Is Marvel’s Empyre a Snapshot of the MCU’s Future?

Marvel Comics is wasting no time getting the hype train rolling for their annual summer event. In the same vein as iconic events of past years like Civil War, Infinity, and Secret Invasion, 2020’s big comic blockbuster is Empyre, a massive crossover story that sees the Avengers and Fantastic Four team up to face the combined might of the Skrull and Kree. Even though those alien empires have long warred, they’ve now been unified under a common ruler in Hulkling, a former Young Avenger with both Skrull and Kree heritage, who has risen up to claim his throne. Funny thing is, that plot synopsis has a lot of elements that are expected to eventually show up in the MCU, in one form or another. This isn’t to say that every Marvel Comic solely exists to be adapted for the MCU, but it’s not uncommon for big-ticket comics to introduce elements that become part of the movies -- for example, 2013’s Infinity event introduced the Black Order, who went on to feature in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame -- and that may be what’s going on here. While Phase 4 of the MCU has already been laid out by Kevin Feige, Phase 5 and beyond is still a mystery -- so let's examine the teams, conflicts, and characters of Empyre to see what we can learn about what may be coming in the MCU. You can consume this content by flipping through the slideshow below or keep scrolling to read it as an article. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=5-clues-to-the-future-of-the-mcu-from-marvels-empyre-event&captions=true"]

Avengers + Fantastic Four

With the Infinity Saga wrapping up what is essentially a decade-long Avengers tale, the team is taking a break, which is why the Avengers don’t have a movie in Phase 4. Feige has said that the next Avengers film is already being worked on, but there are few details on what it’ll be about. Empyre may offer a hint given that it features a big team-up between the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. The rights to make a Fantastic Four movie are now back at Marvel thanks to Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox, and Feige teased that a Fantastic Four project is now in the works, so perhaps Marvel’s First Family will meet Earth’s Mightiest Heroes for the first time when they show up to help with the cosmic threat of the Kree/Skrull. While the Avengers were able to combat the alien menace known as Thanos, they weren’t exactly in their element traveling through space and fighting aliens -- “Who here hasn’t been to space?” Rocket asks them, earning a paltry reply -- whereas the Fantastic Four are literally a team of adventuring astronauts who are at home with weird sci-fi stuff. It would make sense for these two superhero teams to combine forces if their next big battle will be fought among the stars. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/16/mortal-kombat-11-kombat-pack-the-joker-official-gameplay-trailer"]

Kree + Skrull

And it definitely seems like the MCU is headed spaceward. The Kree and Skrulls were both established in Captain Marvel as two warring alien races, but their war was left unresolved by the end of the film. In the present day, Nick Fury was shown hanging out in a Skrull space station (as seen in the end credits scene of Spider-Man: Far From Home), so it certainly seems like Feige is setting the stage for the next big MCU conflict to take place in space and for the Skrulls to play a key part. Where is this all leading? Well, if Empyre is anything to go by, then we could see the next phase of the Kree/Skrull war take an unexpected twist where those opposing factions forge a pact… and set their sights on Earth.

Young Avengers

The centerpiece of Empyre is the Kree/Skrull hybrid Hulkling aka Teddy Altman, but he has yet to make his MCU debut. There has yet to be any official word on when or even if the character will be introduced, but he may very well be coming down the pipeline because it looks like the table is currently being set for the eventual debut of his signature team, the Young Avengers. Again, there’s been no announcement for a Young Avengers show or anything like that, but when you look at the slate of MCU shows coming to Disney+, it does paint a pretty clear picture of that team -- what with the Hawkeye show featuring Kate Bishop, WandaVision showing the Scarlet Witch and Vision starting a family that could produce Wiccan and Speed, and Loki potentially introducing a reset of the character in young Loki, not to mention Cassie Lang was aged up in Endgame so she can now take on the mantle of the size-changing Stature. Captain Marvel already established the ongoing Kree/Skrull war, and in the comics Teddy’s alien parents met because of that war, so given all of the groundwork has been laid for the character’s introduction, it feels like it’s only a matter of time before we meet MCU Hulkling -- and we see the formation of the Young Avengers. While the Young Avengers are a superhero team that has operated for years in the comics, we’re now seeing where Hulkling’s story ultimately leads thanks to Empyre. The MCU could very well head in the same direction down the road. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/16/star-wars-breaking-down-the-duels-the-last-jedi"]

The Next "Infinity Gauntlet"

With the Infinity Saga all wrapped up and the Infinity Stones destroyed, the MCU is without an all-powerful MacGuffin for the heroes and villains to fight over. In the lead-up to Empyre, an item of great power known as the Eternity Mask has been unveiled. It’s an admittedly weird magical artifact made from the body of Eternity itself that grants the user the same strength as anyone they face in combat -- a great equalizer that would let a mere mortal take down a god. Then again, a sparkly magic mask is no less weird than a collection of rainbow rocks that can alter the universe, so who’s to say that the MCU wouldn’t introduce the Eternity Mask in a future phase?

Supporting Heroes

If you need even more proof that Empyre may indeed have ties to the future of the MCU, just look at the supporting heroes. For starters, the newly released Empyre #1 cover features not only the standard members of the Avengers and Fantastic Four, but also She-Hulk (who is getting her own Disney+ series and will likely cross over into the MCU movies) and Black Panther (who is now one of the most prominent figures of the MCU after the departure of the old guard). Granted, She-Hulk and Black Panther have been members of both the Avengers and the F4, so it’s not like they have no business being among those teams on the cover, but their prominence and inclusion is notable nonetheless. Also, we just learned that Wolverine and Spider-Man will temporarily be rejoining the Fantastic Four thanks to the events of Empyre. Sony and Marvel made a deal to co-produce one more MCU Spidey solo film and include Spidey in one other MCU film, so the Wall-Crawler’s future is admittedly murky beyond that, but if the MCU does follow the Empyre roadmap, we could potentially see Spider-Man join the F4 just like in the comics. We know that an MCU X-Men film is in the works, and it feels like a given that Wolverine will be a huge part of the MCU in a few years, so Empyre could be Marvel’s way of finding a way to bring Spidey, the X-Men, the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four all together for the superhero movie crossover to end all superhero movie crossovers. Empyre #1 releases from Marvel Comics in April, so we’ll just have to wait and see. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=watchmen-all-the-comic-book-references-in-the-hbo-series&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joshua is Senior Features Editor at IGN. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.