10 Marvel Mistakes That Can Be Fixed By Rebooting The MCU After Avengers 6

Marvel Studios has the opportunity to rectify several mistakes from the MCU’s history if Avengers: Secret Wars soft-reboots the franchise. Since the dawn of the MCU with 2008’s Iron Man, Marvel Studios has produced the most expansive and successful superhero franchise in history, delivering over forty projects (and counting) across a variety of media. Marvel Studios has made many brilliant decisions with the MCU, from perfect casting choices, to exhilarating action sequences, and the production of complex storylines and realistic heroes. Even so, Marvel Studios has taken several missteps along the way, but one major Phase 6 rumor could gloss over these errors.

One recent rumor suggests that 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars could soft-reboot the MCU, similarly to what was planned for the DC Universe after 2023’s The Flash. This would follow the storyline of Marvel Comics’ Secret Wars event in 2015, which reset the Marvel Universe, leaving it inhabited by new characters and allowing fresh stories to unfold. If the MCU goes through this massive change, it’s likely the events of the Infinity Saga and the Multiverse Saga won’t be forgotten but that the MCU’s future will instead focus on other heroes. Even so, Marvel Studios has the opportunity with a reboot to redo poorly-received storylines and do justice to neglected characters.

10 Malekith Can Become A Stronger Thor Villain

Christopher Eccleston debuted as Malekith, the leader of the Dark Elves, in 2013’s Thor: The Dark World, adapted from the iconic villain from Marvel Comics. The Dark World is widely regarded as one of the MCU’s weakest projects, and its depiction of Malekith has often been slated, so a soft reboot of the MCU could help revitalize the villain. Marvel Comics’ Malekith regularly went up against Thor, Jane Foster, and even Iron Man, and he was pivotal to 2019’s War of the Realms storyline, which saw him take over the Nine Realms. Malekith deserves redemption in the MCU’s future, and a reboot after Secret Wars would create the perfect opportunity.

9 Black Widow’s History Can Be Explored Much Better

Despite being one of the MCU’s original superheroes, Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff was regularly neglected by Marvel Studios, culminating in her death in Avengers: Endgame. Johansson’s first solo MCU film came after Romanoff’s demise, and despite promising to explore Black Widow’s MCU backstory in more detail, this didn’t really come to fruition. Black Widow would be a major character to bring back after a reboot of the MCU in Avengers: Secret Wars, and it might be jarring to see a new actor assume the role after Johansson. Even so, Romanoff’s return after Secret Wars could help to delve deeper into her history rather than only scratching the surface.

8 The Real Mandarin Could Actually Battle Iron Man

One of Marvel Studios’ most controversial character decisions was the MCU’s depiction of the Mandarin. In Marvel Comics, the leader of the Ten Rings is Iron Man’s archenemy, but the villain and the armored Avenger never actually battled in the MCU, despite the Ten Rings having taken Tony Stark captive in 2008’s Iron Man. Xu Wenwu was finally revealed as the Mandarin in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, but Iron Man had previously fought nothing but an actor, Trevor Slattery, portraying the villain. A reboot of the MCU could bring back the Mandarin and have him actually face off against a new version of Iron Man.

7 The Fantastic Four Could Really Be Marvel’s First Family

Although Marvel Comics (previously Timely Comics) had been delivering stories since 1939, 1961 marked a major turning point as the Fantastic Four were introduced as the comics’ first superhero team. Dubbed “Marvel’s First Family”, the Fantastic Four became one of the company’s most popular properties, but the team wasn’t able to be introduced early in the MCU due to 20th Century Fox owning the film rights. Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four reboot in Phase 6 will finally bring them into the MCU, but a soft-reboot after Secret Wars can set up the Fantastic Four as the first superhero team in the MCU’s new era, just as they were in Marvel Comics.

6 The Eternals’ Backstory Can Become More Comic-Accurate

Marvel Studios debuted the Eternals in the MCU’s Phase 4, and although the god-like beings have connections to Earth’s history and mutants in Marvel Comics, their backstory was changed significantly for the MCU. Eternals revealed the titular species had been created in the World Forge rather than being the product of experiments on early humans. This was a divisive and massive change from the characters’ roots in Marvel Comics, further confusing the mythos of other characters, such as mutants in the MCU. Avengers: Secret Wars rebooting the MCU could allow the Eternals’ backstory to be changed again, linking them more directly to Earth rather than making them solely cosmic creatures.

5 Quicksilver Can Be Brought Back To The MCU

The MCU’s debut of the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver in Captain America: The Winter Soldier’s mid-credits scene was exciting for Marvel fans, as the pair are two prominent mutants in Marvel Comics. Although not depicted as mutants in the MCU, Wanda and Pietro Maximoff retained their comic abilities for their larger role in Avengers: Age of Ultron, a project that shockingly featured Quicksilver’s untimely demise. While this pushed the Scarlet Witch’s story forward, it was a shame to lose such a promising young hero in the MCU, so a soft reboot in Secret Wars could bring him back, as well as introduce a slew of new and returning mutant characters.

4 What If…? Could Actually Explore Interesting Realities

Marvel Studios’ had the opportunity to explore the multiverse in detail with Phase 4’s What If…?, and while several entertaining timelines have been investigated so far, What If…? has more potential. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness gave viewers a glimpse at some vastly different realities, but What If…? has only explored universes that are very similar to the main MCU continuity. Marvel Comics’ What If…? series featured some outlandish stories, such as Wolverine becoming a vampire, Iron Man being trapped in King Arthur’s time, and Nick Fury fighting World War II in space, and an MCU reboot would open the door for these wackier stories to be explored.

3 Secret Invasion Could Be A Much Bigger Storyline

Despite being highly anticipated, Phase 5’s Secret Invasion became one of the MCU’s most divisive projects, with many feeling as though the six-episode series format didn’t work for the epic storyline from Marvel Comics. The disappointing reaction to Secret Invasion makes it the perfect storyline to be revisited after a reboot in the MCU’s Phase 6. In Marvel Comics, Secret Invasion features most of the Marvel Universe’s heroes banding together to thwart a full-scale Skrull invasion of Earth, but this was watered down significantly in the MCU. A rebooted Secret Invasion can adapt the story more accurately to Marvel Comics, helping to gloss over Marvel Studios’ mistakes with the series.

2 Bruce Banner’s Smart Hulk Storyline Can Be Rewritten

Revealing “Smart Hulk” after the five-year time jump in Avengers: Endgame was a brilliant twist, but many were disappointed that Bruce Banner never really got a chance to show off the full power of the Hulk. Marvel Studios came under scrutiny for weakening the Hulk in his recent appearances, and there have been calls for the original, angry Hulk to return, potentially in a rumored World War Hulk project in the MCU. This would be a great storyline to adapt following a soft reboot of the franchise, as more characters featured in the Marvel Comics event will have debuted in live-action, so there could be hope for the Hulk yet.

1 Marvel Studios Can Be More Experimental In A Reboot

In the wake of Avengers: Endgame and the end of the Infinity Saga, Marvel Studios began to dip its toes into more experimental territories, particularly with projects such as the old horror-inspired Werewolf By Night, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, and the legal comedy She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. While the current slate of the MCU is still tied to the “Marvel Formula,” a reboot of the MCU after Avengers: Secret Wars could allow Marvel Studios to try many more new things. This could see the studio give directors more creative freedom to develop interesting new stories that audiences might not expect from Marvel Studios.