Why Thor Looks So Terrified to See Steve Rogers in the Avengers Doomsday Trailer

The final shot of the first official trailer for Avengers Doomsday shows Steve Rogers summoning Mjolnir and cracking a smile at a visibly shocked Thor. That image immediately set off questions about why Thor looks so stunned and why Steve looks different, with theories ranging from Captain Hydra to Loki in disguise to plain trailer trickery. I want to address all of those theories, because I think this is still very much our Steve Rogers, our 616 Steve Rogers, and he is very much so to be trusted.

The Leaked Reason Steve Rogers Is Aboard the Fantastic Four's Ship

It is no secret that most of us have already heard the leaks about why Steve is on this ship, which appears to be the Fantastic Four's rocket. Those leaks now seem all the more accurate following the release of this trailer. According to those leaks, Loki moved Steve to the Fantastic Four's universe, Universe 828, along with Peggy and their son so they could live in peace and not cause an incursion by existing in this splintered MCU timeline.

The incursions supposedly happen anyway, and Steve's presence in Universe 828 is reportedly what causes that universe to begin having an incursion with Universe 616, the mainline MCU. So Doom goes to the Fantastic Four for help and tells them there is someone in their universe who is not supposed to be there. That someone is Steve. They pick him up and convince him to return with them to his home universe so they can get the Avengers to work with them on a plan to stop the incursions.

That is also why Steve has long hair, a beard, and normal clothes in this shot: he is not Captain America anymore, and I think about ten years, if I am remembering correctly, have passed between the character teaser for Doomsday and this moment when he reunites with Thor. He has just been living what I would call the dad life, and now he is hopping on a ship to try to convince his old friends to help stop the multiverse from dying. Reports also place Doctor Doom on this same ship.

Why I Don't Buy the Captain Hydra, Loki, or Trailer Trickery Theories

Thor spends this section of the trailer sounding terrified while talking about a great threat, and I think it is pretty clear he is talking about incursions rather than Doctor Doom specifically at this point, even though it could sound like he means an individual enemy. My guess is Thor has only seen the aftermath of what this villain has left behind, not the villain himself, since Doom was seemingly off world or preoccupied during the events of Fantastic Four: First Steps. He may not realize the man standing in the room with him is that same threat.

Some viewers have taken Steve's calm smile as a sign that this is not our Steve Rogers but an evil version working with Doctor Doom, and others have floated that it could be Loki in disguise, which would not be the first or even the second time Loki has pretended to be Steve. I will admit it would be kind of cool if it were Loki and Thor could somehow tell, which is why he says "this is impossible." But then why would Thor extend the hammer for a test of whether it is really Steve? I do think Loki is now worthy of wielding the hammer, but Thor does not know that, so I do not think that is the answer.

I also do not think this is any kind of trailer trickery, like Thor actually reacting to a different character, such as Doom without his mask on turning out to be Tony Stark. I do not think it is that. I genuinely believe this is Steve Rogers, our Steve Rogers, not evil Steve Rogers and not Captain Hydra. Someone else who breaks down trailers online also claimed Steve's skin tone looks a little off in this shot, but I think that is simply the lighting.

Why Thor Is Actually Shocked to See Steve

What I think is happening here is that Thor has intercepted the Fantastic Four's rocket in space as it arrives in Universe 616, boarding the ship before it descends to Earth. The ship still appears to be in space in this shot, which is why I believe that is when Thor comes aboard, and it is also why Thor is present when the ship later arrives at Avengers Tower and the Fantastic Four walk off it. We can also see in another shot that Bucky, Sam, and Scott are looking at this same Steve Rogers.

So why is Thor so shocked? I would think that at some point Thor was filled in on what Steve did, meaning that Steve went back to the past, did not come back, and later reappeared as an old man. But we have never actually seen Thor be made aware of this on screen, and it is implied he left Earth with the Guardians before Steve returned the stones. Just because we have not seen that moment does not mean it did not happen off screen, and we could actually see it play out in Doomsday.

We already know Steve told Bucky his plan off screen before leaving on the time platform, which was implied in Endgame. Steve could very well have told Thor his plan too, and we may see that shared with Bucky, Thor, and other close confidants during a revisited Tony Stark funeral scene, possibly folded into an Avengers Endgame encore. In that scene, Thor could react to hearing it is a one way trip, wish Steve well, and accept he might never see him again, only to then be standing face to face with him, thinking, this is impossible, how are you back.

How This Reunion Could Lead Into the TVA and an X-Mansion Betrayal

From there, I think Steve tells Thor about how Loki made his return possible, and Thor asks Steve to take him using the TVA card seen in the trailer, something already mentioned in the leaks. According to those leaks, that is when Thor and Steve travel to the TVA and find it has been decimated by Doom, forcing them to rush back to the X-Mansion, only to arrive too late because Doom has already betrayed everyone.

I think the explosion beneath the steps of the X-Mansion in the trailer is happening in Beast's lab in the basement, an area we have seen explode before through the same stairs, and which sits near Cerebro. My guess is Beast, Reed, and Doom are all down there analyzing Shang-Chi's ten rings and devising a plan. Meanwhile, as reported, Thor asks Steve to take him to Loki, they go on a side quest and discover the truth about Doom, and when they return, Doom activates the Sentinels, sending the Avengers and X-Men into battle together while Steve looks betrayed and Thor realizes Doom is the villain he has been terrified of, right before Doom stops Stormbreaker with two fingers.

This Trailer Barely Scratches the Surface of the Movie

Looking at the trailer as a whole, it is clear how little of the actual film is in it. I think the bulk of it comes from Act One, maybe a few pieces from Act Two, and if you counted the actual distinct scenes shown, it might only be three, four, or five out of the entire movie. I do not think we saw a single frame from the third act, which means we have barely scratched the surface of what Doomsday actually has in store.

I am excited for what might come Saturday at Comic-Con, though a Doomsday trailer shown there likely will not be released to the public and we may only get leak descriptions of it. What do you think they have up their sleeve for that one?