5 Marvel Multiverse Stories That Would Make Amazing MCU Projects

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has become a Marvel Cinematic Multiverse, opening up infinite possibilities. So far, the MCU’s foray into the multiverse hasn’t been as successful as the comics, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. In the comics, Marvel‘s multiverse isn’t as important to its overall history as DC’s had been, but there’s still some fantastic Marvel multiversal stories out there. The best Marvel multiverse comics have shown off the potential of Marvel’s greatest characters, putting them into entirely new situations. Marvel has some of the most thrilling alternate future stories in comics, taking readers into dark dystopias where the heroes have to face seemingly hopeless odds.

The MCU definitely needs something to jumpstart its multiverse, and the best way to do that is to turn to some of the best Marvel multiverse comics. These five Marvel multiverse comics would take fans to entirely new worlds. Some of these are rather controversial choices, but that makes them all the more interesting.

Spider-Man: Reign

Spider-Man: Reign, by writer/artist Kaare Andrews, was meant to be Spider-Man’s answer to The Dark Knight Returns. It definitely takes a lot of ideas from that classic, focusing on a retired Peter Parker and a city made worse over the years of his absence. However, there are also differences, as well. In the future of Spider-Man: Reign, New York City is run by a totalitarian government that has “ended” all crime, ruling the city with an iron fist. Peter eventually puts on the webs again just as a long-held plan is put into motion, one that could end the world if it’s left unchecked.

Right off the bat, Spider-Man: Reign is known for being one of the edgier stories of the ’00s. This makes sense, since it’s a throwback to The Dark Knight Returns, a story that served to mature Batman. Spider-Man: Reign overdoes it, though, including when it reveals how Mary Jane died from cancer — contracting it because of her exposure to Peter’s bodily fluids. Underneath it all, there’s a pretty cool Spider-Man story. Spider-Man: Reign is the type of story that would benefit from the MCU’s way of telling superhero stories, with an infusion of MCU humor helping cut some of the darkness. Spider-Man: Reign has a checkered reputation, and the MCU could fix that.

Age of Ultron

Avengers: Age of Ultron and the comic Age of Ultron, by Brian Michael Bendis, Bryan Hitch, Carlos Pacheco, and Brandon Peterson, are completely different. Age of Ultron is a ten-issue event series, one that takes place in a future where Ultron has nearly destroyed the entire human race. The remaining Avengers come up with a plan to stop Ultron by traveling back in time, but things go terribly for them. Wolverine and Invisible Woman decide to go back in time to kill Hank Pym, ending Ultron’s threat. They unfortunately go out of the frying pan and into the fire, having to deal with an entirely new world.

Marvel has some excellent event stories, but most people don’t include Age of Ultron in that number. It’s not a bad story, but it’s also not the best story ever. It takes a familiar time-travel trope — going back in time to prevent a terrible future from happening — and puts it on its ear. This twist makes it a perfect story for an adaptation. Ultron is a villain that the MCU has used rather well in their multiversal stories, which makes this a good idea for an adaptation. Some things would have to be changed, for example, Iron Man being the target of Wolverine and Invisible Woman instead of Hank Pym, but those changes would make the story better. Age of Ultron is another story that would benefit from the way the MCU adapts comic stories by tailoring the story to its strengths.

Earth X

Earth X, by Jim Krueger, Alex Ross, and John Paul Leon, takes place in an alternate future where every person on Earth has superpowers. Into this Earth steps a young man named the Skull, who is amassing a massive army thanks to his mind control powers as he moves across the U.S. As Captain America tries to rally support against the Skull, the return of the Inhumans from deep space leads to shocking revelations not just about why humanity mutated, but also about the true purpose of life on Earth.

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Earth X is a love letter to the Marvel Universe, as each issue opens with an origin page about a classic Marvel character, weaving the ideas of creators like Lee, Kirby, Ditko, and more through their narrative. It’s a very complex story, one that would definitely be better as an animated series than a movie. It’s also a story that has already inspired the MCU, specifically the ideas behind Eternals. Earth X would allow Marvel Studios to pay homage to the stars of their older films, while also taking one of the more maligned MCU films and doing a lot to justify it. It’s one of the best alternate future stories out there, even if its sequels aren’t as good as the original.

The Age of Apocalypse

The Age of Apocalypse is one of the best X-Men stories of all time. The story spun out of “Legion Quest,” which saw Xavier’s son Legion go back in time to when Xavier and Magneto were working in Israel to kill Magneto, hoping that without his longtime foe, Xavier would have time to be a father to his son. This backfired spectacularly, as Legion accidentally kills Xavier. This leads to a world where Magneto forms the X-Men too late to stop an emboldened Apocalypse, looking at the battle between powerful mutants as a sign of mutant ascendancy. Apocalypse is able to conquer or destroy most of the Americas, with only Magneto’s X-Men and the humans of Eurasia fighting against him.

The Age of Apocalypse is a very long story — it ran over 40 issues, with two bookend comics and multiple four-issue miniseries. It used that length to create an amazing world and presented very different versions of the most popular mutants in the Marvel Universe. The Age of Apocalypse could play off the success of X-Men ’97, using the same animation style and voice actors to tell this classic X-Men story. The X-Men are a largely untapped vein of ore for the MCU and The Age of Apocalypse is the perfect way to show off new facets of them.

Avengers: Twilight

Avengers: Twilight, by Chip Zdarsky and Daniel Acuna, is the newest story on this list, but fans love it so much that it’s become a modern classic. The story takes place in a dark alternate future — yes, Marvel has mostly used its multiverse to tell dark alternate future stories — where the Avengers have disbanded after H-Day, an event where Ultron used an army of supervillains to attack the world. Since then, a more militaristic U.S. government has taken over, with the help of James Stark, Iron Man and Wasp’s son, and Kyle Jarvis, a relative of the Avengers’ butler Jarvis, who runs Stark Technologies. Captain America is approached by Luke Cage to help free the country, which leads to the return of the Avengers, fighting against the corrupt forces of the U.S. and Stark Technologies.

Avengers: Twilight is a story that deals with the rise of fascism in the U.S. and the fight against it, something that is more important than ever. The book is action-packed right from the get-go, building an amazing story with some crazy twists and turns. Alternate future stories can seem a little dime a dozen at Marvel, but Avengers: Twilight is special. It does everything a great comic needs to, presenting breathtaking superhero action, pitch-perfect characterization, and surprises that are truly shocking, but it goes that extra mile, throwing in the kind of social commentary that superhero comics were built on. The MCU could use a bit more depth, and Avengers: Twilight could give it that.

Which multiverse story do you want to see in the MCU? Let us know in the comments below!