5 Things the MCU Will Change From the Secret Wars Comic (And Why That’s a Good Thing)
Look, we all know the MCU doesn’t do one-to-one comic adaptations. And honestly? That’s fine. Civil War changed everything and still worked. Infinity War wasn’t the comic and it was better for it.
So let’s talk about what’s definitely getting changed in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, and why those changes will probably make the story work better on screen.
1. Doom Will Not Take Reed Richards’ Family
What happened in the comic
In Hickman’s Secret Wars, God Emperor Doom doesn’t just rule Battleworld. He takes Reed Richards’ wife and children as his own. Susan is married to Doom. Franklin and Valeria call him father. It’s the ultimate power move and the ultimate insecurity play.
What the MCU has already shown us
The Fantastic Four are getting introduced in The Fantastic Four: First Steps in July 2025, less than two years before Doomsday. We’re meeting this Reed and Sue for the first time. The MCU hasn’t built decades of Doom vs. Reed rivalry yet. They barely know each other.
Why the MCU will change this
You can’t do the emotional gut-punch of Doom stealing Reed’s family if the audience doesn’t care about Reed’s family yet. This worked in the comics because we’d spent 50+ years watching Reed and Doom as rivals. The MCU doesn’t have that foundation. So Doom’s insecurity and jealousy will come from somewhere else, probably Tony Stark, since RDJ is playing Doom and that mirror is already built in.
2. Battleworld Will Be Smaller and More Character-Focused
What happened in the comic
Battleworld in Secret Wars is massive. It’s a patchwork planet made from hundreds of realities. There’s a Kingdom of Manhattan, an Age of Apocalypse domain, a Marvel Zombies zone, a 1602 England, an Ultron territory. It’s sprawling and chaotic, with dozens of regions and characters.
What the MCU has already shown us
The MCU has been narrowing its focus. Multiverse of Madness showed us exactly two alternate universes. Loki Season 2 made the multiverse about character stakes, not spectacle. And Quantumania proved that even with infinite possibilities, you still need an emotional anchor.
Why the MCU will change this
Movies have two to three hours. You can’t build emotional investment in 40 different Battleworld domains. The MCU will shrink it down to maybe five or six key regions that matter to the characters we know. Think less “tour of infinite realities” and more “the places our heroes are trapped and have to survive.” It’ll feel bigger because we care, not because it’s literally bigger.
3. The Beyonders Will Likely Be Removed or Replaced
What happened in the comic
The Beyonders are cosmic gods who created the multiverse and then decided to destroy it. Doom, Strange, and Molecule Man killed them and took their power. The Beyonders are the architects of everything, the real villains behind the incursions.
What the MCU has already shown us
Loki Season 2 already gave us the architect of the multiverse: He Who Remains and the TVA. The multiverse isn’t collapsing because of the Beyonders. It’s collapsing because the Loom is broken and the timelines are spiraling out of control. The MCU already built a different system.
Why the MCU will change this
The Beyonders are redundant now. The MCU doesn’t need to introduce a whole new set of cosmic gods when Loki already set up why the multiverse is dying. Expect the incursions to be a consequence of He Who Remains’ death and Loki’s choice to hold the timelines together. Doom will still seize god-like power, but it’ll come from the multiverse itself, not some random cosmic entities we’ve never heard of.
4. Tony Stark’s Role Will Be Very Different From the Comic Version
What happened in the comic
Tony Stark is barely in Secret Wars. He shows up in the life raft, fights Doom briefly, and then the story moves on. Reed Richards is the emotional center. Tony is just another Avenger trying to survive.
What the MCU has already shown us
Robert Downey Jr. is playing Doctor Doom. The biggest actor in the MCU is coming back, not as Tony, but as Victor. Marvel didn’t bring RDJ back to give him five minutes of screen time. And the MCU has spent 15 years making Tony Stark the emotional core of the entire universe.
Why the MCU will change this
Tony’s presence is going to haunt this entire story. Whether it’s through flashbacks, multiverse variants, or Doom himself reflecting Tony’s worst traits, the MCU will make this about the ghost of Tony Stark in a way the comic never did. Doom won’t just be Reed’s rival. He’ll be a twisted reflection of what Tony could’ve become if he’d let his ego win. That’s the angle the MCU has been setting up since Iron Man.
5. The Real Focus Will Be Heroes vs Heroes, Not Doom vs Everyone
What happened in the comic
Secret Wars is ultimately about Doom as God Emperor and the heroes trying to take him down. There are hero conflicts, sure, but Doom is the final boss. The climax is Reed vs. Doom.
What the MCU has already shown us
Every recent MCU project has been about heroes fighting each other. Civil War. Infinity War (Stark vs. Strange vs. Quill). No Way Home (Peter vs. himself). Multiverse of Madness (Strange vs. alternate Strange and Wanda). Quantumania set up Kang as a villain, but the Avengers movies are called Doomsday and Secret Wars, plural threats, not one big bad.
Why the MCU will change this
The MCU loves moral conflict more than mustache-twirling villains. Doom will be a major player, but the real tension will be heroes forced to make impossible choices. Do you destroy another Earth to save your own? Do you trust Doom when he says he’s the only one who can fix this? Doomsday will be about the Avengers fracturing. Secret Wars will be about them deciding whether to kneel to Doom or fight him, knowing that fighting him might doom everyone. That’s more interesting than “beat the bad guy.”
What Changes Do You Think Are Coming?
These are the big five I’m expecting. But here’s the thing. Marvel always finds ways to surprise us.
So what do you think? What changes are you predicting? What are you hoping they keep from the comic?
Drop your thoughts in the comments. Let’s figure this out together.