Editor’s Note: This article contains plot spoilers within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“Avengers: Doomsday” is a highly anticipated movie. It’s one of Marvel’s biggest films, coming after “Avengers: Endgame.”
Set to release on Dec. 18, 2026, the film is predicted to connect all the Marvel multiverses into one movie. The multiverse was introduced in the 2016 Marvel film, “Doctor Strange,” and reintroduced in the 2019 Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film “Avengers: Endgame.” The Marvel multiverse connects different Earths. The Earth that the Avengers movies are set on is Earth-616, as stated in Bradley Russell’s debunk of “Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness.”
The MCU also connects the separate Marvel movies, from the “Thunderbolts” to the “Fantastic 4,” and “Avengers: Doomsday” plans to unite these forces into the ultimate super team.
I spoke with Professor Andrew Kemp-Wilcox, a game studies teacher at the University of Arizona. He told me that Marvel really needed a win with this movie because so few people had seen the movies after ‘Endgame.’ So, to get people hyped, Marvel began releasing ‘Doomsday’ trailers almost a year before the movie’s release. And so far, the hype has worked. Since Dec. 23, 2025, when the first trailer was released online, Marvel fans have been trying to predict what’s going on behind the scenes.
Many teens have also been excited for this upcoming release, like Olivia Lee, 13, a Paideia student who has been following the MCU. “I’m excited to see all the characters come together again … I like the Avengers movies better because I think it’s more interesting when all the characters come together,” she said.
Another Paideia student, Ella Hobson, 14, told me, “I’m really excited for Loki’s return because of how his show ended and where he is now. I know he’s really powerful and I am hopeful he’ll play a good part in the movie.”
One of the best things about Marvel fans is their great predictions for upcoming films. One prediction is the ongoing trend of children appearing in the MCU.
The MCU divides its movie releases into phases. These phases help keep the universe’s plotline in order and also help conspirators predict Marvel’s next movies. The movies leading up to “Avengers: Doomsday” are a part of phases 4 and 5. Leading to where we are now, phase 6.
The theme of children popping up in the MCU began with Morgan Stark, Tony Stark’s daughter, who made her first appearance in “Avengers: Endgame.”
With the abrupt ending of “Avengers: Endgame,” many people were left wondering if there was going to be more to Morgan’s impact on the universe than just being the daughter of Tony Stark. In “Thor: Love and Thunder,” Thor takes Gorr’s daughter, Love, as his own. Thor raises Love as a hero fighting off bad guys and wielding the power of Stormbreaker, as we see in the post-credit scene. Thor hadn’t been mentioned in the MCU until the release of the “Avengers: Doomsday” trailer starring Thor, but most importantly, Love. Though her appearance in this trailer was very brief, there is no doubt she will be seen in the upcoming film. Though we are sure to see Love sometime in Doomsday, there is one superchild we aren’t sure will make an appearance.
In the post-credit scene of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” it is revealed that Black Panther had a son. This was quickly overlooked because of the sheer heartbreak the movie brought, but I think Prince T’Challa will have an impact in the future. In the fourth trailer Marvel released for “Avengers: Doomsday,” we see Shuri teaming up with the Fantastic Four. In this trailer, she is one of the few Wakandans to make an appearance. After this trailer, many wonder why the Fantastic Four team up with the Wakandans. The ending to “Fantastic 4: First Steps” may be the reason why.
In “Fantastic 4: First Steps,” the movie’s entire plot centers on the child of Sue Storm and Reed Richards. Franklin Richards is the main reason Doctor Doom has come to Earth, and arguably the most powerful character Marvel Comics has ever created.
And finally, the first released Doomsday trailer brings Captain America back into the picture. However, some suggest that this Captain America is from Earth-828 (the Earth on which the Fantastic 4 live), which is not the main point of this trailer. It is revealed that, wherever Captain America is, he has a child.
All of these facts relate to the very brief appearances the children have made in the MCU. They were quickly introduced, leading many to believe they were being saved for a bigger role in a bigger movie. My hope is that all the superhero children team up with Doctor Doom to form the ultimate team to fight their superparents. Though this is unlikely to come true, it would add serious emotional complexity to the film, drawing people in with the drama of superparents fighting to save their super children from the grasp of Doctor Doom.
