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

5 More Marvel Movies to Watch Before Avengers Doomsday

It’s a little over six months until the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and other heroes crossover on the big screen in Avengers Doomsday. In the last year I’ve done two blog posts about preparing for this epic story: Infinity Saga movies and Disney Plus series. Now it’s time for Multiverse movies (and some extra credit) to watch before December.  

Spider-Man

The inclusion of Tobey McGuire’s Spidey is mostly based on rumor. No confirmation yet that he’ll appear, but you never know since he’s already reprised his roll once. Plus it kind of shows what the multiverse is made of outside of our major players in Doomsday.

Extra Credit - The Amazing Spider-Man

Unlike Tobey, I haven’t seen any rumors about Andrew Garfield returning. That being said, we are heading into a multiverse movie and this would round off the variants of Spider-Man. I’m not saying I expect him to appear necessarily, but it would give him a chance to fight an alien. Or at least encounter one.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

It wasn’t the best received movie of post-Endgame MCU, but characters from this movie are confirmed for Doomsday and will likely play a major role. We are set to see Shuri, M’Baku, and Namor. I wouldn’t be surprised if we also see some of the Dora Milaje.

Extra Credit - Spider-Man No Way Home

I didn't originally intend for there to be so many Spidey movies, but that's just how it played out. In some ways, this one may be the most crucial Spider-Man movie before Doomsday, simply because it portrays multiversal heroes and villains. I’m not sure any project featuring the multiverse had been as epic as this one (except maybe Loki).

Thor: Love and Thunder

Like Black Panther, this movie wasn’t received as well we might’ve hoped. However, this movie shows what Thor had been up to since Endgame. Besides leaving the Guardians and getting in shape, he recovered Mjolnir and became an adoptive father. In addition, there are rumors of Doomsday’s trailer featuring Thor in battle. Maybe it’ll just turn out to be rumor, but we’ll see. 

Extra Credit - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Seeing as none of the Guardians have been announced as cast, but we know Star Lord will return at some point and that he’s on Earth (last we know). There’s no reason to think he couldn’t play a part in this battle. Plus, this was possibly the best received movie of the Multiverse Saga. Always worth a watch.

Thunderbolts*

This was the biggest crossover of the Multiverse Saga. Obviously, that's about to change with Doomsday. With these New Avengers headed into the multiverse, it'll be interesting to see how this band of misfits handles the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and the other heroes of Earth-616. All I can say is that Bob better be okay by the end of Doomsday and Secret Wars.

Extra Credit - Spider-Man: Brand New Day 

As this movie hasn’t been released yet, we don’t know if/how it’ll play into Doomsday. After all, Tom Holland hasn’t been confirmed as part of the Avengers cast this time. Rumor has it that the ramifications of Doomsday will impact this movie or vice versa. All the same, it’s the last Marvel project to release before Doomsday. If any Spidey movie will directly affect the Avengers and company, it’ll be this movie. 

Fantastic Four: First Steps

We finally got the Fantastic Four into the MCU and they did not disappoint! Though in another corner of the multiverse, this movie hit home. I wrote before about the impact this movie had on me and I'm excited to see how this family fights with or alongside the Avengers. The credit scene broke the heart of every parent watching. We have Doctor Doom and the family is on the line.

Extra Credit - Deadpool & Wolverine

Many of our readers probably skipped this movie due to its R rating, but it changed things for the X-Men franchise. Instead of a hard reboot of Fox Marvel movies, Deadpool brought the mutants into the existing multiverse in an emotional and crazy way that only Deadpool could. Now the mutants from the original X-Men movies are headed into Doomsday, all because of Deadpool.

You have your homework now. Ten movies and five series to watch before Doomsday (plus fifteen extra credit movies). The clock is ticking and I'm anxious to see what chaos RDJ will bring as Doctor Doom. 

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!

Mr. Fantastic Knows Nothing… Welcome to Parenting

Like many people, I’m sure, I was somewhat skeptical going into the new Fantastic Four movies. The two movies with Chris Evans were before I got enamored by superhero movies (besides Spider-Man) and the subsequent reboot from Fox was underwhelming. But I trust Feige and the Marvel Studios crew–Even when I don’t thoroughly enjoy a Marvel movie, I still think they’re “positively okay” with few exceptions (Eternals). All that on my mind, I definitely did not expect to get emotional over a superhero movie.

I don’t often cry during movies. Plenty of times I want to, but the tears won’t come (that’s a conversation for me and my therapist). Inside Out 2 and Moana 2 are two exceptions where my heart apparently resonated with the movie enough to ugly cry. But a superhero movie? I didn’t expect this.

From trailers, we knew going into the movie that it was going to be about the Fantastic Four being a family. We knew Sue (Invisible Woman) would be pregnant and the whole team would be invested in the new baby. They even gave us a glimpse beforehand that Galactus would have an interest in the child. What I didn’t expect was the raw emotion from the Fantastic Four’s struggle.

Over the course of the movie, Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) and his wife grappled with the idea that their child was apparently special (according to Galactus) and that they could spare Earth if they’d give their child to the big bad. However, as a father and a human being, I could easily see and feel the conflict arising between the two new parents and the population of Planet Earth. The choice to give up baby Nathaniel to save the human race was the logical course of action–one human life in exchange for billions of others. And that’s exactly what the human race wanted them to do! But his parents wouldn’t accept that.

I can’t imagine the turmoil of being asked to give up either of my daughters in exchange for anything, even the Earth. As a wise mother would, Sue summed it up perfectly though: “I will not sacrifice my child for the world, but I will not sacrifice this world for my child.” How wise a mother to find another way and insist that the people of Earth work together. All women (and men) should aspire to be like Sue Storm!

However, like many men, Mr. Fantastic went into fix-it mode and tried to solve the problem logically… which we already established would be tragic. This genius man (probably smarter than Tony Stark himself) finally found a problem he couldn’t fix. I’ve been a father for over five years now and there’s nothing more humbling and fulfilling in the world. Every day my girls drive me crazy and it’s a struggle to choose humility instead of frustration. But they also snuggle with me and I can tell that they feel safe in my arms. Even as a genius, Reed Richards needed some humble pie.

My dad has said many times that everyone is an expert in parenting, until they have kids. It was true for Mr. Fantastic. It’s true for me everyday.

LDS Geeks Podcast #39: Future of Marvel (2)

We have three more Marvel projects coming up in the next few months, so I had to talk to Joe so we could speculate what to expect.

--Spencer

Before They Were Heroes (MCU)

You won’t typically see us with any shortage of Marvel content. But while we wait for the premiere of Moon Knight, we’re in a bit of an MCU drought. With how far the Marvel Cinematic Universe has come since Iron Man started the show (or Spider-Man if you want to count 2003 as the beginning). I wanted to take a step back and look at where our heroes were before they became the Avengers.

Chris Evans (Captain America) - Fantastic Four

Before he was Steve Rogers, Chris Evans was already a superhero. Back in the day, he played Johnny Storm in Fox’s first iteration of Fantastic Four. As the Human Torch, we saw him “flame on” in 2005 against Julian McMahon (before he played Jonah in Runaways). At the time, Chris Evan was also known for playing one of the exes in Scott Pilgrim.

Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner) - 13 Going on 30

He wasn’t the MCU’s first Hulk, but he is the one we’ve come to love. Before he first hulked out, he was the best friend/love interest in this 2004 romcom. As grown up Matt Flamhaff, it was his influence that showed Jennifer Garner she shouldn’t have wished to grow up so fast. A must see movie for anyone who thinks they grew up too fast and I shamelessly watched it for my 30th birthday last year.

Scarlett Johnansson (Black Widow) - The Prestige

Before Natasha stepped onto the scene in Iron Man 2, she was the lovely stage assistant Olivia in The Prestige. I remember going to see this movie with my brothers and it was trippy! Weird to look back now and see Black Widow in a magic act. She also voiced Princess Mindy in the Spongebob Squarepants movie, if you’re a Spongebob fan.

Chris Hemsworth (Thor) - Star Trek

Before he became the God of Thunder, Chris Hemsworth was a Starfleet captain (albeit for 5 minutes) caught in the middle of a battle against enemies from the future. During his short time as captain of the ship, his wife (played by Jennifer Morrison, Emma Swan) gave birth to the famous Captain Kirk.

Paul Rudd (Ant-Man) - Friends

There are so many wonderful shows and movies I could reference in talking about Paul Rudd. Supporting roles in Perk of Being a Wallflower and Night at the Museum and a recurring role in Parks and Rec. But as it’s me, I’m going to reference his character from Friends: Mike Hannigan. He came out of nowhere towards the tail end of the series. Literally came out of nowhere. Joey basically called out a random name and Paul Rudd responded. He eventually became Phoebe’s soulmate and they were married by the end of the series. Also, does he ever age?

Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange) - The Hobbit

Depends on your social circle but I feel like our beloved Stephen Strange is best known as Sherlock, but Trekkies might remember that he played the rebooted Khan. But one of his biggest things before Doctor Strange was when he voiced the dragon Smaug in The Hobbit trilogy. You may have your opinions on how well the trilogy was done, but I think we can agree he was a great dragon.

Of course we could also address other heroes like Star-Lord or Gamora, but I figured we’d save their previous lives for another day. After writing this, now I just want to go watch the Star Trek movies again. And The Prestige.