10 Things You Missed If You Quit the MCU After Avengers: Endgame
Between 2008 and 2019, the MCU was a joyous juggernaut of a cinematic journey.
Introducing the original Avengers, plus Big Bad Thanos and his quest for the Infinity Stones, it seemed Kevin Feige and Co. could do no wrong. Then, with the two-parter of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, we witnessed genuine greatness. These weren’t just amazing comic book movies; they were cultural events that will stand the test of time.
Since then, though, the MCU has faltered somewhat. Storylines have become a little messy, with chopping and changing behind the scenes and a split between film and TV leaving the direction of the franchise unclear. There has also been some rushed-looking CGI work and a few box-office bombs, meaning quite a few fans have tuned out.
If you’re one of those people but you want a crash course in what you’ve missed since Endgame to prepare for Avengers: Doomsday, here are the 10 key things you might not know about the MCU now.
1. Kang Was the Next Big Bad, But Now He’s Not
Even the title Avengers: Doomsday might be a surprise to you if you’ve not been keeping track of the MCU. It was originally called Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, but a complete course-correction was needed when Kang actor Jonathan Majors was fired by Disney amid assault and harassment charges.
We got a good look at him in the Loki TV series, but he was even more prominent in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The time-travelling tyrant had taken over the Quantum Realm, but was ultimately defeated by Scott Lang and his crew. In the post-credits scene of that sequel, it was revealed there were countless other variants of Kang, but we’re unlikely to ever see them again.
Doctor Doom is the main villain of the latest era now. He appeared briefly at the end of The Fantastic 4: First Steps, though we only see the back of his head as he leans over Sue Storm and Reed Richards’ baby. Doom will be played by none other than former Tony Stark/Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr.. We have a theory on how a different version of Stark could have turned evil, but we’ll just have to wait and see how that all plays out.
2. Loki is the Most Powerful Being in the MCU
Speaking of the Loki series, the very foundation of the multiverse is now inextricably linked to the former God of Mischief. He now goes by the title ‘God of Stories’ and is the master of the multiverse, holding together the various strands and timelines as part of the Yggdrasil, a tree-like structure that prevents all of existence from being destroyed in a temporal collapse.
It sounds complex, but it’s all explained in Loki, where the titular character casts aside his villainous ways to take on the Time Variance Authority (TVA), defeat Kang, fall in love (with Sylvie, a female variant of himself), and eventually prevent the implosion of the multiverse. Not every Marvel series is necessary viewing, but this one is, and it happens to also be really entertaining.
3. Hulk Has a Son Now
One show that really isn’t essential viewing but still a fun watch is She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Not only does it introduce us to Bruce Banner’s cousin, Jennifer Walters, who can also get green and angry, but it also brings Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock (AKA Daredevil) back into play and gives him his comic-accurate yellow suit.
Those are the only cool character plays you get from She-Hulk. But there’s also a surprising reveal that Bruce, or perhaps more accurately, The Hulk, has a son. He’s called Skaar, and he briefly pops up at a family gathering with a really bad haircut. He doesn’t say much, and no one has really mentioned him since – they might not ever again, in fact, but he’s definitely out there somewhere.
4. Nobody Knows Who Peter Parker Is
One of the better films in the post-Endgame world is Spider-Man: No Way Home. This movie brings together a trio of Spideys, with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield reprising their roles, while the likes of Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Electro, and Lizard all crash-land on Earth-616. This is all Tom Holland’s fault, with the MCU’s Peter Parker accidentally tearing a hole in the multiverse after asking Doctor Strange to cast a complex spell.
The movie is full of fun moments, cool action set-pieces, and it’s obviously great seeing all the legacy characters from previous movies interacting. However, No Way Home does lead to some rather negative consequences for Peter. First of all, Aunt May is dead – she gets taken out by one of Green Goblin’s pumpkin bombs. Second, Doctor Strange had to cast another spell to fix the rift in the multiverse, but it meant everybody had to forget who Peter is. We’ll see that whole situation play out in the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
5. Doctor Strange Might Be Corrupted by Dark Magic
Speaking of which, the last time we saw Doctor Strange, he wasn’t looking too good. After messing with the various timelines and realities so much in Spidey’s story, the sorcerer really had his hands full in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Not only did he have to contain the formidable power of Wanda Maximoff, who went full Scarlet Witch mode, but Strange crossed the line once again by using spells from the Darkhold.
In the post-credits scene of this film, Charlize Theron appears as a character called Clea, who tells Strange he’s to blame for multiple incursions (where timelines collide with one another) and the seemingly inevitable demise of the multiverse. He then sprouts a third eye in the middle of his forehead, a clear sign of dark magic corrupting him. Will we ever see Clea again? Maybe not. But you would think we’ll get answers about Strange’s new facial feature at some point.
6. Mutants Are in the MCU Already
One of the most intriguing scenes in the Doctor Strange sequel is our introduction to the MCU’s version of the Illuminati. An incredibly powerful team of the most gifted and intelligent heroes, this iteration includes John Krasinski as Reed Richards, Hayley Atwell as Captain Britain, a variant of Stephen Strange, Maria Rambeau (aka Binary), the Inhumans leader Blackagar Boltagon, and Professor Charles Xavier (played by the legendary Sir Patrick Stewart).
That was our first real taste of mutants coming to the MCU, and we’ve had plenty more since. Kamala Khan was brought to the small screen in Ms Marvel, and it’s revealed that her powers stem from a mutant gene. Meanwhile, in The Marvels, we see Kamala team up with Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel and a supercharged Monica Rambeau. In that adventure, the MCU goes musical for a while, but most notably, in the post-credits scene, Beast from the X-Men movies is treating Monica in an alternate universe. He will be back for Doomsday, as will the likes of James Marsden as Cyclops, Sir Ian McKellen as Magneto, and Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler.
7. Shuri Has Taken Over As Black Panther
A real-world tragedy altered the course of the MCU forever when Chadwick Boseman passed away in August 2020. The actor had secretly been fighting against colon cancer for years and died just before production was about to begin on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Director Ryan Coogler rewrote his story to, first and foremost, pay tribute to Boseman by giving his character, T’Challa, a very emotional funeral procession at the start of the film. He also needed someone to step into the iconic suit, and it was T’Challa’s sister, Shuri (played by Letitia Wright), who took on the mantle of the Black Panther for this poignant sequel and will continue in the role going into Doomsday.
8. The Guardians of the Galaxy Have Retired
Of all the characters in the MCU, I’d say the Guardians of the Galaxy have the best run of films. The first was an outstanding introduction to the rogue band of reluctant heroes. The second really took things up a notch as Peter Quill confronted his estranged father, a narcissistic Celestial who is essentially a living planet.
James Gunn wrapped up his epic trilogy with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and it was absolutely sublime. Retaining that trademark humour and poppy visual style, Gunn also injected an incredible amount of emotion into this story, which focused on Rocket’s origins as a test subject. By the end of the movie, though, the Guardians team went their separate ways. While a version of the gang still exists, including newcomers Adam Warlock and Cosmo the Spacedog, Peter is now back on Earth hoping to reconcile with his family, and Drax and Nebula are overseeing the rebuilding of Knowhere.
9. There Are Two New ‘Avengers’ Teams…
In Thunderbolts* – another real highlight of Marvel’s Phase Five – a group of misfits and villains including Yelena Belova, her father, U.S. Agent John Walker, Bucky Barnes, Ghost, and new kid on the block, Sentry, are unveiled to the world as the latest collection of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
However, Sam Wilson is not happy about this. He’s the new Captain America, by the way, as explained in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier TV show and his first solo movie, Captain America: Brave New World. The problem is, he thinks he’s the leader of the Avengers. His team so far includes Joaquin Torres, who replaces him as the new Falcon, and we suspect he’ll be joined by Ant-Man, Thor, and possibly Shang-Chi, too, for Doomsday.
10. … And Lots of Other New Characters Preparing for Doomsday
I know what you’re thinking… Shang-Chi? Who? So, let’s wrap this up by running down all the other new characters that have been introduced to the MCU since Avengers: Endgame.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings came out in 2021, giving us a martial arts hero with magical bracelets. However, his name has not been mentioned since then, so don’t worry too much if you aren’t familiar with him.
Then, there was Eternals. The excellent Chloé Zhao took the helm for this one, and it was a visually stunning film, but it also opened up a can of worms. These ancient heroes have seen all kinds of bad things happening on Earth, so why didn’t they help? They also left a giant dead Celestial in the middle of the sea that no one has addressed for years. And now, we don’t even think the Eternals will ever show up again after the film struggled at the box office. The film even had Harry Styles in the post-credits scene as Eros, the adopted brother of Thanos, but his appearance counts for very little at this point.
There have been some really significant characters drafted into the MCU, though. Namor is one of them – he was the antagonist in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and he’ll be back for Avengers: Doomsday, where he could well clash with the Fantastic 4 if his comic book connection to Sue Storm is anything to go by.
Speaking of, Marvel’s First Family are going to be integral to the battle against Doom. He’s the main villain to the Fantastic 4 in countless comic arcs, having been a scientific rival to Reed Richards and pursuing Sue romantically. The new versions of these iconic characters are played by Pedro Pascal (Reed), Vanessa Kirby (Sue), Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm).
And, finally, the Merc With a Mouth crossed into the MCU in Deadpool & Wolverine. He clashed with the TVA, teamed up with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, and met an array of old Fox characters like X-23, Blade, Electra, and even Chris Evans’ iteration of Johnny Storm. That film also gave Channing Tatum the chance to play Gambit after more than a decade of waiting for the opportunity.
It’s unclear how much of a role any of them will play in Avengers: Doomsday, but they are here now, and that’s all that matters.
