With the debut of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Marvel Studios has set the stage for its second endgame — two Avengers films, subtitled Doomsday and Secret Wars, to be released in late 2026 and 2027, respectively. The films promise resolution on the current Multiverse Saga and, according to studio president Kevin Feige, an opportunity for a creative and narrative reset in 2028.
But what could that mean for some of the plotlines teased since the Multiverse Saga began? Not every idea glimpsed in stinger scenes or even within a given film has received the attention it seemingly deserved. And with that potential reset on the horizon, it is possible they will never get resolved. Of course, longtime readers of Marvel comics will recognize this aspect of massive shared storytelling — particularly when writer Chris Claremont was plotting X-Men — so it is always possible some of these seemingly dropped plots may be revisited even after Secret Wars.
For the moment, though, let’s review the Time Variance Authority’s tapes and determine what ideas may or may not be revisited by Marvel in the next few years.
[Warning: Spoilers for The Fantastic Four: First Steps Below]
Franklin Richards in Line to Inherit Galactus’ Hunger
Introduced In: The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Will It Be Resolved? Definitely
The most recently teased plot line, courtesy of First Steps, is the suggestion by Galactus (Ralph Ineson) that Franklin Richards — son of Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) and Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) — has the potential to inherit the Devourer of Worlds’ hunger. And as he already has access to some of his abilities, is the child the key to Doctor Doom’s (Robert Downey Jr.) plan in Doomsday?
Back in the comics, Franklin’s powers include the ability to warp reality and high-end telepathic talents to rival the strongest of the strong. Also worth noting: He is considered a Mutant like the X-Men. His talent in altering reality attracted the attention of foes like Annihilus and Onslaught. The latter’s attempt to co-opt Franklin led the child to move his family and other key heroes who seemingly died in the conflict to a new reality. Of course, the awesome state of his powers means he has to be depowered on the regular.
The film version of Franklin takes this to a different place, though, with the implication that he could be the next Galactus. As Reed suggests in First Steps, Galactus is older than their universe (another direct pull from the comics) and stuck in a cycle in which he must feed on planets to survive. He believes he can pass this burden onto Franklin, but is it the boy’s ultimate fate?
Honestly, we doubt it. If Secret Wars merges the Fantastic Four’s reality with the traditional Marvel Cinematic Universe, Franklin will likely end up depowered and continue his relatively traditional childhood. Well, assuming the Four get to return to the 1960s of that merged universe.
At the same time, many are already suggesting that Franklin’s powers are essential to Doom’s plan to claim the Multiverse for himself. Will Franklin power Doom’s journey? Will he witness whatever happens to the X-Men of an old Fox universe? And considering the First Steps stinger scene, will he be responsible for Doom’s resemblance to Tony Stark (also Downey)?
Those questions will definitely be addressed in Doomsday and we wouldn’t be surprised if Franklin ages himself into a form resembling Chris Evans.
Doctor Strange and Clea Face An Incursion
Introduced In: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Will It Be Resolved? Likely
Back when the stinger scenes were introducing new characters, few were as surprising as Charlize Theron’s 30 seconds as Clea, a character with big implications in Doctor Strange lore. But here, she tells the three-eyed Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) that his actions have caused an incursion between realities. She leads him back to Dormammu’s Dark Dimension, but it’s the last we have seen of Strange since.
As he was told earlier in the film that incursions are bad for the overall integrity of the Multiverse, it is highly likely Strange and Clea will encounter Doom as he unfurls his grand design. It remains to be seen, however, if they will be much good against him. Or if the third eye granted by The Darkhold will make Steven’s life more difficult in the long run.
The Eternals Attempt to Rescue Their Brethren From Arishem
Introduced In: Eternals
Will It Be Resolved? Unlikely
At the end of Eternals, three members of the group are kidnapped by the Celestial Arishem to aid in his judgement of Earth. The remaining Eternals, having already left the planet, vow to find them. Soon, they encounter Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) brother Eros (Harry Styles) and his diminutive pal Pip (Patton Oswalt), who offer assistance. In a moment when the cosmic aspects of the MCU were meant to be more prominent in the post-Avengers Endgame state of play, the sequel should have followed the adventure out into space.
But, as we all know, the response to Eternals was sub-optimal and Marvel was already in the process of moving away from its space-based projects back toward more Earthly characters. Even Styles’ cameo as Eros could not keep the momentum up for this plot. Combined with the potential reset following Secret Wars, we expect the Eternals will be forever lost in space within a discarded version of the MCU.
Marc Spector And Steven Grant Face Jake Lockley
Introduced In: Moon Knight
Will It Be Resolved? Doubtful
Throughout Moon Knight, one of the title character’s (Oscar Isaac) alters was missing until the final moments. Reconfigured as a Spanish-speaking mercenary still loyal to moon god Khonshu (F. Murray Abraham), Jake Lockley is the reason Marc (or his alter-ego Steven Grant) is still chaining himself to the bedpost. But how can you fight an antagonist living inside your own body?
The concept was intriguing, but with Feige already saying there will be fewer Marvel TV shows going forward, we doubt Marc and Steven will ever square away their issues with Jake. This, sadly, also applies to a number of other leftover ideas from the TV shows, including the Secret Invasion revelation that Colonel James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) had been replaced by a Skrull before his accident in Captain America: Civil War — or really anything from Secret Invasion, for that matter. See also: Sharon Carter’s (Emily VanCamp) villainous turn as the Power Broker in Madripoor, Jennifer Walters’ (Tatiana Maslany) fourth-wall breaking, whatever became of Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) in the Void, or Mephisto’s (Sacha Baron Cohen) ultimate plan for Riri Williams’ (Dominique Thorne) soul.
Although, we imagine Billy Maximoff (Joe Locke) and Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) will go in search of his brother Tommy — who Billy seemingly willed into existence during Agatha All Along — at some point…
Monica Rambeau Returns from the Fox X-Men World
Introduced In: The Marvels
Will It Be Resolved? More likely than not
The Marvels’ mid-credit scene sees Captain Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) awakening at the X-Mansion, encountering Beast (Kelsey Grammer), and discovering that universe’s version of her mother (Lashana Lynch) is the Mutant known as Binary. It took an extraordinary display of Monica’s abilities to get to this alternate reality in the first place, so we imagine she will be there when Doom arrives to accomplish whatever task requires a stop in the old Fox X-Men universe. Will she make it home? We think so. Monica is a surprisingly resilient character in the comics and in her few MCU appearances.
Blade Holds Black Knight from His Destiny
Introduced In: Eternals
Will It Be Resolved? Fairly unlikely
Eternals’ other stinger scene involved Dane Whitman (Kit Harington) reaching for a sword that would turn him into the Black Knight. But his attempt is thwarted by an unseen Blade (Mahershala Ali), who asks, “Are you sure you’re ready for that, Mr. Whitman?”
Between the poor response to Eternals and the never-ending development of a Blade feature — Feige recently said he’s still committed to making the movie happen — we doubt most people even remember this tease occurred. Even the subtitles for the film on Disney+ refer to Blade as a “mystery man.” By the time his feature finally gets made, the MCU will be wholly different and, we imagine, the reason for Black Knight to debut in it or an Eternals sequel will be discarded.
Hercules Instills Fear of The Gods by Defeating Thor
Introduced In: Thor: Love and Thunder
Will It Be Resolved? Maybe?
While Thor Odinson (Chris Hemsworth) is away raising his adopted daughter, Love (India Rose Hemsworth), there is a lingering plotline for another Thor film: Zeus (Russell Crowe) dispatching his son Hercules (Brett Goldstein) to restore the fear of the Gods by defeating Thor. We imagine this conflict was set up during a time when Marvel expected to make a fifth Thor film before the end of the Multiverse Saga. But with no Thor film currently expected before 2028, we’re unsure Hercules will ever confront the God of Thunder.
That said, Love and Thunder’s other stinger scene — the heroic spirit of Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) arriving in Valhalla — suggests there may be a more long-term plan outside of the Multiversal madness thanks to the various Marvel afterlifes introduced in the last 10 years. Provided, of course, it does not get wiped away by the Secret Wars reset.
The Council Of Kangs Gear Up For Multiversal War
Introduced In: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Will It Be Resolved? Doubtful
Back when Kang (Jonathan Majors) was meant to be the ultimate antagonist of the Multiverse Saga — although we’re now convinced Doom was always going to be in Secret Wars — his big debut was a mixed bag thanks to Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) defeating him fairly easily and a council of other variant Kangs threatening to go to war against the MCU now that its inhabitants have touched the Multiverse.
Then Majors’ legal trouble and the lukewarm response to Quantumania led to a huge a rethink and Kang’s big movie, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, becoming Doom’s big Marvel Studios debut instead. Nevertheless, the Kangs are still out there sizing up Universe-616 with only Scott and Captain America: Brave New World’s Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) seemingly aware.
Or did Loki (Tom Hiddleston) assuming control of the TVA and becoming the God of Stories in the Loki season 2 finale end the Kang threat? It’s so difficult to say, as all of these things were in flux for a very long time.
If this thread gets resolved, it could be little more than a sight gag of Doom and Franklin hovering above the corpses of the Kangs. Or, perhaps, it will be a line of dialogue. It may even be a deleted scene included in Doomsday’s home video release.
Peter Parker Restores His Friends’ Memories
Introduced In: Spider-Man: No Way Home
Will It Be Resolved? Yes
At the end of No Way Home, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) accepted having his identity and most of his history erased from peoples’ memories to end the Multiversal threat he unleashed in the film’s events. It promised a back-to-basics approach for the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man if and when Marvel and Sony collaborated on another MCU Spider-Man film. That movie is now scheduled for release on July 31, 2026.
The nature of Spider-Man: Brand New Day is still something of a mystery, though. We know that Sadie Sink will appear — fan theories link her to characters like an alternate universe Mary Jane Watson and her daughter with Peter, May-Day Parker — and that Spidey will experience his first live action “team-up” with The Punisher (Jon Bernthal). None of these details, though, syncs up with the remaining plot point from No Way Home: Will Peter find a way for Michelle “MJ” Jones (Zendaya) and Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) to recover their memories of him?
Those relationships are the backbone of every MCU Spider-Man film, so we imagine it will continue to be important to the character even as new characters enter his orbit. Expect this to get resolved in the film’s runtime, if even just for Peter to accept that he has to move on and embrace some new amazing friends.
Kamala Khan Founds The Young Avengers
Introduced In: The Marvels
Will It Be Resolved? Outcome uncertain
When Kamala (Iman Velani) reached out to Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), it seemed like the beginning of something exciting: a Young Avengers team. But in order for that title to work, the Avengers have to be, well, young. At the pace Marvel is moving this plotline, the Young Avengers will be in their late-20s and early-30s. That still means they’ll be the junior league should they ever appear in their own film, but they won’t seem as youthful as they might have if Marvel had put a Young Avengers movie into development at the beginning of the Multiverse Saga. At this point, Prince T’Challa, aka Toussaint (Divine Love Konadu-Sun), may be old enough to be a member by the time they get back to this idea.
Nevertheless, with Kamala, Kate, Billy, Riri, America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton), and Bruce Banner’s (Mark Ruffalo) son, Skaar, subbing in for the comics’ Hulkling, the team is ready for action. Maybe they’ll make a surprise appearance in Doomsday or Secret Wars to further baffle Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) as he already has another Avengers team to deal with.
The Dueling Avengers Teams And Their Trademark Dispute
Introduced In: Thunderbolts*
Will It Be Resolved? More than likely
The Thunderbolts* stinger scene had a lot to accomplish, as it would be the last scene in a film set within the MCU until 2026. It established 16 months have passed since the Thunderbolts were dubbed the New Avengers, but that Sam refuses to recognize their claim to the title. And then the Fantastic Four’s spaceship, the Excelsior, arrives to end the conversation.
As the talked-about but unseen conflict between the two Avengers groups serves as the Multiverse Saga’s equivalent of Civil War, we imagine this will be resolved as soon as the Excelsior’s occupants explain why they’ve landed on Earth-616. But like the Kangs, the resolution may be brief and jokey as Sam and Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) agree Doom is a common enemy and more important than a trademark issue.
The Ten Rings Signal Into Space
Introduced In: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Will It Be Resolved? Quite likely
As one of the earliest Multiverse Saga films, Shang-Chi’s stinger scenes feature two intriguing teases. One: Shang-Chi’s (Simu Liu) sister, Xialing (Meng’er Zhang), continuing the Ten Rings as a criminal enterprise. The mid-credits tease, though, seemingly had cosmic implications as the actual Ten Rings — now in Shang-Chi’s possession — were found to be broadcasting a signal into space so concerning that Sorcerer Supreme Wong (Benedict Wong), Bruce Banner, and Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) held a conference at Kamar-Taj to discuss it with Shang-Chi and Katy (Awkwafina). But four years on, the signal continues to ping across the universe.
While we doubt this stinger will be resolved in the short-term or before Secret Wars, it will eventually receive some sort of follow-up as Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton is on good terms with the studio, currently helming Spider-Man: Brand New Day and producing the upcoming Wonder Man Disney+ series.
Then again, it is possible the signal could have been a forewarning of the Excelsior all along and a simple way to resolve the plot before Cretton finally returns to the long-delayed Shang-Chi sequel.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is currently in theaters.
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