Avengers: Secret Warscould have the key to introducing MCU mutants, drawing inspiration from a certainX-Mencomic storyline.Avengers: Secret Warspromises to be the Multiverse Saga’s equivalent ofAvengers: Endgame. Its success seems almost inevitable given Marvel Studios’ track record, but that doesn’t make the pressure any lighter. Fans expect not only jaw-dropping action but also emotional payoffs and a finale worthy of a billion-dollar movie.
Besides wrapping up the Multiverse Saga,Avengers: Secret Warscould mark the end of an entire two-decade era for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Also,Avengers: Secret Warsmay need to juggle this monumental task with setting the stage for what comes next. Specifically, Phase 6 may directly set up the introduction of mutants in the MCU’s Earth-616.
The MCU Faces The Same Challenge As Post-House-Of-M Marvel Comics
Marvel Needs A Solid Explanation For The Introduction Of Mutants
Whether the MCU fully reboots afterAvengers: Secret Warsor simply reshuffles its continuity, Marvel Studios faces the daunting task of explaining how mutants suddenly emerge in a world already teeming with superheroes. With Jake Schreier’sX-Menmovie on the horizon, the MCU needs a coherent reason for why the X-Gene will appear now, without contradicting years of established events and character histories.
The X-Gene’s introduction in the MCU’s Mutant Saga followingAvengers: Secret Warsmirrors the problem Marvel Comics faced in the aftermath ofHouse of M. Following theScarlet Witch’s infamous“no more mutants”moment, Marvel’s mutant population was reduced drastically. As a result, Marvel then faced the challenge of justifying the mutants’ resurgence and their return to the status quo.
Marvel Studios has several options for solving this continuity puzzle. The MCU could simply introduce mutants without explanation following a soft reboot, start retroactively inserting them into MCU history via timeline rewrites, or merge and adapt Fox’sX-Menuniverse with the MCU, bringing its X-Gene along in the process. Otherwise, mutantkind’s introduction can be directly set up byAvengers: Secret Wars.
Avengers Vs X-Men Has The Perfect Ending For The MCU’s Avengers: Secret Wars
The MCU’s Mutants Could Be Awakened By The Phoenix Force
At the end of Marvel Comics’Avengers vs. X-Men,the decimated mutant population fromHouse of Msees a dramatic revival when the Phoenix Force’s power is distributed. The Phoenix instead reignites the X-Gene across the globe after merging with five heroes, the“Phoenix Five.”This event triggers the awakening of countless people’s X-Gene and restores mutantkind’s numbers.
The MCU could follow a similar approach. Marvel Studios could either borrow the Phoenix Force from Fox’sX-Menuniverse during the Avengers and the X-Men’s multiversal collision inAvengers: Doomsday, or have Doctor Doom accidentally unleash another cosmic force with similar effects inAvengers: Secret Wars. Either way, Phase 6 could explain a sudden surge of mutants in the MCU.
Although no version of Jean Grey or the Phoenix Force has been confirmed forAvengers: Doomsday, their potential return inAvengers: Secret Warswould open the door for anAvX-inspired mutant revival.Much like in the comics, the Phoenix could kick off a new era for mutantkind in the MCU. At the end ofAvengers: Secret Wars, the Phoenix Force could light the spark for mutants' MCU introduction.
Secret Wars' Mutant Tease Would Repeat A Clever Endgame Trick
A Short Scene Could Tease The MCU’s Whole Next Saga
The Avengers' Time Heist fromAvengers: Endgameaccidentally led 2012 Loki to acquire the Tesseract, which kicked off a chain reaction that led Loki to control the Sacred Timeline. Similarly,Avengers: Secret Warscould feature a brief scene that briefly sets up the MCU’s Mutant Saga. Whatever it involves, a subtle detail could hold the key to the next decade of MCU storytelling.
Avengers: Secret Wars Already Has A Genius Replacement For The Phoenix Force
The MCU’s Franklin Richards Could Play The Same Role As AvX’s Phoenix Force
While the MCU could adaptAvengers vs. X-Men’s Phoenix Force revival to introduce mutants, there’s a more likely in-universe alternative already on the horizon. InAvengers: Secret Wars, a slightly olderFranklin Richards' reality-shaping powerscould achieve the same result as the Phoenix Force. Instead of a cosmic entity, it could be Marvel’s most powerful young hero who awakens the MCU’s mutants.
Franklin Richards is an Omega-level mutant capable of creating entire universes from scratch. Instead of building a fresh reality, the MCU’s Franklin could help renew Earth-616 afterAvengers: Secret Wars. This process could carry over the X-Gene from Fox’sX-Menuniverse into the MCU’s continuity to provide an organic reason for mutants to suddenly exist alongside the Avengers.
Franklin Richards may be the MCU’s most likely candidate to usher in the X-Men, thanks to both his powers andThe Fantastic Four: First Steps’ post-credits scene. Doctor Doom seems to consider Franklin Richards his greatest weapon, and Doom may weaponize Franklin’s abilities as soon asAvengers: Doomsday. However, just as Franklin can be a tool of destruction, he could also embody the rebirth of mutantkind, especially considering his mutant nature.
Secret Wars Is The Best Place For Marvel Studios' Adaptation of Avengers Vs X-Men
A Proper, Full-Length AvX Adaptation May Not Be Possible For Years
Avengers vs. X-Menis notoriously difficult to adapt because it requires two fully developed super-teams to coexist in the same universe beforehand. Without an already established X-Men roster, the story’s central conflict would feel one-sided. Marvel Studios can’t simply jump into a fullAvXadaptation until both the Avengers and the MCU’s X-Men have been built up with multiple movies and a shared history between them.
A faithfulAvengers vs X-Menadaptation likely needs to wait years after the MCU’s own X-Men debut to allow audiences to understand mutant lore. Without that foundation,AvX’s ideological and personal stakeslikely wouldn’t land.Avengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Warscould act as a proving ground before a full-scale MCU version of the conflict arrives.
For now,Avengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Warsmight showcase certain elements fromAvX. For instance, Phase 6’s crossover movies could feature battles between individual Avengers and X-Men and use the Phoenix Force to awaken the MCU’s X-Gene. This approach would allow the originalX-Menmovie cast to participate and pass on the torch to a new generation of live-action mutants.
