6 Great Comic Book Storylines Marvel Studios Must Adapt After AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR
Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 will bring Phase 3 to an end as Earth's Mightiest Heroes battle Thanos, but which big events should be adapted next? Here are eight exciting possibilities...
That's a question that probably only Kevin Feige knows the answer to, but looking at the comic books, it's clear that there are a lot of different storylines which could be made into huge event movies.
Following Avengers: Infinity War will be no easy feat, and that is why I've rounded up six storylines which at least stand a chance of being able to do. However, not all of them will necessarily have to play out in The Avengers franchise, and that could give these possible event movies a very different feel to what's come before. Will any of them actually happen? You may be surprised a few years from now...
6. Annihilation
Had this event never happened, then we may never have had James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy. Annihilation reignited the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe and rebooted the Guardians - this version of the team actually consisted of the same roster as the movie - to much success. Earth doesn't factor into this story at all (there's no sign of The Avengers for example), with the likes of Nova and Quasar instead getting the chance to shine as they take on a Universe ending threat which consisted of The Annihilation Wave, a large armada of warships, under the control of classic Fantastic Four villain Annihilus.
He could be replaced by someone else if Marvel is unable to get the character off Fox, but regardless, this would be the perfect direction to take Guardians of the Galaxy in and could even result in a number of spin-off movies being launched which further explore this very big side of the Marvel Cinematic UNIVERSE. What would be particularly interesting about this one is that it could make Guardians the event franchise while The Avengers take on smaller scale threats on Earth.
5. Marvel Zombies
The Walking Dead has made zombies cool again, and the AMC drama continues to break ratings records. You have to imagine that a well made zombie movie could find similar success now, but what if you mixed that genre with the always popular superhero one? That's where Marvel Zombies comes in, the brilliant event series written by, you guessed it, The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman.
Set on an alternate version of the Marvel Universe, the heroes are all infected by the zombie virus (but retain their personalities and intelligence) and go about devouring everyone and everything. In Spider-Man's case, that includes his beloved Aunt May and Mary Jane! There are some great moments of drama and comedy in this one, while the fact that a small band of non-infected heroes attempt to fight back gives this one an interesting twist. For this to work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it would probably need to take place on an alternative Earth, but how could would it be if they just made it a standalone R-Rated spinoff?
4. Spider-Verse
Spider-Verse revolved around Spider-Men (and women) from countless other alternate dimensions uniting to take on an enemy too powerful for them to face alone, and regardless of what changes were to be made from page to screen, it's fair to say that this event would be well-suited to the big screen. While Spider-Man: Homecoming is shaping up to be something special, it's yet another Peter Parker adventure, so introducing everyone from Spider-Man 2099 to Spider-Man Noir and, er, Spider-Ham, would rejuvenate the series and open the door to countless spin-offs.
While Peter is of course the one true Spidey, there are so many others (Scarlet Spider, Superior Spider-Man, Spider-Girl) that Sony should be taking advantage of and Spider-Verse would provide the perfect launching pad. Before they partnered up with Marvel Studios, I would not have had faith in Sony being able to pull this off, but now it really does have the potential to be...spectacular! Making this the big event movie of Phase 4 or 5 would ultimately be a wise decision and ensures Spidey is back in the A-List category where he belongs.
3. Secret Wars
In 1984, Marvel needed to sell more toys, so they launched an event called Secret Wars which saw just about every Marvel character thrown into the same series. The premise? When an ancient cosmic being known as the Beyonder abducted heroes and villains from Earth, he forced them to fight each other in what was essentially one big battle royal! Of course, the appeal of seeing hero on hero or villain on villain battles was huge, and while we got a taste of that in Captain America: Civil War, you have to imagine that some sort of Secret Wars adaptation would be even more well-received by moviegoers.
This event saw the introduction of many characters who went on to play a significant role in the Marvel Universe, though perhaps the biggest debut was Spider-Man's black suit which would later be revealed as Venom. That's a story arc which definitely needs to be done in the Marvel Cinematic Universe at some point, and after so many serious threats posed to Earth's Mightiest Heroes, it might be good to have a fun movie like this where they all have to just...fight!
2. Civil War II
You have to believe Marvel has at least considered the possibility of revisiting the Civil War concept after the first became only their second solo outing to gross upwards of $1 billion, and so a tale like this shaking up the Marvel Cinematic Universe's status quo a Phase or two from now is definitely possible. With any luck though, it will portray Carol Danvers in a much better light while also giving the likes of Captain American and Spider-Man more interesting roles than what their comic book counterparts have received.
1. World War Hulk
In the comics, Iron Man and an "Illuminati" of some of the Marvel Universe's most intelligent heroes (including men like Black Bolt, Doctor Strange and Mister Fantastic) decide that the best way to protect the Earth is to send the Hulk into outer space. After arriving on a distant planet, the Hulk is forced to fight in a gladiatorial arena, but eventually escapes and finds love...until the capsule he was sent in explodes and kills her. We already know that things on the big screen won't play out that way, but a loose adaptation of Planet Hulk is coming in Thor: Ragnarok!
Between that and whatever role The Hulk plays in the next couple of Avengers movies, the stage could definitely be set for him to at some point return to Earth (maybe his friends decide it's best to leave him in space after defeating Thanos?) with an army to declare war on the heroes he holds responsible. Taking them down one by one, only the super powered Sentry can stop the Green Goliath, and it would be epic to see this story play out on the big screen, especially as we've yet to see The Avengers take on The Hulk!
Which of these comic book storylines do you think is best suited to a future event movie from Marvel Studios? Have we missed any other exciting possibilities? Share your thoughts below.