Invites to Avengers movies aren't exclusive to Earth's Mightiest Heroes. In Avengers: Infinity War, the titular team joined the Guardians of the Galaxy in the fight against Thanos. Avengers: Endgame raised the stakes by assembling every major MCU hero for the Battle of Earth. Somehow, Avengers: Doomsday is upping the ante even more by bringing the X-Men and Fantastic Four, two of Marvel's most iconic teams, into the fold.
While the Fantastic Four are here to stay, Doomsday's mutants are on their last legs, with many being played by actors who starred in Fox's original X-Men movies from the early 2000s. Nearing retirement doesn't mean Professor X and Co. are afterthoughts, though. They've been featured prominently in Doomsday's marketing, including a new T-shirt that raises some questions about allegiances.
New York Comic-Con recently revealed its exclusive line of Doomsday clothing, marketing the movie like a music tour. The X-Men shirt gives Professor X top billing on the "Sentinels Tour," while also shouting out a few of his students: Beast, Nightcrawler, Gambit, and Cyclops. Magneto also gets name-dropped on the merch, though he's referred to as a "special guest."
Of course, the Master of Magnetism is typically an antagonist in Marvel media. His disagreements with his old friend Charles Xavier usually lead to disaster, with each mutant fielding a team to fight the other. However, Doomsday appeared to be flipping the script. The movie's X-Men teaser, released at the start of the year, featured a tender moment between Magneto and Professor X, suggesting they had buried the hatchet after decades of conflict.
Magneto's Doomsday costume also features the X-Men logo on the belt buckle, adding even more fuel to the fire. But the NYCC T-shirt makes it seem like the X-Men are still keeping their former foe at arm's length. It's also worth noting that another career villain, Mystique, who has a significant role in Doomsday, isn't mentioned on the front of the exclusive item.
Throughout the first two Fox X-Men movies, Mystique stood by Magneto's side, impersonating government officials and mutants for her mentor's benefit. He left her high and dry after she was exposed to the mutant cure in X-Men: The Last Stand. However, the retcons made by Fox's soft reboot changed their dynamic once again.
Mystique's standing on her Earth remains a mystery. The Doomsday trailer pitted her against Florence Pugh's Black Widow at the same time Gambit faced off against Shang-Chi, giving her at least some credibility. With the fate of the multiverse on the line, though, it's hard to rule out a betrayal or two, especially with a new bad guy in the mix who has plenty to offer.
Doctor Doom Could Have Double Agents Working for Him in Avengers: Doomsday
Despite appearing to be nothing more than a cash grab, Avengers: Endgame: Encore has changed the conversation around Doomsday. Doctor Doom appears in a post-credits scene to pick up Bruce Banner, who's been experimenting on himself after the events of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The villain doesn't explain what he needs the good doctor for, but it feels like a precautionary measure to ensure Hulk doesn't get in the way of his plans.
All the behind-the-scenes scheming suggests Doom is considering every possible outcome. While few characters can stand against him, a couple in Doomsday may give him trouble.
Magneto certainly fits into that category, as he's an Omega-level mutant who's been known to tear Earth apart from the inside out when provoked. Unleashing a planet-wide EMP isn't even out of the realm of possibility for him.
Watching Magneto sell out the X-Men would be a tough pill to swallow. But Doom might offer assurances too good to pass up, like a key position in the new multiverse for mutantkind.
A fresh start on that level will certainly pique Mystique's interest, since she's had to pretend to be other people for most of her life in order to survive. She may even throw her former boss under the bus, as he did to her all those years ago, and offer her services to a new big bad.
While that's a lot to surmise from the placement of names on a T-shirt, nothing is set in stone when it comes to Doomsday. Nearly all of the film's marketing has focused on the fight at the X-Mansion, which is sure to be only one of a handful of action set pieces. Marvel Studios is keeping all the juicy information close to the vest, and it's going to take uncovering clues in strange places to piece everything together before December rolls around.
