Avengers Doomsday Trailer Breakdown and Theories

I have thoughts-a-plenty!

So as I was blissfully prepping another post for today, Marvel decided to blindside me and just casually drop the trailer for the biggest movie of the year. Thanks for that Marvel but anyways, I’ve combed through every frame of this footage to try and put together what I think is going on, some predictions, some theories and some hopes for how Doomsday will unfold.

So without further ado, lets get started shall we?

Doctor Doom Revealed (FINALLY)

Okay lets get the big one out of the way first, Robert Downey Jr as Doctor Doom. First off, the design looks awesome! Really cool way to modernise Doom’s design, with the chainmail giving him that classic medieval feel but also grounding it within the MCU with the runes and sharp edges. His voice sounds incredibly accurate as well, with the eastern-European take really fitting in with Doom’s latverian origin. Considering we only get a few words from him in the trailer, RDJ seems to have nailed the menacing and serious tone that Doom demands.

As for the big question, why is RDJ playing Doom? That I still cannot answer. We actually get very little of Doom’s motivation and plan in this trailer, it feels more like a stage-setter than anything, showing us Doom’s immense power and threat whilst keeping his plan a secret. I do like that they’ve restrained from showing his face, not only for the mystery but also because it’s true to Doom’s character. To be honest, I hope they continue this trend up until release. Keep Doom as a mystery for us to uncover in the film, and I hope to god they give us a good reason as to why he has RDJ’s face. I’m still thinking it’s a trick or something along those lines, especially given the post credit scene of Fantastic Four: First Steps, where we see Franklin (a character with universe-altering abilities) doing something to Doom’s face.

Everyone Groups Up

So, as we get into the meat of the trailer, we see Thor coming out of the Fantastic Four’s ship in what we assume is Avengers Tower. As they leave the ship in their updated costumes (I like the jackets now that I’ve seen them), we see Reed looking overly serious and concerned, probably due to the Multiversal collapse that’s coming but also likely due to the fact that Franklin isn’t with them. The post-credits scene of Fantastic Four indicated that Franklin is part of Doom’s plan so maybe he’s kidnapped him? He is a very powerful being, so there could be a place in Doom’s plan for him.

The thing that gets me is this scene, where we see Thor rallying both Sam’s Avengers and the New Avengers (first time that Yelena has interacted with the proper Avengers, how cool is that?!?), there seems to be a lot of empty space within the frame. This is my filmmaking brain kicking in as there is a suspicious gap in the middle of the F4 back there, as well as there being a large gap between Thor and Scott. Given Marvel’s history with these big trailers, I would imagine that there are people in this shot that they don’t want us to know about. My best guess? Steve and Doom. Steve would make sense given what we see at the end of the trailer and the reaction shot of Sam, Bucky and Scott just moments before this (No one on that ship other than Steve matches the hairstyle seen from the back there). Whereas Doom feels he fits right in the middle of those guys back there, as I have had a long standing suspicion that Doom will initially present himself as a friend rather than a foe (More on that later).

Black Panther recruits Namor

Seems like Wakanda is getting involved in this mess as well! Shuri and M’Baku (now King of Wakanda) go to what I assume is a neutral ground for them to meet with Talokan to get Namor’s help with the Multiversal incursion. Now, Namor is a very unique character in this story, as in the comics, he forms what he calls “The Cabal” - meaning a group of villains who will do what needs to be done in order to ensure the survival of their world. Namor is a king that serves himself, he’s not particularly heroic but he’s also not a flat out villain either.

So, for Shuri to go and recruit the guy that murdered her mother, things must really be dire. I did find it somewhat interesting that they met in the ocean, with the waves being held back like a sort of water wall. Seems that the teams will split up to handle multiple fronts throughout the film, with Ben, Sue, Bucky, Joaquin and Ghost sent to meet with the Wakandans whilst the rest go off to the X-Men’s universe to deal with whatever they’re dealing with there! (Though I’m not quite sure where Johnny ends up, since he’s not in either place).

From what I can see, the following characters end up at this meeting with Namor and the Talokan:

1. Black Panther

2. King M’Baku

3. Ben Grimm aka The Thing

4. Sue Storm

5. Bucky

6. Ghost

7. Joaquin Torres aka Falcon

“To Me, My X-Men”

So as we cut into the chaos of an incursion, we meet what’s left of the X-Men on their Earth. Seemingly, by the initial reveal of Charles Xavier watching an Incursion, by time it’s the MCU’s turn to collide, it’s not their first time dealing with the colliding Earths. Given how run down and broken everything seems, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s revealed at the start that the X-Men have been constantly fighting off incursions, potentially losing some people in the process (that would explain the lack of major players like Jean Grey, Storm and Wolverine).

Everyone looks comic accurate now, with Cyclops specifically getting his iconic blue suit from the comics and my god does it look beautiful! I can’t wait to see Marsden get the chance to actually embody Cyclops and not just play second fiddle to Wolverine like the old movies. Gambit is seemingly the same one from Deadpool and Wolverine, so it seems after the TVA picked him up, they dropped him off in a Universe that was lacking a Gambit. Charles looks like his usual self (though there really isn’t much you can do to alter his look) whilst Magneto seems a bit more weathered and subdued, and Charles is taking care of him? I wonder if since Ian McKellen let slip that Mags did something to New Jersey, maybe Charles is keeping him under psychic control? Just to keep him from hurting anybody?

Then we get the brief glimpse of a fight between Mystique and Yelena, with Mystique turning into Yelena for a real one on one. I love Mystique’s new design, it shows a lot of growth for her character since we last saw this version of her, but still is recognisable as that specific version.

From what I can gather here, from the quick shots of them fighting, the following characters end up in the X-Men Universe.

1. Captain America

2. Thor

3. Mr Fantastic (and H.E.R.B.I.E)

4. Yelena Bolova

5. Shang-Chi

6. Doctor Doom

Thor vs Doom

So at some point, Doom will be the force that the Avengers, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four will be pit against, with Thor here trying to take him one on one. Judging by the background and the devastation around them (and a carefully placed fountain) this location seems to be the outer gardens of Xavier’s school aka the home of the X-Men. So at some point, Thor will find it appropriate to try and attack Doom when he shows up.

One thing that I thought was a really cool visual motif, was Thor’s attack. Back in Infinity War, we all know that he attacked and hit Thanos but failed to stop him as he didn’t go for the head. Then in Endgame, we see him do precisely that in order to stop the Mad Titan. Here we see him learning from that mistake and instantly going for the killing blow on Dr Doom, but Doom being the guy that he is, has figured out a way to stop him. The frame of him just holding two fingers up and stopping the actual God of Thunder in his tracks, with little to no effort, it just goes so hard!

My guess here is that because Doom is a character that walks the line between technology and magic, he managed to figure out a way to combine both of those into his armour in order to counter Stormbreaker. Maybe he uses magic to stop the magical weapon in it’s tracks and then he designed his suit to withstand massive surges in electricity from Thor himself? Whatever it is, it’s clear that Doom has been studying these people from afar because there’s no way that he can just do that on a first meeting.

The Return of Steve Rogers

The big needle drop moment! The one that would have been a huge surprise had they not announced it in a trailer last Christmas! But yes, Steve is back. Not as Captain America though, that mantle is still firmly in the hands of Sam Wilson! Thor obviously doesn’t believe it so he has Mjolnir on hand to do a test, as if its the real Steve then he’ll be worthy to lift the hammer. Lo and behold, Steve Rogers is stood right there!

So first off, we have to talk about Steve’s look. He’s got long hair, a beard, very reminiscent of his look in Infinity War when he was on the run. So my theory is that he’s in a similar situation here. This seems to be quite a while after that announcement teaser back in December, as in that video Steve is putting his suit away and raising his son, but he has his classic clean-shaven and iconic hair. So the likelihood is that this Steve that we meet here, is at least a couple of years after his son was born.

Secondly, why is he on the Fantastic Four’s ship? And why is Thor up there as well? Judging by the views out of the window, they seem to be in space, probably just outside of Earth’s orbit. My gut instinct is telling me that this is not long after the post-credits scene of Thunderbolts which showed the F4 ship coming into the atmosphere. So maybe Thor goes up to head it off, boards the ship, meets the Fantastic Four who just so happen to have Steve on board as well? I have a complex idea so bear with me.

It’s all coming together….

Overall Prediction/Theory

So, there are few things I want to preface this with first:

1. This is in no way accurate or based on any leaked info, this is purely my speculation

2. The Russo Brothers themselves have said that Steve is required for this story to be told.

3. I am only basing this off of trailers, footage and interviews from the cast/crew.

4. If you want to go in completely blind then please don’t read this section, this is purely speculation but in case I’m right, I don’t wanna be the reason y’all are spoiled!

FINAL POTENTIAL SPOILER WARNING

So let’s begin.

Firstly, I think the movie is going to open with an Incursion, likely from the perspective of the X-Men in order to establish both their world and the threat of incursions.

Picking up from there, I think we’re going to see Thor become aware of the Incursions or something along those lines that drives him back to Earth to meet with the Avengers, probably Sam’s Avengers given he wasn’t in the post-credit scene of Thunderbolts. They’re gonna get an alert like the New Avengers did, warning them of the Fantastic Four coming into their reality, and thus Thor will likely go up to the ship and confront them. Where he finds Steve.

Now, as for Steve’s role in this story, I think it’s gonna be directly linked to Endgame and his ending there. As they’ve been adamant that they wouldn’t undo that, I can see them using it as a narrative tool for this film. As per the time travel logic in Endgame, Steve going back and starting a family with Peggy creates a branching timeline, different than the one we followed all this time. So, on that front, maybe the narrative reason that Steve is involved here and with the Fantastic Four is because he is the cause of these incursions? That timeline he created starts to collapse and collide with other universes, causing a domino effect that leads us into Doomsday.

As for the general plot, I’d imagine it’s going to be a mix up between Time Runs Out which preceded Secret Wars in 2015, and Avengers vs X-Men. Also incorporating elements of Secret Wars from 1984 and possibly aspects of Infamous Iron Man.

The film will largely be based around the narrative that there are multiple Earths colliding with each other, and the heroes on each Earth has to decide whether or not to destroy the other to ensure their own survival. In the comics this was between the 616 and the Ultimate Universe, but here it will be between the MCU, the Fox X-Men Universe (dubbed Earth 10005) and the Fantastic Four’s universe (dubbed 828).

However, as with the Time Runs Out comic run, Doom will be in the background making moves that will ensure that he comes out on top. In the original comic, he kills the Beyonders (primordial beings that control the Multiverse) and steals their powers by using the being known as Molecule Man to channel through them and get the power for himself. Therefore causing the final incursion and creating Battleworld. I’d imagine that with Doomsday, it will be somewhat similar. Instead of the Beyonders it will be the TVA and instead of Molecule Man, it will be Loki. As part of Doom’s plan, I think he will appear to the Avengers as an ally and pit them against the X-Men to distract them from what he’s planning to do. Hence the elements of Avengers vs X-Men.

With Infamous Iron Man, that is a run where Doom takes on the mantle of Iron Man for a time after Tony was put in a coma due to the events of Civil War II. It’s a somewhat redemption story for Victor, and I think could provide the basis for why Doom looks like Tony? To give a false sense of trust and security for our heroes? It would explain why Franklin was touching his face at the end of Fantastic Four. But until we see more I can’t really speculate more on that front.

There are some characters that are notably absent from this footage that we know to be in the film. Aside from the opening shots with the Avengers, Ant-Man, Red Guardian, Bob/Sentry and Johnny Storm are no where to be found so I wonder if they head over to Earth-828 for some stuff in the Baxter Building?

As for the characters that seem to be absent from the film, I have some theories about that:

1. Doctor Strange - Working with Doom? He does in the comics, and plays a substantial role on Battleworld.

2. Spider-Man - Busy with Brand New Day

3. Hulk - Also busy with Brand New Day (but there could be story repercussions from that)

Characters like Captain Marvel, Star Lord, Monica Rambeau, Deadpool, Wolverine, etc. They could all well be in the film but in a limited capacity, and then get more of a focus in Secret Wars. Beyond that, I really have no idea why these people aren’t involved with this film more. Especially with Captain Marvel, it really annoys me that she isn’t here, even more so given that she’s got a direct connection with the multiverse as of the end of The Marvels!

Right I’m reaching a word limit so I’ll wrap this up here but if you enjoyed this breakdown and want to see more content like this from me then please let me know down below or by liking/subscribing! It really helps me out and I’d love to do more work like this!

Tell me your thoughts on the Doomsday trailer! What did you reckon? Any theories or thoughts about how this is gonna unfold?