In the most explosive multiverse twist yet, Marvel has officially confirmed that Avengers: Doomsday opens with a brutal incursion event: the X-Men invading Tobey Maguire’s iconic Spider-Man universe to stop a catastrophic raid, even if it means obliterating his entire reality. The film, set for December 18, 2026, under the Russo brothers’ direction, wastes no time establishing the stakes—heroes from different worlds aren’t uniting; they’re clashing in a desperate battle for survival where one universe’s salvation is another’s doom.
The sequence, described in leaks now corroborated by multiple insiders and early production teases, begins with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine leading the charge. The clawed mutant, fresh from Deadpool & Wolverine, is the first to attack Maguire’s Spider-Man in a visceral, claw-vs-web showdown that fans have dreamed about for over two decades. Jackman’s Logan, hardened by his own timeline’s losses, sees Maguire’s Peter Parker as a threat during the incursion chaos—heroes fighting to preserve their worlds at any cost. The fight is raw and personal: Wolverine’s berserker rage against Spider-Man’s acrobatic agility, claws slashing through webs in a rain-soaked New York street that blends Raimi’s classic style with Fox’s gritty mutant aesthetic.
But Spider-Man doesn’t fight alone. Alfred Molina officially returns as Doctor Octopus, upgraded with arc reactor technology scavenged from Stark tech remnants in his universe. Doc Ock’s mechanical arms, now powered by a glowing arc reactor core, allow him to match the X-Men’s numbers with devastating force—tentacles whipping through the air, repulsor-like blasts countering Cyclops’ optic beams, and a remorseless Otto Octavius willing to destroy everything to protect his reality. The scene is pure spectacle: Maguire’s Spider-Man swinging in for a team-up with Molina’s villain-turned-ally, the two iconic foes from the 2000s trilogy forced into an uneasy alliance against the invading X-Men.
Yet the X-Men overwhelm them. Led by Wolverine, the team—including Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier (telepathic assaults), Ian McKellen’s Magneto (manipulating Ock’s arms against him), James Marsden’s Cyclops, and others—proves unstoppable. The incursion escalates: realities bleed together, buildings crumble as universes collide, and the X-Men deliver the killing blow. Maguire’s universe is destroyed—his New York skyline fracturing into cosmic dust, Peter Parker and Doc Ock outnumbered and outgunned in a heartbreaking defeat that sets the tone for Doomsday’s “kill or be killed” multiversal war.
In the final heartbeat, the TVA intervenes. The Time Variance Authority, guardians of the timeline since Loki’s series, swoops in with a portal extraction. Spider-Man is yanked from the collapsing reality just before annihilation, saved to join the larger fight against Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.). The rescue is a classic TVA move—pruning threats, preserving variants—but here it’s heroic: Loki’s organization (or a splinter faction) recognizes Spider-Man’s value in the coming war, pulling him into the multiversal Avengers fold. This twist keeps Maguire alive for Avengers: Secret Wars, where he’ll likely stand alongside other legacy heroes as Battleworld forms.
The confirmation electrifies fans. Tobey Maguire’s return after Spider-Man: No Way Home has been teased for years, with set photos from London showing him in a new suit and makeup chairs leaking his involvement alongside Channing Tatum’s Gambit and others. Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine attacking first fulfills decades of “who would win” debates—playground arguments from the early 2000s now canonized in live-action. Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock, last seen redeemed in No Way Home, gets a darker, upgraded arc: arc reactor tech makes him a powerhouse, but he’s still doomed in the incursion. The X-Men’s “victory” by destroying the universe underscores the film’s theme—incursions force impossible choices, where saving one world means ending another.
Marvel’s multiverse saga has built to this. Deadpool & Wolverine introduced Fox X-Men variants into the MCU proper, while No Way Home proved cross-franchise team-ups work. Doomsday, written by Michael Waldron and directed by the Russos, uses incursions (from Hickman’s comics) to collide worlds—Fox X-Men vs. Raimi Spider-Man is the brutal opener, showing stakes before the full Avengers assemble. RDJ’s Doom manipulates the chaos, absorbing power from dying universes, setting up Secret Wars’ Battleworld.
Fan reactions are split: excitement over the spectacle (“Wolverine vs. Spidey is peak!”), heartbreak over the destruction (“Killing Tobey’s universe? Too cruel!”), and theories about TVA’s role (“Loki saving him for the final war?”). Some debunk harsher leaks—Maguire doesn’t die; he’s extracted. Others speculate this ties into Sony’s Spider-Verse plans or a potential Spider-Man 4 post-Secret Wars.
As production ramps up, Avengers: Doomsday looks set to redefine crossovers. Maguire’s Spider-Man vs. Jackman’s Wolverine, Doc Ock’s arc reactor fury, X-Men’s ruthless victory—it’s a warning: in the multiverse, no universe is safe. The TVA’s last-second save keeps hope alive, but the message is clear: Doomsday is here, and it’s destroying everything in its path.
