Avengers: Doomsday X-Men Trailer: Magneto's Chess Callback, a Sentinel in the Background and the Theory Behind Cyclops's Breakdown

The X-Men trailer for Avengers: Doomsday arrived right on time at 9:00 a.m. Eastern, and the biggest question it raised is why James Marsden's Cyclops appears to be having an emotional breakdown. The prevailing theory is that Doctor Doom and the Sentinels have taken his child, and it is one I have gone from doubting to finding more and more likely.

The trailer had leaked about a week earlier, but the official release gave us HD frames and some very key foreshadowing, including a floating chess king. It gives me goosebumps, and I went through it about 10 or 15 times to make sure nothing was missed.

A spoiler warning first. I normally avoid leaks in official Easter egg breakdowns. However, behind the scenes set images and aerial drone shots of the X-Mansion had been out for over a year by the time the trailer dropped, and they now carry a lot of context. I reference them below, so if you would rather not know that material, this is the point to stop reading.

The X-Mansion trailer opens after the battle is already over

The trailer opens on the X-Mansion, and it is clearly after a battle. Everything is disheveled or destroyed. In the very next shot, complete bookshelves have been knocked over into the middle of the room, and the various blinking lights, including one in the background, are definitely meant to set some ominous undertones.

The key thing to remember is that we are after the struggle here. Something has already taken place, and it is in the aftermath of this attack that Professor X and Magneto are discussing death. The trailer also shows the plaque for Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, a reminder that there are kids at this school amid the destruction. There might have been collateral damage, which ties into the theory further down this piece.

Magneto's floating king calls back to his last chess game with Professor X

The next scene is so key because of the last conversation Magneto and Professor X had over a chessboard. You would not normally think of chess pieces as metal, but the metallic finish is clear, especially on the silver pieces. That means the hovering king is being lifted by Magneto.

The last time the two of them played chess, they were talking through their opposing points of view. It ended with Magneto saying he would fight by any means necessary, and Professor X replying that he would always be there, old friend. That scene made a point of checkmating Magneto as a critique of his argument, basically weighing in and saying Professor X was right.

All these years later, it looks like Magneto is about to admit checkmate again. He is lifting the king to knock it over. To me, that means that even after all this time, and in the face of the tragedy and calamity that has just occurred, "the scene is saying Professor X's point of view is still correct."

Cyclops opens his eyes as Magneto's line about death ends, with a Sentinel behind him

The dialogue over these shots is Magneto talking about death coming for everyone, and how it only matters what kind of person you will be when your eyes close. In other words, after you have died, what kind of legacy do you leave, and what is the sum of you.

That is set in direct opposition to Cyclops in the very next scene. As the quote ends, he opens his eyes, on his knees, in what looks like extreme emotional distress. In the background to the left, especially now that the HD frames are available, you can clearly see a Sentinel walking into frame.

Set leaks placed a Sentinel battle in the X-Mansion courtyard

This is where the leaks come in. Last year, the source Unbox PhD posted a large number of aerial and drone shots of what was very clearly the courtyard of the X-Mansion, probably connected to this scene. About two weeks into preproduction, the production advanced things by bringing in a full life size practical Sentinel, which was shown lying down, covered by a tarp in the middle of the set.

Presumably that is the Sentinel seen here, about to be defeated. Either way, it confirmed back then that some sort of battle would take place in the courtyard. That is why it is safe to assume this scene is set in the X-Mansion courtyard, and that it probably happens before Professor X and Magneto have their conversation.

The theory that Doctor Doom took Cyclops's child

So what makes Cyclops drop to his knees and rip his visor off like this, rather than focusing on defeating that Sentinel? The early conjecture lined up with Magneto's comment about death coming for them all: that there must have been serious deaths on the X-Men team during this invasion, and that this was causing Cyclops to break down.

The newer theory is one I had briefly covered before and said I was not really buying into, but it is looking more and more likely. It builds on the first two trailers. The first showed Steve Rogers with his child. The second showed Love, who refers to Thor as Uncle Thor in the post credits scene. She is really Gorr's daughter, but the two have a father and daughter relationship.

Following that pattern, the prevailing theory is that Cyclops's child has been taken by Doctor Doom and the Sentinels, with Doom reportedly controlling the Sentinels using rune magic, according to a couple of plot leaks. The idea is that Doom and the Sentinels are trying to take the children across the multiverse, starting with Franklin Richards, then Steve Rogers' kid, then Love, and then what could be a young Cable. That would set Cable up for the future of the Multiverse Saga, in the same way Sadie Sink was reportedly being brought in as Jean Grey. Other characters could be set up this way too.

If a young Cable were kidnapped by Doctor Doom, it would explain Cyclops breaking down, ripping off his visor and letting that blast go in distress. It would also be a really great way to galvanize all of these heroes on the same side against Doctor Doom in the face of incoming incursions. When it comes to your kids, it does not matter if the multiverse is ending; they would all be desperately trying to get their children back, the way we have heard Reed Richards is. It would put them all on the same side immediately.

An eerily empty X-Mansion, and why this trailer feels so peak

One final thought: the X-Mansion scenes feel eerily, completely empty. There are no bodies anywhere and no other X-Men. It really feels like the scene in Deadpool 2 where Deadpool rolls around the X-Mansion and basically asks where everyone is. That is what these two scenes felt like to me.

It makes me wonder if Marvel Studios is up to its usual CGI magic, having removed all the dead X-Men lying around the mansion in these shots. You can imply they are there, because this is the aftermath of what was an enormous battle.

And honestly, "this feels so peak." I very generally do not use that word, but "this is exactly what we want from Marvel." I am so glad they decided to lean in, and it really feels like the Russos were cooking up a movie worthy of Avengers 5.

Do you think the empty mansion is hiding fallen X-Men, or is a kidnapped child the real reason Cyclops falls to his knees?