The road to hell is paved with good intentions, as iconic Marvel villain Doctor Victor Von Doom found out the hard way near the end of the second issue of his new comic series. The armor-clad mastermind has faced down superheroes, supervillains and cosmic entities, but in Doctor Doom #2 by Christopher Cantwell and Salvador Larroca, Doom finds out that the court of public opinion is a far more insidious and deadly adversary.
The Fantastic Four reboot under Kevin Feige and co. continues to be quietly developed, away from the limelight. Considering the importance of the superhero family to Marvel history and the popularity of the characters among fans, there's a lot of pressure on the studio to get their story right. Particularly after their less-than-well-received earlier cinematic outings.
For a movie filled with more main characters than any other film in history, Avengers: Endgame did a good job of focussing on smaller, more intimate interactions between individual heroes in the midst of the universe-threatening events taking place. One such moving moment was when Tony Stark and Peter Parker reunite in the middle of the final battle, with Tony being so overwhelmed after seeing Peter whole and healthy again that he impulsively hugs him in a rare display of affection.
Possibly the biggest question amongst fans about the upcoming phase of the MCU is how the filmmakers plan to introduce the First Family of Marvel, the Fantastic Four, into the franchise. While traditionally the Four's origin tale is unrelated to other heroes, given how interconnected the lives of the characters are shown to be in the movies, it could very well be a familiar face who has a hand in their arrival. In fact, one new theory even goes so far as to say that Scott Lang may be responsible for their debut.
Ever since the merger between Fox and Disney was announced, fans have been beside themselves with excitement to see a fresh set of Marvel heroes joining the MCU. First on the list is Deadpool, who already has his own successful franchise to back him up as a major addition to the roster. And a new fan theory offers an intriguing explanation for how the Merc with a Mouth winds up in the Avengers' universe.
In retrospect, with Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame recently including 70+ characters from the MCU, looking back at the original Avengers from 2012, it almost feels like a quaint affair, featuring just six superheroes fighting off an alien invasion. But 2012 was a different era, and it was unheard of at the time to have such a gigantic crossover between individual superhero franchises to create a team-up movie. At it turns out, however, the original Avengers squad should've had even more members and been an even bigger affair than it already was.
