Tradition runs deep in the Avengers movie franchise, with each entry repeating a familiar set of iconic moves that MCU fans recognize on sight. Across four theatrical releases since 2012, the series has established a distinct identity that audiences associate with the brand more than almost any other corner of the MCU.
The first full trailer for Avengers: Doomsday, which Marvel Studios screened exclusively for attendees at CinemaCon 2026 in April, brings several of those signatures back to the surface. The footage from the event points to several clear callbacks that connect Doomsday to traditions cemented in the previous four Avengers movies.
Avengers: Doomsday Trailer Brings Back Iconic Franchise Traditions
Heroes Fighting Other Heroes
The Doomsday footage pits a number of good guys against each other. Channing Tatum's Gambit goes up against Simu Liu's Shang-Chi, with Shang-Chi using the Ten Rings to fend off Gambit, who attacks with his classic staff. Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova clashes with Rebecca Romijn's Mystique, who shapeshifts into a perfect copy of Yelena mid-fight. In another shot, Reed Richards stretches his arm out to physically restrain Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson.
Internal conflict like this runs all the way back to Avengers: Age of Ultron. That film gave fans the famous Hulkbuster brawl, where Tony Stark's heavy-duty suit pummeled a Mind Stone-influenced Hulk through the streets of Johannesburg. The same movie saw Scarlet Witch tear into the team mentally during the opening Strucker raid, planting nightmare visions in Tony, Steve, Thor, and Natasha. There's also the iconic battle between Hulk and Thor in The Avengers, where the God of Thunder and the big green guy try to outmuscle each other.
Another Return to Avengers Tower
One of the trailer's standout sequences places several heroes inside a refreshed Avengers Tower, marked with a fresh red "A" logo on the wall. Sam Wilson's Avengers meet Yelena Belova's New Avengers on the inside, joined by Bucky Barnes, members of the Fantastic Four, and Paul Rudd's Scott Lang, who shares a quiet moment kissing his daughter Cassie on the forehead.
Avengers Tower is a fixture of the franchise. The original structure first appeared in 2012's The Avengers as Tony Stark's Manhattan penthouse, got rebranded with the team logo in Age of Ultron, and turned up again in Spider-Man: Homecoming before Tony sold it off. The New Avengers reclaimed the building at the end of Thunderbolts, paving the way for its prominent return in Doomsday.
Another Hero Worthy of Mjolnir
One of the trailer's loudest moments comes at the end. Chris Evans' Steve Rogers extends his hand toward Chris Hemsworth's Thor, and Mjolnir flies across the room straight into Steve's grip. Thor stares in disbelief and mutters, "It's not possible," when he first sees Steve Rogers, and Steve proves he's the real deal by wielding Mjolnir.
Steve previously wielded Mjolnir during the Battle of Earth in Avengers: Endgame, calling down lightning on Thanos and his army in one of the franchise's biggest crowd-pleaser shots. Before that, Age of Ultron gave fans the first hint of a non-Thor character handling the hammer when Steve slightly moved Mjolnir, and Vision casually picked it up and passed it back to a stunned God of Thunder. The Doomsday trailer keeps that running tradition alive with a fresh callback to both moments.
A Villain Who's a World-Ending Threat
The new footage gives fans their first proper look at Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom in full armor, mask included. Doom stops Stormbreaker mid-swing with one hand during a one-on-one with Thor, instantly establishing the kind of physical threat he poses. Downey narrates portions of the trailer in a vaguely Eastern European accent, showing his ill intent. The Latverian is a threat to the entire multiverse, and it's going to take the most powerful heroes from across the multiverse to stop him.
Doom brings back the franchise's big-bad tradition. The Avengers gave audiences Tom Hiddleston's Loki, cracking open a portal over New York with a Chitauri army at his back. Age of Ultron had James Spader's Ultron threatening to wipe out humanity by dropping Sokovia from the sky as a meteor. Infinity War and Endgame featured Josh Brolin's Thanos snapping half of all life out of existence. Doom continues this line of villains who exist on a scale beyond any individual hero. He threatens to be even worse than his predecessors.
A Captain America and a Black Widow
Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson, the current Captain America, gets several appearances in the new footage, including the wide assembly shot inside Avengers Tower and a separate moment at the X-Mansion where he looks up at Channing Tatum's Gambit. Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova, who took over as the MCU's Black Widow after Natasha Romanoff's death, also pops up multiple times, most notably in her face-off with Mystique.
Every previous Avengers film featured a Captain America and a Black Widow. Chris Evans' Steve Rogers and Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff appeared together in The Avengers, Age of Ultron, Infinity War, and Endgame. Doomsday keeps the pairing intact by handing the torch to their respective successors, giving each new flagbearer a chance to share screen time as part of the hero lineup.
Bringing Back Franchise Traditions Will Make Doomsday a Stronger Film
The MCU's Phase 4 and Phase 5 stretch struggled to recapture the cultural grip of the original Infinity Saga, and the numbers made that pretty obvious. Multiple entries underperformed at the box office while critical reception cooled, and casual fans started checking out of a brand that once felt mandatory. Doomsday's deep lean into franchise tradition is Marvel Studios' direct response to this issue.
The Russo brothers, who already steered Infinity War and Endgame to a combined worldwide gross north of $4.8 billion, know the perfect moves make an Avengers film work. Putting those moves back at the center is the smartest play available to Marvel right now.
The new generation of MCU heroes benefits most from this approach, too. Sam Wilson(as Captain America), Yelena, Shang-Chi, Joaquin Torres, and the rest of the post-Endgame additions haven't yet earned the audience investment that Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff accumulated over a decade of screen time. Bringing them inside the franchise's tested template will help make them more appealing.
Viewers will see the new heroes as legitimate members of the same lineage as their predecessors, even when individual solo projects haven't fully sold the case. If Doomsday delivers on what the trailer promises in December, Marvel will close out the year with a film that feels like a real Avengers movie again.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
