MCUWith the overwhelming success of the MCU's venture into major crossover events such as Civil War and Infinity War (Infinity Gauntlet in the 1991 comic miniseries), the smart bet is for the MCU to continue to inundate us with these popular character crossover events with their short- and long-term franchises.

About nine months ago, our uber-talented Blaise Tassone speculated on some crossover events we may see on the big screen in the years to come. With the benefit of a couple additional movies, some major announcements, and leaked information, it's time to revisit the tricks that Kevin Feige and company may have up their sleeves for their fans.

Secret Invasion (2008)

Blaise called this one after being introduced to the Skrulls (alien shapeshifters) throughout Captain Marvel, and he absolutely nailed it. What we know now that was not clear last spring was the revelation of Skrulls playing the part of humans in Spiderman: Far From Home and saw the alien race as doppelgangers for Nick Fury and his S.H.I.E.L.D. team.

Based on that surprise, this story seems almost a given to appear at some point. In 2008, the tipping point that led to the Skrull invasion was the destruction of their empire in prior storylines and the Skrulls then becoming convinced that Earth should belong to them. At the end of Far From Home, humans and Skrulls are existing peacefully, but should the Kree-Skrull war ever present itself, all it would take is one wrong move from the humans for that peace to be fractured.

As a modern comic with myriad variants that exist, Secret Invasion #1 in a CGC 9.8 costs next to nothing. Seriously - the last 9.8 sold in late 2019 for $37. What does cost a lot is the first appearance of the Skrulls - in Fantastic Four #2. Any high-grade copy of this book runs well into five figures, with only 2.5 and below selling for below $1,000. A more attainable spec on this story might be the Kree-Skrull War arc in Avengers #89 thru Avengers #97, where even the highest grades sell for a grand or under.

 

MCU - DoomwarDoomwar (2010)

If we should ever be blessed with Dr. Doom in the MCU, he will likely have no immediate competition for the ultimate villain that would inevitably unite all Marvel heroes under one cause. Well, if you need a storyline that assembles all known heroes - and I mean ALL - then look no further than 2010's Doomwar.

The story almost writes itself into an MCU movie plot. Dr. Doom covertly seeks to attack the kingdom of Wakanda while at the same time steals all of its vibranium for his own use. Over the course of six issues, Doom interacts, battles, or tries to recruit just about every Marvel hero you've ever heard of: Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Deadpool, Skrulls, etc. You name it, it's in there.

This story has me desperate for Dr. Doom to be introduced in the next Black Panther film, if not before. Until then, we can spec on books that might be relevant. As with Secret Invasion, there is no real market for Doomwar #1 (although the series has some fantastic covers). For some cheap books that might overlap with the story, the first solo Dr. Doom story (Marvel Super-Heroes #20) has been selling for under $1,000 in a CGC 9.6 in 2019. The first Black Panther and Dr. Doom meeting occur in Astonishing Tales #6 and even the highest CGC grades run under $200 right now.

 

MCU - Avengers Disassembled Avengers Disassembled (2004

This is a lesser-known, but intriguing story because of the character that ends up playing a central role in the arc. This story ran in a long-standing volume, mostly in Avengers #500 thru Avengers #503, but stretching out to other characters' issues and an epilogue called Avengers Finale.

In the story, we see the "death" and exile of a number of key Avengers characters: Ant-Man, Iron Man, Vision, and Hawkeye. It turns out that the destruction that occurs over the pages of these books comes from Dr. Doom controlling Wanda Maximoff, having realized her immense power and ability to overpower her Avenger teammates.

The powers that be in the MCU have referenced on multiple occasions how powerful Wanda is and that she has almost limitless abilities. We have barely scratched that surface, but I can see a story developing where we lose a number of the main Avengers we still have in the MCU due to some overuse of Wanda's power (or what our Michael Vlachakis calls "reverse House of M"). The recent footage during the Super Bowl also teases the world-changing power Wanda possesses. This storyline in 2004 directly led to both The New Avengers and Young Avengers series, both of which are being heavily speculated right now. Perhaps this type of event is one that leads the MCU to go in a younger direction for the Avengers in the future.

Avengers #500-503 all sell for less than $75 in a CGC 9.8, so if you're grabbing those, also consider a copy of Young Avengers #1, outlined in this recent piece on GoCollect.

There are, of course, many other options to consider: Secret Wars, Contest of Champions, House of M, etc. What major events would you like to see onscreen in the MCU?

 

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