What to Know From Disney Plus’s Countdown to Doomsday

An epic trailer for Avengers Doomsday was released at D23. Shortly after, the "Countdown to Avengers Doomsday" collection appeared on Disney Plus. I did a few prep lists of my own (including twenty-five movies and five television series). Disney's list is a bit more concise and is very doable between now and Doomsday, but in case you don't have time to binge fifteen movies/series, I've broken down the basics of what I think you need to know from each:

X-Men

This movie established Fox's X-Men series with a number of core characters set to appear in Doomsday: Professor X, Magneto, Mystique, and Cyclops. It began the "mutant threat" facing humanity. While the politicians debated the issue, Magneto set out to turn them into mutants (not knowing that the process would kill them). Other than establishing our X-Men, I'm curious how this movie will play into Doomsday. Is it just to introduce us to the mutants or is the "mutant threat" going to create a rift between the X-Men and the Avengers?

X2

It was in my "extra credit" section for the introduction of Nightcrawler, but the plot continued the saga of the X-Men and the mutant threat, as Strucker used mind control serum (harvested from his son) to frame Nightcrawler for an assassination attempt and to attempt to destroy the mutants. It also gave us glimpses into Wolverine's lost memories (later explored in X-Men Origins). However, I'm not sure how this continued mutant threat will contribute to Doomsday, except to introduce Nightcrawler.

Captain America: The First Avenger

Okay so we're prepping for an Avengers movie. Captain America is the first Avenger. Pretty straight forward "why" for this movie. Steve Rogers went from being a scrawny young man to having a body and powers that men would envy for generations. After losing his best friend (for now) and thwarting Red Skull, Cap sacrificed himself to save countless people, leaving him frozen in ice until the 21st Century. 

Avengers

We had the "first Avenger" and now we have the first Avengers movie. Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Hulk teamed up to fight Loki and his army. They became the core team of the Avengers. Though they'd only team up every few years, this was the jumping off point for all Marvel superhero crossovers.

Avengers: Infinity War 

After all their phase two and phase three shenanigans, Infinity War brought our heroes together again. By this point, the roster included names such as Vision, Falcon, War Machine, Black Panther, and Spider-Man, and more. All our heroes fought Thanos to keep him from using the six Infinity Stones and lost. Thanos decimated half the population of the universe and sent many of our remaining heroes spiraling.

Avengers: Endgame

Five years after the events of Infinity War, the remaining Avengers teamed up to jump across time streams to retrieve the six Infinity Stones and revive the missing half of the universe's population. It took the sacrifice of Black Widow to complete the set of stones, but they succeeded in the end. The epic movie culminated in a massive head-on fight against Thanos's forces. Despite the Avengers best efforts, it took Tony Stark sacrificing himself to use the Infinity Stones to win the battle. And in the aftermath of the fight, Captain America returned the six Infinity Stones to their time streams, taking his sweet time in a parallel Earth, until he came back as an old man. With the Avengers left with three members missing, we headed into Phase Four and beyond.

Loki

Because of the time travel antics of Endgame, a variant of Loki escaped captivity... for a moment before the Time Variance Authority apprehended him. Through his manipulation of the TVA, Loki eventually ended up at the end of time with a female Loki variant (Sylvie). She killed a Kang variant, releasing the shackles on the multiverse. But as reality started crumbling, it took our Loki variant from Endgame to hold all the strands of the multiverse together. Perhaps it's something to do with this Loki's new role in the multiverse that causes the rumored incursions of Doomsday.

Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

The biggest thing this movie brings for Doomsday (as far as we know) is the reluctant hero Shang Chi. After defeating his father and a soul-devouring demon, our new hero was recruited by the Avengers. The mystical Ten Rings that he won off his father gave off some sort of energy that the Avengers noted. Perhaps this unknown energy is interwoven with the multiverse and that's why Disney included Shang Chi in their Doomsday countdown.

Spider-Man: No Way Home

Our first multiversal movie! Spidey hasn't been confirmed for Doomsday, but even if he doesn't appear we still learned a lot about the multiverse in this movie. After the events of Far From Home, Peter didn't want people to remember his secret identity anymore. Using Doctor Strange's powers, he tried to make them forget, but instead a number of villains came from other universes after Peter botched the spell. By teaming up with two others Spideys, the villains were defeated and/or redeemed. To save the multiverse from caving in on them, Doctor Strange made everyone forget Peter Parker (which led into Brand New Day).

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 

After the death of her brother T'Challa, Shuri and her mother were left leading Wakanda without a king. As they encountered Namor, things got more complicated. Especially after the death of Shuri's mother. The Wakandan princess ended up leading the nation of Wakanda against the Namor's forces. By the miracle of science, she was able to synthesize the herb that turned her into the Black Panther. She was able to broker peace with Namor's people. And since Shuri and Namor are both supposed to appear in Doomsday, it's obvious why this is on the list.

Captain America: Brave New World

The passing of the torch (shield) from Steve to Sam happened in Endgame and was further explored in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This solo adventure (which could have been a Hulk movie) was his first cinematic adventure as the new Cap. Sam chased a mystery across the globe to thwart the mind games of Samuel Sterns and to clear the name of Isaiah Bradley. The new Cap also had to face off against Red Hulk. Any sane person would have been scared out of their mind to face any Hulk, but Sam managed it somehow.

Deadpool & Wolverine 

This movie finally bridged the gap of the MCU and the Fox's Marvel movies (not just X-Men). Even if you don't watch R-rated movies, the movie taught us many things about the multiverse. Deadpool got dragged into the TVA where we learned about anchor beings. Instead of sitting quietly, Wade ended up multiverse hopping through X-Men universes to find a new Wolverine for his world. The two fought and defeated Cassandra Nova and Paradox to save the multiverse. With Fox's X-Men coming into Doomsday, at the very least this movie establishes those Fox movies as part of the MCU multiverse. Also, we have Channing Tatum's Gambit returning (or maybe a variant).

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness 

It's right there in the title: Multiverse of Madness. Universe hopping Doctor Strange was working to save America Chavez and save Wanda Maximoff from herself. Like with Deadpool 3, we learned a lot about the multiverse here. We learned more about variants, incursions, and dreamwalking. Stephen Strange had to dreamwalk into his variant's corpse to save America from the Scarlet Witch. In the end, Wanda sacrificed herself to redeem herself, but not before Doctor Strange read from the Darkhold. During the credit scene, a woman named Clea came to Doctor Strange to address incursions he caused. Supposedly incursions will play a big part in Doomsday, though Doctor Strange hasn't been confirmed for the movie yet.

Thunderbolts*

Our New Avengers will be major players in the movie. We can tell that much from the trailer. This movie put together a Suicide Squad of Marvel pseudo-heroes. After Valentina sent the group to kill each other and clean up her mess, the band of misfits ended up on the run. When Bob became Sentry, his alterego Void was unleashed. The new team had to enter into Bob's nightmares to talk him down and bring him back to reality. It's a beautiful scene relevant to anyone's mental health and I love it. I just hope Bob is okay during Doomsday.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps

An essential part of Doomsday is Fantastic Four. Though Doctor Doom doesn't appear until the credit scene, he's always be tied to these heroes. The movie began with the Fantastic Four already established as Earth's heroes (on a parallel Earth with retro 60's vibes). With Galactus on the way and Sue pregnant, the Fantastic Four headed into space to intercept the Devourer of Worlds before he could reach Earth. In exchange for Earth, Galactus wanted the newborn baby. The Fantastic Four worked tirelessly prevent the Earth's destruction. When Galactus finally arrived, the heroes were able to send him to the far reaches of the universe. The baby was safe. However, the credits rolled, Doctor Doom appeared with obvious interest in the child.

If you don't have time to rewatch all fifteen (or to watch the ones you've missed) hopefully these breakdowns give you a decent understanding of where we're at in the MCU going into Doomsday. Or maybe it has wet your pallet and made you want to watch them (not sure I'm that good of a writer, but I can dream). As of this post, you could watch one item per week and finish in time for Avengers.

Avengers assemble!

More Content You Might Like:

• "Thunderbolts: What About Bob?" by Spencer
• "Mr. Fantastic Knows Nothing… Welcome to Parenting" by Spencer
• "Deadpool & Wolverine - What You're Missing" by Joe

Spencer's Doomsday Prep Lists:

• "5 Marvel Movies to Watch Before Avengers Doomsday"
  
• X-Men
• Iron Man
• Captain America: Winter Soldier
• Avengers: Infinity War
• Avengers: Endgame
• "5 Marvel Shows to Watch Before Avengers Doomsday"
• WandaVision
• The Falcon and the Winter Soldier 
• Loki
• Hawkeye
• What If...?
• "5 More Marvel Movies to Watch Before Avengers Doomsday"
• Spider-Man
• Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
• Thor: Love and Thunder
• Thunderbolts*
• Fantastic Four: First Steps

Pokemon Nicknames: Marvel

A few weeks ago, my daughters were watching Spidey and His Amazing Friends (a great cheesy way to introduce kids to classic superheroes). I’m minding my own business and sn adorable and unfamiliar character appeared: Jeff the Shark. I had to look up the character and see if there was a comic book basis for the cute land fish. The resemblance to Gible is uncanny so immediately went into Pokemon Go and nicknamed my Garchomp “Jeff”. Naturally that led me to more Marvel-inspired nicknames—lots of them based off heroic pets. So here are some of my first favorites:

Trevenant as Groot

Ariados as Man-Spider

Golduck as Howard

Obstagoon as Rocket

(Shiny) Growlithe as Lucky

Gallade as Dr. Strange

Tyrunt as Old Lace

Granbull as Lockjaw

Gible as Jeff

Rhyperior as Rhino

5 Marvel Shows to Watch Before Avengers Doomsday

Several months ago, I did a blog post about pre-Endgame movies to watch before Avengers Doomsday. Especially with the recent Doomsday trailers, I thought it a good time to revisit some more Marvel projects to rewatch before the big day. One thing the post-Endgame saga did was canonized television series on Disney Plus. Say what you will about the inter-workings of movies and series, but I’ve enjoyed it. (Though I'm still waiting for them to officially canonize SHIELD)

WandaVision

In the midst of the pandemic, this was our saving grace for nine episodes. It was definitely an amazing way to begin the Multiverse Saga. Remember all the theories and anticipation, watching for Mephisto and Agatha? While Wanda isn't confirmed to be in Doomsday (or alive for that matter) this was our first look at grief during early post-Blip life. A lot of mysteries have been answered from this series, but there are still plenty of question marks, including Wanda's boys and White Vision.         

Extra Credit - The Marvels

Say what you will about this movie (and it making Carol Denvers into a Disney princess) but there's one big thing from this movie to address leading into Doomsday: The X-Men. After getting her superpowers in WandaVision and teaming up with the Marvels in this movie, Monica ended up thrown into another corner of the multiverse where she met Beast and Binary from the X-Men universe. Plus I swear I'm one of the few people who wants to see Ms. Marvel back.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier 

A number of mixed emotions during this series but I think we were all happy to have this adventure during the pandemic. I'm not sure it was the best received Marvel project, especially after the energy surrounding WandaVision (that was a hard act to follow). It was an emotional adventure transitioning Sam Wilson from the Falcon to being Captain America, but it also introduced our new Falcon, US Agent, and of course Val.

Extra Credit - Captain America: Brave New World

If you went straight from Falcon and the Winter Soldier and straight past this movie on your way to Doomsday, you'd probably be alright. There's no indication that Red Hulk or Sterns will play a part in the next Avengers movie. That being said, this movie serves to further establish Sam's role as Captain America and Joaquin's role as Falcon (I had honestly forgotten there was a new Falcon).

Loki

We can't have a multiverse movie without addressing the Loki who triggered the multiverse. After this variant escaped in Endgame, there was humbling to happen and some Kangs to be discovered. If it weren't for this Loki, we wouldn't have the X-Men universe, What If, Tobey's Spider-Man, or any of the parallel worlds. Last we saw of Loki, he was woven into the fabric of the multiverse, so I'm curious what his role will be in Doomsday.

Extra Credit - Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

This movie was underwhelming for many people (especially since the Kang storyline was scrapped). However, it attempted to connect the threads of our Avengers to the big bad of Loki. I'm curious what would've happened with this movie and Loki if Kang Dynasty were still happening. I heard rumors we'll see something of Kang being taken care of off-screen in Doomsday, but we'll see.

Hawkeye

On the grand scale of things, this show probably won't have much impact on the events of Doomsday (especially since Jeremy Renner isn't confirmed to appear). However, it does feature Yelena, previously seen in Black Widow, who would become a major player in Thunderbolts. Plus, I also just adore her character interacting with Kate Bishop. 

Extra Credit - Black Widow

Like Hawkeye, this movie doesn't look like it will have direct impact on Doomsday. That being said, this movie introduced the aforementioned Yelena and her adopted father. Both these powerhouses (Red Guardian for his strength and Yelena for her wit) reappeared in Thunderbolts. It's hard for me to decide if this movie or Hawkeye are more crucial.

 

What If...?

Slim chance of any of these characters appearing in Doomsday (except perhaps a variant of Captain Carter), but this hit series gave us a glimpse of what a multiversal epic could be. Three seasons and three epic finales. I think it would be a shame to let this series fade into obscurity, despite the release of Marvel Zombies, so I'd love to see Kahhori or the Hydra Stomper again.

Extra Credit - Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

If we're going into a multiverse grand finale, we ought to include the epic (and horrific) journey that Doctor Strange took across the worlds. This movie isn't exactly what I'd envisioned from a multiverse hopping story, but it was the first (aside from Loki) so it would be a fun (and traumatic) one to revisit.

I'm sure there are plenty of other movies and series to revisit before the epic crossover of the Avengers, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four. In a few months I plan to highlight a few more post-Endgame movies. I have my list already and I probably won't finish it (especially as more and more cast members are revealed). I appreciate all that the MCU has done for superhero movies and, despite what vocal internet people say, it's not dead and I can't wait to see it continue to grow and evolve.

Best MCU Beards for No-Shave November

Each year when No-Shave November comes around, I think to test my genetics and see if I can grow a beard than last year. My genes are such that it took me into my thirties to test myself long enough to get the goatee that I currently have. But November isn’t just about the face fuzz, but about men’s health. Physical and mental. So while I'm having a bit of fun with the Marvel-lous men (they seriously give me beard envy) men's health is serious. Many of us internalized the message to not ask for help. Don’t forget to check in on your mental and physical health. And don’t isolate yourself in the world of men; find your team of Avengers.

Though in no particular order, naturally I had to start here. Because iconic.

Maybe similar to Tony's, but it showed his transition from doctor to sorcerer.

Probably the closest to the beard I'm able to grow (but I lack sideburns).

Fitz started as a baby-faced nerd, but became a tough stubbly spy.

Without Hydra programming, Bucky needed something to keep looking tough.

Maybe Matt got tired of paying someone else to shave him?

Very polished and regal. A beard fit for a king.

Sometimes you can't care to shave (and sometimes you want to see your capabilities).

I think we all had beard envy for Cap's temporary on-the-run beard.

Fury was trying to look homeless. A beard helps, I guess?

I don’t know that I ever want chops like Hugh Jackman, but it’s iconic now. 

I had to finish off with The Thing’s bolder-y beard. Love it!

Why the X-Men SHOULD Be In The MCU

 Okay so full disclosure: 

I was planning on writing this back in February when I wrote the companion piece, but life happened and I didn't get around to it. I'm glad I didn't though, because we've had some developments in the MCU that is relevant and need to be discussed.

The thing is, I'm still on the side that the X-Men is better outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but I'm open to them joining. Here's why...

Completing the Story

Since the conception of the X-Men, they've existed in the Marvel Universe along with the Avengers. The Maximoff twins are the children of Magneto, and their joining the Avengers is reflective of them rejecting their father but still not agreeing with Xavier. Rogue gained her flying abilities and super strength from "killing" Captain Marvel (Turns out she wasn't really dead, secret base retcon yada yada). Wolverine and Captain America used to bust Nazi heads back in the day. 

The MCU has always had to skirt around the missing mutants in their storylines, creating a bit of a hole in the universe that OG Marvel fans can't help but notice. Throughout the life of the Marvel Cinematic Universe fans have been looking for easter eggs and hints about where the X-Men might be, only to be disappointed at bluffs and false flags. 

Until...

...And Then Xavier

Fast forward to Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. Dr. Strange is confronted by the alternate Earth's Illuminati. Right before the interrogation begins, in comes professor Charles Xavier, played by space dad Patrick Stewart, in the iconic yellow hovering chair. A small piece from the X-Men cartoon plays and our hearts all stop. 

Mutants have just entered the MCU and it was glorious. 

We only saw one X-Man, but that's all we needed. The universe felt complete. 

With all my complaining about narrative issues, problems with hypocrisy in the comics, continuity issues, and my love of the X-Men stand-alone movies, I lost my mind when Xavier entered the room. 

Do It Justice

Narrative sense and other pretentious arguments aside, there's no denying that Disney and the MCU will do the X-Men right. No matter what issues arise with continuity and cluttered narrative, I have all faith that the MCU will make it work, which is what we really need for the X-Men. The stand alone movies, while awesome in their own right, do have plenty of issues, including trashing some of the best characters (Looking at you, Gambit.) With the X-Men in the MCU we're sure to get some amazing films doing justice to our favorite groups of outcasts as they take their place alongside the Avengers. 

To me, my X-Men.

-JOE

The Multiverse of Agency

SPOILER ALERT!!!!

"If you knew there was a universe, where you were happy, wouldn't you want to go there?" Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch

If your life has gone exactly how you thought it would when you were a kid, I’d venture to guess you’re in the minority. Life has its twists and turns (violent twists and turns at times). Things go right. Things go wrong. Take mental health concerns into account and the whole situation only gets messier. 

There are a few twists and turns in particular that I wish hadn’t happened in my life. Like coming home from my mission early (a story for another time). If I’d have done it differently or gone for a service mission afterwards, maybe I’d be happier now? Maybe my mental health issues wouldn’t be so paralyzing. 

In Multiverse of Madness, Wanda spent all her energy trying to recreate her fantasy life. I went into the movie thinking Wanda was going to help Doctor Strange to make amends for the events of WandaVision. Instead, we saw her tearing the multiverse apart to get what she wanted. She only saw two options in her life: take over the life of her doppelganger or go through life miserable. What a miserable dichotomy! 

There’s a temptation to look for another life where life is grander and happier. The phrase goes “the grass is always greener on the other side”. But we have the power of agency to change and choose happiness. Our agency doesn’t give us power to change our past wounds, but it gives us the chance to choose where we go from here. Do I wallow in the pain and stay stagnant? Or do I keep pushing forward and trying, even though it’s painful at times?

"From our experience, the greatest danger to the Multiverse, it turns out, is Doctor Strange." Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic

But is change even possible? In this great “Multiverse of Madness” there hadn’t been a Doctor Strange that the Illuminati could trust. His fate in their minds was predetermined by the past experiences they had with others like him. They didn’t even give him a chance to react differently than their Strange and as a result they died. 

"This Stephen is different. He is. It doesn't matter about all the other Stephens. They're not like him." America Chavez

While our Stephen did end up reading the Darkhold, he didn’t let its darkness control him (at least not that he saw). He chose to be better than his predecessors. As we study the Old Testament this year, I hope I’m doing better than my predecessors too, Doctor Strange was able to stop Wanda’s rampage through the multiverse. Because he wanted to be better. 

“Every time you opened a portal, you sent us exactly where we needed to go." Doctor Strange

My life has not gone how I’ve planned one bit. I wanted to go to BYU, go on a mission, get married, start a family, and start my career directly out of BYU. Instead I came home early from my mission, I didn’t use my degree from BYU, I didn’t get married at BYU, and my wife and I have struggled with infertility. 

Ever since I was a young adult, I’ve loved a scripture in Words of Mormon: “And I do this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will.” (Verse 7)

Repeatedly during the movie, we kept hearing referenced Christine's question to Doctor Strange: "Are you happy?" I had a patient say something similar to me recently and it got me thinking... Life hasn’t turned out how I planned. I still struggle with all the what-ifs (that's a completely different aspect of the MCU multiverse). But each step along the way, I’ve felt a witness that “the Lord knoweth all things” and it’s for “a wise purpose” that my life has gone the way it has. When I look at my wife, my daughter, and my friends, I’m grateful in my little corner of the multiverse. 

"Sometimes, I do wonder of my other lives. Yet I remain grateful in this one. Even with each tribulations." Wong

Doctor Strange Binge List

The multiverse has been opened and nothing will ever be the same. Or something like that. Doctor Strange is certainly in for something crazy. Multiverse of Madness premieres in about a month, so now’s your chance to refresh your memory on the adventures of our esteemed doctor thus far.

Doctor Strange (1 hour 55 min)

If you’re rewatching Stephen’s adventures, the natural place to begin is Doctor Strange (duh, right?). Our not-yet-magical doctor gets in his accident and goes soul-searching… sort of. Along the way of trying to heal himself, he learns magic, stops a group of fanatical zealots (perhaps that’s redundant), and basically makes himself Sorcerer Supreme. And there he is. Master of the Mystic Arts. Don’t forget it also introduces his rival Mordo, who’s set to return in the Multiverse.

Thor: Ragnarok (2 hours 10 min)

Half of Doctor Strange’s scenes in this movie are also in the Doctor Strange post-credit scene. The mystical doctor finds Thor and Loki in New York City. Detaining Loki for a moment, the good doctor takes a moment to talk with Thor before directing the two brothers to their father Odin. If you’re just trying to prep for Strange’s sequel, you can skip this movie. Though I do still love it.

Avengers: Infinity War (2 hours 29 min)

When Bruce Banner crashes through the roof of 177A Bleecker Street, Doctor Strange is pulled into an Avengers level conflict. First during the fight in Greenwich Village and then into space. While waiting for Thanos on the titan’s home planet, Doctor Strange fast-forwards to millions of different futures to find one in which they’d win. In order to make their victory a reality, Stephen gives up the Time Stone and is dusted not much later.

Avengers: Endgame (3 hours 2 min)

After the core Avengers snap half the universe back into existence, Doctor Strange opens his portals to bring probably hundreds of heroes to the destroyed Avengers Compound to fight the Mad Titan and his followers, who’ve arrived from 2014. It took the sacrifice of Tony Stark for the good guys to win, leaving Doctor Strange the leader of the Avengers, but Iron Man will not soon be forgotten.

WandaVision (Episodes 1-9)

We don’t know exactly what role Wanda will play in Doctor Strange 2. Many have speculated she’ll be the villain. Seems like there’ll be multiple versions of Wanda, so anything is possible. But before you watch Doctor Strange 2, it’s a good chance to rewatch WandaVision. In her grief post-Endgame, Wanda ends up trapping the town of Westview in her chaos magic. As she tries to hide from her grief, things get progressively worse and convoluted in town, finally climaxing in a witch fight against Agatha. Also, check out Wanda’s history prior to Westview.

Loki (Season 1, Episodes 1-6)

During the Avengers time travel shenanigans in Endgame, Ant-Man and Iron Man accidentally set free a version of 2012 Loki. It doesn’t take long before this Loki is apprehended by the Time Variance Authority. Working on their consultant, he betrays them (naturally) and teams up with a female Loki who ends up killing a Kang variant at the end of the universe, bringing us the multiverse. We don’t know exactly what way Loki will tie into the movie, but it’s rumored that Loki and Sylvie will appear. Maybe even Mobius. If you’re interested, you can also check out Loki’s previous adventures too. 

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2 hours 28 min)

Following the events of Far From Home, Peter Parker wants a quick fix from Doctor Strange to save his anonymity. Unfortunately, things are never that simple. So a botched spell brings two other Spider-Men and their respective villains to the main MCU branch of reality. So Spider-Man fights Strange, the villains fight Spider-Man, and in the end Doctor Strange ends up casting a spell to make everyone forget Peter Parker. It’s horribly heart-breaking and tragically beautiful. But the breach in the multiverse wasn’t solved that easily. 

And that brings us to the Multiverse of Madness. We’ve got lots of other characters teased and rumored. If you want more Wong, make sure you watch Shang-Chi. If you’re one that believes Professor X will appear (though Patrick Stewart has denied his involvement), I’d recommend at least watching the original X-Men trilogy. At least two new versions of Doctor Strange are appearing, possibly Strange Supreme, so you can also check out What If (episodes 4, 8, and 9). Captain Carter from What If is also rumored, so check her out as well (episodes 1 and 9). But regardless of who you think you’ll see, it’s going to be an exciting ride.