This week, Marvel dropped the first full-length trailer for Avengers: Doomsday. It reveals Doctor Doom (Robert Downey, Jr.) in his full glory for the first time, taking on Thor (Chris Hemsworth) in an epic duel. It establishes a multiverse-threatening threat—so powerful that humanity will need a miracle to emerge victorious when Doomsday hits theaters on December 18. And the Internet's reaction to the trailer has been positive—though perhaps not as enthused as Disney hoped for.
The best thing about this movie's leadup is that fans are comparing it to Avengers: Infinity War (2018). And ironically, that is also the worst thing about it. It's impressive, but there's an underlying sense of “been there, done that” to the whole affair. The universe is at stake, again. Our heroes must set aside their enmities to take down an existential threat, again. Marvel hopes that audiences will see Doom as a bigger, badder villain than Thanos. But with this little narrative buildup, that's a tall order to fill.
But there is a lot of cool-looking stuff in this trailer—some interesting fight sequences, some incredible set design, and a trove of exciting, nostalgic cameos. We'll have to wait until December 18, when the movie launches, to see if the narrative can manage and juggle it all. Here are 17 Easter eggs and trivia facts that we noticed in the first Avengers: Doomsday trailer.
Xavier’s School
The trailer opens with a sign that reads, “Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.” It's the same sign that we see in front of the X-Mansion throughout the 20th Century Fox X-Men franchise films.
Incursions
Judging from the sky, it seems that an incursion is occurring on the X-Men's Earth. First established in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, an incursion is an event in which two different Multiverses collide with one another. They can be caused by destabilization via multiverse travel or by creating new realities via time travel.
Xavier doesn't look happy. Neither does Magneto (Ian McKellen), who shows up later in the trailer and appears to be holding Xavier's hand as the world burns around them.
New Avengers Tower
At the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Stark sells Avengers Tower and moves the headquarters to upstate New York. We can see, thanks to its purchase by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, that the Avengers Tower has received a makeover with a red color scheme instead of a blue one.
We Deserve This
Think of all the different times that superhero movies have used multiversal and time travel as a plot device. The Avengers changed history by retrieving all the Infinity Stones from the past in Endgame (2019). Loki escaped as a result, which indirectly led to the destruction of He Who Remains and the Sacred Timeline. The X-Men created an entirely different future for humanity in Days of Future Past (2014). And there's the assorted meddling that Wanda and Strange did in Multiverse of Madness (2022), plus Spider-Man and Strange's meddling in No Way Home (2021). And don't forget Deadpool's fourth-wall-breaking shenanigans. It's no wonder these incursions are happening everywhere.
View Screen
On the view screen in Avengers Tower, we see three Earths currently colliding. We can assume they refer to Earth-10005 (X-Men franchise), Earth-828 (Fantastic Four), and Earth-616 (Marvel Cinematic Universe), which would bring all of their characters together and pit them against each other. In the comics, the only way to prevent an incursion is to preemptively destroy the other reality.
Accent
We hear Doom speaking during the first voiceover in the trailer, and he has a thick accent. In the comics, Doom hails from the fictional country of Latveria, located in Eastern Europe. So this is likely a Latverian accent, or whatever RDJ has deemed a Latverian accent to be.
Avengers, All!
We see this shot of Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes, and Scott Lang standing together. At the end of Thunderbolts* (2025), Sam and Bucky fought over who had the rights to the Avengers name. It seems that they'll be tabling that discussion for the time being.
Different Sub-Groups
In both Infinity War and Endgame, the filmmakers wisely split the heroes into different, competing groups with distinct tasks to ensure that everyone got screen time and a chance to shine. The same seems to be happening in Doomsday: when the Fantastic Four arrive at Avengers Tower, Thor is following close behind them. Later in the trailer, we see Thor fighting Doom in 1-on-1 combat. We also see the Fantastic Four meet up with the Wakandans via Bucky Barnes.
Namor
We see Namor (Tenoch Huerta), the King of Talokan. At the conclusion of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), the Wakandans and the Talokanil form an uneasy truce. It seems that now, the Wakandans are appealing to Namor for help in the upcoming battle.
Namor is wearing his comic-accurate moisture suit, which keeps him hydrated while on land.
Pact Broken?
The peace agreement between Wakanda and Talokan is fragile at best. This clip shows them about to fight, when they really should be working together to combat the bigger threat.
TVA Tree
On the back of Loki's TVA Badge, we see an artistic representation of a tree. This is a reference to the Season 2 finale of Loki. The trickster god accepts responsibility for holding the Multiverse together, represented by his gathering disparate branches to form a symbolic tree.
Gambit and Shang-Chi
The bulk of the trailer's action shows the Avengers squaring off against the X-Men. In this shot, we get Gambit (Channing Tatum) versus Shang-Chi (Simu Liu). This is Gambit's first movie since Deadpool & Wolverine. It is Shang-Chi's first movie since Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021); a sequel was announced, but still has not materialized.
Mystique and Yelena
Mystique (Rebecca Romjin) and Yelena (Florence Pugh) engage in a duel, and during it, Mystique turns into a doppelganger of her opponent. This is a common tactic of hers, and she first used this psychological head game against Wolverine in the first X-Men (2000).
Cyclops
James Mardsen reprises his role as Cyclops from the X-Men trilogy. He looks fantastic, and instead of wearing black leather, he's finally wearing a comic-accurate blue-and-yellow costume.
Meeting on Dry Land
Here's a shot of the Fantastic Four meeting the Wakandans for the first time. If I had to guess, this scene occurs after the one in Takolini. Why? Check out the parted water at the back of the shot. That seems like something that Namor might do.
Aim for the Head
In a homage to his "BRING ME THANOS" scene in Infinity War, Thor launches himself at Doom, flanked by massive lightning bolts. Unlike last time, he aims for the head. But unfortunately, this tactic doesn't work, and Doom stops Thor and Stormbreaker with two fingers and minimal effort.
Steve is Back! Where’s the Love?
Young Steve Rogers inexplicably returns at the end of the trailer, and he doesn't appear to be some variant; he's our Steve, because he reaches out and picks up Mjolnir. Still worthy.
We can wonder how the filmmakers managed this, since it would undo a major part of Endgame's ending. Perhaps the TVA warned Steve that staying with Peggy could destroy the universe, and so Steve decided to leave. But if so, did he never become Old Man Steve in the current timeline? Or were these Multiverse shenanigans a part of his lived experience, and he just never told Bucky and Sam so that he wouldn't risk disrupting the timeline further?
Another interesting question: Where is Love, Thor's daughter? When we last saw her at the end of Love and Thunder (2022), she was going on adventures with her dad and wielding Stormbreaker and Mjolnir (which she decorated) alongside him. Is it possible that she figures into Doom's plans, or was she kidnapped by him? She was resurrected by Eternity, which might have imbued her with cosmic powers that Doom would find useful.
