By Isabella Ardetto
Amid the slew of AI-generated teasers and trailers circulating online of Marvel’s newest Marvel Cinematic Universe endeavor, “Avengers: Doomsday," the first official trailer was released on July 20, via YouTube.
The trailer opens with a shot of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters plaque lying forgotten and dusty on the similarly dilapidated floor of what is presumably the school. A shift in scene shows Charles Xavier, seated in front of a mirror within the ruins of his school and shielding his eyes from a burning, bright light outside.
The next shot shows Doctor Doom, crouched and in the middle of a burning landscape as he monologues. Robert Downey Jr.’s voice is nearly unrecognizable, the actor adopting a thick Euro-Hungarian accent which gives Doom a more obvious Latverian sound than previous renditions of the character. According to the Baron of Iron, an unthinkable decision is on the horizon for the audience’s favorite superheroes.
Familiar faces show up through brief flashes in the trailer. The Avengers, new and old, the Fantastic Four, the Wakandans, the newly MCU-ified X-Men, Loki and the Time Variance Authority all take on battles between themselves and the larger, green-caped threat on the horizon. It is all pretty run-of-the-mill, until two things of particular interest happen.
For one, Doom stops Thor’s ax, Stormbreaker, with two fingers. Those familiar only with the admittedly lackluster 20th Century Fox Films versions of the emperor may have thought, “Can he really do that? Is he really that strong?” The answer is yes and yes. While Doom has been aptly described as the second best at everything other Marvel characters are masters at (intellect, magic, defense, fame), Doom’s strength is anything but a one-trick pony. It is the fact that he is good at virtually everything, making him a formidable foe.
Good old Steve Rogers is back and flexes his still-worthy status by calling Mjölnir to his hand. How or why the previous Captain America is back is yet to be seen, but it is reasonable to assume his sudden return is thanks to the timeline incursions that are happening to bring everyone together in the first place.
Then, a subsequent "special look” teaser trailer was released. The teaser was shown privately to lucky Hall H attendees at the San Diego Comic Convention before being screened publicly during the Disney Entertainment Showcase at the D23: Ultimate Fan Event on Aug. 14 and later uploaded to YouTube the following day.
That latest look at “Avengers: Doomsday” begins with Doom sitting on his throne, bathed in green and yellow light thanks to the stained-glass windows behind him. Below him, his signature green magic crackles, almost fire-like on the floor. Sue Storm acts as narrator, delivering a chilling and tearful description of Doom, lamenting a past kindness the man once had.
Between this dialogue, more flashes of the aforementioned teams come next, but brings nothing too special. However, a notable scene is shown between Mister Fantastic and Doom in which he confronts the sorcerer about the destruction of what seems to be an entire civilization, giving a glimpse of what will hopefully be a faithful adaptation of Reed and Victor’s infamous friends-to-enemies relationship.
The teaser continues with the previously shown shot of Doom blocking an attack from Thor but extends the clip from the last trailer to show him flinging Stormbreaker off to the side. Thor, rendered weaponless, is flung away similarly with a burst of magic before Doom calls forth an army of magic-imbued Sentinels, delivering a chilling line: “Hell answers to me. For I am Doom.”
As for future looks at the film, Marvel announced “Avengers: Endgame Encore the theatrical re-release of the 2019 film, will feature two sneak peeks at “Avengers: Doomsday” and a special post-credits scene. Marvel also dropped a surprise LEGO-themed teaser trailer on Monday, a fun recreation of the first official trailer.
“Avengers: Doomsday” arrives in theaters on Dec. 18, 2026.
