Pick a side: Avengers: Doomsday’s two teasers have Captain America fans at odds
Marvel dropped two Avengers: Doomsday teasers over World Series weekend — and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Captain America shield gag has the fandom at loggerheads.
Right, so Avengers: Doomsday just dropped a pair of fresh teasers over the World Series weekend, and if you thought Marvel fans could be united by anything these days, you haven't seen them squabble about who gets to call themselves Captain America.
Two Teasers, Loads of Fuss
The first of these new previews hit on Friday, right in the middle of Game 1 of the Series. In proper "let's show off the new toys" fashion, we got Pedro Pascal doing the ceremonial first pitch as Mister Fantastic and Joseph Quinn catching it as Human Torch, all at Milwaukee's ballpark. Only Marvel would stage a superpowered baseball moment on live telly.
About a day later, Marvel pushed out a second trailer. This one's heavier on the cosmic powers—Chris Hemsworth's Thor and Chris Evans' Steve Rogers getting all chummy about who can actually pick up Mjolnir. Hemsworth is clearly running point now and warning the squad that Doctor Doom (yes, played by Robert Downey Jr., clearly having the time of his life) is about to turn everything into rubble if they don't team up sharpish.
Avengers: Doomsday lands in UK cinemas on 18 December, bringing back Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom and an absurdly starry line-up.
Both trailers also seize a moment inside Avengers Tower for a bit of comic relief. You've got Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, who accidentally lets 'Cap' slip when addressing Steve Rogers. Instantly, Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson (current owner of the shield, in case you've been living under a rock since 2021) gives him a look—yes, THAT look. Ant-Man hurriedly corrects himself, then US Agent has a cheeky dig about the time he wore the stripes for ten minutes. Now you'd think a throwaway line, but apparently not.
Online Bickering Over the Shield
This blink-and-you'll-miss-it Cap gag has set the comment sections ablaze, especially on X (honestly, still calling it Twitter in my head). Some are furious, charging Ant-Man's slip with all sorts of disrespect towards Sam Wilson. According to them, Marvel's undermining the new Cap's legitimacy. Case in point, user Th3birdman15 pounding out 'Better put some respect on Sam's name.' Another, zeninhime, reckons 'Sam deserves better than this.'
Of course, plenty of fans reckon it's much ado about nothing. For them, Scott Lang's gaffe is exactly the sort of brain-fart you'd expect, given his hero worship of Steve since Civil War. As ZittaCulture put it: 'Ant-Man almost calling Steve Captain America out of habit is peak Scott Lang.' Movieregion agrees: 'Scott really said "Cap" out of muscle memory.'
- Avengers: Doomsday debuts December 18
- Robert Downey Jr. returns as Doctor Doom
- The sprawling cast includes Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson), Chris Evans (Steve Rogers), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man), Simu Liu, Letitia Wright, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, and Channing Tatum
The real story here? Marvel fans are still riled up about the Captain America title itself. Some aren't ready to pass the shield; others think that's exactly the point of this new era. Marvel, for its part, hasn't waded into the argument. Not that that stops anyone online.