In March 2025, Marvel Studios announced the massive cast for their next crossover, Avengers: Doomsday, the prequel to the end of the Multiverse Saga, Avengers: Secret Wars. This includes the recently debuted Fantastic Four, some members of the X-Men in Fox films, to everyone’s surprise, and, of course, many Avengers from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
It’s a new era of the MCU, so only one of these characters is part of the original six Avengers: Thor. However, all these heroes are official members, especially after the Battle of Earth. Besides, they appear in the Secret Wars comics, and some of them even play pivotal roles in this battle for the multiverse. Will things be the same in the film adaptation?
Falcon Debuted After the Event
Image via Eli Ade / Marvel / Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
Joaquin Torres only debuted in comics in 2015. Amidst legacy heroes that have been around since Marvel was only a couple of decades old, he’s definitely one of the most recent characters to make it into the MCU. Additionally, he didn’t take the Falcon mantle until 2016. This means he wasn’t featured in any of the Secret Wars events.
However, he will soon. Danny Ramirez has been confirmed to appear in Avengers: Doomsday and is very likely to appear in Avengers: Secret Wars. As the current Captain America’s sidekick, he’s so far the only member of Sam Wilson’s Avengers confirmed to be on the team. Since the comics don’t include him in this story, fans have no idea what’s coming for him, but they hope it’s good.
Shuri’s Role Isn’t As Big As Black Panther’s
After the tragic passing of T’Challa before Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Shuri, his little sister and Wakanda’s biggest genius, became the new Black Panther. The MCU hasn’t confirmed that she will be a part of Sam Wilson’s Avengers. Still, Black Panther was definitely an honorary member before T’Challa died, so her name may be in the mix even if her ultimate loyalty lies with her country.
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Shuri appears in ​​Secret Wars very little. She fights alongside her brother against Namor and his Cabal before the final confrontation, but that’s it. Yet Black Panther has a massive role in Secret Wars. T’Challa is the one Illuminati openly destroying Earths threatened by incursions before Battleworld emerges. Once in Battleworld, he’s one of the heroes who leads the resistance against Doom. During this event, he used the Infinity Gauntlet. Then, Doom offered to bring Wakanda back for him if he betrayed the heroes, but T’Challa refused heroically. Shuri could get this role during the movie, further establishing that she’s the perfect person for the Black Panther moniker.
Shang-Chi Leads His Own Series
It’s been 4 years since Shang-Chi debuted in his own film, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, so fans are eager to see him again in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. There’s a big chance the MCU Shang-Chi will become a member of Sam Wilson’s Avengers. Additionally, the Secret Wars comics contain many clues about his future.
Shang-Chi gets an incredible power boost right before the battle of the multiverse begins, during the “Time Runs Out” leading event. After a mystical revelation in the city of Kobe in Japan, he gains the ability to replicate himself. This brings his martial arts mastery to a whole new level, and fans would love to see it happen in the movies. Additionally, a Shang-Chi variant leads his own series, Master of Kung Fu, an homage to the 1970s series. This Battleworld explores K’un Lun and the “Thirteen Chambers” tournament, so it would be an epic option for one of the many domains in Battleworld that fans want to see in the MCU soon.
Ant-Man Shares His Last Days In A One-Shot Tie-In
Image via Marvel Studios
Ant-Man is more than just the funniest Avenger. Scott Lang was there for some of the most critical battles in the MCU, and his small adventure in the Quantum Realm inspired survivors to bring back everyone through the Time Heist. Now, he’s back for Avengers: Doomsday and hopefully Avengers: Secret Wars, likely as one of Sam Wilson’s recruits for the new generation of Avengers.
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The Secret Wars main story doesn’t involve Scott Lang. Still, this Ant-Man leads a one shit. Ant-Man: Last Days sees him as he pulls a heist on behalf of one of his best investors: Mary Morgenstern, aka the former Miss Patriot. This light adventure follows his internal monologue in between zingers. Paul Rudd could definitely pull off this storyline, although it probably wouldn’t be epic enough for the finale of a whole saga.
Bucky Barnes Has A Small Role
When the first Secret Wars took place, Bucky Barnes had been dead for around two decades after acting as Captain America’s sidekick, so he wasn’t a part of it. Instead, he appeared in the 2015 event. Still, the former Winter Soldier didn’t get a prominent role during the main conflict. Instead, Bucky Barnes appears only as two variants with minor roles in their respective domains.
The first one hails from Earth-16832, and he leads the Winter Devils alongside Devil Dinosaur. He ends up as a competitor in the Killiseum and perishes in Red Hulk’s hands. The other one is just a kid, a student at the Victor von Doom Institute for Gifted Youths, whom Doom murders for rebelling against the school’s cruelty on Earth-15819. Since Bucky is currently working with the New Avengers, he won’t join Sam Wilson’s team (although they will have to have an earnest conversation about this dilemma since they’re friends outside the battlefield). Fans hope he has a bigger role in the films than he does in the comics.
Captain America Leads Against the Illuminati
There are a couple of Sam Wilson variants around the multiverse during Secret Wars, but perhaps the most prominent one is the Thor one. This Mjolnir-wielding Sam is a member of the Thor Corps, a group that enforces Doom’s rules all along the Battleworld. Will Avengers: Secret Wars include a second Captain America wielding Mjolnir? Fans will have to wait to find out, but there are other options for the new Cap.
While Sam doesn’t have a prominent role in Secret Wars, Steve Rogers does. This Captain America is the leader of the hunt against the Illuminati, who have been working to destroy every Earth that poses a threat to Earth-616. Sam Wilson will lead a new set of Avengers in the following MCU movies, so he may get this role instead of Rogers. It would make perfect sense with his moral compass to try to fix everything without shedding more blood, but maybe the New Avengers, who have more experience being on the anti-hero side, will oppose him.
Thors Are Everywhere
The MCU has had only two Thors, but Secret Wars has dozens. When reconstructing the multiverse to be his kingdom, Doom created Doomgard, a location for all Thors. These very diverse Gods of Thunder are Battleworld’s police. The Thor Corps travels throughout Battleworld, arresting criminals (especially those who oppose Doom) and solving crimes. In fact, Thors basically follows a detective Thor as he investigates a series of murders in a police procedural format. Although the Thors are on Doom’s side, this doesn’t last long. In the end, it only takes a couple of Thors, including Ultimate Thor and the Mighty Thor, to defy Doom, so this status quo changes.
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Fans believe Avengers: Secret Wars will be Chris Hemsworth’s last film as Thor, so there are a lot of theories about him dying in an epic sacrifice to save the multiverse – or at least his Earth. But it would also be interesting to see the Thors Corp adapted. A storyline like Thors would give the God of Thunder a chance to redeem himself with a darker storyline after Thor: Love & Thunder flopped.
Doctor Strange Helps Doom Control Battleworld
Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) looks confusedImage via Marvel Studios/Everett Collection
Doctor Strange has one of the most controversial roles in Secret Wars. Stephen Strange realized the only way to save his Earth was to destroy others. On his journey, he discovered Doom had the same intentions, so they joined forces. After the inevitable end, Doctor Strange became Doctor Doom’s right hand when he ruled Battleworld as God Emperor Doom. The sorcerer actually helped Doom modify the memories of the surviving inhabitants so they wouldn’t remember a reality before this patchmap.
Strange also did things right to an extent: he kept a location full of mementos from the lost world, the Isle of Agamotto, just for the sake of nostalgia. He eventually found his end on Doom’s hands when things got too complicated, but the Isle of Agamotto proved central for the heroes to beat Doom since it held the right items. Although Benedict Cumberbatch isn’t listed as an official member of the Avengers: Doomsday cast, he has already confirmed he will be in Avengers: Secret Wars. Fans are almost sure he will have the same morally ambiguous role as he does in the comics, but he may get a redemption arc in the end, becoming the very same thing that will take Doom down.