Some alternate-universe Marvel characters are too iconic and exciting for the MCU to ignore before the Multiverse Saga ends. The Marvel multiverse is home to countless characters and their infinite variations. From the comedically absurd to the extremely powerful, these alternate-universe variants serve to showcase the boundless nature of the Marvel multiverse.
The MCU’s Multiverse Saga has spotlighted many alternate worlds and characters. However, it has only scratched the surface of the source material. Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars offer the chance to bring them to life.
Old Man Hawkeye
Wolverine (Vol. 3) #66 (2008)
Old Man Hawkeye hails from Old Man Logan’s dystopian future, where the Avengers have been slaughtered and supervillains rule the United States. Clint Barton has aged into a grizzled survivor who tracks down Baron Zemo and the Thunderbolts to make them pay for their crimes. When he meets Old Man Logan, the two team up as two of the last survivors of Marvel’s darkest alternate realities.
Old Man Hawkeye is a perfect candidate for a multiversal cameo, as the MCU has yet to showcase any significant Hawkeye variants beyond What If…? and Marvel Zombies. Avengers: Secret Wars could feature Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton as a grittier, battle-hardened, blind Hawkeye, perhaps in a quick montage or a fight scene. Even a brief appearance would underline Hawkeye’s importance across the multiverse.
Spider-Man 1602
Marvel 1602 #1 (2003)
Spider-Man 1602 originates from Neil Gaiman’s Marvel 1602 universe, where familiar Marvel heroes are reimagined in the Elizabethan era. Peter Parquah is a young acrobat who becomes the masked hero known as “The Spider” in a world of knights, witch hunts, and pirates. Most events in Peter’s life are adapted into this setting.
The MCU could use Spider-Man 1602 as part of a sprawling multiversal showcase in Avengers: Secret Wars. Since Spider-Man: No Way Home already covered the big-screen Spider-Men, Secret Wars provides the perfect opportunity to expand into even stranger variants. Spider-Man 1602 could make a cameo alongside variants like Nicolas Cage’s Spider-Man Noir to create a live-action Spider-Verse subplot in Avengers: Secret Wars.
Franken-Castle
Punisher (Vol. 8) #11 (2009)
Franken-Castle is born after Wolverine’s son Daken brutally decapitates Frank Castle. Morbius then collects Castle’s scattered body parts and stitches him back together into a monstrous, undead warrior. As Franken-Castle, the Punisher becomes a supernatural anti-hero and battles monsters, demons, and other paranormal forces.
With Jon Bernthal’s Punisher finally making his big-screen debut in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Marvel has an opening to expand Frank Castle’s mythos into more surreal territory. Franken-Castle could easily appear in Avengers: Secret Wars as one of the many Punisher variants roaming the multiverse. While Cosmic Ghost Rider might be even more exciting, Franken-Castle would be easier to explain to general audiences.
King Thanos
Thanos (Vol. 2) #13 (2017)
King Thanos hails from a future timeline where he prevails over nearly all life in the universe as a lonely monarch. Obsessed with pleasing Mistress Death, unlike the Thanos from the Infinity Saga, King Thanos has already attained ultimate victory. This older Mad Titan also battles his younger self out of sheer vanity.
Marvel has already teased King Thanos with an upcoming dedicated attraction at Avengers Campus. King Thanos’ live-action design could be the first step toward his live-action debut, potentially in Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars. King Thanos could appear in a cameo role as a nightmarish reminder of what could have happened if the Avengers failed.
Dinosaur Doctor Doom
Fantastic Four (Vol. 7) #12 (2023)
Dinosaur Doom comes from a far-off timeline where dinosaurs evolved into an intelligent civilization. Dino-Doom is every bit as calculating and ruthless as his human counterpart, which allows him to work alongside the original Doctor Doom through multiversal collapse. More recently, Dinosaur Doom has aided Doom in his conquest of Earth.
In the MCU, Dinosaur Doom is probably one of the most likely Doom variants to debut in Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars. If there’s a multiversal variant Doctor Doom is willing to trust, it’s a huge and powerful version of himself. Dino-Doom’s sheer absurdity would provide blockbuster spectacle, and surprisingly for many, it would follow the source material while doing so.
Cap-Wolf
Captain America #402 (1992)
“Cap-Wolf” is one of the most outlandish Captain America stories from the 1990s. In this arc, Steve Rogers is captured, experimented on, and transformed into a werewolf, joining a town of similarly cursed individuals. Despite the feral instincts of his new form, Cap maintains his sense of leadership. Eventually, Steve is restored to normal, but Cap-Wolf remains a memorable transformation that’s occasionally revisited in alternate universes.
Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars are likely to showcase at least one Captain America variant. But while variants like Skinny Steve or Hydra Cap would be logical additions, Cap-Wolf would lean into the weirder side of the Marvel multiverse. He could also serve as a wild card henchman under Doctor Doom.
King Thor
Thor: God of Thunder #1 (2012)
King Thor is the grizzled, future incarnation of Odinson. Like his father Odin and his brother Tyr, King Thor sacrifices an eye and an arm in his quest for power and knowledge. And like King Thanos, King Thor has outlived most, if not all, of his enemies.
Thor: Love and Thunder ignored King Thor’s alliance with his present-day and young counterparts. Hence, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars could adapt their epic team-up, replacing Gorr with Doctor Doom as their enemy. King Thor could give Chris Hemsworth’s God of Thunder the chance to see the man and the king he can become.
Maestro
Hulk: Future Imperfect #1 (1992)
In a devastated post-nuclear war world, Hulk embraces his intellect to crown himself as the tyrant Maestro, who rules over the remnants of humanity. Unlike the tortured Bruce Banner, Maestro revels in his physical superiority to dominate and subjugate. Every now and then, Maestro clashes with the Hulk and other heroes through time travel and multiversal travel.
The MCU’s Maestro would be a natural evolution of the “Smart Hulk” concept, with a dark twist. Rather than a simple variant from a distant timeline, Maestro could come from a universe where Bruce Banner’s Smart Hulk persona deteriorates and his dark impulses take over. Maestro could appear in Avengers: Secret Wars as an enforcer of Doom’s conquest. But just like the comics, Maestro and Doom could end up double-crossing each other.
The Maker
Ultimate Fantastic Four #1 (2004)
The Maker is the twisted counterpart of Reed Richards from Marvel’s original Ultimate Universe, Earth-1610. After surviving the destruction of his timeline, Reed abandons his heroic ideals and grows obsessed with control. As the Maker, Reed engineers a second Ultimate Universe where he personally alters the origins of its greatest heroes.
In the MCU, the Maker could easily be positioned as a major antagonist on par with Thanos or Kang, since his ambitions span entire realities. While his story could fuel an entire saga on its own, Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars are ideal places to introduce him in a smaller capacity. Bringing back Ioan Gruffud, Miles Teller, or John Krasinski as the MCU’s Maker would be a huge bonus for longtime Marvel fans.
Ultimate Kang
Ultimate Invasion #3 (2023)
The Maker’s changes to Earth-6160, Marvel’s second Ultimate universe, lead to a young Tony Stark becoming Iron Lad instead of Iron Man. When the Maker travels to Earth-6160’s future, he meets a masked Kang, who comes close to killing the Maker. While his real identity isn’t revealed, it’s strongly implied that Ultimate Kang is the future version of Ultimate Iron Lad, Tony Stark himself.
Marvel has yet to confirm what happened to the Council of Kangs after Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Given that Marvel has parted ways with Jonathan Majors, Avengers: Doomsday is unlikely to feature Majors’ Kang variants on-screen to conclude their story. Since Robert Downey Jr. is playing a Doctor Doom who somehow resembles Tony Stark, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for Downey to also play a Kang variant who provides a conclusive ending to the Conqueror’s MCU arc.