As the Marvel multiverse expands into the MCU, the opportunity to visit, or at least get a glimpse at some of the stranger versions of popular heroes, goes way up. With the next Dr. Strange movie focusing on this inter-universe chaos, the question of which verses, and which heroes will appear, even just in the background as easter eggs, looms large.
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Some options are dark, fitting with the '80s horror movie vibe that Marvel President Kevin Feige, has pitched to fans. Some are a little silly to maybe to take the edge off all of the grim darkness. Either way, here are some options that Marvel might consider.
Not exactly an alternate universe, but these mini-experiments in mental manipulation could show the heroes in a normal life. Washing cars, running bakeries, pleasant and unassuming. Seeing Steve Rogers alongside Tony Stark and the other Avengers as neighbors instead of teammates would put a spin on how those relationships could work in less stressful environments.
It also has the potential to remind fans that these characters were, at one time, a functional unit. Characters that havent appeared yet, like ShangChi,or Blade could show up as well, making them obvious parts of the bigger MCU.
No, not that one.The Age of Ultron event showed a world where Ultron took over, killing many heroes and villains along with innocent civilians. The storyline itself is a little convoluted, with time travel missions and multiple fronts in the fight against Ultron, but the visual of an Ultron army, taking over New York, San Francisco, and Chicago would be a powerful one.
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Seeing heroes outside of the Avengers in this fight, like Luke Cage, puts a new spin on a fight the Avengers have already had. A different perspective and hero would show that this timeline is not the familiar MCU one, but its close enough that it could have been.
The Age of Apocalypse was a pivotal event during the '90s, and while its, at its core, an X-Men story, the rest of the universe got taken along for the ride too. Carol Danvers worked with Weapon X (the AoA version of Wolverine), and the human resistance against Apocalypse.
Overall, things didnt go well for her, but, with a distinctly dystopic, 90s look to her, this cameo would have a striking visual difference to other universes on this list.
Its also a nice nod to comics fans, acknowledging that the X-multiverse (because wow, are there a lot of alternate universes that are X-Men based) is also a part of the MCU multiverse.
Picture it. A desert in the American southwest. A Jeep, speeding through the dust, arrows flying and dinosaurs chasing it, swerving through the bones of a giant god of mischief.Old Man Logan served up amazing visuals within the universe that, after reading the story, stick in the mind. Clint Bartons redemption arc and his recognizable skill setmakes him a great candidate for a brief cameo without much explanation.
Theres also a chance to show a shadowy figureperhaps driving the Jeepthat includes Logan himself, as an easter egg for those in the know.
Dr. Strange is familiar enough with Lovecraftian horrors in the comics, that it only makes sense that the MCU version should get some time with that kind of thing too. Earth-10011 is a universe corrupted by the Many-Angled One, through Lord Marvel, who vanquished Death there. After that, the Avengers of that universe were put into service of Lord Marvel and corrupted.
TheThor in this verse is particularly interesting, visually, with a Davy Jones-style tentacle beard that would translate quickly in a cameo, and the differences of the rest of the universe would definitely add to the horror of the movie.
Shes not necessarily an alternate of the Captain America we know and love, but seeing Danielle Cage wield the shield, even for a moment, would be thrilling for a lot of younger fans, especially those who dont see themselves on screen often. Such an iconic superhero identity filled by a young, American, black woman would be a statement that Marvel needs to make.
Danielle, as a legacy character as well, could be a nod to the defunct Netflix series, perhaps dragging some street-level heroes into the MCU proper, and opening the door to heroes that arent Avengers.
While shes not an alternate version of the Peter Parker we know in the MCU, she is a part of a universe where Peter and MJ didnt trade their marriage away, and had a daughter named after dear Aunt May. Mayday Parker inherited her fathers powers and tried to fill his spidey-boots in her universe, battling along-side the Fantastic Five.
While a glimpse at this world might be hard to distinguish from the more familiar Marvel universes at a glance, if the cameo lasted just a little longer, or she got a line or two to say, it would be a fun treat in the midst of the rest of the multiverse horror show.
During Reed Richards' search for other solutions to the Marvel Civil War, he looked over hundreds of universes to find different ideas of what could be done. In one of those universes, Tony Stark was actually Natasha Stark. Well... Natasha Stark-Rogers. It seemed, in that universe, Iron Woman and Captain America got married, ending the dispute.
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The panel of the big day, and the big kiss made its rounds as fandom fodder for quite some time, and a nod to this within the MCU would probably go over incredibly well with certain corners of the fandom.
The Marvel Zombies-verse is one of the better known alternate universes put on in the last few decades, and TChallas arcs is particularly interesting. Visually, even a glimpse would tell just about everything about the overarching story of the world, where superheroes become zombies. Seeing TChalla missing an arm and a leg, and maybe Wasps zombified head might be enough to push theMultiverse of Madness to the limit of the PG-13 rating.
We know we will get a glimpse of this verse in the What If series on Disney+ as well, so itd be a nice way to tie that series into the movies. Leave out the eating of Galactus though. MCU fans might not be ready for that.
With the news that Marvel has regained the rights to the X-Men properties, it makes a certain amount of sense to get a glimpse of some of those characters in the multiverse. Seeing the Merc with the Mouth peeking through the fourth wall, and into the MCU would be a treat.
Given his genre-savvy ways, we could seeDeadpool commenting on the crossover as well, maybe making a crack or two about the good doctors sense of style. No doubt, hed also have some commentary on how wild the multiverse ride will be. Ryan Reynolds has shown that Deadpool can work in a PG-13 universe, with Once Upon a Deadpool, so he could definitely pop up in Dr. Stranges travels.
NEXT: Marvel: 10 Darkest Universes In Marvels Multiverse
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Amanda Rabski-McColl is a recent graduate of the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology's journalism program. She is a life-long fan of comics and superheroes, with a focus on Marvel. Her love of comics has made its way into her work as the opinions editor for the Emery Weal on SAIT campus, and she has written on the culture of fandom and its impact on its members. She is also raising the next generation of comics fans, and her son is on Team Iron Man.
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