This Is the State of the MCU Leading Into The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Avengers: Doomsday

Warning: this nonfiction contains spoilers for the astir caller MCU projects, including Captain America: Brave New World, Daredevil: Born Again, and Thunderbolts/The New Avengers.

With the merchandise of Thunderbolts - oregon should we say, The New Avengers - the Marvel Cinematic Universe is astatine a captious point. The upcoming Ironheart bid officially caps disconnected Phase 5 of the MCU, portion The Fantastic Four: First Steps kicks disconnected Phase 6. We’re present entering the climax of the Multiverse Saga, with each eyes looking up to 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday and the debut of Robert Downey, Jr.’s Doctor Doom.

With that successful mind, and with the merchandise dates of some Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars precocious being pushed by astir a fractional twelvemonth each, it’s a bully clip to instrumentality a measurement backmost and analyse conscionable wherever the MCU is astatine close now. Who are the cardinal players and teams successful the Multiverse Saga? Why are determination seemingly 2 Avengers teams, and who’s connected each one? Why has Tom Hiddleston’s Loki go the astir important quality successful the Marvel multiverse? Why has the MCU pivoted from Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror to Downey’s Doom? Here’s everything you request to cognize heading into Phase 6.

The Avengers vs. The New Avengers

Avengers: Endgame ended with Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers passing the torch (or the shield, rather) to Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson. Steve made it wide that helium views Sam arsenic the rightful heir to the Captain America mantle and the antheral champion suited to pb the Avengers.

In practice, though, it’s been an uphill conflict for Sam successful getting to a spot wherever he’s consenting to enarthrosis that monolithic responsibility. 2021’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier showed Sam’s conflict to clasp his caller individuality arsenic Captain America. 2025’s Captain America: Brave New World did the aforesaid for Sam’s relation arsenic Avengers squad leader. Only now, successful the aftermath of Brave New World, is Sam actively moving to reassemble Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

Exactly which heroes made the chopped is inactive to beryllium revealed, with lone Danny Ramirez’s Joaquin Torres (the caller Falcon) confirmed to beryllium joining. But based connected the formed subordinate chairs featured successful Marvel’s bizarre teaser video, we tin marque immoderate assumptions. We’re expecting Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi, Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, and Letitia Wright’s Black Panther to assemble, arsenic they’ve each been featured prominently successful the Multiverse Saga truthful far.

The occupation for Sam is that helium has immoderate contention now: There’s different Avengers squad retired there. 2025’s Thunderbolts brings unneurotic a squad that includes Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, David Harbour’s Red Guardian, Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes, Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost, Wyatt Russell’s U.S. Agent, and Lewis Pullman’s Sentry. The movie ends with this ragtag squad confronting their self-serving handler, Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (who’s truly go the shadowy Nick Fury fig of the post-Endgame MCU), lone to stumble into a property league introducing them arsenic “The New Avengers.” That’s wherefore Marvel changed (or astatine slightest updated) the movie’s sanction from Thunderbolts* to The New Avengers lone days aft its release.

The post-credits country successful The New Avengers reveals that there’s immoderate large hostility betwixt the 2 teams. Set 14 months aft the New Avengers made their nationalist debut, this country reveals that Sam is suing the squad for trademark infringement. We tin astir apt expect Sam’s Avengers to butt heads with the New Avengers successful Avengers: Doomsday. Which, portion definite to beryllium entertaining, tin lone mean atrocious things for the satellite astatine large. 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War already established however severely things tin spell incorrect erstwhile the Avengers aren’t united. And there’s decidedly a immense menace looming implicit their heads erstwhile more.

The State of the Marvel Multiverse

As the sanction suggests, the Multiverse Saga has been dedicated to introducing MCU viewers to the larger Marvel multiverse. Films similar 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, 2022’s Doctor Strange successful the Multiverse of Madness, and 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine person each dealt with the thought that determination are different universes, each with their ain heroes and villains.

No MCU task has been much integral to establishing the quality and scope of the multiverse than the Loki series. Loki follows the mentation of Tom Hiddleston’s quality introduced successful 2019’s Avengers: Endgame - the Loki from 2012 who escapes with the Tesseract. As the bid reveals, Loki is summarily arrested by the Time Variance Authority, a constabulary unit who defender against abuses to what they dub “The Scared Timeline.” Despite himself, Loki winds up joining the TVA and contributing to their mission.

However, what Loki and his variant, Sophia Di Martino’s Sylvie, yet observe is that the TVA is controlled by a being called He Who Remains, a variant of Kang the Conqueror. Following a devastating warfare betwixt Kang’s galore variants, He Who Remains created the TVA to suppress alternate timelines and forestall his different selves from coming into existence. Only aft Sylvie kills He Who Remains does the Marvel multiverse flood backmost into existence.

Loki Season 2 deals with the continued fallout of that act, arsenic it becomes wide He Who Remains sabotaged the multiverse truthful that Loki would person nary prime but to undo his death. But instead, Loki himself becomes the savior of the multiverse. He present sits connected a throne astatine the halfway of each reality, virtually holding the strands of the multiverse successful his hands and observing everything. A buit ironic, considering however helium ever coveted his father’s throne. It’s a crowning enactment of heroism that cements Loki’s presumption arsenic the champion quality successful the MCU.

What Are Incursions and Anchor Beings?

Unfortunately, though Loki saved existence, the multiverse is inactive successful dire shape. A improvement known arsenic Incursions is presently rippling crossed universes. Incursions hap erstwhile breaches signifier betwixt worlds and 2 universes statesman to collide. If the Incursions aren’t stopped, some universes hazard being annihilated. Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau narrowly prevented 1 specified Incursion from destroying the MCU (Earth-616) and what appears to beryllium Fox’s X-Men beingness (Earth-10005), leaving her stranded successful the second universe. But Incursions are happening much and much frequently, meaning it’s lone a substance of clip earlier Earth-616 is threatened erstwhile again.

The Multiverse Saga has besides introduced the conception of Anchor Beings. As revealed successful 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, an Anchor Being is simply a idiosyncratic whose precise beingness determines the wellness of a universe. When an Anchor Being dies, their beingness yet withers and collapses. Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine is the Anchor Being of Earth-10005, which creates a occupation erstwhile helium dies successful 2017’s Logan. Of course, this doesn’t truly marque consciousness fixed that Logan ne'er truly felt similar it was taking spot successful the Fox X-Men universe, but past again, this universe’s continuity has ne'er made sense. In immoderate case, acknowledgment to Deadpool, Earth-10005 present has a caller Wolverine variant calling it home, thereby restoring the earthy bid of things.

The question is who serves arsenic the Anchor Being of the MCU. Robert Downey, Jr.’s Tony Stark would beryllium the evident choice, but does his decease mean the MCU is besides doomed? Could that person thing to bash with the Incursion occupation and the worsening authorities of the multiverse? We’ll find out.

Marvel’s New Young Heroes

If there’s been immoderate 1 ngo successful Phases 4 and 5 of the MCU isolated from fleshing retired the multiverse, it’s introducing a caller procreation of heroes to regenerate the Avengers of old. It’s worthy taking a look astatine the cardinal players and what they’re up to starring into Avengers: Doomsday.

2022’s Ms. Marvel bid introduced Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan, a Captain Marvel fangirl whose mystical bangle unlocks unthinkable super-powers. Kamala is besides revealed to beryllium a mutant successful the last episode, making her 1 of the MCU’s archetypal mutant characters alongside Tenoch Huerta Mejía’s Namor and the mentation of Wolverine teased successful the She-Hulk bid (a quality ticker makes notation of a clawed antheral instigating a barroom brawl). These days, Kamala seems to beryllium connected a recruiting drive, reaching retired to different like-minded teen heroes to signifier a team, meaning the MCU could precise good present the Young Avengers soon.

Kamala’s archetypal enlistee is Hailee Steinfeld’s Hawkeye, who has inherited the mantle from Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton. We spot Kamala enlistee Kate successful the post-credits country to 2023’s The Marvels.

Marvel has introduced different cardinal members of the Young Avengers from the comics implicit the people of the Multiverse Saga truthful far. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier not lone introduced the aged super-soldier Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) but besides his grandson Eli (Elijah Richardson). Scott Lang’s girl Cassie (Kathryn Newton) officially became the superhero Stature successful 2023’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. We’ve seen assorted versions of Kang the Conqueror already, meaning it wouldn’t beryllium hard for the MCU to present Iron Lad, a young mentation of Kang who rebels against his older self. (Because of his younger age, this would besides mean the quality could beryllium recast, leaving immoderate Jonathan Majors baggage behind.)

And past determination are the sons of Vision and Scarlet Witch. We archetypal met these characters arsenic children successful 2021’s WandaVision series, arsenic Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff conjured them into being to implicit her idyllic atomic family. Even though the twins were wiped from beingness on with the remainder of Wanda’s sitcom-inspired fake reality, their souls person since been reincarnated successful caller bodies. Billy (Joe Locke) played a large relation successful 2024’s Agatha All Along, wherever we saw conscionable however almighty this budding magician is growing, and speedster Tommy was besides teased successful that series.

At this point, we whitethorn precise good spot the Young Avengers travel unneurotic for the archetypal clip successful Avengers: Doomsday. And adjacent if not, it seems lone a substance of clip earlier Marvel greenlights an existent Young Avengers movie oregon series.

It’s besides worthy pointing retired that we’re seeing another, wholly abstracted batch of young heroes commencement to look successful the Multiverse Saga. We similar to notation to this radical arsenic the Next Avengers, as, similar successful the 2008 animated film, these characters are chiefly descendants of iconic MCU heroes. So far, we’ve met Tony Stark’s girl Morgan, T’Challa’s lad Toussaint, Thor’s girl Love, Bruce Banner’s lad Skaar, and the orphaned Phyla-Vell, who’s efficaciously been adopted by Dave Bautista’s Drax. These characters are mostly a small young to beryllium forming their ain super-team conscionable yet, but we fishy Marvel is arranging the pieces for a large payoff further down the line.

Where Are the Classic Avengers?

Marvel has been engaged establishing a caller procreation of heroes successful the MCU, but what astir the aged one? Where are each the classical Avengers? Will immoderate of these characters instrumentality for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars? Let’s interruption down each the large names and recap what they’ve been up to lately.

Iron Man

Of course, Robert Downey, Jr.’s Tony Stark sacrificed his beingness to reconstruct the countless souls snapped by Thanos. We don’t representation Marvel ever undoing that sacrifice. Plus, the MCU has a caller Iron Man successful the signifier of Dominique Thorne’s Ironheart. That said, Downey is returning to the MCU to play Doctor Doom, and that leaves the doorway unfastened for him to play different versions of Tony Stark from crossed the multiverse.

Steve Rogers

Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers is happily retired these days, having traveled backmost successful clip to settee down with Hayley Atwell’s Peggy Carter. In the present, Steve is an aged antheral and has passed the Captain America mantle onto Sam Wilson. But successful the comics, Steve went done a play wherever helium mislaid his powers and served the Avengers successful much of an advisory role. Could thing akin hap successful Avengers: Doomsday?

Thor

Chris Hemsworth’s Thor has been keeping beauteous engaged since Endgame, shedding each that other value and someway becoming adjacent much buff than ever. Thor concisely served arsenic a subordinate of the Guardians of the Galaxy, but his attraction soon turned to dealing with the emergence of Christian Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher successful 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder. These days, Thor is happily playing azygous father, raising Gorr’s girl Love arsenic his own, and continuing to support the MCU from evil.

Hulk

Of each the archetypal Avengers, Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner has played the astir nonstop relation successful protecting Earth since the events of Avengers: Endgame. Banner has popped up successful respective places, studying the mysterious Ten Rings successful 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and mentoring his recently Hulk-ified relative Jen (Tatiana Maslany) successful 2022’s She-Hulk series. At the extremity of that bid we saw that Banner has his ain issues to woody with, arsenic he’s been reunited with his lad Skaar, an unexpected improvement from his days exiled connected the satellite of Sakaar.

Hawkeye

Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton would beryllium each excessively blessed to discontinue if the beingness would conscionable permission him alone. We past saw Clint dragged backmost into the fray successful 2021’s Hawkeye series, wherever helium dealt with his Thanos-induced PTSD and mentored his young replacement, Kate Bishop. Somehow, we uncertainty Clint volition beryllium capable to beryllium retired the events of Avengers: Doomsday. But don’t clasp your enactment for a Hawkeye Season 2. Renner confirmed he’s turned down Marvel’s lowball offer.

Black Widow

Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff was different tragic casualty of Avengers: Endgame, and similar Tony Stark, we don’t envision Marvel resurrecting the dead. Johansson precocious reiterated her content that Natasha should beryllium allowed to enactment dead. Still, ne'er accidental ne'er erstwhile the multiverse is successful play.

What About Spider-Man?

Tom Holland’s Peter Parker has truly been done the wringer since the events of Avengers: Endgame. He had to woody with reintegrating into precocious schoolhouse beingness aft being snapped for 5 years. Then helium faced having his concealed individuality outed to the satellite and mourned the decease of Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May astatine the hands of Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin. These days, Peter is enjoying being a affable vicinity Spider-Man again, adjacent if regaining his concealed individuality has required him to sacrifice his friendships with Jacob Batalon’s Ned and Zendaya’s MJ.

It’s inactive an unfastened question arsenic to whether Holland volition instrumentality for Avengers: Doomsday. Given the quality of Doctor Strange’s identity-restoring spell, the Avengers whitethorn person occupation tracking him down. But Holland is acceptable to prima successful a 4th solo movie called Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is rumored to instrumentality spot alongside the events of Doomsday. We’ll spot if Doomsday’s hold means Brand New Day volition determination into 2027.

The Fallout of Secret Invasion and Daredevil: Born Again

While immoderate Disney+ bid similar Moon Knight and She-Hulk person been chiefly dedicated to introducing their respective heroes, others person proven to person a much far-reaching interaction connected the MCU. We’ve already covered wherefore Loki is 1 of the astir important projects successful the Multiverse Saga, but what astir 2023’s Secret Invasion and 2025’s Daredevil: Born Again? Both bid talk to the steadily worsening authorities of affairs successful the MCU.

Secret Invasion follows Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos arsenic they unravel a heavy conspiracy involving a rogue set of Skrulls kidnapping and impersonating cardinal governmental figures. Don Cheadle’s Jim Rhodes turned retired to beryllium 1 of those replaced, with the bid hinting Rhodey has really been a Skrull since soon aft the events of 2016’s Captain America: Civil War.

Though Fury yet prevents the rogue Skrulls from poisoning Earth and making it their caller location planet, the harm has been done. There’s a caller question of anti-alien xenophobia sweeping the globe. The public, inactive reeling from the traumatic effects of the Snap, is nary longer consenting to tolerate aliens successful its midst.

As for Born Again, the bid is efficaciously Season 4 of Netflix’s Daredevil show, firmly planting characters similar Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock, Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle, and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk successful the wider MCU. The bid explores what happens aft Fisk is elected politician of New York, arsenic Matt is reluctantly drawn backmost into his vigilante role.

Born Again Season 1 could person absorbing ramifications for the MCU. In the finale, Fisk imposes martial instrumentality connected the metropolis and outlaws each costumed vigilantes. The concern is reminiscent of what happened with the Sokovia Accords successful 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, albeit constricted to those heroes operating successful New York. It should beryllium absorbing to spot if this improvement volition beryllium referenced successful different MCU projects similar Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

The Debut of the Fantastic Four and X-Men

The MCU has built up a monolithic formed of heroes and villains implicit the years, but 2 groups person ever been conspicuous by their absence. The MCU has nary Fantastic Four and nary X-Men, a holdover from the days erstwhile some franchises were locked up by 20th Century Fox. But acknowledgment to the Multiverse Saga, that’s been dilatory changing.

While we’ve inactive lone met a fistful of mutants surviving connected Earth-616, respective movies person featured characters that we admit from Fox’s X-Men universe. 2022’s Doctor Strange successful the Multiverse of Madness included Patrick Stewart’s Professor X among the members of Earth-838’s Illuminati. 2023’s The Marvels ends with Monica Rambeau being rescued by Kelsey Grammer’s Beast. 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine is simply a nonstop sequel to the erstwhile 2 Deadpool movies, arsenic Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson runs afoul of the TVA and teams up with a variant of Hugh Jackman’s Logan.

It’s wide from the presently announced formed for Avengers: Doomsday that the Fox X-Men are going to play a large relation successful the film. Everyone from James Marsden’s Cyclops to Ian McKellen’s Magneto to Channing Tatum’s Gambit is returning (though, strangely, Jackman himself has yet to beryllium confirmed). We’ve speculated earlier that Doomsday is fundamentally an Avengers vs. X-Men movie, with some teams battling it retired erstwhile an Incursion threatens their respective universes. And we’ll beryllium precise amazed if Jackman’s Wolverine isn’t among those heroes warring to reconstruct the multiverse successful Avengers: Secret Wars.

Ultimately, we’re expecting Doomsday and Secret Wars to service arsenic the swan opus for Fox’s X-Men characters, whether oregon not these characters really past the inevitable decease and rebirth of the Marvel multiverse. But arsenic we caput into Phase 7, Marvel volition commencement introducing the MCU’s mentation of the X-Men. Some fans are adjacent speculating that Phase 7 volition footwear disconnected “The Mutant Saga.” At the precise least, Deadline is reporting that Thunderbolts manager Jake Schreier is being eyed to helm the rebooted X-Men movie.

As for the Fantastic Four, Doctor Strange successful the Multiverse of Madness featured a cameo of John Krasinski’s Mister Fantastic (a motion to a fashionable instrumentality casting choice), but we’ll soon beryllium gathering an wholly caller mentation of the squad successful 2025’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps. First Steps stars Pedro Pascal arsenic Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby arsenic Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn arsenic Human Torch and Ebon Moss-Bachrach arsenic The Thing. These characters aren’t residents of Earth-616, however, but alternatively dwell successful an alternate beingness that exists arsenic a retro-futuristic 1960s mentation of our world. First Steps volition chronicle the commencement of Reed and Sue’s child, Franklin Richards, and pit the squad against Julia Garner’s Silver Surfer and Ralph Ineson’s Galactus.

If the post-credits country to Thunderbolts is immoderate indication, that combat whitethorn not spell good for the FF. Thunderbolts shows the squad fleeing to the MCU up of immoderate chartless catastrophe successful their universe. Presumably, either their satellite was conscionable consumed by Galactus, oregon their beingness is being threatened by an Incursion. Perhaps Galactus’ accomplishment is someway connected to the Incursion phenomenon? Whatever the case, the FF volition beryllium successful the MCU successful clip to articulation the formed of Avengers: Doomsday and conflict Robert Downey, Jr.’s Doctor Doom. Speaking of which…

From Kang the Conqueror to Doctor Doom

When Marvel kicked disconnected the Multiverse Saga, this overarching storyline primitively hinged connected Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror, a time-traveling tyrant with the powerfulness to termination adjacent mighty heroes similar Thor with ease. Again, arsenic established successful Loki, 1 mentation of Kang was liable for suppressing the beingness of the multiverse successful bid to halt a destructive warfare with his alternate selves. Now that the multiverse is back, that warfare present threatens each of existence. Or it did, until Marvel’s Kang plans deed a roadblock.

Majors played different mentation of Kang successful 2023’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. This Kang was marooned successful the Quantum Realm by his different selves, and helium astir succeeds successful escaping earlier Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man seemingly kills him. Scott is vexed by the thought that Kang whitethorn not beryllium gone for good, and that their showdown is the commencement of a bigger war. The post-credits country bears that out, arsenic it becomes wide the galore variants of Kang are present agreed successful their tendency for revenge.

But successful the aftermath of Majors’ ineligible troubles and consequent firing, not to notation the tepid effect to Quantumania successful general, Marvel is pivoting successful a precise antithetic absorption for the Multiverse Saga. The climax of this ongoing storyline volition present hinge not connected Kang, but Doctor Doom. And for immoderate reason, Doom is being played by Downey. Does that marque him a Tony Stark variant alternatively than Victor von Doom? Is helium from The Fantastic Four: First Steps universe? We’re not sure, but you tin larn much astir the shared past betwixt Doom and Iron Man here.

It remains to beryllium seen precisely however this pivot volition beryllium handled successful Doomsday (which was primitively titled Avengers: The Kang Dynasty), and whether Marvel volition admit the escaped extremity that is the Council of Kangs oregon complaint consecutive up with Doom. But it is wide that Marvel is looking to gully heavy from the 2015 Secret Wars comic by making Doom the linchpin of the Multiverse Saga.

The comic chronicles the demolition of the Marvel multiverse and the instauration of Battleworld, a hodgepodge satellite composed of fragments of dozens of dormant universes. As its creator, Doom rules implicit Battleworld arsenic God Emperor, with each territory being governed by a baron who answers lone to Doom. It’s a precise Game of Thrones/Dune-esque scenario. Only a fistful of refugees from Earth-616 and Earth-1610 (aka the Ultimate Universe, wherever Miles Morales hails from) retrieve the multiverse arsenic it was, and they acceptable retired to marque things close again.

Presumably, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars volition travel immoderate basal mentation of that plot, with Doomsday showing the last illness of the multiverse and Secret Wars taking spot connected Battleworld. That opens the doorway for Secret Wars to bring backmost beauteous overmuch anyone who’s ever appeared successful a Marvel movie oregon show, from evident candidates similar Jackman’s Wolverine and Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man to much oddball choices similar Nic Cage’s Ghost Rider and David Hasselhoff’s Nick Fury. Secret Wars could marque Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’s cameos look tiny by comparison.

That’s everything you request to cognize astir the authorities of the MCU heading into The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Avengers: Doomsday. Look for First Steps to deed theaters connected July 25, 2025, portion Doomsday was precocious delayed until December 2026.

Jesse is simply a mild-mannered unit writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intelligence thicket by following @jschedeen connected BlueSky.