Fantastic Four Movie Ending Just Spoiled Why They Go to Earth 616 In Avengers: Doomsday According to New MCU Phase 6 Theory

Marvel Studios' Fantastic Four movie ending spoiled why its titular superhero team heads to Earth 616 in Avengers: Doomsday, as teased in Thunderbolts' post-credit scene. There is plenty to talk about with Fantastic Four: First Steps, but one of the biggest topics of conversation coming out of the movie has been its mind-blowing Doctor Doom stinger. 

This mid-credits moment sees the villainous Victor Von Doom (played by Robert Downey Jr.) getting caught by Vanessa Kirby's Sue Storm looking over the Fantastic Four's newest addition to the family, Franklin Richards. This, along with the Thunderbolts post-credit scene that saw a Fantastic Four-branded interdimensional craft arrive in the 616 universe, seems directly connected to the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, of which Marvel's First Family will play a key role.

Fantastic Four: First Steps is now playing in theaters, introducing fans to Marvel Studios' take on the iconic superhero team. The new film, starring Vanessa Kirby, Pedro Pascal, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn, follows the Fantastic Four as they are called into action after their alternate universe Earth is marked for death by the towering Galactus.

Why Did The Fantastic Four Go to Earth 616 In MCU Thunderbolts Movie?

MCU fans have now gotten two back-to-back post-credits scenes tied directly to Avengers: Doomsday with both Fantastic Four: First Steps and Thunderbolts*. However, despite being two of the most interconnected MCU stingers in franchise history, the introduction of has left audiences with more questions than answers. 

The biggest of which is why First Steps' take on the Fantastic Four would need to traverse the Multiverse, jumping from Earth 828 to Earth 616 (as seen in Thunderbolts*). 

During the Thunderbolts* post-credits sequence, the movie's central team—now known as the New Avengers—looked on as a Fantastic Four-emblazoned rocket craft came careening into their reality. This was followed up in Fantastic Four, as Doctor Doom showed that he has taken an interest in the ultra-powerful (still infant) Franklin Richards.

It has been assumed that at least some of Marvel's First Family will need to come to the MCU's prime universe for the upcoming team-up, as the threat of Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom mounts, and First Steps may have revealed why. 

Judging from the Thunderbolts stinger, the most popular theory amongst fans is that Doom succeeds in kidnapping Franklin, forcing Sue, Reed, Johnny, and Ben to hop aboard the Excelsior and chase after the masked villain.

This would be the most logical reason for bringing the characters over to Earth 616, setting Franklin up as something of a super-powered McGuffin in Doomsday.

Or, what if these two post-credits stingers were setting up a great bait-and-switch? While many assume it is the Fantastic Four on that rocket at the end of Thunderbolts*, it could also be Doom himself. 

Jake Shreier's MCU epic only showed the rocket itself, not who is on it. Yes, it features the Fantastic Four's power-blue logo, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are the ones manning the craft. 

Maybe the Doom moment teased in First Steps sets up an action sequence in which Downey's Doomsday villain grabs Franklin and makes a break for it, resulting in the big bad climbing aboard the Excelsior and, with the help of Franklin's mysterious powers, jumping realities. 

Then, with Doom in an entirely separate universe, the Fantastic Four will be forced to perfect inter-dimensional travel to save their fantastic fifth member.

The other option could be that only part of the Fantastic Four team is on that rocket seen midway through the Thunderbolts* credits. 

Recent comments from the Fantastic Four cast have indicated that not every team member will get to interact with Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday. This could potentially hint at First Steps' titular team having to split up in the new Avengers movie, with only two of them ever getting to Earth 616. 

This divide and conquer plan would make sense if, after Doom takes Franklin, it is unclear where exactly the Latverian terror went with Sue and Reed's four-year-old. 

With no idea where the Doomsday villain was headed, the Fantastic Four could break off into two teams, each taking separate crafts to explore different universes that Doom could have headed to after his Baxter Building break-in.

This would explain why the rocket ship that popped into the Earth 616 solar system Thunderbolts* has a slightly different look than the one seen in Fantastic Four: First Steps, sporting four prongs on its rear instead of three.