After Avengers: Doomsday‘s first teaser revealed the unexpected (but some might say inevitable) return of Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers, the second is now in cinemas in front of Avatar: Fire & Ash. So far, if the agenda was simply generating conversation, Marvel Studios’ marketing campaign for the upcoming blockbuster has been a remarkable success. And dodging any cynicism over the commodification of Evans’ return, the sheer numbers associated with the teaser (especially after it was so widely and publicly leaked) are justification enough.
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The second teaser, which turned up in cinemas for Christmas, brings back Chris Hemsworth as he seemingly prays to his dead All-Father, Odin, as he prepares for battle with Robert Downey Jr’s Doctor Doom. The teaser also confirms the return of India Rose Hemsworth as Love, Thor’s adoptive daughter (formerly Gorr’s child), who last appeared in Thor: Love & Thunder. And in a few emotive moments, Thor reveals exactly the level of threat Doom will bring to the MCU.
Thor’s Pleas Reveal Doom is An Unprecedented Threat
Thor’s speech in the Doomsday teaser feels almost desperate, and this, crucially, is the first time we’ve seen the God of Thunder pray for protection or for strength. Even after his breakdown in Endgame, Thor didn’t doubt his might: remember, he volunteered to do the snap with the nano gauntlet, and there was no question of his battlefield prowess in the Battle of Earth. But Doom’s threat and the coming battle are enough to have him call out to his father:
“The war and now fate have given me something I never sought. A child. A life untouched by this all. Lend to me the strength of the All-Fathers so that I might fight once more. Defeat one more enemy and return home to her, not as a warrior, but as warmth. To teach her not battle, but stillness. The kind I never knew, Please father, hear my words,”
It’s a genius move to have someone as powerful as Thor seem to fear Doom even before we’ve had our first look at the character. The second Doomsday teaser arguably does a better job of building Doom’s dreaded aura better than any shot of him could. For long-term fans of the MCU, hearing Thor doubt his ability to come through the battle is a far more tangible idea of the enemy’s threat.
On top of that, Thor’s new relationship with Love brings in a new element to the story: vulnerability. Just as Steve’s child represents a weak point for someone who had very little to lose, Thor now has higher stakes to survive battles. We’ve already seen Thor’s arc evolve him from the war-loving enfant terrible of Asgard to a truly worthy father (rejecting the throne on the way), but a multiversal threat changes things. The most powerful original Avenger not only fears the threat, he fears what happens to Love if he loses.
Ironically, of course, this is all a dark echo of Tony Stark’s story in the MCU leading into the climax of the Infinity Saga. Having been gifted a terrifying vision of a potential doomsday by Scarlet Witch in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Stark developed the psychological weak point that ultimately broke the Avengers apart. He feared losing everything so much that he became a rogue element by accident: and it could be said that it was only his own daughter’s arrival that helped him realize his fate and his duty. Thor’s determination works in parallel, but we have to hope his outcome is different.
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