The genesis of the original Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, commonly known as Secret Wars, is a famous tale in comic book history, intrinsically linked to a commercial partnership. In the early 1980s, toy manufacturer Mattel, seeking to compete with Kenner's wildly successful Super Powers Collection line of DC Comics figures, approached Marvel Comics. Mattel desired a major comic book event that could serve as a vehicle for a new, unified toy line of Marvel characters. Marvel's then-Editor-in-Chief, Jim Shooter, took on the task of writing the series himself. The story goes that Shooter, after observing focus groups of children playing with toys, noted they were drawn to compelling, high-stakes concepts. The name itself was reportedly chosen based on market research indicating that the words “Secret” and “Wars” were highly appealing to young boys. The result was a 12-issue limited series, running from May 1984 to April 1985, with art primarily by Mike Zeck and Bob Layton. It was an unprecedented commercial success, becoming one of the best-selling comics of its era and solidifying the “summer event comic” as a staple of the industry. Three decades later, Marvel revisited the concept with a completely new scope and ambition. The 2015 Secret Wars, an 9-issue series written by Jonathan Hickman with art by Esad Ribić, was not a toy tie-in but the culmination of Hickman's years-long, intricate storytelling in his Avengers and New Avengers titles. This new series was darker, more thematically dense, and served as a grand finale to the entire Marvel Multiverse as it had existed since its inception. It was both a critical and commercial triumph, praised for its epic scale and satisfying conclusion to one of modern comics' most complex narratives.
The in-universe catalyst for the Secret Wars events differs dramatically between the two major comic versions and what is being foreshadowed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Secret Wars (1984): The first Secret Wars was initiated by a cosmic entity of nigh-unlimited power known as the Beyonder. Hailing from a dimension beyond the traditional Marvel Multiverse, the Beyonder became aware of Earth-616 and was fascinated by the concept of desire and the eternal conflict between good and evil. To study this phenomenon, he used his incredible power to rip a galaxy from space, construct a patchwork planet he dubbed “Battleworld” from pieces of various worlds (including a suburb of Denver, Colorado), and abduct a curated selection of Earth's most powerful heroes and villains. The chosen combatants included members of the avengers (Captain America, Iron Man (Jim Rhodes), Thor, Hulk, Hawkeye, Wasp, Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau), She-Hulk), the fantastic_four (Mister Fantastic, Human Torch, Thing), the x-men (Professor X, Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Rogue, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Magneto), and solo heroes like Spider-Man. The villains included powerhouses like Doctor Doom, Doctor Octopus, Ultron, Kang the Conqueror, the Enchantress, and Galactus. Upon their arrival, the Beyonder appeared as a blinding white light and declared his simple, terrifying premise: “I am from beyond! Slay your enemies and all that you desire shall be yours! Nothing you dream of is impossible for me to accomplish!” This simple command kicked off a planet-wide brawl for the ultimate prize, testing the alliances, morals, and limits of every participant. Secret Wars (2015): The second Secret Wars was the result of a far more complex and dire cosmic event: the total collapse of the Multiverse. This cataclysm was caused by a phenomenon known as Incursions—events where two parallel Earths would collide, destroying both of their respective universes unless one of the Earths was destroyed first. For years, the Illuminati (a secret cabal of heroes including Mister Fantastic, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, and Black Panther) fought a losing battle, compromising their morals to save their reality, Earth-616. The ultimate cause of the Incursions was revealed to be the Beyonders, a mysterious and omnipotent alien race (distinct from the original singular Beyonder) who were conducting an experiment to destroy the entire Multiverse simultaneously. In the final moments before the last Incursion between Earth-616 and the Ultimate Universe (Earth-1610), Doctor Doom, with the help of molecule_man, executed a final, desperate gambit. He confronted the Beyonders and managed to steal their cosmic power, killing them in the process. As all of reality collapsed into nothingness, Doom used this newfound omnipotence to salvage the dying remnants of various universes. He stitched them together into a new, singular planet—also called Battleworld—with himself as its God Emperor and savior. This new world was a feudal society of distinct “domains,” each a fragment of a different dead reality (such as a land of Hulks, a kingdom ruled by Iron Man, and the zombie-infested Deadlands), all policed by a Thor Corps and held together by Doom's absolute will. The “origin” of this Secret Wars was not a game, but a last-ditch act of preservation by Marvel's greatest villain, creating a final bastion of existence from the ashes of everything.
The MCU's version of Secret Wars is still developing, but its foundations are being meticulously laid throughout Phase Four and beyond. It is not being initiated by a Beyonder but is instead positioned as the ultimate consequence of multiversal instability, primarily caused by the actions and existence of Kang the Conqueror and his variants. The origin of this conflict can be traced to the Disney+ series Loki. “He Who Remains,” a “benevolent” variant of Kang, explained that he had weaponized the entity Alioth to end a multiversal war waged by his own evil variants. To prevent another war, he isolated a collection of realities into the “Sacred Timeline” and created the Time Variance Authority (TVA) to “prune” any deviation that might lead to the birth of new Kang variants. Sylvie's decision to kill He Who Remains shattered the Sacred Timeline, causing the multiverse to branch out uncontrollably and, presumably, allowing countless dangerous Kangs to emerge. The concept of Incursions was officially introduced in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. This film established that prolonged and reckless travel between universes can cause them to collide and annihilate each other, mirroring the comic's prelude. The film ends with Doctor Strange developing a third eye as a result of using the Darkhold, and he is recruited by Clea to help fix an Incursion he caused. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania further solidified this trajectory by introducing the Council of Kangs, an infinite gathering of Kang variants from across the multiverse, led by Immortus, Rama-Tut, and a version of the Scarlet Centurion. They are aware of the threat posed by the “exiled one” (the Kang defeated in the film) and the heroes of Earth-616 meddling with the multiverse. Their existence confirms that a massive, multiversal conflict orchestrated by Kangs is inevitable. Therefore, the MCU's Secret Wars will likely originate from the chaos of an untamed multiverse and a resulting war between the Council of Kangs and the heroes of the remaining realities, culminating in a series of catastrophic Incursions that threaten all of existence. The final conflict will be the “secret war” to save what's left.
The consequences of the first Secret Wars rippled through the Marvel Universe for years.
The 2015 Secret Wars fundamentally remade the entire Marvel reality.
The architects of the Secret Wars are crucial to understanding their nature. The 1984 Beyonder was a singular, almost naive entity from the “Beyond-Realm.” He was depicted as possessing power far exceeding any cosmic being known at the time, but he was emotionally immature. His Secret Wars was an experiment born of curiosity. In the sequel, Secret Wars II, he came to Earth in a human body to “understand” desire, a story that was far less popular. The 2015 Beyonders were a complete reimagining. They were not one being, but an entire race of enigmatic, ivory-colored aliens who existed outside the Multiverse. They were viewed as the “creators” of the cosmic entities like the Living Tribunal. Their motivation was not curiosity but cold, scientific finality; they set the Incursions in motion to witness the simultaneous death of all reality. They were the ultimate, unseen antagonists of Hickman's saga, and their power was so absolute that only Doctor Doom's brilliant, impossible scheme could defeat them.
Victor von Doom is the single most important character in the Secret Wars saga. In the 1984 event, he is the ultimate expression of ambition. While other villains squabbled, Doom aimed for the ultimate prize from the start: the Beyonder's power. His brief, flawed godhood was a testament to his intellect and arrogance. In the 2015 event, he is elevated to a far more complex figure. He is simultaneously the story's villain and its savior. He committed cosmic genocide against the Beyonders to save existence, but then created a new reality founded on a lie, with himself as its absolute monarch. His reign as God Emperor is a deep character study: he has everything he ever wanted, but he is deeply insecure, knowing it was built on a foundation of stolen power and that Reed Richards is still his intellectual superior. His eventual defeat is a moment of catharsis, not just for the heroes, but for Doom himself.
Mister Fantastic is the central protagonist of the 2015 epic, serving as the ideological and intellectual counterpoint to Doctor Doom. The entire “Time Runs Out” saga leading up to the event chronicled Reed's moral descent as he made impossible choices to save the world. During Secret Wars, he represents the lost hope of the old universe. His final confrontation with Doom is the climax of decades of their rivalry, a debate over who is the better man and who was more fit to hold the power of a god. Reed's “victory” is not just saving the day, but healing his greatest enemy and taking on the responsibility of rebuilding everything.
In the first Secret Wars, the hero community was fractured. The Avengers, Fantastic Four, and solo heroes formed one group, but the X-Men, led by their justified paranoia of how other heroes viewed them, operated independently. This tension was a major subplot, reflecting the comics' status quo at the time where the X-Men were often treated as outcasts. In the second Secret Wars, the primary “hero faction” was the small group of survivors from Earth-616's life raft. They were fugitives in a world that didn't know them, carrying the memory of a universe that no longer existed. Their arrival was the spark that ignited a world-wide rebellion against Doom, as they represented a “truth” that his subjects had been conditioned to forget.
To fully appreciate the 2015 event, the preceding storyline, “Time Runs Out,” is essential reading. Running through Jonathan Hickman's Avengers and New Avengers titles, it jumped the timeline forward eight months to show the final days before the last Incursion. It depicts a broken world: the Avengers are fractured and in hiding, S.H.I.E.L.D. is hunting them, and the Illuminati have become ruthless anti-heroes, creating world-destroying weapons to save their own universe. This arc brilliantly sets the desperate, apocalyptic tone and explains the complex cosmic mechanics that make Secret Wars not just an event, but an inevitability.
Following the massive success of the original, Marvel launched a sequel, Secret Wars II. This 9-issue series saw the Beyonder travel to Earth in a human form to experience life and understand humanity. The series was widely considered a critical and narrative failure. Where the first series was a focused action epic, the sequel was a disjointed philosophical journey that saw the Beyonder interacting with various heroes and villains in often bizarre ways. Its most lasting impact was the death of the New Mutants character Warlock and the Beyonder's eventual “death” after being forced to experience mortality. Most modern storytelling ignores or downplays the events of this series.
The 2015 event was accompanied by dozens of tie-in miniseries, each exploring a different domain of Battleworld. These were not just supplementary but were a core part of the experience, showcasing the incredible creative potential of Doom's patchwork world. Notable and popular tie-ins included:
Many fans' first exposure to the Secret Wars concept was through the final season of the 1990s Spider-Man: The Animated Series. This three-part story arc was a very loose adaptation. The Beyonder, voiced by Earl Boen, brings Spider-Man to a peaceful Battleworld and tasks him with leading a team of heroes (the Fantastic Four, Captain America, Iron Man, and Storm) against a team of villains (Doctor Doom, Doctor Octopus, Alistair Smythe, the Lizard, and Red Skull) to see which ideology, good or evil, is stronger. It captured the core premise of the original comic but on a much smaller scale.
While no game is a direct adaptation of the storyline, the core concept of heroes and villains being brought to a specific location to battle by a cosmic entity is the foundation for several popular mobile and console games.
As the announced finale for the MCU's “Multiverse Saga,” Avengers: Secret Wars will be the highest-profile adaptation of the story to date. While details are scarce, it is expected to draw thematic elements from both the 1984 and 2015 comic events. It will likely feature a massive cast of characters, including heroes from different universes and timelines (potentially including characters from Fox's X-Men and Fantastic Four films). The primary antagonist is expected to be a variant of Kang the Conqueror, who may take on the god-like role of the Beyonder or God Emperor Doom, forcing the surviving heroes to fight for the fate of a shattered multiverse.