New Comic-Con merch seemingly gave away who Marvel Studios views as the MCU's four biggest 2026 characters. Marvel, and the rest of the comic book world, is getting set to descend upon New York City (NYCC) for the annual New York Comic-Con. This four-day event is set to bring new announcements, exciting footage reveals, and possibly even a new project or two from Marvel, as the super-powered brand pulls back the curtain on at least some of its next year's programming.
As part of its NYCC presence, Marvel revealed new Comic-Con exclusive merchandise that appears to coincide with which character from within the MCU the studio will be promoting over the next year or so. Marvel Entertainment shared the first look at the NYCC-exclusive swag on its social channels.
The new T-shirt designs, crafted especially by pop culture clothing brand Heroes & Villains, are based on four specific MCU characters (Spider-Man, Doctor Doom, The Punisher, and Daredevil).
Each design features a unique Marvel hero, with pieces of the New York City street map overlaid on top of them, as well as various news clippings centered on the character surrounding them.
The new merch will be available exclusively for NYCC attendees from Thursday, October 9, to Sunday, October 12.
Marvel's Four Biggest Characters of 2026
Doctor Doom
It has been a Marvel Studios debut years in the making, but next year will finally mark the arrival of Doctor Doom in an MCU project. Next December's Avengers: Doomsday has been dubbed one of the biggest films in Marvel history, and Robert Downey Jr.'s Victor Von Doom is at the center of it.
It would make sense that Doom has been branded one of Marvel's most important characters for 2026, as he is the "main character" of Avengers 5, according to insider Alex Perez.
Doomsday will see the iconic comic book villain burst onto the MCU scene, hatching a plan for Multiversal dominance and getting the attention of multiple realities' worth of heroes in the process (read more about Doctor Doom's Avengers: Doomsday plan here).
Spider-Man
After several years away from the big screen, Tom Holland's Spider-Man is back in 2026, with the debut of his fourth MCU Spidey movie, Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Given the 20-something wall-crawler is leading Marvel's only other movie of 2026 outside of Avengers: Doomsday (and could even play a part in that as well), he, of course, has been given main character billing by Marvel Studios. He was even featured as such at another recent activation by the super-powered brand, further emphasizing just how vital Holland's web-head is to the franchise.
Brand New Day will follow Holland's web-slinging hero as he adjusts to a life of relative anonymity in a post-high school world.
Daredevil
Going forward, it appears that Daredevil will be the name by which Marvel Studios anchors its streaming efforts. After returning to the franchise earlier this year in Daredevil: Born Again Season 1, a second season of the hit R-rated superhero series has already been announced and is ready for release sometime in 2026.
Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock is reportedly set to get some time in the spotlight at NYCC, with Marvel Studios' only major panel of the weekend being focused on its upcoming efforts in TV and animation.
That likely means fans may be coming out of the annual comic convention with more news on the further expansion of Daredevil's street-level corner of the MCU, or, perhaps, even some footage from the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again Season 2.
The Punisher
One of the few other Marvel characters to receive an MCU project in 2026 will be Jon Bernthal's Punisher. So, appropriately, the skull-cracking anti-hero is the fourth of four MCU personalities to appear in this exclusive NYCC drop.
Punisher/Frank Castle will be thrust back into action in his upcoming Disney+ Special Presentation. The R-rated streaming special is scheduled to drop on the streamer sometime in 2026, with no specific release date yet announced.
The Punisher Special Presentation will follow Bernthal's Marvel hero, as he takes on a new criminal threat in the terrifying Ma Gnucci.
