"Doomsday's Missing Avengers Hint at Secret Wars and X-Men"

Exciting news for Marvel enthusiasts: Avengers: Doomsday is now officially in production. Marvel Studios surprised fans with a live stream cast announcement that lasted an impressive five and a half hours. The announcement included a surprising number of X-Men actors, with some notable characters missing entirely. As fans process this flood of information, one question looms large: Where are the Avengers in this new "Avengers" movie?

The video confirmed 27 characters, but only a few are traditional Avengers members. The roster is largely composed of actors from the Fox X-Men franchise, the Thunderbolts, and the Fantastic Four, leaving fans puzzled about the absence of key Avengers. However, analyzing both the in-universe and real-world implications could provide significant clues about the narratives of both Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. Let's dive in.

The Most Surprising Avengers and Marvel Characters Not Announced for Doomsday

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Why the Thunderbolts Are More Important to Doomsday Than We Thought

The only characters revealed in the announcement traditionally linked with the Avengers are Anthony Mackie's Captain America, Chris Hemsworth's Thor, and Paul Rudd's Ant-Man. Danny Ramirez's Falcon and Letitia Wright's Black Panther are likely to join the Avengers, even though Joaquin Torres and Shuri aren't usually part of the team. Additionally, characters like Namor or the Fantastic Four have occasionally been Avengers in the comics, but they aren't central to the team's history.

So, where are Tom Holland's Spider-Man, Mark Ruffalo's Hulk, Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch, Brie Larson's Captain Marvel, Don Cheadle's War Machine, Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange, and others? The answer may partly lie in the Thunderbolts* and the intriguing asterisk that has sparked fan theories for months. While some international posters suggest the asterisk indicates that "Avengers are not available," this could be a playful marketing tactic.

Bucky Barnes, Yelena Belova, Red Guardian, Ghost, U.S. Agent, and the Sentry are all confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday. Why focus on a team of relatively less powerful characters (except for the Sentry) who aren't traditionally Avengers? The MCU seems to be setting up a significant change. With the Thunderbolts playing a major role in Doomsday, the asterisk might hint at them becoming the New Avengers by the film's end. In the trailers, Red Guardian seems fond of the "Thunderbolts" name, while Bucky objects, suggesting a humorous subplot about the team's name. Moreover, with Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine purchasing Avengers Tower and her comments about the absence of Avengers, it seems the Thunderbolts are poised to take over as the MCU's primary superhero team.

The Thunderbolts being rebranded as the New Avengers or a similar title by the film's conclusion would align well with the Sentry's prominence and his evil counterpart, the Void, likely being the main antagonist. The Sentry, introduced in a 2000 miniseries, was later integrated into the Marvel universe in 2005 as part of Brian Michael Bendis' New Avengers comic.

The Thunderbolts: The Tumultuous History of Marvel's Twisted Super-Team

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Once established in the MCU, the Thunderbolts could be recruited to form a new Avengers roster, potentially led by Sam Wilson's Captain America. Recall that in Captain America: Brave New World, President Ross asked Sam to help rebuild the team. Without access to many traditional Avengers, Sam might have to rely on the less powerful Thunderbolts, setting them at a disadvantage in their initial clash with Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom.

Are the X-Men Doomed in Avengers: Doomsday?

Speaking of Doom, a key challenge for Avengers: Doomsday is to establish Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal of the character as a credible threat. Since Doom is absent from the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot, where Galactus will be the villain (though there might be a cameo in a post-credits scene), Avengers: Doomsday must lay the groundwork for Doom as the Multiverse Saga's ultimate antagonist. What better way than to have Doom eliminate several major characters that fans believed were safe? Just as Thanos decimated half of all life and many beloved characters in Infinity War, Doctor Doom may be set to wipe out a significant portion of Doomsday's cast, with the Fox X-Men most likely on the chopping block.

Doctor Doom eliminating the Fox X-Men would also clear space and budget for the traditional MCU cast to return in Secret Wars. Considering that Secret Wars is on the horizon and Incursions (universes colliding and causing widespread destruction), a crucial element of the 2015 Secret Wars comic, have been mentioned in Multiverse of Madness, witnessing an Incursion firsthand would be the perfect way to establish the stakes for Secret Wars. This means an entire universe must be destroyed by Doctor Doom's hands. Destroying the Fox X-Men universe makes the most sense, providing a dramatic moment for Doom and freeing up resources for Secret Wars, similar to how Infinity War temporarily removed newer characters to focus on the original six Avengers in Endgame.

Having characters like Spider-Man, Hulk, Scarlet Witch, Captain Marvel, and others return to confront Doom and avenge the destroyed universe would create a triumphant conclusion to the Multiverse Saga. This could be the only way for Marvel Studios to match the excitement of Endgame's epic finale, which they've been trying and failing to replicate in Phases 4 and 5. We'll have to wait until the film's release on May 1, 2026, to confirm this theory, but for now, it seems the most plausible explanation for the scarcity of Avengers in the Doomsday cast.