As Marvel closes in on the release of Avengers: Doomsday, there has been plenty of speculation over which characters could return to the MCU in some capacity. Given that the new story centers on the Secret Wars story by Jonathan Hickman and Esad T. Ribić from 2015, one name at the top of everyone’s list is the Mad Titan himself, Thanos. The character was last seen in the What If? series on Disney+, and his last film appearance was in Avengers: Endgame. Now, fans are hoping to see a comic-accurate cameo appearance of the Mad Titan in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday film.
While I think the original Secret Wars comic series was better than the Secret Wars, the latter did raise the stakes incredibly. The first Secret Wars was really just a way to sell toys. For anyone not up to date on the lore of this situation, Mattel, a toy company famous for Hot Wheels and Barbie, had approached Marvel with the idea of creating a major story around an upcoming toy line of Marvel characters. Originally titled Cosmic Champions, Mattel proposed the name Secret Wars, after internal testing showed a stronger reaction from kids to those particular words.
The series was a hit, and Marvel would eventually try to recreate that magic in 2015, but by adding a major twist. This time around, the Secret War was between Earth-616 and Earth-1610. In other words, it was a war between the regular Marvel comics universe and the Ultimate Marvel universe. The event marked the climactic end of the Ultimate Universe, which was revived in 2023. However, the new Ultimate Universe is designated Earth-6160 rather than Earth-1610.
During the 2015 version of Secret Wars, many different characters vied for the title of emperor of this crumbling world, but only one could win. The ultimate winner became one of the coolest characters in Marvel’s entire pantheon. In fact, the character was so damn cool, he’s actually the centerpiece of the tattoo sleeve I’m creating on my right arm. The name of the character is God Emperor Doom or God King Doom. He obtained the Infinity Gauntlet, sought and obtained an absurd amount of power, changed his robes to white, and oversaw the creation of Battleworld, which was comprised of every surviving piece of both universes, amassed into one giant terrestrial ball.
Thanos showed up to challenge Doom, and it didn’t go well. In fact, the entire battle lasted about two seconds, and the end of it was straight out of a Mortal Kombat game. Thanos shows up in an attempt to big-d**k Doom by telling him that he once controlled the Infinity Gauntlet, and could again if he wished. He orders Doom to call him Thanos, the Great Tyrant, and Doom casually rips his entire skeleton out of his body while delivering one of the coldest lines in all of comics: “That appears… untrue.”
This is easily one of the best moments in Marvel’s comic history, and fans still regard it as the greatest villain-on-villain moment. The image says everything, and it only needed three words to do so. In a fraction of a second, Doom eliminates not only his biggest rival at the moment but also one of the strongest characters in the Marvel pantheon. It was such a cool moment, and fans would love to see it take place in the upcoming films.
Brolin has now broken his silence on the possibility of his returning to the MCU in some capacity. In fact, rumors of his return are already returning. That said, the person reporting it, My Time to Shine Hello, is extremely unreliable and has a history of lying for clout. That said, Brolin threw fuel on the fire when Entertainment Tonight asked him about a potential return.
Josh Brolin might be dropping hints about a potential Thanos return in an upcoming ‘MCU’ Avengers movie 👀 pic.twitter.com/UMUML9RHBb
— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) November 10, 2025
“If Joe Russo comes to me, which he may have, I don’t know, and has an idea, then I might acquiesce.”
Would you like to see Thanos return? Would you want him to return if all that happened was him getting wrecked exactly like it happened in the comics, or would you want him around in a larger capacity? To me, it doesn’t make much sense to bring him back just to kill him again for fan service. I mean, he was already dead. Did you need to bring him back to kill him again?
I don’t mind if they kill him off down the line, but let the man have more time in the sun if you’re going to bring him back. The dynamic of Thanos and Doom alone would be worth it. Imagine the Avengers having to face off against Doom, Thanos, Ten Rings, and the Sinister Six. It would be a nightmare for the heroes, and so much fun for the audience. Let us know what you think in the comments.
