Kevin Feige Reveals the Marvel Comic Behind Avengers: Doomsday’s Epic Storyline

Despite its upcoming release this year, Avengers: Doomsday remains shrouded in mystery. While fans know the film will feature Steve Rogers, Thor, the X-Men, and the Wakandans, even last year’s teasers were cryptic “stories” and “clues” rather than direct scenes from the movie. Until now, the specific Marvel Comics adaptation powering the film’s plot has been unknown.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly after debuting footage at CinemaCon, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige shed light on the central storyline. “We’re not talking too much about story,” he said, “but I think people know that the story of Doomsday is inspired by a very famous comic run in which universes are colliding and earths encounter one another and different timelines encounter one another.”

Feige was referencing Secret Wars, the 2015 comic series written by Jonathan Hickman and illustrated by Esad Ribić. More precisely, he pointed to the buildup to Secret Wars, which began in 2013 with Hickman’s run on Avengers and New Avengers.

The Illuminati and the Threat of Incursions

The New Avengers series introduced the Illuminati, a secretive group of the Marvel Universe’s most brilliant and influential figures: Iron Man, Reed Richards, Namor, Black Bolt, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Professor X, and (initially) Captain America. After discovering Incursions—catastrophic collisions between Earths from different universes that erase both realities—the Illuminati took extreme measures to prevent the end of all existence, even destroying another world to save their own.

MCU Connections to Hickman’s Run

Elements of Hickman’s New Avengers have already appeared in the MCU. A variation of the Illuminati debuted in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which ends with Clea (Charlize Theron) recruiting Stephen Strange to stop Incursions. Additionally, Samuel Sterns’ warning to Sam Wilson in Captain America: Brave New World echoes a New Avengers plotline, where a villainous version of the Illuminati begins attacking other realities.

While Hickman’s run on the mainline Avengers book hasn’t been prominently featured in the MCU, its influence is undeniable. In the comics, after Steve Rogers objects to the Illuminati’s extreme actions, the group erases his memory of their deeds, including the existence of Incursions. Guilt-ridden, Tony Stark teams with Rogers to launch the Avengers Machine, a massive, planet-spanning version of the team.

Avengers: Doomsday’s Multiversal Showdown

The cast of Avengers: Doomsday suggests the MCU is building its own Avengers Machine. While the New Avengers (now operating as the Thunderbolts under Valentina Allegra de Fontaine) and Sam Wilson’s Avengers remain at odds, they will likely unite to confront Doctor Doom. With additional heroes from other realities—including the Fantastic Four and the Fox X-Men—the film promises a multiversal lineup capable of facing Doom, one of the greatest threats the Marvel Universe has ever known.