MCU Phase 4: 5 Comic Book Storylines Marvel Must Avoid
We hate to tell you, but Secret Invasion just cannot work.
The MCU hasn't yet put a foot wrong when it comes to directly adapting comic book stories.
With massive comic events such as Civil War, The Winter Solider and Infinity War all getting the blockbuster treatment, it's easy to see Marvel looking for another big, audience-captivating event to adapt for the upcoming Phase 4, which is set to commence with the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home next July.
Perhaps these stories are far smaller in scale? Iron Man's hauntingly personal Demon In A Bottle story influenced Robert Downey Jr.'s performance significantly in Iron Man 3, and Spider-Man's 'If This Be My Destiny' story inspired Spider-Man: Homecoming's most poignant moment.
For stories both colossal and intimate, the MCU has shown due respect when adapting from the pages of their rich comic history. However, there are some comic stories that are just so far-fetched, so bizarre, and so outright confusing that we can only hope the MCU doesn't give them as much as an easter egg in the upcoming fourth phase - for their sake, and ours.
5. World War Hulk
While a lot of elements of the World War Hulk story have already been put to film in Thor: Ragnarok, and the MCU's Hulk appears to be far less monstrous and brutal than his comic book counterpart, World War Hulk still feels like an incredibly likely story to be adapted in the future of the MCU - and it would be a huge mistake if it was.
If there’s one thing the MCU likes, it’s the status-quo - even the universe-encompassing repercussions of Infinity War were dulled by the promise of a follow up and news that several of the film’s fallen heroes have sequels in the works.
This is why, for better or worse, an adaptation of World War Hulk would be a massive detriment to the commercial viability of the MCU. The story, in the briefest of summaries, concerns Hulk losing his loved ones to a bomb indirectly built by Tony Stark and Reed Richards, and bringing war to Planet Earth with an army behind him.
One of the most iconic Hulk stories to date, World War Hulk would make for an inarguably interesting film in the MCU, but unfortunately one that will never see the light of day. For all its radical character development, deaths, and repercussions, World War Hulk would shake up the committee-mandated blockbuster factory that is the MCU just far too much for Disney’s liking, and it's easy to see why.