Ten Years Ago, Marvel Cancelled a TV Series That’s Become the Key to the MCU’s X-Men Plans

by

Kevin Feige, the head of Marvel Studios, is known for carefully planning the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, that reputation is probably overstated. The popular ‘Infinity Saga’ wasn’t as meticulously planned from the beginning as many fans think. In fact, the villain Thanos wasn’t originally part of the plan; he was added after the first phase of movies, with director Joss Whedon suggesting his appearance in the post-credits scene of The Avengers. Sometimes, even what looks like careful foreshadowing was actually Marvel recognizing and building on opportunities as they arose.

The groundwork being laid for the upcoming Mutant Saga is especially intriguing. The term “mutant” has already appeared in the main Marvel universe thanks to Ms. Marvel, and there’s a good chance the new hero Wonder Man is one too. The Department of Damage Control is also becoming more prominent in the MCU, and many believe they’ll be central to a mutant storyline in a future Spider-Man series. Interestingly, all of this was made possible by the cancellation of a TV show ten years ago.

Marvel Television Nearly Made a Damage Control TV Series

Ten years ago, the Marvel Cinematic Universe looked quite different. In 2015, a company reorganization split the film studio from the larger Marvel Entertainment group due to increasing conflict between Kevin Feige and Marvel’s then-leader, Ike Perlmutter. Disney’s Bob Iger decided a separation was necessary to move forward. At that time, Marvel’s TV shows were still created by a separate department within Marvel Entertainment, and the movies took the lead, with the TV shows following the direction set by Feige and his team.

Marvel Television had achieved significant success, with Agents of SHIELD becoming its most prominent series and consistently improving. While Agent Carter struggled to maintain viewership and was ultimately canceled after two seasons, Marvel’s collaboration with Netflix remained strong, producing popular and well-received shows like Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage. Encouraged by this momentum, Marvel wanted to create even more TV shows, but the television division was limited to using characters and ideas that the main studio had previously rejected.

The upcoming series Damage Control is a comedy set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Created by Ben Karlin, who worked on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, the show follows the teams responsible for cleaning up after superhero conflicts. As Deadline described it, they handle everything from retrieving lost equipment and rescheduling events ruined by battles, to even locating lost pets affected by the chaos – like a petrified or liquefied parrot!

ABC once planned to launch a show called Damage Control around 2016 and even filmed a pilot episode. However, the project was cancelled and quickly faded from view. Interestingly, Marvel Studios later revisited the Damage Control concept, featuring a Department of Damage Control in the 2017 film Spider-Man: Homecoming. This new version was quite different from the original and hinted at a promising direction for the idea.

How the MCU Used the Department of Damage Control

In Spider-Man: Homecoming, the Department of Damage Control was shown as a collaboration between Stark Industries and the government, created after the events of The Avengers. They were essentially a cleanup crew dealing with the aftermath of superhero battles, and a scene showed Spider-Man stuck in one of their facilities filled with alien technology collected over the previous four years. However, Damage Control’s role became much bigger and more interesting during the Multiverse Saga.

After the events of Endgame, S.W.O.R.D. initially seemed like it would be a major player in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While traditionally focused on alien threats in the comics, the MCU version of S.W.O.R.D. – the Sentient Weapon Observation Response Division – was presented as a group monitoring people with superpowers. However, Spider-Man: No Way Home changed things by reintroducing Damage Control, which took on the role of handling enhanced individuals. Damage Control then reappeared in Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law as a kind of police force for superpowered people, running specialized high-security prisons for them.

Damage Control is back in the series Wonder Man, giving Arian Moayed’s Agent Cleary – who was also in No Way Home and Ms. Marvel – a significant part. However, the show added a surprising twist: Damage Control isn’t just tracking super-powered people who could be dangerous. They’re also identifying individuals with powers who they can use – calling them “assets.” This changes everything, turning Damage Control from a reactive police force into an organization actively involved in operations with enhanced individuals, hinting at some big surprises to come.

Damage Control Is Positioned For a Major Role in the Mutant Saga

Now that the Multiverse Saga is ending, Marvel is gearing up for the next big storyline: the Mutant Saga. Mutants have already been subtly introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe – the word “mutant” was directly used in Ms. Marvel, even with a nod to the classic X-Men cartoon theme song. Currently, there are at least eleven characters confirmed or hinted to be mutants within the MCU. Interestingly, the organization Damage Control appeared in all three shows most connected to mutants: Ms. Marvel, Wonder Man, and She-Hulk. She-Hulk even included characters from the comics who are mutants, but didn’t explain where their powers came from.

Given the rise of mutants, Damage Control is poised to become a powerful force. They’ve already gathered a lot of high-tech equipment and are now actively developing it, even repurposing tech like Stark drones previously collected from Spider-Man, to monitor and control people with special abilities. This means Damage Control would naturally focus on mutants, seeing them as either potential dangers or resources. It’s likely they’re already keeping a list of these enhanced individuals, a concept that’s been central to many X-Men storylines.

Over the past decade, Damage Control has evolved significantly. What began as a lighthearted TV show concept is now a key component of Marvel’s larger Mutant Saga storyline. While Marvel is known for long-term planning, Damage Control demonstrates that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is surprisingly flexible and responds to current needs. And in this instance, that’s a very positive development.

What are your thoughts on how the Marvel Cinematic Universe has used the Damage Control organization? Share your opinion in the comments and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!

https://comicbook.com/movies/news/dafne-keen-officially-responds-to-calls-for-her-to-replace-hugh-jackman-as-the-mcus-wolverine/embed/#

Read More

2026-02-12 16:12