Avengers: Doomsday's Trailer Confirms Downgrade For 1 Key MCU Character

The new trailer for Marvel Studios' Avengers: Doomsday confirms a big downgrade for a fan-favorite character from the Multiverse Saga. Doomsday is quickly building up steam ahead of its release, as it looks to be potentially the biggest movie released by any studio this year. However, this will come with a few notable redesigns for the movie's extensive cast, which should be the biggest of any comic book movie ever.

Marvel Studios released the second official trailer for Avengers: Doomsday on July 20, a few days before San Diego Comic-Con 2026. The trailer included a new look at HERBIE, the robotic assistant for the Fantastic Four, who made his live-action debut in 2025's The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The trailer shows him next to Pedro Pascal's Reed Richards and Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova as they work their way through the X-Mansion.

His design in Doomsday is noticeably different than what he looked like in The Fantastic Four, as seen in the following images.

Notably, this version of HERBIE looks much simpler than his OG model, with his eyes both lighting up into two bright blue circles. His body also looks much more metallic, with seemingly a much bigger "4' logo on his chest than what fans saw on the model in The Fantastic Four.

Many see this as a downgrade to his look, which appears to have changed mightily even from what was seen in The Fantastic Four: First Steps' mid-credits scene alongside Sue Storm and Franklin Richards. Even four years after the events of the movie, his design had not changed, leading many to wonder what inspires the changes for Doomsday.

This also looks much different from what was previously shown in animated Fantastic Four projects, such as The New Fantastic Four from 1978. While this version does not have the "4" on his chest, he has a series of colored buttons and a large blue circle below that.

Another look at the character from Marvel Comics houses a mostly silver design with a yellow set of eyes and mouth on a square black screen for his face. It also has circular feet on the bottom rather than a track, unlike the MCU's version.

Ahead are other major characters from Avengers: Doomsday with major costume redesigns, some of which have not gone over well with viewers.

Major Changes to 3 Avengers: Doomsday Characters' Looks

Steve Rogers

Officially confirmed in December 2025, Chris Evans will return to his iconic MCU role of Steve Rogers for Avengers: Doomsday. However, this time around, he will have left the Captain America mantle behind, opting for a much different look than his usual red, white, and blue costume with the star-spangled shield.

The first full Doomsday trailer brought Evans back in a simple pair of dark pants, a black t-shirt, and a black jacket, indicating his transition away from classic hero status. While this is a much different look than he has used in past movies, it will help set him on his new path when he returns to help the Avengers, even though he proved to still be worthy of holding Thor's hammer, Mjolnir.

Red Guardian

Also confirmed to come back for Avengers: Doomsday is David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, marking his third live-action appearance. After using a new red suit with a star on his chest in Thunderbolts*, the mid-credits scene put him in a wild new ensemble, complete with "New Avengerz" on his chest (with a "Z" instead of an "S"). It also boasted promotional logos for over half a dozen real-world companies, including Wheaties, Xbox, Tide, and Peloton.

As of writing, it is still unclear whether Harbour will keep this costume for the entire movie or go back to his usual red suit (or one similar to what he wore in Black Widow and Thunderbolts*). If he does not go back to the red suit, this could end up being a slightly distracting decision for the character if he goes into battle as a promotional billboard, but the jury is still out on what will come to be.

Mystique

Rebecca Romijn is confirmed to return as Raven Darkhölme/Mystique in Avengers: Doomsday, which will be her first time playing the role since a cameo in 2011's X-Men: First Class. This time, she will have a proper costume to wear, donning a blue-and-white dress reminiscent of her comic look instead of essentially going naked with blue, partially scaly skin.

While the costume itself has fans excited, the concern comes with how the blue makeup looks on Romijn, particularly on her face (along with the new version of her red hair). Although she has only been seen in a couple of seconds of footage thus far, the hope is that the VFX team will ensure her look is as comic-accurate and polished as possible.