Matthew Percefull
Superhero fatigue is a phrase that’s been floating around online film spaces for over a decade now. The fear that audiences will get sick of a constant barrage of comic book films seemed to be disproven by the huge box office returns that these films often brought in. Over the last five years, however, I think superhero fatigue is starting to look more inevitable than ever. Despite general critical acclaim, Marvel’s last three films (Thunderbolts, Fantastic Four: First Steps, and Captain America: Brave New World) have underperformed financially to varying degrees, and DC’s second major release, Supergirl, looks to be a big flop. While we’re seeing genres like horror reach peak popularity, a generic superhero flick just isn’t moving the needle like it once did.
If any film is immune to this growing apathy towards these films, you’d think it would be the highly anticipated Avengers: Doomsday. While Marvel has just released the first trailer for this massive team-up film, the marketing started well over a year ago. The first tease of this film occurred way back in 2024 when Robert Downey Jr made the infamous announcement that he would return to the MCU—not to reclaim his iconic role as Tony Stark, but to portray the saga’s next big bad, Doctor Doom. Some fans immediately wrote this off as a cynical play, while others are giving Disney grace due to past casting decisions. I sat somewhere in the middle on this issue.
Sure, on paper the idea is completely ridiculous, but I can see a world where Marvel can pull something like this off. Stunt casting has been at the center of what made this cinematic universe so singular from the very first film. They often cast actors either against type (Chris Evans) or in a way that directly grappled with their public perception (RDJ, Edward Norton). Unfortunately, I don’t think the Marvel Studios that could once pull this trick off really exists anymore. The studio has seemingly lost its ability to subvert, and the first trailer for Doomsday is the evidence of this.
The first thing that is clear to me from this trailer is that these filmmakers have no idea what story they are telling. Unlike the previous Avengers films, which built directly from the films before it, Doomsday is jumping around from property to property in a desperate attempt to piece together something coherent. Fox’s X-Men (a franchise that is not only dormant but separate from the MCU) get most of the screentime here. Thor does narrate the trailer and appear throughout, but it’s obvious that the trailer is mostly trying to lure in old X-Men fans with nostalgia for roles that are likely to be glorified cameos in Doomsday. The new characters the franchise was focusing on up to this point, like the Fantastic Four, Shang-Chi, and the Thunderbolts, seem to take a back seat to these familiar characters from previous eras. It makes the whole trailer feel clunky and unfortunately cheap. It has the vibe of a fan-edited trailer with overdramatic cuts and an underwhelming monologue from Chris Hemsworth’s Thor.
What the trailer does not show much of is Robert Downey Jr’s performance as Doctor Doom. We see the mask a few times, hear his voice once, and Doom is presented as a looming threat throughout, yet there’s not a single shred of RDJ to be seen. Even when he’s the focus of the poster, he has his back turned. I’m sure they’re hiding the performances from the marketing for a reason. It just concerns me that we have yet to see any of it after the big Comic-Con reveal. There’s a potential world where RDJ as Doom is a complete gimmick and he stays under the mask and heavily disguised voice for the entire film. While I have faith that Marvel wouldn’t stoop so low, I have to admit it’s a possibility that seems more probable the more marketing we see. They’re either confidentially hiding a clever twist, or they know that showcasing Doom would hurt the anticipation of the film.
Chris Evans’ return as Captain America is another decision that smells of desperation. Captain America’s character arc and ending were one of the best parts of the previous Avengers films. His choice to stay in the past and pass down his mantle feels completely meaningless when you bring him back the very next film. Endgame really wasn’t all that long ago, and definitely not long enough ago to make the return exciting, especially since he already cameoed in Deadpool and Wolverine just a few years ago. His moment with Thor at the end of the trailer is supposed to evoke good memories of previous films and make you excited for their reunion. It just made me roll my eyes.
There are, however, a few moments of action in the Avengers: Doomsday trailer that intrigue me. Easily the most visually compelling sequence we see is a fight between Channing Tatum’s Gambit and Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi, which showcases some creative action and impressive visuals (something that the rest of the trailer is sorely lacking).
The MCU is in the middle of a huge shift in the state of cinema. They have a choice to make: either adapt with the times or double down on the nostalgic spectacle. They’ve unfortunately already chosen the latter. I’m not saying that modern audiences don’t want spectacle; it’s actually quite the opposite, as big event films like The Odyssey and Project Hail Mary have been huge hits. It’s not the scale that isn’t connecting here—something else is in the way. Doomsday is clearly an attempt to throw as many recognizable Marvel characters at each other as possible until the audience mindlessly claps in the theater. The only problem is that nobody is clapping this time.
As a comic book fan, the future isn’t completely doomed. I think we are entering a new era in the subgenre where smaller, standalone stories take precedence over these massive team-ups. I wouldn’t be surprised if this month’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day outperforms Avengers: Doomsday at the box office this year. Audiences are demanding change, and if Marvel doesn’t listen, they may get left behind as a titan of a bygone era.
