The Impending Doom of the MCU: Marvel Zombies and the Battle Against the Unstoppable Undead
The MCU's next major Avengers defeat could happen two years ahead of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. Thanks to 2024's Marvel Zombies event, it's quite possible that the apocalyptic version of the MCU could see Earth's Mightiest Heroes getting absolutely decimated (those who've yet to become infected). Although there will be a wide roster of survivors in the upcoming event series, one fact proves that the odds of ultimate survival are incredibly slim.
The Unstoppable Undead: A Formidable Zombie Roster
Spinning out of Marvel's What If...? and its episode depicting a reality where the world is overrun by the superpowered undead, the animated Marvel Zombies show will pick up where the popular episode left off as the remaining survivors search for a cure.
tony stark as a zombified iron man in marvel zombies
To that end, Marvel Studios has revealed the show's impressive cast, both the Avengers who are zombies and those who are continuing to fight the growing infection. However, it's already evident that things are not looking good for the upcoming MCU show.
New zombies in Marvel Zombies
The Unstoppable Power of the MCU Zombies
As seen in the line-up of new zombies released by Marvel Studios, newcomers such as the Abomination and Captain Marvel will be among the infected, adding their power to Wanda's as a major undead force to be reckoned with. Likewise, another piece of promotional art confirmed that the Eternal Ikaris will be a member of the undead, as well as the intangible Ghost last seen in 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp. It's also been teased that shapeshifting Skrulls will become zombies as well.
New survivors in Marvel Zombies
By all accounts, the zombies that will be featured in Marvel Zombies will not be lacking in the powers department by any means. Scarlet Witch and Captain Marvel alone would be a major cause for concern without adding Ikaris into the mix (who's basically a Marvel version of Superman). Likewise, it's worth noting that the What If...? episode ended with the tease that Thanos himself had become infected, which is practically a death sentence in and of itself.
Zombie_Iron_Man_in_What_If
The Desperate Struggle of the Survivors
Conversely, there isn't a lot of power happening on the survivors' side of Marvel Zombies. While many of them are highly trained and have a variety of skills that would be useful against typical zombies such a Yelena Belova, Kate Bishop, Red Guardian and more, they're certainly lacking in the special abilities department. As it stands, the two most powerful survivors that are known about thus far are Shang-Chi and his Ten Rings and Kamala Khan's Ms. Marvel with her hard-light projections.
A zombie Captain America opens his mouth in Marvel's What If...?
As impressive as both of those abilities are, that's not a lot to work with, all things considered. After all, there's hardly anything that could stand against the combined powers of the Scarlet Witch, Captain Marvel, Ikaris, and Thanos simultaneously. As such, this likely means that Marvel Zombies will not be an outright battle between the living and undead. Instead, it will most likely be a morbid race against time to find and administer a cure before all the survivors are infected and there's no one left standing.
A zombie Doctor Strange raises his hand to cast a spell in Marvel's What If...?
