Genius Loki Theory Explains How Secret Wars Ends The MCU’s Multiverse

The first trailer for Loki season 2 has sparked a theory that Avengers: Secret Wars could bring the MCU’s multiverse to a satisfying end. Loki season 2 was confirmed in the final episode of the series’ first season, and although several delays pushed back Marvel Studios’ Disney+ projects, the season is now expected to release on October 6, 2023. The majority of the main cast is set to return, as Loki season 2 will delve deeper into the concept of the MCU’s multiverse and develop Kang the Conqueror’s story before Phase 6 wraps up the Multiverse Saga with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027.

Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, Owen Wilson’s Mobius M. Mobius, and Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror (as his Victor Timely variant) returned in the first trailer for Loki season 2, released on July 31, 2023. As well as teasing an epic multiverse-spanning adventure for the God of Mischief and the Time Variance Authority (TVA), Loki’s season 2 trailer hinted at several new exciting storylines for the MCU’s future. The trailer has spurred speculation concerning season 2’s storyline and its significance in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, with one theory in particular suggesting Loki season 2 could pave the way for Kang the Conqueror’s eventual defeat in Avengers: Secret Wars.

During the Loki season 2 trailer, Owen Wilson suited up in a retro-inspired spacesuit and began to head out toward a strange new device that has never before been seen in the MCU. This massive piece of machinery seemed to be collecting various streams of energy and compiling them into one consistent stream. Resembling the Sacred Timeline in Loki season 1, this image could also be seen on a screen in the TVA earlier in the trailer, which saw Loki time-slip into a room and come face-to-face with himself. It’s possible this could be the “Time Loom” that has been rumored to appear in the upcoming series.

The device is rumored to be a sort of power generator for the TVA. However, the appearance of this device in Loki’s season 2 trailer has sparked theories concerning the multiverse as a whole, with some suggesting it could be pivotal to the events of Avengers: Secret Wars. Not much is known about Secret Wars’ storyline in the MCU, but one convincing theory suggested by Reddit user AgentSmith2518 poses that the Avengers’ control over the multiverse will be key, and this could all start with Loki season 2.

The Avengers May Force The Multiverse Together In Secret Wars

The Reddit theory suggests that several different timelines could be converged into a new Sacred Timeline, reminiscent of the Sacred Timeline first demonstrated in Loki season 1. In the MCU’s Phase 4, the Sacred Timeline was explained as the product of He Who Remains, a variant of Kang the Conqueror who had won the multiversal war and ensured that no further variants of himself could wreak havoc. Sylvie and Loki’s actions in Loki’s season 1 finale meant that the Sacred Timeline was destroyed, leading to several multiversal adventures in projects such as Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

This leads to the theory pondering that the Avengers could combine the multiverse into one timeline in Avengers: Secret Wars, perhaps using the new device from Loki’s season 2 trailer. This would be a great way for Marvel Studios to accurately adapt Marvel Comics’ Secret Wars event, which saw the multiverse’s destruction in 2015, causing Battleworld to be created. On Battleworld, beings from a number of universes existed in the same space, and if the Avengers combine the multiverse into one stream in Avengers: Secret Wars, this can occur in live-action, with characters from a number of realities being drawn into one universe.

MCU Theory Makes Kang’s Defeat Easier For The Avengers

If this theory is correct, the question then stands as to why the Avengers would force the multiverse into one timeline in Avengers: Secret Wars. Since Kang the Conqueror has been set up as the Multiverse Saga’s overarching villain, however, he could provide the perfect answer to this question. The theory notes that the Avengers could combine the multiverse into a Battleworld-style setting in order to eliminate several of his variants and make him easier to defeat. This would make Kang the Conqueror the primary villain of Avengers: Secret Wars, whereas many had previously suspected he would be defeated in the prior Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.

Many variants of Kang the Conqueror have already been introduced to the MCU, including He Who Remains in Loki season 1 and Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Quantumania also introduced the Council of Kangs, comprising Immortus, Rama-Tut, the Scarlet Centurion, and hundreds more variants. Kang’s many variants pose a significant threat to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, as he can be defeated multiple times but always return nonetheless. If the Avengers use Loki season 2’s new device to combine the multiverse into one stream in Secret Wars, Kang may be easier to defeat, as not all his variants would remain.

Marvel Studios’ Secret Wars Adaptation Needs To Make Sense For The MCU

It’s thought that Avengers: Secret Wars will be taking inspiration from Marvel Comics’ 2015 Secret Wars event, as this storyline saw the multiverse destroyed by a catastrophic incursion, which has been teased in the live-action MCU. Marvel Comics’ Secret Wars saw Battleworld created by Doctor Doom with the power of the Beyonders, but since this villain hasn’t yet been introduced to the MCU, Marvel Studios needs to shift the focus onto another prominent villain. Kang the Conqueror is the perfect candidate, as he has already been built up as a prevalent threat in the Multiverse Saga, so Secret Wars could continue the story of its predecessor, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.

Making this change from the Marvel Comics source material would enable Avengers: Secret Wars to stay more relevant to the story of the MCU, which has always made drastic changes from the comics. In the same way that Loki season 1 impacted the story of the MCU’s Phase 4, Loki season 2 could do the same for Phases 5 and 6, introducing a key element in the Avengers’ battle against Kang the Conqueror. This would also be a strong way for Marvel Studios to explain the multiverse coming together into one Battleworld-style location, allowing multiple characters from a variety of Marvel movie franchises to exist in the same space.

Avengers: The Kang Dynasty May Repeat Infinity War’s Best Trick

Currently, it’s unclear how connected Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars will actually be. When the projects were first announced by Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige at SDCC 2022, there was only a few months between their releases, but recent delays mean that there is now a full year between them, which could allow for more separation between the two crossover films. While this may suggest they’ll be telling two completely different stories, the connection between the Infinity Saga’s Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame (which also had a year between them) could be mirrored in the MCU’s Phase 6.

If the Avengers combine the multiverse’s many realities into one in Secret Wars to make it easier to defeat Kang the Conqueror, this suggests a clear through-line in Phase 6’s two Avengers movies. This means that Avengers: The Kang Dynasty could repeat Infinity War’s best trick: ending on a dramatic cliffhanger that leaves audiences guessing for a full year before the sequel’s release. If The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars repeat this trick on the heels of the TVA’s tech in Loki, the MCU’s Phase 6 could be just as intense.

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