Avengers 6 Can Finally Redeem Two Failed X-Men Stories 21 Years Later

Avengers: Secret Wars promises to be a crucial MCU installment as it prepares for a possible MCU soft reboot – but it can also redeem two X-Men stories that Fox failed. Part of what makes Marvel’s acquisition of the X-Men exciting is the prospect of watching the studio work its MCU magic on such an iconic Marvel property. While a string of recent stumbles has shaken faith in the MCU’s previously unassailable ability to adapt comic book movies, Avengers: Secret Wars offers a surefire way for Marvel to rectify two maligned arcs from Fox’s X-Men franchise.

How accurately Marvel intends to adapt the Secret Wars comic of 2015 remains to be seen, as the original run includes many Marvel characters that have yet to be introduced to the MCU timeline. Among these are the Fantastic Four and the characters they are closely associated with, like Doctor Doom, the Richards’ children, and Galactus. Yet there is also one of the X-Men in particular that plays a notably epic role, and he comes with a power typically associated with someone else entirely.

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Avengers: Secret Wars Can Redeem The Phoenix Force And Cyclops At The Same Time

Secret Wars depicts the end of the Marvel multiverse following one final incursion that destroys all but a few survivors, who are transported to Doctor Doom’s Battleworld. Cyclops is one of these survivors, who had attempted to stave off the cataclysm by absorbing the Phoenix Force to no avail. This incredibly powerful version of Cyclops then proceeds to go toe to toe with God Emperor Doom himself, but ultimately falls to Doom’s new godlike powers, wrapping up that version of Cyclops’ story in a blaze of glory.

The heroic death of an impossibly powerful Cyclops could go a long way toward rectifying his unceremonious demise in Fox’s X-Men franchise. It can also help to improve the tarnished image of the Phoenix Force in a new context, unblemished by the previous failures of a Dark Phoenix adaptation. While Cyclops’ death doesn’t have much of a bearing on the wider narrative beyond showcasing Doom’s power, this constitutes a golden opportunity for Marvel to rewrite the iconic character’s legacy.

Avengers 6 Might Not Be The Right Time To Fix Fox’s X-Men Movies

While Avengers: Secret Wars will no doubt be stuffed with homages and cameos, the reappearance of Fox’s X-Men should be confined to cameo status. The future of the MCU will likely shift focus to a new host of mutant characters after the Multiverse Saga draws a line beneath Phases 1–6. With that in mind, Avengers: Secret Wars, while huge, should hone in on the legacy of the characters that comprised the history of the MCU until that point, such as Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, and Thor, who are also central to the Secret Wars plot.

Avengers: Secret Wars may well be the culmination of the MCU’s story before a theorized soft reboot readjusts its narrative entirely, which would require especially careful handling. Cameos and homages will no doubt litter the narrative, but the grand finale should remain focused on the characters that brought the MCU to this climactic point rather than relative outsiders. For that reason, Cyclops’ role in Avengers: Secret Wars may be cut entirely, with plenty of scope for Marvel to redeem the character and the Dark Phoenix story in future MCU movies.