Avengers Doomsday Trailer: Doctor Doom's Betrayal, Loki's Timeline Trick, and Why Thor's Speech Might Not Be About Doom

The Avengers Doomsday trailer dropped earlier than expected, arriving well before the Comic-Con date it seemed to be scheduled for. I had assumed it wasn't coming until Saturday the 25th at Comic-Con, but the tease at the end of the Fantastic Four content the night before, asking how much time we had left, turned out to be the signal that tickets and the trailer were both landing early. There is a lot in this trailer to work through, and I want to go beat by beat through what stood out to me.

My favorite moment in the whole trailer is the opening at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. The plaque is on the ground, there's debris everywhere, and Patrick Stewart's Xavier reacts to what looks like a sun in the sky. I think we are watching an incursion take place in that moment, and there is a real horror to it. The dirt and mess on the floor suggest a fight has already happened at the mansion before the Avengers even show up, and in later shots the X-Mansion looks like it was already in rough shape, with the power out and very few students visible.

The X-Men Are Already Broken Before the Avengers Arrive at the Mansion

From leaks discussed previously, the Avengers arrive in the X-Men universe and the X-Men initially believe they are there to attack, which sparks a fight. But the state of the mansion implies the X-Men are already near the end of their rope, having been dealing with incursions and the brutal choice at the center of them: either two colliding universes both die, or one is destroyed to spare the other. I'm not defending the idea of wiping out an entire universe, but I can understand how a group facing that choice might arrive at it.

Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom has a line in the trailer about facing something they may not be able to deter, calling it an unthinkable decision. I think this is Doom on the mansion grounds, near the water fountain from the courtyard, and this lines up with previously covered leaked footage of Doom leaning down and activating the Sentinels. My read is that this happens in the middle of the movie, in the second act, and it is the moment Doom betrays everyone.

Steve Rogers' Return Gets Real Reactions From the New Avengers Lineup

The skyline shot shows the new Avengers Tower with the A logo established back in Thunderbolts. In that scene, Sam smiles at who appears to be Steve Rogers, based on the hair, while Bucky looks surprised and Scott looks in awe, which tracks given how Scott feels about Captain America. I read that entire moment as the group's reaction to Steve reentering the picture.

We also see Alexei wearing his new Avengers gear with a Z, and Bob standing in the corner, in a scene pulled directly from the ending of Thunderbolts that was previously known to connect into Doomsday. Here we get to see it from the other side, with the Fantastic Four arriving and Thor giving a speech to the group shortly after Sam's Captain America and Ant-Man have arrived, with Steve already there too.

I don't think Thor arrived on the Fantastic Four's ship as some rumors suggested. My theory is that Thor was already near Earth, and that he and possibly Sam and Ant-Man intercept the Fantastic Four's rocket when it arrives, with Thor boarding the ship itself while Ant-Man and Sam head to Avengers Tower. That would explain why we later see Thor on the ship in another shot.

Wakanda and Talokan Face Off While Doom Reactivates Sentinels at the Mansion

A line referencing Namor and Shuri, saying they died facing annihilation, plays over a shot of the Wakandans and Talokans facing off, with John Walker, Bucky, Ghost, Ben Grimm and Sue Storm all present. That grouping suggests Yelena and Sam travel to the X-Men universe alongside Steve, Thor and Reed, while this other team ends up at the Wakanda and Talokan standoff. I'm not sure where Johnny Storm is in this moment.

Back at the mansion, Thor arrives to find destroyed Sentinels lying around, which I believe are being reactivated by Doom as zombie Sentinels, matching earlier leaked footage. Based on prior leaks, Steve tells Thor that he came into contact with Loki, who is the one responsible for placing Steve in this universe with the Fantastic Four, and shows him a card that becomes important later in the trailer. Thor looks furious here, and I think he feels betrayed by Doom.

There's an explosion under the mansion steps that visually echoes the same kind of blast in X-Men Apocalypse when Havok destroys the mansion's core. I think that explosion is happening in the basement, where Reed and Beast are working out a plan to stop the incursions, possibly right around the point where Steve and Thor go on a side trip to the Time Variance Authority to track down Loki. Cyclops runs out reacting to the chaos, and there's a heavy amount of Gambit versus Shang-Chi footage in the trailer, which I think is because the production isn't ready to show much from the third act yet.

The Loki Card's Yggdrasil Tree Places This After Loki Season Two

The card shown in the trailer has the Yggdrasil tree on the back, and my friend Whitney Van Laningham pointed out an analysis suggesting the hands holding it belong to Chris Hemsworth's Thor rather than Loki, meaning this could be the moment Steve hands the card to Thor. The Yggdrasil imagery places this after the events of Loki season two, when Loki is in control of the Time Variance Authority, with the card reading Time Variance Authority above a coded message and a picture of Loki.

Another shot shows Loki visiting Steve Rogers, and based on the yellow lighting, old curtains and a tree visible outside, I believe this is happening at Talokan, with Namor pushing back the water so the meeting can take place. Some viewers thought this scene was set in the void, but between the card's timeline placement and this visual, it settles any suggestion that this is a version of Loki from before the end of season two.

Mystique Transforms Into Yelena as the Wakanda Team Splits Up

The group making the trip to Wakanda includes Ben, Sue, Bucky, Falcon and Ghost. It's notable that Sue Storm ends up sharing a scene with Namor, and I'm curious what might happen there. Elsewhere, Reed holds Sam's shield back in what looks like continued tension between Sam and Yelena, with Shang-Chi drawing a weapon nearby and Herbie present as well.

Mystique is shown holding Yelena's baton and transforming into Yelena, in a moment I think looks great despite some viewers complaining about her hair. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen return as Professor X and Magneto, with Magneto looking slumped, possibly unwell. Cassie Lang gets a forehead kiss from Ant-Man in what looks like a goodbye before he heads off with Sam, which fits the theory that Cassie and other Avengers survive the end of the multiverse by entering the quantum realm. This appears to be the first real on-screen confirmation of her presence in the film, after outlets including Deadline, Hollywood Reporter or Variety had reported she was in it despite being absent from prior marketing.

Doom Catches Stormbreaker in a Shot That Mirrors Thanos in Infinity War

There's a moment that looks like Johnny Storm holding onto Franklin as an explosion happens behind them, which I think may be another incursion moment. Sue is shown holding something back, possibly water, allowing Shuri and M'Baku to escape, in a beat that reminded me of Jean holding back water so the X-Men could escape in X2.

Thor gives a speech about never having encountered something this frightening, and while the trailer cuts it to look like he's talking about Doctor Doom, I think he's actually talking about the end of the multiverse and incursions generally, possibly from a vision he's had. Doom then catches Stormbreaker with two fingers in a shot that directly mirrors Thanos catching the same weapon in Infinity War, with Doom standing in Thanos' old position. Thor looks terrified in the aftermath, and this appears to be the moment of Doom's betrayal at the mansion.

On the ship, Steve tells Thor "hey pal" and hands over Mjolnir, which is how Thor recognizes him. The hammer is visibly cracked, consistent with it having been broken by Hela and later reformed by Jane Foster as Lady Thor. I believe the figure standing behind Steve on the ship is Reed Richards. Based on the design of the ship's windows and controls, this is the Fantastic Four's ship rather than the Time Variance Authority, which the group likely also uses to reach Wakanda.

My Overall Verdict on the First Doomsday Trailer

Overall, I think this is a great first trailer. It's easy to get into your own head about what you want a movie's marketing to look like after talking about it for more than a year, and I tried not to do that too much here, because that mindset tends to set you up for disappointment. That wasn't the case with this one. Since it's the same trailer shown at CinemaCon, seeing Doom stop Stormbreaker with two fingers doesn't hit with quite the same surprise, even though it's the first time it's been shown publicly.

What will be interesting is whether a second trailer arrives around Comic-Con with exclusive new footage. I doubt Marvel releases that footage to the public directly, but I suspect they may want it to leak, similar to how the earlier leaked unfinished visual effects footage of the mansion fight got out. That kind of leak has to be coordinated by Marvel, and it points to a guerrilla marketing campaign for this movie that seems to be working.

What do you think might happen between Sue Storm and Namor after they share that scene together?