Game-Changing House Of M Theory Would Set Up MCU's X-Men In A Genius Way

Doctor Strange 2 adapted a lot of the popular House of M comic book, but one major detail could be used in the future to introduce the MCU's X-Men.

WARNING: Spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

The MCU is faced with a problem concerning how best to introduce the X-Men into their wider universe, but in adapting the House of M comic books, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness may have teased the answer. The solution lies in the prospect of the multiverse – a concept first brought into the MCU in Loki before being expanded in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange 2. As the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand, the studio must tackle not only how to introduce a new hero, but where that character has been for many years.

This is a relatively simple problem in the case of origin stories, but no such narrative is possible for the X-Men. Until Disney’s acquisition of Fox, the absence of the X-Men in the MCU was been a purely contractual difficulty, with the former studio releasing each mutant-centric live-action film from 2000’s X-Men to 2019’s X-Men: Dark Phoenix. Now holding the rights, the MCU must introduce these characters while also explaining their historical absence from Earth-616, the franchise’s main universe.

Rather than excusing the absence of the X-Men in a manner similar to The Eternals, who couldn’t get involved in events that did not concern their wider goal, a more productive model for introducing the mutants would be for the MCU to continue to adapt the House of M comic storyline. This was started by Doctor Strange 2, particularly in the role of the Illuminati members, but the franchise is yet to utilize the storyline to its full potential. By exploring Wanda’s manipulation of the multiverse, the MCU could ultimately reveal that universe-616 has been a fake, fabricated by Wanda, and the notable absentees such as the X-Men and Fantastic 4 have been in the genuine reality all along.

Doctor Strange 2 Introduced Multiversal Travel

The prospect of the multiverse has grown throughout MCU Phase 4, but Doctor Strange 2 provided the deepest insight into how characters may travel between universes in the future. In a conversation with universe-838’s Baron Mordo, the sorcerer introduces the concept of dreamwalking, a spell found in the Darkhold which allows the caster to possess the body of one of their variants in another universe. However, dreamwalking is unsafe and risks producing an incursion event that could destroy both universes in the process.

A simpler method of multiversal travel was introduced in America Chavez’s powers, which allow her to break gateways between universes. Formerly uncertain of how to use her abilities for good, Doctor Strange 2 ended with the hero grasping the potential of her powers and using them to show the Scarlet Witch the consequences of her dreamwalking actions. Both methods of multiversal travel expand the scope of the MCU, demonstrating that the universe is wider than that shown in MCU Phases 1-3.

Doctor Strange 2 Used Lots Of House Of M’s Story

Marvel Studios’ adaptations of the comics are rarely as clear-cut as simply transferring the story to the screen, and Doctor Strange 2’s use of House of M is no exception. The comic sees Wanda struck by grief after losing control of her powers, killing Hawkeye, Ant-Man, and Vision in the process. She fabricates a world in which she and Vision are happily together with children of their own, and mutants hold the power over humans.

Many of these elements were translated into Doctor Strange 2. Wanda’s navigation of her grief, first explored in WandaVision, is closer in line with the House of M storyline as after experiencing the presence of her children in Westview, the Scarlet Witch seeks to manipulate the universe to get them back. The same can be said for Wanda’s use of chaos magic throughout the film–a prominent element of the comic which sees Wanda using her unrivaled magical abilities to manipulate the world to her fancy.

House of M Can Reveal MCU Universe As A Fake

The Scarlet Witch’s ability to effectively create a new universe in her image is an integral part of the House of M storyline and, despite playing a role in WandaVision’s town of Westview, it was not adapted to a larger scale in Doctor Strange 2. In the comics, the heroes have their memories distorted by Wanda’s fabricated universe, forgetting their lives in the main universe before it. If the MCU was to adapt this important element of the comics, then it could reveal the franchise’s universe-616 to be a fake, created by Wanda—or an even greater power.

Switching MCU Universes Could Introduce Fantastic Four & X-Men

The prospect that the main universe of the MCU has always been a fake would provide the franchise with the perfect opportunity to introduce characters which have previously seemed impossible. Both the Fantastic Four and the X-Men should have played large roles in Phase-defining events such as Avengers: Endgame and the death of Tiamut in Eternals, yet neither of these groups were to be seen. A standard introduction would be forced to address this issue, but by revealing that the main universe of the MCU has been a fake, then the franchise could overcome this hurdle and suggest that the heroes have been there all along.

In this adaptation, both the Fantastic Four and the X-Men could be revealed to be living in the proper MCU while the other heroes have merely been in a fabricated world. Alternatively, the groups may have been excluded from Wanda’s model in an act of defiance – much like how the Scarlet Witch banishes mutants from her perfect world in House of M. Either way, shifting the narrative away from universe-616 would enable the franchise to introduce new heroes while completely changing the structure of the MCU in the process.

After the events of Avengers: Endgame, many have wondered what the next big reveal will be for the MCU. Kang the Conqueror appears to be the most obvious choice for the franchise’s next main antagonist and the multiverse holds a multitude of possibilities for how it can expand to address casting reboots and former plot holes. If the MCU is to face the challenge of introducing the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, however, then Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness lays all the groundwork for House of M’s universal rug-pull to become a reality.