Throughout its history, the Avengers have only truly appeared in one scene in the MCU. When Marvel Studios launched its franchise in 2008 with Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, they did so having to use the lesser-established characters in their comic book roster. Character rights for the X-Men were still separated then with Fox, while Spider-Man was with Sony and the Hulk was with Universal. Despite that, Kevin Feige believed in his original MCU vision, applying it to secondary comic book characters, such as Iron Man, Thor, and even Captain America. Despite some skepticism and challenges, Marvel Studios successfully established Phase 1, ending with its first culminating film, The Avengers.
Videos by ComicBook.com
The Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have been a staple of the MCU and pop culture in general since they were officially debuted in 2012. Marking as the first billion-dollar film of the franchise, The Avengers earned a total of $1.5 billion in its global theatrical run. Suddenly, Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, plus the Hulk were all household names, even rivaling the popularity of Spider-Man and X-Men. The Avengersbecame the MCU’s banner superhero team, with Marvel Studios releasing three more movies under their branding. Understandably, the roster has evolved over the years (although the original six will always be special), but all throughout this time, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in their intended purpose have only appeared in one scene, and it was in Avengers: Endgame.
As Tony Stark defined in The Avengers, “if we can’t protect the Earth, you can be damned well sure we’ll avenge it,” the idea of the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes was to avenge their home planet. This goal was really only true at the start of Avengers: Endgame, when some of the remaining heroes sought Thanos in The Garden to avenge their devastating loss. Every other instance that Earth’s Mightiest Heroes had to assemble outside of that, they were either protecting the planet, as was the case in Avengers: Age of Ultron andAvengers: Infinity War. Even the final battle in Avengers: Endgame was meant to defend the planet from the new version of Thanos.
How Marvel Studios’ Avengers Movies Evolved Over The Years
Seven years after the release of Avengers: Endgame and the end of the Infinity Saga, Marvel Studios is once again re-assembling the MCU for another culminating movie. Joe and Anthony Russo are back to direct the new film, as well as Chris Evans as Steve Rogers. Meanwhile, Robert Downey Jr. is playing Doctor Doom, taking an entirely new character and preserving the death of Iron Man. While there was initial skepticism about the movie, Disney and Marvel Studios’ marketing campaign has been doing a good job convincing people to be interested in the MCU again after how rocky the Multiverse Saga has been.
As exciting as Avengers: Doomsday sounds right now, in an ideal world, the first Avengers film after Avengers: Endgameshould have been more like the original 2012 installment. That way, Marvel Studios could have used it to properly establish the next generation of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. While Steve’s “Avengers Assemble” line in the Infinity Saga-capper essentially made every single franchise hero part of the team, there’s still a need for an established Avengers group, the same way that Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye were in MCU Phase 1.
Marvel Studios Still Needs A Proper Avengers Team
Because of the lack of a proper set-up, unlike Avengers: Infinity Warand Avengers: Endgame, it’s difficult to predict what the jumping point of Avengers: Doomsday‘s story will be. Specific plot details are still scant at the moment, and with the way Marvel Studios is marketing the film, they’ll likely keep details close to the chest until the film hits theaters. Until now, the much-anticipated Avengers: Doomsdaytrailer still hasn’t been released. Considering the circumstances, not to mention the need to clear the path for Avengers: Secret Wars, Marvel Studios may not have the time to establish a true Avengers team in the upcoming film.
Still, it doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be one of their top priorities. Earlier in the Multiverse Saga, the conflict between two groups about which one is the MCU’s new Avengers was introduced, which is the perfect narrative opening to finally settle this matter. While Avengers: Doomsday may not have the time to sort this out, once the threat posed by Doctor Doom is finally neutralized, it’s something that Marvel Studios will need to revisit right away. Once that’s done, perhaps the MCU can start doing smaller-scale Avengers films like The Avengersand even Avengers: Age of Ultron in between its massive culminating efforts.
Avengers: Doomsday will hit cinemas on December 18, 2026
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in theComicBook Forum!
14 Years Later, One of the Best Avengers Quotes Will Finally Matter Again in 2026
