As Nerd Initiative counts down until GenCon 2026, it’s time for our GenCon previews. GenCon 2026 is exactly 50 days away in Indianapolis, Indiana. For nerds that enjoy board games, ttrpgs, etc this is the premier convention in North America. We got some big revelations today about the highly anticipated Marvel Multiverse RPG expansion dropping exclusively at GenCon this year before it hits the general market. So let’s take a moment to break down today’s Developer Update and see exactly what that means for Marvel Multiverse fans, especially those headed to GenCon.
Secret Wars
Unsurprisingly, most of the update revolved around the newest expansion coming to the Marvel Multiverse RPG world, Secret Wars. Written by Matt Forbeck, Secret Wars is an adaptation of the famous 2015 Marvel event by Jonathan Hickman. This will mark the third straight GenCon expansion release following Avengers in 2025, and X-Men in 2024. In the update, Marvel gave us some really great information about this.
Table of Contents
Perhaps the biggest reveal was the table of contents for the book.
The table of contents reveals a couple of neat things. We get entire chapters on playing several groups/characters such as the Fantastic Four, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Doctor Doom. Additionally, we get a lot of galactic background information in chapter 5 outlining The Nova Corp, Badoon, Kree Empire, and the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda. On top of those awesome instances we get a bunch of new rules including Battleworld games, self-sacrifice, and Zombies.
New Characters
What most people will be talking about after this reveal is that we have a full character list ahead of GenCon as well as a preview of the new Rank X character sheet.
- Abyss
- Aleph
- Annihilus
- Arishem
- Baron Khonshu
- Beyonders
- Blastaar
- Builder
- Captain Mar-Vell
- Captain Universe
- Charlie-27
- Corsair
- Cosmo
- Ego the Living Planet
- Enigma
- Ex Nihilo
- Franklin Richards
- Galactus
- Gladiator
- God Emperor Doom
- Grandmaster
- Jo-Venn
- King in Black
- Korvac
- Major Victory
- The Maker
- Mantis
- Martinex
- Molecule Man
- Nightmask
- Nikki
- N’Kalla
- Nova (Richard Rider)
- Phoenix (Jean Grey)
- Psycho-Man
- Spector
- Spider-Woman (Julia Carpenter)
- Starbrand
- Stormborn
- Terrax
- Thor of Higher Avalon
- Uato the Watcher
- Valeria Richards
- Victorious
- Volcana
- Weapon X Wolverine
- Wizard
- Yondu Udonta
- Zombie
- Zsaji
- Annihilation Wave Bug
- Ego Antibody
- Ultron Drone
Several of these characters will utilize the new Rank X assignment. It will be exciting to see some of Marvel’s more powerful characters, like Franklin Richards, The Maker, God Emperor Doom, and Phoenix, as playable characters. Marvel gave us a preview of this with Galactus.
Free RPG Day
Marvel will release a Free RPG Day adventure to promote this expansion, based on Egyptia. The adventure will feature this section of Battleworld and an original map.
Additional Content
New features will be introduced, and existing features will be expanded. New Iconic Items, traits and tags, equipment, vehicles, and headquarters.
GenCon
The most interesting thing is that we finally got a look at some of the GenCon-specific items coming.
Secret Wars GenCon cover
Marvel revealed that there will only be 616 copies of the convention exclusive cover available at GenCon. Additionally, while supplies last, the physical book will come with a free copy of the expansion on Demiplane and Roll20. Additionally, new products from FanRoll Dice will be available. So far, we don’t have any announcement of Marvel Unlimited being included with the purchase like last year. We will have to wait and see if there are more than the previously announced Doom dice.
Events
Marvel will be hosting several chances to play the new adventure at GenCon this year. The first of the events is Battleworld Insurrection. From the description:
God Emperor Doom’s Barons rule with absolute power. You’re the spark that ignites the rebellion. In this one-hour introductory event, you will play as your favorite heroes, experiencing the first part of the adventure.
The second event option available will be the Battleworld Revolution event which expands to two hours long and offers the following description:
God Emperor Doom rules Battleworld, a strange patchwork world built from the remains of shattered realities. Even with an iron grip, hope can slip through the cracks. Play as your favorite heroes and rise to the challenge of fighting Doom’s Barons and defeat them to weaken his influence on the world in this exciting two-hour adventure.
Several of the two hour events have already sold out so make sure you get signed up asap.
The final event option is a chance to run the Revolution event with expansion author Matt Forbeck. This will feature the lead designer serving as your narrator for the event in what is sure to be a great time.
One-Shot
The announcement closes with some additional information about the upcoming Spider-Man: Midtown Mayham adventure now scheduled for release on September 22nd, 2026. Cody Ziglar from Miles Morales: Spider-Man will be handling the prologue comic for the adventure.
Are you headed to GenCon? Excited for the new expansion? Let me know in the comments below.
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