Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, which is why the MCU is focusing so much on the multiverse and its infinite team-up possibilities.
The multiverse concept by itself would not be enough for Marvel to sur Avengers: Endgame. What truly gives the MCU a chance of doing something even bolder than Endgame is that Marvel Studios can now use the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, which wasn’t the case during the Infinity Saga. While it is impressive that Marvel Studios built the most successful movie franchise of all time without some of Marvel’s most recognizable superheroes, it cannot be denied how much more exciting the MCU can now be with the additions of the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and their associated characters. As such, Endgame’s portal moment can be sured.
Avengers: Endgame’s Portal Scene Defined The Movie
Avengers: Endgame, Marvel’s longest movie so far, was not as fast-paced and action-packed as Infinity War. Part of why Endgame has such a long runtime has to do with all the story threads the fourth Avengers film had to untie, including but not limited to how to bring the Thanos-snapped Avengers back for the final battle. Endgame was very much a puzzle, a movie that risked being defined by its MacGuffins and plot devices. Fortunately, Endgame’s almost three hours of plot devices were paid off in the portal scene and the Battle of Earth – a moment that made up for the film’s slower pacing.
Although dozens of superheroes ing forces to fight an all-powerful villain is something that happens quite often in the comics, a battle on the scale of Avengers: Endgame’s final fight had never been done in a superhero film. One of the MCU’s biggest strengths was to avoid shortcuts like Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer’s "cloud Galactus" when translating the Marvel comic books to screen, which culminated in Endgame’s final battle. From the moment Doctor Strange opens the portals to reveal Black Panther and all the other Avengers to Iron Man’s snap, Endgame felt like a Marvel comic book was finally on the big screen.
Endgame’s Portal Scene Created A Challenge For Marvel
Despite its pacing problems and long runtime, Avengers: Endgame went on to become the second highest-grossing movie of all time. Such a milestone confirmed the MCU’s impact on pop culture, but it also created a huge challenge for Marvel’s Phase 4 and beyond. When Iron Man (2008) was released, comic book movies were only scratching the potential of what the Marvel and DC characters could offer. Instant classics like Blade, Spider-Man 2, and The Dark Knight all contributed to redefining modern comic book movies, but in of scale, nothing really compares to Endgame. Now, Marvel has to live up to its own standards.
Anything released after Endgame was bound to be compared to the fourth Avengers movie, no matter their purpose or place in the MCU's Multiverse Saga. For example, Spider-Man: No Way Home was often compared to Avengers: Endgame, leading to debates about whether the previous Spider-Man actors meeting Tom Holland’s Peter Parker could rival Infinity War and Endgame in of excitement and box office. Due to its Illuminati cameos promise, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was also compared to Endgame in the sense of how many team-ups and unlikely crossovers it could feature with the help of the multiverse.
The Multiverse Means Marvel Can Outdo Endgame’s Portal Scene
In addition to the excitement of seeing all the Avengers teaming up in one huge battle, Endgame’s portal scene also served to showcase how far the MCU had come. Each of those several superheroes had a story within the Marvel universe, something that only worked because the MCU took its time to build up the universe. Endgame’s final battle works for those who had only seen Infinity War, but it lands much better for those who had followed the MCU in its entirety. Therefore, for Marvel to outdo Endgame’s portal scene and the film as a whole, it would have to have a similar buildup first – at least in theory.
The MCU’s multiverse concept, plus the fact that Phase 4 alone was 50 hours long, makes it easier for Marvel to sur Endgame’s portal scene. There is no need to spend an entire decade introducing characters, as the multiverse means that no crossover is now impossible for Marvel. For example, one of the main reasons why No Way Home’s box office almost sured that of Infinity War is because it nailed the returns of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield to the roles of Spider-Man – something that seemed impossible until a few years ago. Likewise, the Illuminati cameos speculation contributed to Doctor Strange 2’s box office.
Endgame’s final battle was the culmination of the Infinity Saga, but Avengers: Secret Wars can be the culmination of Marvel’s entire movie history. The fact that Marvel Studios built the Infinity Saga without the X-Men and the Fantastic Four gives the franchise a major advantage, as the MCU still has several aces up the sleeve. As impressive as what Marvel did with the Guardians of the Galaxy or Scott Lang, for example, the potential of the Fantastic Four and the X-Men interacting with the Avengers is what can truly make the MCU become even more successful. That is why a post-Fox acquisition MCU needs the multiverse.
How Secret Wars Can Beat Endgame’s Portal Scene (Without Copying It)
A more uninspired version of Avengers: Secret Wars would see more Doctor Strange portals bringing in legacy Marvel heroes like Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine to a final fight against Kang the Conqueror or Doctor Doom. However, not only would that be just a copy of Endgame’s portal scene, but it would also not make much sense narratively. Secret Wars offers the MCU the chance to explore Marvel’s cinematic legacy not as a gimmick for the end of the movie but as the story’s primary motivator. The 2015 Secret Wars comic book was about saving universes, meaning that the MCU’s Secret Wars can focus entirely on the multiverse.
The best way to beat Endgame’s portal scene, therefore, is not by bringing dozens of characters all at once at the end of Secret Wars – it is to make an entire Avengers movie full of legacy Marvel cameos and unexpected crossovers. For example, instead of having Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine walk through a portal at the end of the film, Secret Wars should feature Wolverine and other legacy Marvel characters in a large capacity throughout the whole movie. In other words, to become Marvel’s most ambitious crossover event, Avengers: Secret Wars cannot limit itself to just one major battle at the end like Avengers: Endgame did.
