Rumor Claims Marvel Heroes From Pre-MCU Films Could Be the Ones Who Save the Multiverse in AVENGERS: SECRET WARS
A new rumor making the rounds online suggests that when the Marvel Cinematic Universe finally pushes the multiverse to its breaking point, it won’t be the MCU’s own heroes who pull it back from the edge.
Instead, the job may fall to characters from Marvel’s earlier, non-MCU franchises, setting up a wild payoff in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
While Deadpool & Wolverine leaned hard into irreverent humor and fourth-wall chaos, the film laid some interesting groundwork for what’s coming next. Between its overt Secret Wars teases, the idea of yet another Wolverine branching off into the Fox X-Men universe, and the continued use of the Void from Loki, the movie opened the door to a much larger story.
One of the biggest ideas it played with was the notion that heroes and villains from past Marvel films are stranded together in the Void, forgotten remnants of earlier cinematic timelines.
During one moment involving Cassandra Nova’s henchpeople, a vehicle rolls in bearing a blue Avengers flag that’s been defaced with a black anarchy symbol. At the time, it read like visual flavor, a sign that the Void’s inhabitants were mocking whatever scraps of Marvel history they could scavenge.
That changed in August 2025 when Ryan Reynolds posted an image of that same symbol online, but with a key difference. This version featured a black flag with a red anarchy symbol. There was no context or explanation. Just enough to send fans spiraling.
Now a cryptic post from scooper Alex Perez at The Cosmic Circus may have provided the missing piece. Perez shared the following message on X:
"And as the multiverse draws closer to its end, its fate and all of those who lived in it will rest in the hands of those who started it all."
When asked whether this tease pointed toward Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars, Perez replied with the same red-and-black Avengers anarchy image Reynolds shared months earlier.
The implication feels pretty clear. If there’s any truth to this rumor, Marvel may be positioning its pre-MCU heroes as the last line of defense when the multiverse begins to collapse.
That group would include characters who existed long before Iron Man kicked off the MCU. Think Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, Jennifer Garner’s Elektra, Wesley Snipes’ Blade, Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man, Nicolas Cage’s Ghost Rider, Eric Bana’s Hulk, and the original X-Men lineup, which has already been confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday.
Instead of the MCU saving everyone else, the story could flip the script, with Marvel’s legacy characters stepping in to preserve the universe that replaced them.
That idea lines up with rumors surrounding Maguire, Jackman, and Reynolds. All three actors have been heavily rumored to play major roles in both upcoming Avengers films.
Reynolds addressed the image he shared during an interview offering an explanation that still leaves plenty of room for speculation:
"The thing I posted on social, that is actually a variant of the flag that we use in Deadpool & Wolverine. It was my favorite. For some reason, you watch a movie later that has that many alts and all that stuff, and you go, 'Why didn't I choose that one? There were five other great jokes for that.'
“That's how it works, and that was just a flag. I just came across it, and I was like, 'Oh yeah, I loved that flag. The red and black vibe.' And then, you know, there's always talk. We're figuring out what's next in that world and blah, blah, blah."
This is still just a rumor, and Marvel has been known to let fan theories run wild without payoff. Still, it’s hard not to get a little excited at the idea of Marvel’s cinematic pioneers being the ones who step up when Doctor Doom’s plans push reality past the point of no return.
That said, it’s best to keep expectations in check and not get carried away just yet. We won’t have to wait forever to see how much truth there is to this rumor. Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18, 2026, followed by Avengers: Secret Wars on December 17, 2027.
Until then, all we can do is speculate, theorize, and enjoy the idea that Marvel’s past might be the key to its future.