be a threat to Earth-616 during a clashing of universes, what could be an even greater danger is other, smaller tweaks on the existing Earth-616. Perhaps a universe exists where Thanos has won, has become King Thanos, and has created a strong and well-conditioned reality, and is likely to bolster his powers even further by teaming up with any remaining heroes of his world to save their universe.

In addition, there are certainly places in the multiverse where powerful heroes like Scarlet Witch are still alive and are working with the Avengers or whatever version of them exists. There are universes likely with stronger Hulks, or a greater number of them, and there are universes with thoughtless, powerful Marvel Zombies on a path toward destruction. There are very few characters like Galactus that transcend the multiverse, and so there are almost countless possibilities for where stories could go. The potential is staggering and terrifying for the MCU heroes, and highlights how much a multiverse conflict could end poorly.

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Major Changes To The MCU Following Secret Wars Are Inevitable

An MCU reboot would solve a lot of issues for the franchise, including major questions about the X-Men. Following a clashing of powerful universes and timelines, the only way to conclude such an event would be for most of those timelines to be destroyed or to be combined. With every multiversal possibility available as an option for paths forward, stakes begin to matter less, and stories begin to fall apart. As a result, it makes sense that, like in the comics, the end of Secret Wars would see the creation of a new, singular timeline in which to tell stories.

This would be inevitable following the clashing of universes in a multiversal battle, particularly if universes with arguably better chances of winning such a conflict like Earth-838 come into play. Marvel has built up so many excellent franchises and properties through the years, but if everything is combined here, the stories will become too abstract and unwieldy to persist. Ending this enormous sequence of universes building on top of one another could only result in a major reboot for the MCU that would allow the franchise to make effective changes and shifts.

The exact path toward Avengers: Secret Wars is not entirely clear, but the journey will undoubtedly help to explain how such an enormous event affects the main timeline of the MCU. There are so many threats to Earth-616 in the multiverse that it is hard to see how the main MCU timeline will be able to survive. Still, the universe’s storytelling has been centered around that specific Earth and that particular iteration of the heroes. It is almost certain that the Marvel Cinematic Universe will give satisfying explanations for all of this in Avengers: Secret Wars and beyond.

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