Avengers: Secret Wars Teaser Comes With a Bombshell Character Reveal, But There's a Catch

1 month ago 10

Annie Banks is a Rotten Tomatoes–approved critic, and CBR editor and writer specializing in anime, comics, and superheroes. Their work has also appeared in Collider and The Mary Sue, where they covered pop culture, fandoms, and entertainment trends. A lifelong fan whose love for storytelling began with Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Annie blends critical insight with genuine passion for geek culture, from sci-fi to K-pop.

Disney attempted to give their first look at Avengers: Secret Wars with a brand-new poster, yet a dire mistake was made when marketing one of Marvel's major movie events.

During a showcase in São Paulo, Brazil, Disney incorporated a fan-made Avengers: Secret Wars poster into their official breakdown for upcoming projects, consequentially confusing fans. The fan art teased a cataclysmic event of multiversal multiudes while incorporating two new characters that haven't been seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe before: the Beyonder and Miles Morales. The poster was put on display alongside posters for Frozen 3 and The Incredibles 3, yet something peculiar caught skeptics' eyes. The depiction of Miles Morales is from Insomniac's Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, showing the web-slinger mid-thwip, per the video game's gameplay and art. Brazilian entertainment website Omelete confirms that this poster is unofficial. It's been determined that Disney has used fan art as a key part of their presentation.

Not only is this a deeply amateurish and embarrassing mistake on Disney's end, their carelessness is concerning. The fact that Disney was able to include a fan-made poster in a presentation that assumed was viewed countless times isn't exactly comforting about Marvel's marketing strategy moving forward. Fans have shared their concerns about the overall quality of Marvel Studios post-Avengers: Endgame, and Avengers: Secret Wars' fan-made poster isn't arguing in the superhero conglomerate's favor in terms of trustworthiness. On the Reddit thread dedicated to Marvel Studios discussion, r/marvelstudios, fans broke their silence about the greatly misleading poster that promises two characters that probably won't make an appearance at all.

"Also uses the Beyonder, not likely to happen. It also looks like Insomniac Miles' box art render flipped, and randomly just including Captain America as if we know he's going to be in Secret Wars, so yeah, definitely not official Secret Wars artwork," Reddit user Spider_Boyo commented. "Disney using fan posters at official events is wild. Either marketing is lazy or they’re quietly testing what hype characters people actually want," user sugarplumechoo added.

Will Miles Morales And The Beyonder Really Be In Avengers: Secret Wars?

Miles Morales as Spider-Man in Into the Spider-Verse

As most reports covering Disney's major mix-up have reiterated, the Avengers: Secret Wars poster chosen by Disney isn't Marvel's official marketing material, and was created by a fan. Thus, any implication that Miles or the Beyonder will share the screen with others during yet another Avengers sequel probably rings full of false hope, and is simply meaningless. It's unknown what Marvel and Disney's intentions were when using this poster outside the need for some sort of imagery for Avengers: Secret Wars, yet it still remains to be wildly disappointing that they'd opt to use a fan's creation instead of investing in their own resources to conjure up a legitimate poster.

Not much is known about Miles' or the Beyonder's live-action future. Sony Pictures Animation's Spider-Verse saga has been keen to keep Miles as its central protagonist, and prepares to head into the trilogy's concluding chapter, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. The only significant hint that alludes to Miles being present in the Marvel Cinematic Univese can be traced back to Spider-Man: Homecoming, where Donald Glover's Aaron Davis is given a moment of screen time. Otherwise known as the Prowler, Aaron Davis is Miles' uncle, à la Uncle Ben Parker style. However, Glover has been absent from the MCU since his cameo, meaning that the video game artwork seen on the unconfirmed Avengers: Secret Wars poster shouldn't be taken literally.

Avengers: Secret Wars arrives in theaters on Dec. 17., 2027.