Avengers: Secret Wars could have the key to introducing MCU mutants, drawing inspiration from a certain X-Men comic storyline. Avengers: Secret Wars promises to be the Multiverse Saga’s equivalent of Avengers: Endgame. Its success seems almost inevitable given Marvel Studios’ track record, but that doesn’t make the pressure any lighter. Fans expect not only jaw-dropping action but also emotional payoffs and a finale worthy of a billion-dollar movie.
Besides wrapping up the Multiverse Saga, Avengers: Secret Wars could mark the end of an entire two-decade era for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Also, Avengers: Secret Wars may need to juggle this monumental task with setting the stage for what comes next. Specifically, Phase 6 may directly set up the introduction of mutants in the MCU’s Earth-616.
The MCU Faces The Same Challenge As Post-House-Of-M Marvel Comics
Marvel Needs A Solid Explanation For The Introduction Of Mutants
Whether the MCU fully reboots after Avengers: Secret Wars or simply reshuffles its continuity, Marvel Studios faces the daunting task of explaining how mutants suddenly emerge in a world already teeming with superheroes. With Jake Schreier’s X-Men movie on the horizon, the MCU needs a coherent reason for why the X-Gene will appear now, without contradicting years of established events and character histories.
The X-Gene’s introduction in the MCU’s Mutant Saga following Avengers: Secret Wars mirrors the problem Marvel Comics faced in the aftermath of House of M. Following the Scarlet Witch’s infamous “no more mutants” moment, Marvel’s mutant population was reduced drastically. As a result, Marvel then faced the challenge of justifying the mutants’ resurgence and their return to the status quo.
Marvel Studios has several options for solving this continuity puzzle. The MCU could simply introduce mutants without explanation following a soft reboot, start retroactively inserting them into MCU history via timeline rewrites, or merge and adapt Fox’s X-Men universe with the MCU, bringing its X-Gene along in the process. Otherwise, mutantkind’s introduction can be directly set up by Avengers: Secret Wars.
Avengers Vs X-Men Has The Perfect Ending For The MCU’s Avengers: Secret Wars
The MCU’s Mutants Could Be Awakened By The Phoenix Force
At the end of Marvel Comics’ Avengers vs. X-Men, the decimated mutant population from House of M sees a dramatic revival when the Phoenix Force’s power is distributed. The Phoenix instead reignites the X-Gene across the globe after merging with five heroes, the “Phoenix Five.” This event triggers the awakening of countless people’s X-Gene and restores mutantkind’s numbers.
The MCU could follow a similar approach. Marvel Studios could either borrow the Phoenix Force from Fox’s X-Men universe during the Avengers and the X-Men’s multiversal collision in Avengers: Doomsday, or have Doctor Doom accidentally unleash another cosmic force with similar effects in Avengers: Secret Wars. Either way, Phase 6 could explain a sudden surge of mutants in the MCU.
Although no version of Jean Grey or the Phoenix Force has been confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday, their potential return in Avengers: Secret Wars would open the door for an AvX-inspired mutant revival. Much like in the comics, the Phoenix could kick off a new era for mutantkind in the MCU. At the end of Avengers: Secret Wars, the Phoenix Force could light the spark for mutants’ MCU introduction.
Secret Wars’ Mutant Tease Would Repeat A Clever Endgame Trick
A Short Scene Could Tease The MCU’s Whole Next Saga
The Avengers’ Time Heist from Avengers: Endgame accidentally led 2012 Loki to acquire the Tesseract, which kicked off a chain reaction that led Loki to control the Sacred Timeline. Similarly, Avengers: Secret Wars could feature a brief scene that briefly sets up the MCU’s Mutant Saga. Whatever it involves, a subtle detail could hold the key to the next decade of MCU storytelling.
Avengers: Secret Wars Already Has A Genius Replacement For The Phoenix Force
The MCU’s Franklin Richards Could Play The Same Role As AvX’s Phoenix Force
While the MCU could adapt Avengers vs. X-Men’s Phoenix Force revival to introduce mutants, there’s a more likely in-universe alternative already on the horizon. In Avengers: Secret Wars, a slightly older Franklin Richards’ reality-shaping powers could achieve the same result as the Phoenix Force. Instead of a cosmic entity, it could be Marvel’s most powerful young hero who awakens the MCU’s mutants.
Franklin Richards is an Omega-level mutant capable of creating entire universes from scratch. Instead of building a fresh reality, the MCU’s Franklin could help renew Earth-616 after Avengers: Secret Wars. This process could carry over the X-Gene from Fox’s X-Men universe into the MCU’s continuity to provide an organic reason for mutants to suddenly exist alongside the Avengers.
Franklin Richards may be the MCU’s most likely candidate to usher in the X-Men, thanks to both his powers and The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ post-credits scene. Doctor Doom seems to consider Franklin Richards his greatest weapon, and Doom may weaponize Franklin’s abilities as soon as Avengers: Doomsday. However, just as Franklin can be a tool of destruction, he could also embody the rebirth of mutantkind, especially considering his mutant nature.
Secret Wars Is The Best Place For Marvel Studios’ Adaptation of Avengers Vs X-Men
A Proper, Full-Length AvX Adaptation May Not Be Possible For Years
Avengers vs. X-Men is notoriously difficult to adapt because it requires two fully developed super-teams to coexist in the same universe beforehand. Without an already established X-Men roster, the story’s central conflict would feel one-sided. Marvel Studios can’t simply jump into a full AvX adaptation until both the Avengers and the MCU’s X-Men have been built up with multiple movies and a shared history between them.
A faithful Avengers vs X-Men adaptation likely needs to wait years after the MCU’s own X-Men debut to allow audiences to understand mutant lore. Without that foundation, AvX‘s ideological and personal stakes likely wouldn’t land. Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars could act as a proving ground before a full-scale MCU version of the conflict arrives.
For now, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars might showcase certain elements from AvX. For instance, Phase 6’s crossover movies could feature battles between individual Avengers and X-Men and use the Phoenix Force to awaken the MCU’s X-Gene. This approach would allow the original X-Men movie cast to participate and pass on the torch to a new generation of live-action mutants.
