Warning: This post contains SPOILERS for She-Hulk episode 4!
The massive stakes of Avengers: Secret Wars are already being teased by Marvel in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, which indicates just how much bigger it will be than Avengers: Endgame. Less than three years after the release of the epic conclusion to the Infinity Saga, Marvel Studios finally confirmed when the Avengers will form again. The announcement of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, both for 2025 releases, came at San Diego Comic-Con to signal the end of the Multiverse Saga. Little else is known about Avengers: Secret Wars, but Marvel is already teasing the monumental nature of the multiverse event film.
Marvel's decision to adapt Secret Wars so quickly after Avengers: Endgame only increased the inevitable comparisons between the two event films. The latter wrapped up over a decade of storytelling that eventually became wrapped up in Thanos and the Infinity Stones. Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame raised the bar in terms of the threat facing the MCU heroes. Instead of just trying to protect Earth from Loki, Ultron, or themselves, Thanos threatened the entire galaxy. He succeeded in wreaking havoc throughout the cosmos by eliminating half of all life. But now Kang and Avengers: Secret Wars will make those stakes look quite small.
Related: Marvel's Making It Difficult To Get New Avengers In Phase 4
Marvel is already teasing just how much is at stake in Avengers: Secret Wars thanks to She-Hulk episode 4. The story deals with the improper use of sorcery and includes an ominous warning from Wong. The MCU's Sorcerer Supreme mentions that magic could lead to the destruction of all life. He says, "One man in the mortal realm has the ability to cause a ripple so great, it reverberates through every dimension. And that ripple through galaxies has the ability to destroy all life within the known and unknown universe." Kang might not be a magic user, but the same principle about how much damage one man can cause still applies. It is a subtle reminder that while Phase 3 wrapped up with a plot about the fate of Earth and the main MCU timeline, the Multiverse Saga and Avengers: Secret Wars should put the fate of the entire multiverse at stake.
As tempting as it might be for Marvel Studios to continually try to raise the stakes of the MCU, and the Avengers movies specifically, this must change after Avengers: Secret Wars. The Phase 6 capper is arguably as big as it gets for Marvel stories. The expected multiverse crossover with a powerful villain and unlimited opportunities for character cameos is the only way to top Avengers: Endgame. Raising Avengers: Secret Wars' stakes to threaten the entire multiverse is also a clear attempt to make the event feel bigger. Marvel seems to think that audiences will not accept anything less than bigger Avengers movies, as indicated by the decision to limit them to being the end of Sagas instead of Phases.
Marvel Studios seems to be missing the opportunity to return the Avengers franchise and the MCU at large to a smaller scale after Avengers: Endgame. Tackling Avengers: Secret Wars so quickly means that Marvel cannot attempt to go even bigger after Phase 6 right away. Regardless of what the next Saga is ultimately about, keeping a smaller focus would be a refreshing change. The overall stakes of the universe might not be as big, but the smaller scale can also mean more personal stories that give audiences a break from the same superhero storytelling cycle. Plus, it allows the MCU to build back up to a grand-scale event like Avengers: Secret Wars at a natural pace.
New episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law release on Thursdays on Disney+.