Avengers: Doomsday just made one of the Multiverse Saga’s most confusing Avengers mysteries even bigger, and it speaks to a prominent problem will the current chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Doomsday is set to arrive in theaters this December, marking the first Avengers movie since Endgame back in 2019. It’ll bring together the characters and storylines of Phases 4 to 6 of the MCU, with many Marvel heroes confirmed to return. Robert Downey Jr. is also back, this time as the villainous Doctor Doom. And we get a glimpse of him and the film’s prominent heroes in the newly unveiled concept art.
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That artwork, which is by Andy Park, places Doctor Doom at the center, arranging Doomsday‘s major returning heroes around him. Steve Rogers can be spotted holding Mjolnir, and Thor, Ant-Man, Shang-Chi, Shuri, and M’Baku are featured. Additionally, there are several teams present, including the Thunderbolts, Fox’s X-Men, and the MCU’s Fantastic Four. There’s also Sam Wilson and Falcon, who should ideally be pictured with a team of their own. However, they aren’t, and it raises one MCU question all over again.
Avengers: Doomsday’s Art Makes the Mystery Surrounding Sam Wilson’s Avengers More Confusing
The placement of Sam Wilson in Doomsday‘s concept art brings up a major question heading into 2026’s event film: who exactly are his Avengers? With Sam becoming the new Captain America after Steve gave him the shield, it only makes sense for him to lead an Avengers team of his own. And he agrees to rebuild the superhero team in Captain America: Brave New World. Yet we don’t see this happen at any point in the Multiverse Saga. And aside from Joaquin Torres’ Falcon, he’s essentially on his own in this first look. Shang-Chi is nearby, as are our heroes from Wakanda. Yet they’re distanced from him, and Thor, Steve, and Ant-Man are all the way on the other side of Doctor Doom.
The other characters are already on teams of their own. So, the artwork fails to establish who’s paired up with the new Captain America. It’s possible his new teammates are more minor players who wouldn’t generate the same excitement on artwork or a poster as the franchise’s more established heroes. That in itself is an issue worth discussing, but I find it hard to believe new characters would be crammed into a cast that’s already this stacked. Surely Sam’s Captain America has to be working with someone other than Falcon in Doomsday, though, as two people can’t hope to represent the Avengers against such a massive threat. And Thunderbolts implies that Sam is working on a team of his own, making this mystery even more perplexing ahead of the event film.
Thunderbolts Implied Sam Had His Own Avengers Team, So Where Exactly Are They?
One could interpret Sam and Falcon being alone in Doomsday‘s artwork as proof that the former is still building his Avengers team. However, Thunderbolts suggests this is something that’s already well underway. Thunderbolts‘ post-credits scene sees Sam Wilson suing the titular group for calling themselves the New Avengers. The film seems to imply he has an established team by now, yet we’re still in the dark about who’s on it ahead of Doomsday‘s release.
It’s possible that Shang-Chi, Shuri, Ant-Man, and Thor are all part of Sam Wilson’s Avengers, but we never get official confirmation. And they don’t exactly look like a team in the latest artwork for Doomsday, so there’s good reason to be skeptical. Even if they are part of Sam’s mightiest heroes, it’ll be strange to see them working in tandem when many of those bonds aren’t developed on-screen. In this way, Sam’s Avengers mystery is reflective of a bigger Multiverse Saga problem — one that looks worse following Infinity War and Endgame.
Sam’s Avengers Mystery Is Reflective of a Bigger Multiverse Saga Problem
The mystery surrounding Sam’s Avengers team is reflective of a larger MCU problem: the fact that so few recent titles feel connected despite how many projects make up Phases 4 to 6 of the MCU. We’ve only seen Shang-Chi once so far, and Shuri’s Black Panther is only active in one film as well. Even Sam only has two appearances in the Multiverse Saga, which has very little overlap across the board. And if Doomsday were being marketed as an introductory film for the new Avengers to come together for the first time, that might be okay. But the Avengers movie is being hyped as another event akin to Infinity War and Endgame…without doing the work those two did to get there. Sure, it’ll be great to see all these heroes again on-screen. However, watching them interact won’t be nearly as satisfying, as the Multiverse Saga lacks the foundation that made the Infinity Saga great.
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