(Editor’s Note: No spoilers here about Chris Evans playing The Beyonder in Avengers: Doomsday and/or Avengers: Secret Wars. We’re just sharing a theory.)

News that Captain America actor Chris Evans will return to the MCU in Avengers: Doomsday sparked furious speculation among fans about who he will play. After all, his character, Steve Rogers, handed off his shield to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), formerly The Falcon, in Avengers: Endgame back in 2019, and traveled back to the past. When he returned, he had aged dramatically, but was pleased with the life he’d lived.

Sure, Avengers: Doomsday could have two Captain Americas — the old one played by Evans and the new one played by Mackie. Or Evans could just play Steve Rogers, out of uniform, whether in his older or younger incarnation, via the magic of time travel and the multiverse.

But we have a theory that might make more interesting use of Evans — and that harkens back in Marvel history.

As you’ve likely heard, Avengers: Doomsday will feature the return of Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. to the MCU, though this time he’ll play the evil genius Doctor Doom. Doomsday, to be released in 2026, will lead into another film, Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027.

We think this perfectly sets up a situation in which the actor who played Captain America — the most prominent Avenger, alongside Iron Man — could, like the actor who played Iron Man, come back to play one of the MCU’s biggest villains.

There’s a perfect role for Chris Evans in Doomsday and Secret Wars, established by the precedent of the original, comic book version of Secret Wars. He could be The Beyonder.

Doctor Doom and the Beyonder clash in the Secret Wars comic book series, just as Cap and Iron Man sometimes clashed in the MCU. Casting Chris Evans as The Beyonder and Robert Downey Jr. as Doom could allow the actors’ characters to clash again.

Who Is the Beyonder and Why Would Chris Evans Play Him in the MCU?

First, some background: Jim Shooter, editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics from 1978 to 1987, revitalized and supercharged Marvel in the 1980s, and one of his most ambitious works was Secret Wars.

Though Secret Wars has been rebooted in various forms in the comics, it was originally a 12-issue miniseries that ran in 1984-85. The setup was that a mysterious, disembodied being called The Beyonder summoned most major Marvel heroes and many villains to a planet called Battleworld where they fought, mostly for the Beyonder’s amusement.

The series crossed over with many major Marvel titles, including Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and the X-Men. (X-Men fans were heartbroken when the series sparked Colossus breaking up with Kitty Pryde, thus becoming her ex-man.) Perhaps no titles were more affected than The Amazing Spider-Man and Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man: Peter Parker came home with a new black costume that eventually merged with Eddie Brock to become Venom.

Secret Wars was tied into a toy line, and was a massive success that hooked many young fans to declare MMM (Make Mine Marvel) for life — including your humble correspondent. It was, in many ways, the inspiration for subsequent ambitious cross-title storylines including Fall of the Mutants, The Evolutionary War, and the Thanos saga that inspired Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

The huge success of Secret Wars spawned Secret Wars II, which ran from 1985 to 1986 and again crossed over with many Marvel titles.

Also Read: The 12 Best Superhero Movies Ever Made, Ranked

The focus of the often funny Secret Wars II was on The Beyonder coming to Earth. But — having no physical form — he needed a body. So he chose Captain America’s.

It wasn’t a body-snatching situation: He merely made himself in Steve Rogers image, using him as a “template,” at the end of Captain America #308 (after Captain America has defeated a villain named The Armadillo).

In the issue, The Beyonder decides Captain America is “the one…. the one among the four billion human beings who shall serve as the ideal template…” Here’s the moment it happens:

Captain America #308. Marvel Comics.

It seems reasonable that The Beyonder might choose Steve Rogers as his ideal template in Doomsday and/or Secret Wars. After all, Avengers: Endgame made some sly comments about Captain America’s buff physique, including the observation that his backside was “America’s ass.” Doesn’t it make sense that The Beyonder would want his body?

Also: It’s worth noting, for true Secret Wars II nerds, that before adopting Captain America’s form, The Beyonder took the form of several Marvel characters, merged together, and then of Owen Reece, the Molecule Man, in Secret Wars II #1. But by the end of the issue, he starts following Captain America, right into the pages of Captain America #308.

After his transformation, he wanders through Secret Wars II #2 in a white bodysuit, looking like Steve Rogers, before donning some very ’80s threads. (At one point Peter Parker explains the concept of using the bathroom.)

By Secret Wars II #3, The Beyonder has a new template: He changes Steve Rogers’ blond hair to a dark perm that makes him look, according to one character, “like Michael Jackson or somebody!”

So… how could the MCU set up Robert Downey Jr. playing Doctor Doom and Chris Evans playing The Beyonder? Maybe like the comics did. We meet Doom first, then the Beyonder whisks him off to Battleworld. Perhaps he also pulls some other characters out of various moments in space and time, including the Chris Evans version of Captain America — and he uses him as a template.

And sure, maybe we’re totally wrong and Evans will just return as his other Marvel character — The Human Torch aka Johnny Storm — who he just revived in Deadpool vs. Wolverine. But come on.

Finally, one of the things the MCU does best is take inspiration from the comics while changing the storylines in timely ways. Suffice it to say, we’re excited for whatever Doomsday and Secret Wars director Joe and Anthony Russo do with Doctor Doom, The Beyonder, and one of our favorite Marvel storylines of the ’80s.

Main image: The Beyonder takes the form of Steve Rogers in Captain America #308. Marvel Comics.