A Year Later, Avengers: Doomsday Officially Answers The Thunderbolts Post-Credit Scene Question

The Avengers: Doomsday trailer means we finally know what was going on in Thunderbolts*‘ post-credits scene. The journey to Doomsday has been a little bit bumpy, largely because of changes to Marvel’s plans during the Multiverse Saga. Marvel pivoted away from Kang the Conqueror to Doctor Doom, played by a returning Robert Downey, Jr. The means the most obvious setup (so far) has been in Fantastic Four: First Steps and Thunderbolts*. A lot of it took place in post-credits scenes, too, serving as direct links between the films.

The Thunderbolts* post-credits scene was perhaps the most obvious setup, a scene that felt like it was taken from partway through the movie. The Thunderbolts (aka New Avengers) gathered in their Watchtower, apparently trying to figure out some sort of problem in space. But they discovered something entering Earth’s atmosphere from across the multiverse – the Fantastic Four ship, the Excelsior, clearly now capable of jumping between dimensions.

The Avengers: Doomsday Trailer Reveals Who Is on the Ship

There’s long been intense speculation about just who’s on the Excelsior in that shot. It’s clear setup for the Fantastic Four themselves, but many had wondered whether there was a trick here; Marvel’s post-credits scenes are often misleading, after all. Some had speculated the ship was being used by Doctor Doom, seen approaching Reed and Sue’s son Franklin in Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ post-credits scene. As attractive as this theory seemed, it appeared increasingly unlikely when we learned the Fantastic Four would be traveling to 616 and meeting with the Wakandans.

The first Avengers: Doomsday trailer settles the debate once and for all, confirming the Fantastic Four are on the ship – and they’re not alone. In a remarkable twist, they appear to be accompanied by Thor Odinson. This immediately creates a logical connection between Earth-616 and the Fantastic Four’s Earth-828, and interestingly parallels the X-Men timeline as well; The Marvels ended with a 616 character (Monica Rambeau) stranded in what’s presumably that specific X-Men timeline.

It’s not hard to draw the threads together. Thor must travel through to Earth-828, leading the Fantastic Four to figure out multiple universes are bleeding into one another and collapsing. Mr. Fantastic launches a plan to put matters right – one that involves traveling to Earth-616. He heads to Wakanda, presumably at Thor’s advice; the Odinson knows this is a place of advanced science and technology.

We Already Know What Reed Richards’ Plan Is In Doomsday

Meanwhile, we already know what Reed Richard’s plan is. Marvel’s Shanghai Expo exhibits included sets from Doomsday, and most attention focused in on Doctor Doom’s throne. In addition, though, there was also Reed Richards’ lab – and Marvel revealed what Mr. Fantastic’ notes meant. According to Marvel, Reed was working out the energy generated by colliding worlds, and he was crafting multiversal cannons to prevent different earths destroying one another. The analogy is likely imprecise; you’re probably talking about things to hold the realities apart from one another through a constant release of energy.

But here’s the catch; if that is the case, then you need these multiversal “cannons” to be situated on every world that’s being drawn together into a collision. We know three universes are involved in Doomsday: the X-Men’s, Earth-616, and Earth-828. If Reed is to prevent these earths being destroyed, then he needs to visit each one in turn and construct a multiversal cannon there. Assuming they work, the three universes will be saved when the cannons are all firing at once.

But where does Doctor Doom fit into this? Doomsday‘s first poster teases Doom’s masterplan, suggesting he’s actively trying to bring universes together and create a single universe that he rules. If the Fantastic Four are working to prevent incursions, to stabilize the multiverse so collisions don’t happen, then they’re setting themselves up in direct opposition to Doctor Doom – and that’s just what we’d hope for, setting up a rivalry between Mr. Fantastic and Doctor Doom.

Reed’s chalkboard offers another important clue, too, perhaps revealing why Doctor Doom is powerful enough to block Stormbreaker. If colliding universes release energy, it makes sense that too many collisions could destabilize the entire multiverse. But the mysterious runes we’ve seen associated with Doctor Doom could be a way of capturing the energy of colliding universes, with Doom claiming it for himself. If that’s the case, it’s no wonder Thor couldn’t even touch him.

Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18th.

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