Avengers: Doomsday teams: who is on Sam Wilson's squad?

Marvel Studios wasted no time marketing the Thunderbolts as the new Avengers. Even people who hadn't seen Thunderbolts* (2025), starring Florence Pugh, David Harbour and Sebastian Stan, knew it because the studio said so. But they weren't the only Avengers team heading into Avengers: Doomsday. Sam Wilson had his own team, and I expected several more teams in Doomsday and Secret Wars, along with characters outside any team who would still have big roles.

Ultimately, all of these teams and individuals were going to form one overall Avengers team. The Guardians of the Galaxy weren't technically Avengers, but taking part in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame made them Avengers. I expected the same for Doomsday and Secret Wars. The rumored team I think few people consider is Doom's own, and the Scarlet Witch is part of that story.

Are the Thunderbolts really the new Avengers?

That was the question at the time, both inside the MCU and among fans. Without giving too much away, there's a part of Thunderbolts* that suggests that even though the public sees them branded as the new Avengers, not all of the public accepts them that way.

The roster was clear: Yelena Belova, Red Guardian, John Walker, Ghost, and Sentry, depending on his state, which anyone who has seen the film will understand. Then there's Bucky, who said he had talked to Sam Wilson about the new Avengers and that it didn't go well. The reason it didn't go well, as I saw it, is that Sam Wilson has his own Avengers team.

Insider Alex Perez of The Cosmic Circus reported long before that there would be friction between Bucky and Sam Wilson when they met with their own Avengers teams already assembled. "So, he was definitely right about that."

Sam Wilson's Avengers team was reportedly assembled off screen

Captain America: Brave New World set up Sam Wilson's team. It mentioned a new Avengers team several times, and at the end Sam told the new Falcon he would need to be ready to join it.

According to a couple of different insiders, Sam Wilson had already assembled that team off screen. That meant we wouldn't see it come together, but we would see the team fight in Avengers: Doomsday. Including the Thunderbolts, that made two Avengers teams already.

Who is on Sam Wilson's Avengers team

Based on everything the MCU had built since Avengers: Endgame, and on the names revealed on chairs in the Doomsday cast announcement, I felt we had a good idea of the lineup. Sam Wilson leads as Captain America. Marvel had already confirmed that Joaquin Torres, the new Falcon, would be there. Thor was confirmed too, as the first chair revealed. Ant-Man would be there as well.

The Wasp was less certain, because Evangeline Lilly, who plays her, said she was no longer acting, so we might not get the Wasp. Shang-Chi was confirmed, which made sense given the post-credits scene in his own film.

Jeremy Renner, who plays Hawkeye, hadn't signed on for Hawkeye season 2 because he was offered only half of what he was paid for season 1. I still expected him to appear, because Sam Wilson would call him. Renner also said work on the season 2 story was ongoing and that he thought they could eventually come to terms. Since he's one of the original Avengers, I was sure he would show up.

Then there's Wong. Given that Shang-Chi post-credits scene, his frequent appearances across the MCU and his role as Sorcerer Supreme, it made sense for him to join Sam. Bruce Banner and Captain Marvel were in that scene too. In my view, Wong, Banner and Captain Marvel were already the leaders of this team, keeping in contact to protect the world and the universe before coming together under Sam's Captain America. I also thought there was an extremely good chance She-Hulk, Bruce Banner's cousin, would show up on the same team.

The Young Avengers setup from The Marvels to Daredevil: Born Again

Those were the two adult Avengers teams, but there are also the Young Avengers. At the very end of The Marvels, Kamala Khan contacted Kate Bishop to recruit her for a Young Avengers team, and mentioned that Ant-Man had a daughter, Cassie Lang, who lives in California.

Daredevil: Born Again added a small tease. Kamala Khan's father told Matt Murdock his daughter was in California visiting friends. Most likely, that's Kamala recruiting Cassie Lang for the team.

More members were coming. America Chavez was set up as a big player in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and was training with Wong, so she would know what was going on and eventually meet the other Young Avengers. Riri Williams, Ironheart, was about to get her own Disney Plus show at the time. Then there are the Scarlet Witch's children, Wiccan and Speed, with Wiccan on a quest with Agatha to find his brother. There was also a rumor that the Young Avengers, or the Champions project Marvel Studios was said to be planning, would eventually reunite Wiccan and Speed with their mother.

The Fantastic Four, Wakanda and the X-Men

That made three Avengers teams. The Fantastic Four were going to play a big role in Doomsday and Secret Wars. I was pretty sure their son, Franklin Richards, who was set to appear in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, would play a key role in the multiverse. In the comics, he can create universes and helps restore the multiverse after it's destroyed.

Next is the Wakandan team. Shuri and M'Baku were confirmed for the film. New concept art had shown a new Black Panther, and Black Panther 3 was confirmed, but it wasn't clear whether this would be a multiversal variant or a grown-up Toussaint as the new Black Panther. Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, confirmed the Wakandans would team up with the Avengers and the group he called the Thunderbolts at the time, now the new Avengers, to go against Doom.

The last team Feige mentioned was the X-Men. Professor X, Magneto, Cyclops, Mystique, Beast, Gambit and more were returning as the MCU's X-Men, ahead of new X-Men arriving after Secret Wars. Feige confirmed they would team up with the Avengers against Doom.

Doom's team and the Scarlet Witch rumor

Doom was said to have his own team, which made sense, and we had heard that some characters from our universe might join him. The one multiple insiders mentioned was the Scarlet Witch. This wasn't confirmed, but many different insiders had raised it.

We had also heard she would get a good redemption arc in Doomsday and/or Secret Wars, so I was sure she wouldn't be with Doom the whole way. Early on, we heard, Doom would believe he is the hero and savior of the multiverse. The Scarlet Witch might get on board, thinking her powers could help. Once Doom was firmly set up as the main villain, I believed she would go to the good side. She had been part of the Avengers team before, but she was one of the characters who would probably have her own little solo story in Doomsday and/or Secret Wars.

Doctor Strange, Clea and Spider-Man's separate stories

The same goes for these two. Marvel clearly meant to make a Doctor Strange 3 before Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, which, under the original plan, would have been out around the time I wrote this. With that plan changed, it looked like Doomsday would have to address Strange and Clea traveling the multiverse to fix an incursion as a separate story. Ultimately, I expected him and probably Clea to join the overall Avengers team.

Spider-Man was in a similar situation. I was hearing that he might not be in Avengers: Doomsday at all, though he would be in Avengers: Secret Wars and join the overall team. What I was hearing at the time was that Spider-Man: Brand New Day might take place at the same moment as Doomsday, which could explain his absence if he truly wasn't in it. We would have to wait and see.

Vision and Star-Lord's paths into the fight

Vision might belong with the Young Avengers. VisionQuest is a Disney Plus series about him, and there were rumors it might involve the Young Avengers, with Vision possibly leading them. If not, the Scarlet Witch was returning and would most likely want to know what's going on with this new Vision. I assumed he would eventually get his memories back, become the old Vision and hopefully reunite with Wanda and their kids.

Star-Lord is different. He isn't with the Guardians of the Galaxy, he's on Earth. If Doom attacks Earth, if teams like the Fantastic Four and the X-Men arrive from other universes, or if an incursion shows him another Earth, he would either get a sling ring visit from Wong or try to get involved as a hero. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 said the legendary Star-Lord would return, so we know he's coming back.

The TVA team and Loki

Some characters form a group without a team name, which I call the TVA team: Hunter B-15, Ouroboros, Mobius, Sylvie and Loki. From what we had heard, everything in Avengers: Doomsday was going to come down to the TVA and Loki. There was supposed to be "a pretty killer fight scene in the TVA, a multiversal fight scene," if the rumors were true. Loki, who is holding the multiverse together, was going to be the key to everything, which made sense.

So Doomsday was shaping up to hold far more than the new Avengers, Captain America's Avengers, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, and that's before Secret Wars. "It's a lot of people, a lot of characters in one movie." But the Russo brothers and Marvel Studios pulled it off with Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. We know they can pull it off again, and I'm hoping they do.