Published Feb 8, 2026, 9:16 AM EST
Zoë Miskelly is an editor and second in command for Screen Rant's Movies team, having covered the entertainment industry for almost 10 years now. Zoë's love of superheroes and all things Marvel & DC started out in childhood, and has blossomed into a career getting to talk about some of the biggest and best movies and shows of all time, having previously focused on comics while working at WhatCulture.
The perfect Avengers: Secret Wars story for the Hulk and Steve Rogers was already revealed by Marvel a full decade ago. It's safe to say that Avengers: Secret Wars will be one of the single most important movies in the history of the superhero genre, whatever path the movie takes and however it eventually fares, since it's essentially the Avengers: Endgame of the Multiverse Saga.
That said, Avengers: Secret Wars does have a major trick up its sleeve in terms of the source material it can pull from, since the 1980s and 2010s Secret Wars comic runs both have stellar moments and stories to utilize, alongside plenty of striking spinoff releases. As it stands, this final category appears to set up a particularly promising precedent for the Hulk and Steve Rogers, as two of the MCU's original Avengers, and figures who would logically play major roles in Secret Wars itself.
Steve Rogers & The Hulk's 2015 Secret Wars Comic Story Would Adapt Perfectly Into Avengers: Secret Wars
While we know Avengers: Secret Wars will presumably draw at least in part from the two comic runs of the same name, the vast cast set to appear in the climax of the Multiverse Saga suggests the franchise will also take inspiration from much more than that. Interestingly, this means one comic that focuses on two central MCU heroes - that of the Hulk and first Captain America Steve Rogers - seems all the more pertinent for it.
Planet Hulk: Warzones! is a spinoff of the 2015 Secret Wars comic run, and currently ties very well into the existing landscape the MCU has built for itself, with the comic's central story revolving around a version of Steve Rogers and the Hulk joining forces in the Doctor Doom-ruled Battleworlds, and Steve seeking to try and rescue Bucky Barnes after the pair were parted.
There are aspects of the comic's story that would likely be cut for simplicity's sake - like Rogers working with Devil Dinosaur - and similarly some key plot beats that would seem very likely to be cut here also, like Steve's Hulk ally turning out to be a Steve Rogers variant, and Bucky's bleak fate in the comic. However, this would be in line with the MCU's general approach to adapting source material to begin with, especially when it comes to the Russo brothers' previous MCU installments.
Given Steve is confirmed to be returning in Doomsday, that it would be an utter waste to not reunite him with Bucky or have his arc revolve around his best friend, that Doctor Doom's story seems set to have him rule the Battleworlds, and that the Hulk the comic Steve teams up with is Doc Green, who is a more articulate and coherent Hulk, much akin to the MCU's current iteration, it's easy to see how elements of this story could be perfect for Avengers: Secret Wars.
Why Combining The Hulk & Steve Rogers' Avengers: Secret Wars Stories Would Make Sense For The MCU
The decision to bring back both Chris Evans as Steve Rogers and Robert Downey Jr. in the role of Doctor Doom has raised some concerns about the MCU. Bringing back two of the MCU's biggest stars has led to criticisms that the franchise is overly relying on nostalgia for the early era of the MCU timeline, and that this decision could negatively impact later chapters of the interconnected universe.
However, both returns could be used to help solidify the MCU's path forward, so long as they are connected to ongoing narratives that will extend past Steve Rogers and Doctor Doom's own. For Steve Rogers, having his return strengthen the MCU arcs of both Bucky and the Hulk could work well in this vein, and allow these characters to have central moments in the film that could otherwise be harder to pull off.
It's also worth noting that Planet Hulk: Warzones! makes a point to show Sam Wilson as Captain America despite focusing more on Rogers, meaning that this particular storyline could work well if adapted into the MCU to ensure Rogers' return to the franchise also honors how the Captain America mantle has been passed over to its new bearer.
Altogether, given the current layout of the MCU, adapting at minimum aspects of this chapter of Marvel's Secret War comic history seems a solid way to make Avengers: Secret Wars both the kind of spectacle audiences are clamoring for going into the next two Avengers movies after Avengers: Endgame, and a movie that can help strengthen the franchise for its next steps too.
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