You don't have to be a knowledgeable Marvel Comics fan to know that Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars hold all the potential to be two of the biggest movies of the decade. Just as it did in the previous decade with the Infinity Saga, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been telling an intricate story over the past five years and the double-act of Avengers movies will see that MCU story come to an end. Yes, it's clear that the Multiverse Saga will go out on a high.
That high is necessary, for the once-unstoppable franchise has struggled in multiple ways this time around, with some underperformers at the box office (and on streaming) as well as multiple negatively-received titles. One "bad" movie was inevitable, but multiple suggested a problem. And thus, the studio has upped the ante over the past year, making sure that each release counted and was the best that it could be in order to ensure that Doctor Doom's arrival is worth waiting for.
And yet, fans wondered if it might have felt a little rushed... particularly because the Marvel Studios franchise is adapting one of the most iconic comic book storylines without one of its most important characters.
Molecule Man won't be in Avengers: Doomsday despite his importance to the storyline in the comics
Molecule Man is a character that isn't all that well-known to mainstream audiences, but Marvel Comics fans know that he carries great importance. Owen Reece ends up being an integral part of the Secret Wars storyline in the source material, so fans were hoping that the MCU would feature him in its adaptation of the storyline. It appears that this won't be the case... at least not in the first of the two movies.
Veteran Marvel insider Alex Perez recently conducted his monthly Q&A with Marvel fans via The Cosmic Circus and, during the session, he was asked about whether Molecule Man would appear in Avengers: Doomsday. Perez replied with a simple "No."
That's a pretty definitive answer, especially considering that the scooper has held back on revealing specific elements of both Avengers movies and the future of the MCU in both this Q&A and previous ones. So, while all information that doesn't come from Marvel should be taken with a grain of salt, it's probably a safe bet to say that the MCU isn't adapting Molecule Man as all of the evidence suggests that the films are going to use elements of his story through different characters.
In the original Secret Wars storyline, Reece and his vast powers become a tool utilized by both Doctor Doom and the Beyonder during the titular event. However, somewhere along the line he decides that it's time to save the world and all of its heroes instead, making him a highly pivotal part of the story. Ever since Marvel Studios announced that it would be adapting the Secret Wars arc, fans have been concerned about the absence of Molecule Man, particularly because so much has shifted already (the studio's decision to move away from Kang the Conqueror has left Doom's arrival feeling a little underbaked). Would this end up going the same way?
There is a silver lining here. Marvel appears to have laid the groundwork for other characters and / or elements to fill the role of Molecule Man. On one hand, Deadpool and Wolverine established the idea of Anchor Beings in that, across each universe, there is one being that each respective universe would cease to exist without (the Anchor Being of Deadpool's world was the X-Men franchise's Wolverine). This is similar to how Secret Wars established Molecule Man's abilities - there were an infinite amount of Owen Reece variants across the multiverse and, if one died, so would the universe he is tied to.
Meanwhile, Marvel fans are also convinced that the MCU will see Doctor Doom attempt to harness Franklin Richards' powers in the way that he did Molecule Man's in the comics. The Fantastic Four: First Steps highlighted the immeasurable powers that Franklin possesses through Galactus' own desire to possess them, and it's clear that Doctor Doom will show an interest in them. If he truly reckons himself to be the savior of the Multiverse Saga, then he would no doubt be willing to go to any lengths to enact his vision - including using the powers of Sue Storm and Reed Richards' baby.
So, yes, it is concerning that the MCU seems to proceeding ahead with the Secret Wars storyline without Molecule Man, but as there are contingencies in place to allow the character's various story arcs to carry on without him, the studio could pull it off. And, honestly, using concepts and characters already established in earlier movies (like Anchor Beings and Franklin Richards) would generare more emotion from the audience than introducing a new all-powerful character at this point in time.
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