The Comic Origin of Avengers: Secret Wars

The MCU's Multiverse Saga finale, Avengers: Secret Wars (December 17, 2027), borrows its name and core premise from a 1984 Marvel comic that was never meant to be a grand creative statement - it started as a toy-company pitch from Mattel.

The Origin

Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1 hit shelves with a May 1984 cover date, published by Marvel Comics and written by Jim Shooter with art by Mike Zeck, Bob Layton, and John Beatty, edited by Tom DeFalco. The entire project began in 1983 when toymaker Mattel approached Marvel wanting to compete with Kenner's DC-licensed Super Powers action-figure line. They needed a crossover comic to anchor a new toy range. Shooter had long fielded fan requests for a story putting every Marvel hero and villain in the same room, and he pitched what he initially called "Cosmic Champions," announced in Marvel Age #11 in February 1984. Mattel's focus group told them children responded strongly to the words "secret" and "wars," so the title became Secret Wars. The toy company also influenced content, pushing for more high-tech armor on Doctor Doom and Iron Man and requesting new fortresses, vehicles, and weapons to sell playsets. Shooter wrote the series himself because he was the only person fully current on every character's status and wanted to avoid creative disputes in the bullpen. Art was handled by Zeck and Beatty, who had been working together on Captain America, with Layton sharing penciling duties. The comic launched alongside a Mattel toy line and a TSR role-playing game of the same name.

How It Grew

1983: Mattel approaches Marvel for a crossover comic to support a new action-figure line competing with Kenner's DC Super Powers; Jim Shooter conceives the mega-crossover initially titled "Cosmic Champions."
1984: Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1 launches the 12-issue limited series. The Beyonder, a nigh-omnipotent entity from outside the multiverse, abducts Earth's heroes and villains to Battleworld, a patchwork planet built from fragments of other worlds. The series introduces Spider-Man's black symbiote costume (later becoming Venom), the villains Titania and Volcana, and the second Spider-Woman, Julia Carpenter. Doctor Doom absorbs the Beyonder's power and briefly rules Battleworld as a god.
1985: Secret Wars II #1 sees the Beyonder take human form and come to Earth to learn about desire, touching nearly every Marvel title; Steve Ditko takes over art. The sequel ends with the Beyonder's death and the birth of a new universe from his energy.
1997: Spider-Man: The Animated Series adapts Secret Wars as a 3-part arc (Season 5, "Secret Wars Part 1: Arrival" through "Part 3: Doom"), with a much smaller hero roster led by Spider-Man and a story focused on Madame Web, the Beyonder, and Spider-Carnage.
2010: Marvel Adventures Spider-Man & the Secret Wars, an all-ages miniseries, retells the event from Spider-Man's perspective in its own continuity.
2012-2015: Jonathan Hickman's Avengers and New Avengers runs build the "Incursions" concept: parallel universes colliding and destroying each other, setting up a multiverse-ending crisis.
2015: Secret Wars #1-9 by Jonathan Hickman and artist Esad Ribić: the Multiverse is destroyed by Incursions, leaving only scraps that form Battleworld under God Emperor Doom. The Avengers and surviving heroes rebel; the event concludes by restoring a single merged universe, effectively resetting the Marvel line. This is the version the Russo brothers have cited as a primary inspiration for the MCU film.
2024: At San Diego Comic-Con, the Russo brothers announce they will direct Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027) back-to-back; Robert Downey Jr. is cast as Doctor Doom, and the film is described as the Multiverse Saga finale that resets the MCU.
2027: Avengers: Secret Wars releases in theaters on December 17, 2027, serving as the grand finale of the Multiverse Saga and the launchpad for the next phase of the MCU.

On Screen

Before the MCU tackled the multiverse, Secret Wars saw few screen adaptations. In 1997, Spider-Man: The Animated Series adapted the concept in a three-part Season 5 finale ("Secret Wars Part 1: Arrival" through "Part 3: Doom"). The animated storyline featured a streamlined hero roster led by Spider-Man, Madame Web, and the Beyonder confronting Doctor Doom and Spider-Carnage.

Two decades later, the 2017 fourth season of Avengers Assemble was subtitled Secret Wars. In that arc, the Beyonder used the Bifrost to splice fragments of Earth, Asgard, and other realms into Battleworld, forcing the Avengers and New Avengers to team up and dismantle his cosmic experiment.

No live-action Secret Wars adaptation existed before Marvel Studios greenlit its upcoming feature. Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and scheduled for theatrical release on December 17, 2027, Avengers: Secret Wars serves as the culminating event of the Multiverse Saga.

Start Reading Here

Marvel Super Heroes: Secret Wars (Trade Paperback): The original 1984 event that invented the Marvel crossover-event format, introduced the Beyonder and Battleworld, gave Spider-Man his black symbiote costume (the seed of Venom), and put Doctor Doom on the path to godhood.
Secret Wars by Jonathan Hickman (Trade Paperback): The 2015 remake that the Russo brothers said they are drawing inspiration from for Avengers: Secret Wars. The Multiverse is destroyed by Incursions and Battleworld is ruled by God Emperor Doom - the version closest to what the MCU film will depict.
Avengers: Secret Wars - Marvel Premier Collection: The most affordable, beginner-friendly entry point: collects the full 2015 Secret Wars series with a foreword from Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige explaining how the story connects to the MCU.
Secret Wars Omnibus (Trade Paperback): The definitive archival edition: collects the complete 1984 Secret Wars #1-12 plus bonus material - Thor #383, She-Hulk #10, and What If? #4 and #114.

Check out Your First 10 Comics for more must-read Marvel milestones.