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“Avengers: Doomsday” appears to be (loosely) adapting the comic arc “Avengers: Time Runs Out,” where the heroes of the Marvel universe struggle against “Incursions” tearing apart reality. As “Time Runs Out” did, “Doomsday” will lead into “Secret Wars,” where Victor von Doom (Robert Downey Jr.) has reassembled the fragments of a broken multiverse into a new realm he reigns over as God.
“Doomsday” had the stated approval of Jonathan Hickman, writer of “Time Runs Out” (drawn by many different artists) and “Secret Wars” (drawn by Esad Ribic). Speaking to Bleeding Cool, Hickman explained he has been acting as a script consultant for Marvel Studios.
“[I] read almost all the movies that they’re making while they’re in development. So, it has been fascinating watching that change over the past two and a half years since I’ve been reading scripts for it,” he said, praising the Russo Brothers, Downey Jr., and “Doomsday” co-writer Stephen McFeely. “Those guys are very, very nice to me and take care of me, I’m very excited about what they’re working on. I have not seen a final cut or anything like that. I’ve seen work in progress and all and whatnot. But I think they’re really excited about it.”
Going back to the days of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Steve Ditko, Marvel hasn’t always done right by its freelance talent. Perhaps most notably, “The Winter Soldier” comic story writer Ed Brubaker has voiced strong displeasure with how Marvel has compensated him for his impact. But Hickman’s words suggest the Marvel Studios higher-ups at least want to hear his input, even if he’s not getting final cut over any movies. The Russo Brothers and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige recently penned glowing forewords for “Marvel Premier” rereleases of “Time Runs Out” and “Secret Wars” as well, respectively.
Jonathan Hickman is Marvel’s go-to writer
Marvel using Jonathan Hickman as a consultant on its films aligns with his unofficial role at Marvel Comics as the company’s franchise fixer — the architect who designs new publishing initiatives to excite readers and fix books with problems. How’d he get his role?Â
Hickman’s first ongoing series at Marvel was “Secret Warriors.” On the back of that, he then got “Fantastic Four,” and then “Avengers” in 2012 (i.e. the same year the “Avengers” movie came out, so that was a premier assignment). Hickman is known for his intricate and long-spanning plotting. He has a degree in architecture, and you can tell from his storytelling.
His stories often center on conspiracies of “great” people shaping civilization. You can see that in how his Marvel series build-on each other. “Secret Wars” is a culmination of everything since “Secret Wars.” Take how Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four is part of the Illuminati in “New Avengers,” and Doctor Doom turns out to be the twist villain in “Time Runs Out.” Indeed, “Secret Wars” is not truly an “Avengers” story, it’s more a culmination of the Fantastic Four and Doom’s feud with Reed.
Hickman took a Marvel hiatus after “Secret Wars,” but Marvel wooed him back a couple years later to relaunch the X-Men. Left out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe due to movie rights’ issues, the X-Men had been neglected and needed a relaunch. Hickman took the job because “X-Men” was the only Marvel comic he read as a kid. Yes, how that’s for irony: Marvel’s premier writer was more of a DC fan in childhood. “Time Runs Out” and “Secret Wars” even show that, unfolding like a slow-motion version of DC’s 1985-1986 multiverse-smashing crossover “Crisis on Infinite Earths” by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez.
What Jonathan Hickman and Marvel are currently up to
Jonathan Hickman has said that had to learn to research the Fantastic Four before writing them. As he wrote the FF, he zeroed in on how Reed Richards is a man who solves problems. The difference between how Richards and Doom fix things is the throughline that carried into “Secret Wars.” Hickman fixed “X-Men” by knowing the book. His launch title, “House of X/Powers of X” (drawn by Pepe Larraz and R.B. Silva), was a massive re=contextualizing of “X-Men” history, predicated on a twist that the X-Men’s human friend Moira MacTaggert was actually a mutant with reincarnation powers.
Ultimately, Hickman did not get to finish his planned X-Men arc, much to his disappointment. His next initiative was the “Ultimate Universe,” launched in 2023, rebooting Marvel’s classic heroes in a new continuity (as a revival of the “Ultimate Marvel” branding from a similar initiative from the 2000s). Hickman personally wrote “Ultimate Spider-Man,” making him one of the vaunted who has written all four of the big Marvel franchises. But the “Ultimate” universe similarly came to a somewhat abrupt end in 2026. Hickman has since said Marvel decided it preferred the “Ultimate” books as self-contained, re-printable evergreens instead of eternal ongoings.
Hickman’s latest initiative is the “Midnight Universe,” a functional replacement for the “Ultimate” Universe. This initiative takes the biggest Marvel heroes and adds a horror twist. Hickman’s own “Midnight X-Men” (drawn by Matteo Della Fonte) is about a shadow war between mutants and vampires.
It’s worth noting that Marvel Studios is rebooting the “X-Men” movies, and I don’t expect it to dive right into the weirder stuff from Hickman’s tenure. But, if he’s already a Marvel Studios consultant, Marvel could ask for much worse help in getting the MCU’s mutants right.
