The Avengers multiverse is cracking wide open, Doctor Doom is making his move, and Marvel’s biggest heroes are heading for an explosive collision.
The latest Avengers: Doomsday trailer brings together characters from the core MCU, the Fantastic Four’s universe and the legacy Fox X-Men world, setting the stage for one of Marvel’s biggest crossovers yet. From Thor and Captain America to the Fantastic Four, Thunderbolts and iconic X-Men, familiar faces from across Marvel are being thrown into the same battle.
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If the trailer has left you wondering how they all ended up in the same fight, you’re definitely not alone.
The good news? You don’t need to rewatch the entire MCU to make sense of it. With tickets going on sale four months ahead of the film’s release, here’s the essential watchlist to get you Doomsday-ready.
The complete 15-title watchlist
1. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Why it's essential: The film establishes Steve Rogers and his relationship with Bucky Barnes, laying the emotional foundation for one of the MCU’s most enduring friendships.
The payoff: Revisiting Steve and Bucky’s history gives added emotional weight to their involvement in the larger conflict surrounding Doomsday.
2. X-Men (2000)
Why it's essential: The film introduces the original Fox X-Men universe and its defining characters, including Professor X, Magneto and Cyclops.
The payoff: It provides the background needed to understand the legacy mutant characters whose universe now intersects with the MCU.
3. X2: X-Men United (2003)
Why it's essential: The sequel expands the X-Men’s relationships and explores their struggle to protect a world that fears and distrusts mutants.
The payoff: It adds context to the original X-Men and the emotional history behind their return to the Marvel multiverse.
4. The Avengers (2012)
Why it's essential: This is where Marvel’s original Avengers team comes together, establishing the idea of Earth’s mightiest heroes joining forces against a common threat.
The payoff: It highlights the original team’s bond and shows just how much the MCU’s superhero landscape has changed since its first major crossover.
5. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Why it's essential: The film demonstrates the devastating consequences of a cosmic threat that overwhelms the Avengers and their allies.
The payoff: It establishes the scale of danger a villain such as Doctor Doom can pose and shows that even Marvel’s most powerful heroes can suffer a catastrophic defeat.
6. Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Why it's essential: Endgame concludes the stories of several original Avengers, including Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, while bringing the Infinity Saga to a close.
The payoff: Its emotional significance becomes even more important as familiar characters and actors return in new circumstances for Doomsday.
7. Loki — Seasons 1 and 2 (2021–2023)
Why it's essential: Loki is one of the MCU’s key projects for understanding branching timelines, alternate realities and the Time Variance Authority (TVA).
The payoff: The series provides the groundwork for understanding how the multiverse works and why different versions of characters can exist across separate timelines and realities.
8. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
Why it's essential: The film introduces Shang-Chi as one of the MCU’s newer major heroes and establishes his connection to the mysterious Ten Rings.
The payoff: It provides background on Shang-Chi as part of the MCU’s newer generation of heroes.
9. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Why it's essential: The film brings together Spider-Man characters from different live-action universes, marking a major turning point in the MCU’s multiverse storyline.
The payoff: It demonstrates how characters from separate realities can cross into the MCU, a concept that becomes increasingly important throughout the Multiverse Saga.
10. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Why it's essential: The film introduces the concept of incursions, in which different realities can collide with potentially devastating consequences.
The payoff: Understanding incursions provides crucial context for the multiversal threat facing the heroes in Avengers: Doomsday.
11. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
Why it's essential: The film expands the MCU’s political landscape by exploring Wakanda under Shuri’s leadership and introducing the underwater kingdom of Talokan and its ruler, Namor.
The payoff: It provides context for the Wakandan and Talokan characters who are now part of the wider conflict.
12. Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
Why it's essential: The film connects the legacy Fox Marvel universe with the MCU through the TVA and brings several characters from the X-Men film era into the broader Marvel multiverse.
The payoff: It introduces variants, the Void and Anchor Beings while showing how characters from a dying reality can become part of a larger multiversal story.
13. Captain America: Brave New World (2025)
Why it's essential: The film establishes Sam Wilson as Captain America and expands the political landscape surrounding the MCU’s current generation of heroes.
The payoff: It provides context for Sam’s role as one of the MCU’s central leaders.
14. Thunderbolts (2025)
Why it's essential: The film brings together a new group of antiheroes and former adversaries, including Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes and U.S. Agent.
The payoff: It establishes one of the MCU’s key active teams and provides background on several characters involved in the larger conflict.
15. The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)
Why it's essential: The film introduces the Fantastic Four in their own alternate universe and establishes their place in the Multiverse Saga.
The payoff: It is particularly important for understanding the Fantastic Four’s world and their connection to Doctor Doom, played by Robert Downey Jr.
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Only have time for five? Watch these
Fifteen titles can feel like a lot of homework, especially if you’re trying to squeeze in a refresher before Doomsday. If you want to stick to the essentials, these five offer the most direct route into the story.
1. Loki — Seasons 1 and 2
The multiverse setup
Why it's essential: The series explains the TVA, branching timelines and the structure of the MCU’s multiverse. It gives you the basic framework for understanding why multiple realities exist and how they can become vulnerable to destruction.
2. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
The multiverse threat
The film introduces incursions and shows the dangers of interactions between alternate realities. It provides important context for the multiversal crisis at the heart of Avengers: Doomsday.
3. Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
The X-Men connection
The film connects the legacy Fox Marvel universe to the MCU and brings familiar X-Men-era characters into the wider multiverse. It establishes the crossover framework that allows legacy characters to coexist with the modern MCU.
4. Thunderbolts (2025)
Earth’s new superhero team
The film establishes a new team of antiheroes and gives more context to several characters now part of the MCU’s active superhero roster. It helps explain where the MCU’s newer generation of heroes stands before the events of Doomsday.
5. The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)
The Doctor Doom connection
The film introduces the Fantastic Four and their alternate universe while establishing their connection to Victor von Doom, played by Robert Downey Jr. Given Doctor Doom’s central role in Doomsday, this is arguably the most direct preparation for the upcoming film.
What to expect from Avengers: Doomsday
The latest trailer has offered a glimpse of the massive crossover, but Marvel is still keeping many details of the Phase 6 blockbuster under wraps. That mystery may be part of the fun, particularly with so many returning characters and multiple universes now in play.
With Avengers: Doomsday scheduled to hit theatres in December this year, there’s still time to catch up before the Avengers, Fantastic Four and X-Men collide.
The homework is set. The teams are assembling. Now comes the fun part: finding out what happens when they finally meet on December 18.
