With the release of Avatar: Fire and Ash, the very first teaser for Avengers: Doomsday has finally dropped, and I have a lot of thoughts about it. Honestly, I didn't mind the idea of getting a new teaser with every major film release, but this strategy of dropping small, fragmented clips feels a bit off to me.
I love Avatar movies, in fact, I usually use the first Avatar film just to check the picture quality on a new TV. But let's be real here: I went to the theater to watch Avatar: Fire and Ash specifically to see the Avengers: Doomsday teaser. If you haven't seen it yet, consider this a fair spoiler warning.
Steve Rogers Returns Home
The teaser introduces us to Steve Rogers, who arrives on a Triumph bike outside a very familiar house. It is the exact same house we saw at the end of Avengers: Endgame, where an elderly Steve Rogers had returned after placing all the Infinity Stones back in their timelines to live out his life with Peggy Carter.
In this clip, Steve takes out his suit, the same quantum realm suit he used for the time heist. I also noticed a suitcase, and after checking closely, it doesn't look like the one used for the Infinity Stones. But the next shot is what truly changes everything: we see a baby in Steve Rogers' hands.
The Time Travel Mistake
Most viewers might assume straight away that this is Steve and Peggy's child. However, technically, we can't be 100% sure yet. We all know Captain America traveled back in time, and simply settling down to have a child with Peggy is actually a massive reckless move when you think about the rules of time travel.
We have discussed theories before that "Doom" is coming specifically for Steve Rogers in this movie, and now it makes sense why. The events of Loki happened precisely because the Avengers messed with time to get the stones. Think about it: Tony got hit, Loki escaped with the Tesseract, and the Sacred Timeline branched into a multiverse tree.
Now, imagine Steve Rogers going back, getting married, and having a child. On top of that, Steve is a Super Soldier, meaning his child would likely inherit those traits. This creates a massive "Butterfly Effect." It isn't happy ending; it is a disruption of time that directly invites Incursions, disasters that Doctor Strange, Loki, and Doctor Doom will have to deal with.
The Russo Brothers' Vision
Even though this teaser didn't show much, it is clear that the Russo Brothers are still heavily focused on Steve Rogers. And why wouldn't they be? They have been carrying Captain America's arc since The Winter Soldier. They reunited him with Bucky, tore the Avengers apart in Civil War, and gave him a bittersweet ending in Endgame.
Now that they are back, they are continuing exactly where they left off. But this raises questions about the "Old Man Cap" who gave Sam Wilson the shield. Was he old because he lived a full life, or did he age from witnessing the destruction of timelines? Was he hiding the truth about his multiversal adventures from Sam to prevent further chaos?
Civil War II?
There is another major takeaway from Steve's return. For the past week, rumors have been swirling that Avengers: Doomsday is essentially a "Civil War II" story. This means we might see Steve Rogers facing off against Tony Stark again, or rather, a variant of him in the form of Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom.
It feels inevitable. In the comics, the "Time Runs Out" arc, which leads into Secret Wars, begins with Captain America and Iron Man trying to assemble the Avengers and ends with them fighting each other as the multiverse collapses. Whoever said Doomsday would be Civil War II seems to be right on the money.
A Questionable Marketing Strategy
One thing I found strange was the absence of a chair for the actor in this teaser during Marvel's previous cast reveal event. It feels like Marvel is a bit desperate, running back to their original Avengers after straying too far into the Multiverse Saga. They know fans will love seeing Cap on screen, and honestly, it feels justified.
The Avengers cheated time to beat Thanos, and as history shows, every shortcut has a price. Now, at the end of this saga, they have to pay that price. It is a perfect way to enhance the story of Endgame. However, asking fans to go back to theaters repeatedly just for tiny teaser clips attached to other movies feels like a "cheat code" to squeeze money out of us.
The countdown to Avengers: Doomsday has officially begun, with the movie exactly one year away. Do you think Steve Rogers was reckless enough to mess up the timelines? Do you believe we are heading for a Civil War II? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
