We all know comic book characters love to return from the dead. It's kind of their thing. There was that time Kamala Khan died as an Inhuman only to be revived as a Mutant later on, and we can't forget how Spidey is the protagonist of a story called The Eight Deaths of Spider-Man where — you guessed it — he has been biting the dust over and over again. Even characters whose deaths were permanent have found a way to make a comeback through time travel or alternate realities (looking at you Gwen Stacy). No matter what way we see it, no one is truly gone in Marvel comics.
So far, history has been a little bit different in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Iron Man, Black Widow, Quicksilver, Yondu, and Odin are all truly gone. However, that doesn't mean there haven't been a few exceptions here and there such as Phil Coulson or Loki. Furthermore, big comebacks will be even more common as we get closer to the release of Avengers: Secret Wars — a movie that will heavily deal with the multiverse starring many variants of our favorite characters. Anyone could show up once again to save the day.... or to cause more trouble, as evidenced by a new report.
Thanos might return during the events of Avengers: Secret Wars
According to renowned insider Alex Perez (via The Cosmic Circus), Marvel has plans for old villains to reappear in Avengers: Secret Wars. And wouldn't you know it, but one of them is the Mad Titan himself. However, it's worth noting that this version of Thanos might be different from the one audiences witnessed turn into dust during the events of Avengers: Endgame. So who could this new variant of the supervillain be?
Back in 2022, Marvel released a concept art for an upcoming Disney ride titled Avengers: Infinity Defense. In it, heroes across the multiverse will join forces to defeat "King Thanos" — a version of the Mad Titan who got ahold of the infinity stones and now is looking to rule every alternate reality in existence. Perhaps "King Thanos" — the most powerful character variant across the multiverse — will be the one to appear during the events of Avengers: Secret Wars. However, we know Doctor Doom is the main bad guy in the film, so why would Marvel feel the need to introduce yet another powerful antagonist? Well, because of a lack of time.
Doctor Doom wasn't initially intended to be the main villain of the Multiverse Saga. Instead, Kang was the mastermind pulling the strings behind the curtain from the get-go, and audiences discovered how fearsome he could be during the events of Loki and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Marvel was building him up to be the next big threat, but then the Jonathan Majors allegations resulted in a big change of plans. It was decided that Kang would exit the picture and that the ruler of Latveria would take his place.
There is just one big problem: Victor Von Doom hasn't even been name-dropped in the MCU so far. So how can Marvel expect audiences to fear him when they haven't had a chance to build his character up? Well, by having him kill an established threat that everyone is already familiar with, of course. It's a common (and slightly cheap) trope used in many different stories to position a villain as a true force to be reckoned with in no time. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 perfectly executed this concept by having Kraven kill villains players fought against during the previous game. Furthermore, Venom would later bite Kraven's head off to make him the next big bad to fear. Simple, yet effective.
During the events of Secret Wars (2015) No. 8, Doctor Doom ripped Thanos' spine from his body in a single move. So what if Marvel adapted that same moment on the big screen in a less "graphical" way to make Doctor Doom a formidable foe? Victor would get extra cool points if he were to take out a version of Thanos who succeeded in his mission to get all infinity stones and become the ruler of his universe. That way, the Mad Titan's return wouldn't simply be fan service, but it would serve a true purpose. Besides, wouldn't it be cool to see Robert Downey Jr. take Thanos out for a second time under very different circumstances? The first one was to save the world, and the upcoming one could be to doom it. Come on, Marvel, you know you want to do it.
Avengers: Secret Wars will be released on May 7, 2027.