What does the new Avengers trailer tell us about Doomsday?

Doomsday has arrived… Well, the first trailer has at least, giving us a glimpse at what multiversal madness we are to expect from the hands of our favourite Latverian dictator, in addition to the long-awaited convergence of the Avengers, Fantastic 4 and X-Men. (Now that Disney and Marvel successfully acquired the rights). But what are we to think of the trailer? A commitment to returning to quality? Or is it simply – akin to how Doom has the face of Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark – an imitation of what came before.

The trailer opens with a depressive look at the X-Mansion, which has clearly seen better days. Patrick Stewart’s Professor X appears to be witnessing the aftermath of an incursion (a destructive collision of universes) and, given that this film is taking considerable inspiration from the 2015 comic event Secret Wars, we can reasonably assume that the heroes will be rallying against incursions between their respective worlds.

Looking and sounding like Doctor Doom is ultimately one-dimensional if Downey cannot communicate Doom’s grandiose sense of self-importance

The stakes are made apparent by the voice-over of Robert Downey Jr’s Doctor Doom, who definitely fulfils the role aesthetically with a thick European-esque, or ‘Latverian’ accent. He stresses that whatever the threat is, it is one the heroes “will be unable to deter” and that they will “be faced with an unthinkable decision” as he rises from the ashes of the X-mansion adorned with an emerald cloak, metal mask and all.

But looking and sounding like Doctor Doom is ultimately one-dimensional if Downey cannot communicate Doom’s grandiose sense of self-importance. I worry with Doom’s monologue here when he mentions the ominous “unthinkable decision”, that the directors, the Russo brothers, might perhaps be trying to make Doom a sympathetic character to ease general audiences.

Ordinarily, Doom wouldn’t consider any action an ‘unthinkable’ decision; he is the textbook definition of a supervillain: imposing and irredeemable. While Downey may have captured Doom’s atmosphere in casually blocking an attack from Chris Hemsworth’s Thor with merely two fingers, we will have to see if he captures his attitude.

While it is nice to see these characters interact, it seems once again to only be a superficial display

The rest of the trailer is mostly dedicated to the long-awaited interactions between the worlds of the X-Men, Fantastic Four and Avengers, all whilst Thor stresses the severity of the upcoming threat. While it is nice to see these characters interact, it seems once again to only be a superficial display as we only see the Avengers and Fantastic Four in the same room, rather any legitimate interaction.

Their attention is instead drawn to Thor’s foreboding speech, which to anyone who is a fan of the MCU should be reminiscent of trailers of Avengers past. Specifically, that of the Infinity War Teaser Trailer  where Josh Brolin’s Thanos assurances of “balancing the universe” all but spelled the Avengers’ defeat. These similarities seem to already be picked up by fans, with one arguing the trailer is trying to repackage and sell the “same stuff that happened 4 movies ago”.

The long-anticipated return of X-Men … seems to signal a rewarding swan song of these characters, seemingly away from the shadow of ‘The X-Man’ Wolverine

Yet I’d like to argue that it isn’t just rehashing involved in these hero vs hero face-offs, as we see the long-anticipated return of X-Men such as Channing Tatum’s Gambit, Rebecca Romjin’s Mystique and James Marsden’s Cyclops whose overt presence seems to signal a rewarding swan song of these characters, seemingly away from the shadow of ‘The X-Man’ Wolverine.

The presence of Simu Liu’s seemingly forgotten Shang-Chi is also a pleasant surprise, as Simu Liu states his character has ‘come into his own in this film’ with the mastery of the ten rings. To see one of the most successful characters from the murky days of MCU’s Phase 4 make a return is something to be celebrated.

Furthermore, while one may see the return to the conflict between Tenoch Huerta’s Namor and Letitia Wright’s Black Panther, as reductive, it is enriched this time around by an extra dimension with the inclusion of the Fantastic Four, whose comic history birthed Wakanda and the Black Panther and is also tied closely to the machinations of Namor. The Four’s inclusion here signals a new direction for and inspiration from precursory comic book plots.

But ultimately the ‘miracle’ of Chris Evans returning as Steve Rogers is where my caution lies as it brings with it many uncertain questions. What does this mean for Anthony Mackie’s Captain America? Can he still shine if Marvel insists on bringing back Steve Rogers? What does this mean for the timeline? The elderly Steve Rogers appeared back in Endgame… surely his younger presence here leads to much mental gymnastics. It seems all these questions will be answered, for better or worse, on Doomsday.