San Diego Comic-Con is weeks away, and Marvel Studios has announced a Hall H panel for Avengers: Doomsday. After months of waiting, audiences are finally expected to get their first trailer for the highly anticipated Marvel Cinematic Universe film that will unite various heroes from Marvel’s Multiverse Saga against Doctor Doom. Yet one question still on everyone’s mind is who exactly the Avengers are, as the ending of Thunderbolts* suggested two distinct teams, with one led by Sam Wilson/Captain America and another, the New Avengers, led by Yelena Belova.
The official Avengers: Doomsday display in Shanghai, China, as shared by Avengers Updates on X, includes a brief description of the upcoming film. The translation says: “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes — Steve Rogers, Shuri, Thor, Loki, Ant-Man, Captain America, Falcon, Shang-Chi, Bucky Barnes, Yelena Belova, and Red Guardian — along with the Avengers, will return in Avengers: Doomsday.” With Avengers and Earth Mightiest Heroes distinguished as two separate entities here, this suggests that the characters mentioned do not technically constitute an official Avengers roster.
In the context of the post, the “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” moniker is meant to highlight the powerful characters who unite in the movie. This is similar to Avengers: Infinity War, which featured The Avengers alongside characters who were not officially part of the team, such as Doctor Strange, Black Panther, the Winter Soldier, and the Guardians of the Galaxy. In fact, the description mixes members of Captain America’s Avengers team with those of The New Avengers, including Bucky Barnes, Yelena Belova, and Red Guardian.
Since Spider-Man: Far From Home, a recurring joke across the MCU has been a lack of a clear Avengers team. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings teased the idea of characters like Captain Marvel, Bruce Banner, and Wong working together, but no official team exists in the MCU. Both Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts* end with distinct Avengers teams forming, setting up a clash in Avengers: Doomsday. So far, Sam Wilson’s team only consists of himself and Joaquin Torres/Falcon. It is widely believed Sam Wilson’s team will also include Shang-Chi and Ant-Man.
Although Thor is a founding member of The Avengers, it is unclear whether he is part of Sam Wilson’s team at the start of the film or joins later. Loki is also not expected to be an official Avenger either, as he currently resides at the end of time as the God of Stories, holding the multiverse together. Then there is Steve Rogers, who is not going to take the Captain America moniker from Sam Wilson. Even with these major heroes, along with The Fantastic Four and X-Men, the Avengers will likely need more firepower if they hope to stand a chance against Doctor Doom.
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