For MCU fans who are also fans of the comics, Avengers: Infinity War presents nearly endless questions and possibilities; there are so many elements from the source material that could possibly be adapted. Many fans of the comics are wondering if Black Panther will wield the Infinity Gauntlet. It's a valid query indeed, as the King of Wakanda dons the universal weapon in the pages of Marvel comics in 2015's Secret Wars story arc.
Black Panther has arguably become one of the most popular characters in the MCU, with his debut solo film raking in over a billion dollars at the box office. For this reason, it would not be remotely surprising if King T'Challa was given a disproportionately large role in the two-part Infinity War, especially because the precedent of Black Panther wearing the Infinity Gauntlet has been set (and he's not the only Marvel character to wear the Infinity Gauntlet, either).
The Secret Wars story arc of 2015 was straight-up nuts, as the title of this segment might suggest. A variety of Earth-616 heroes and villains - along with those of Marvel's Ultimate universe (Earth-1610) - manage to survive the destruction of almost the entire multiverse. They find themselves on a planet known as Battleworld, which is ruled by an omnipotent Doctor Doom, who has humbly rebranded himself God Emperor Doom.
The ultimate battle for this world takes place at the foot of Castle Doom, with entities like Galactus facing off against an equally giant version of the Thing, and an entire cadre of Thors fighting Maestro's army of Worldbreakers (AKA Hulks).
God Emperor Doom is so powerful that he rips Thanos's skeleton right out of the his body. The only person powerful enough to face him is someone also granted omnipotence. Enter Black Panther and the Infinity Gauntlet.
This Infinity Gauntlet belongs to the universe in which Doom's capital rests, Doomstadt, and it's here the epic battle takes place. Black Panther manages to kill God Emperor Doom with his ultra weapon, but Doom returns to life, as he truly is a god in this universe.
In order to understand how Black Panther comes to this point, it is important to go over the events of Secret Wars that lead to this Infinity Gauntlet-wielding moment.
The Beyonders are a race of extra-dimensional beings so powerful they broke the mind of the Living Tribunal. They are collectors of planets and have a museum to house the worlds they abduct.
Secret Wars begins as a result of the Beyonders playing something way beyond God. They kill the Living Tribunal and all the Celestials, as well as the abstract entities of the Marvel universe: Infinity, Eternity, Master Order, Lord Chaos, and the In-Betweener.
As Hank Pym discovers, the Beyonders are engaging in an experiment to destroy all life in the Marvel multiverse by using Molecule Man.
The Accident That Forges Molecule Man Is Precipitated By The Beyonders
Owen Reece was first introduced in Fantastic Four #20 in 1963 as a sniveling, weak nuclear power plant technician. One day, Reece accidentally sets off an experimental particle generator and gets blasted with radiation. Suddenly, Reece has profound psionic powers, capable of manipulating all matter and energy down to the molecular level. He fashions himself Molecule Man and becomes one of the Fantastic Four's greatest foes.
In 2015, Molecule Man was subjected to a retcon (as comic characters so often are), and now the Beyonders are responsible for the accident that created him; Molecule Man is their secret weapon to destroy the multiverse.
The Beyonders Want To Use Each Universe's Molecule Man To Destroy It Through Cosmic Events Called Incursions
The Beyonders create Molecule Man as a singularity, identical in every universe. Their plan is for all of them to die simultaneously, effectively acting as a bomb and destroying the multiverse.
Oddly enough, Molecule Man of Earth-616 is responsible for the incursion that threatens said Earth. He and Dr. Doom traverse time and space to come to another universe 25 years in the past. Molecule Man proves his real purpose by killing that universe's Molecule Man, which sets in motion the incursion that threatens Earth-616 in the future.
An incursion is an event in which two universes collide, and the Earths of each universe are the point of collision. Once an incursion begins, both Earths exist next to each other in space, but after eight hours they collide, destroying both universes.
Dr. Doom Manipulates The Situation To Create Battleworld And Become God Emperor Doom
When Molecule Man convinces Doom of the dangers he and his counterparts present, the two join forces with Doctor Strange to confront the Beyonders. They collect Molecule Men from across various universes to act as a bomb, which they use to successfully destroy the Beyonders.
What Strange and Molecule Man don't realize is that Doom turns the tables. Doom manipulates things so the "Molecule Men bomb" destroys most of the multiverse. Any resultant energy would transfer into "his" Molecule Man, which Doom himself could subsequently channel. Doom plans on using that energy to become extremely powerful and fashion a planet out of fragments of colliding universes called Battleworld.
Battleworld Is A Collection Of Incursions Knit Together
Battleworld is comprised of various domains, each representing the remains of a different universe. The domains are the incursion points that destroyed different realities. Each domain has a leader given the title Baron, with God Emperor Doom ruling the entire world.
Three domains, however, are off limits: the Deadlands, Perfection, and New Xandar. Alternate versions of recognizable heroes rule these various domains. Doom has a "police force" known as the Thor Corps (made up of various Thors), all overseen by Sheriff Strange, who is Doctor Strange of Earth-616. Strange and Doom work together on Battleworld, eradicating the memories of the inhabitants so they believe this is their true home and the first and only universe.
