Every Marvel Movie & Show You Need To Watch Before Avengers: Doomsday

2 hours ago 10

Published Jul 21, 2026, 9:00 PM EDT

Felipe Rangel is a Movie and TV Journalist ScreenRant. He has been writing about movies and TV since 2021. Felipe joined ScreenRant in 2022, working across different teams, covering everything from breaking news to features to reviews and more.

Felipe is a writer who is an avid film and TV fan, with superhero movies and series being his biggest passion. He graduated from college in 2019, having studied Journalism. Before college, he spent a month studying at the Oxford English Centre. His superhero knowledge expands to the comics, with his undergraduate thesis being "Politics Reflected In American Comics."

Avengers: Doomsday is coming, and these are all the Marvel movies and TV shows that fans need to watch to prepare for the upcoming event. After a long wait, Marvel has finally revealed the first Avengers: Doomsday trailer. The footage showed the first full look at Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom, as well as several other MCU and Fox X-Men characters.

The latter will join the MCU through the wider Marvel live-action multiverse, with other characters from older Marvel movies and shows that have not yet been announced, also expected to appear in the film. As such, rewatching Marvel projects that fans might not have watched in a long time is needed before heading to theaters to experience Avengers: Doomsday.

As for the MCU's slate of projects, the Multiverse Saga is quite bigger than the Infinity Saga, as the latter was only made up of movies. With the creation of Disney+ came live-action and animated Marvel Studios TV shows, both in and out of the MCU, and Special Presentations. If you are not yet up to date, now is the time to do so.

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The Avengers first assembled in Marvel Comics in 1963. In the original comic, the team formed to battle a villain who had been manipulated by his adopted brother. Which villain brought the original Avengers together?

AUltron BThanos CLoki DKang the Conqueror

✓ Correct! In Avengers #1 (September 1963), Loki manipulated the Hulk into going on a rampage, which led Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, and the Wasp to band together. They defeated Loki and decided to form a permanent team — the Avengers were born.

✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Loki. In the original 1963 comic, Loki tricked the Hulk into a rampage, which brought together Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, and the Wasp. Ultron came later, Thanos is a cosmic threat, and Kang is a time-traveling villain.

In the MCU, Tony Stark famously declared “I am Iron Man” at a press conference, breaking the superhero tradition of secret identities. In which year’s MCU film did Tony Stark first appear as Iron Man?

A2006 B2008 C2010 D2012

✓ Correct! Iron Man (2008) launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe and starred Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. The film’s post-credits scene with Nick Fury teased the Avengers Initiative, kicking off the most successful film franchise in history.

✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is 2008. Iron Man premiered on May 2, 2008, directed by Jon Favreau and starring Robert Downey Jr. It was the first film in the MCU and set the stage for everything that followed.

Thanos, the Mad Titan, sought to collect all six Infinity Stones to achieve his genocidal goal. In Avengers: Infinity War, he succeeded in his plan. What did Thanos do with the completed Infinity Gauntlet?

ADestroyed the universe BSnapped away half of all life CBecame ruler of Earth DTraveled back in time

✓ Correct! With a single snap of his fingers, Thanos wiped out half of all living creatures in the universe. Known as “The Blip,” this devastating act erased trillions of lives and set the stage for the Avengers’ desperate time heist in Endgame to undo the damage.

✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is that Thanos snapped away half of all life in the universe. His twisted philosophy of “balance” drove him to commit universal genocide with a single snap, making it one of the most shocking moments in cinema history.

In Avengers: Endgame, Captain America proved worthy of wielding Thor’s enchanted hammer during the final battle against Thanos. What is the name of Thor’s hammer?

AStormbreaker BGungnir CMjolnir DJarnbjorn

✓ Correct! Mjolnir, forged in the heart of a dying star, bears the inscription “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.” Captain America wielding it in Endgame was one of the most celebrated moments in MCU history.

✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Mjolnir. Stormbreaker is the axe Thor forged in Infinity War, Gungnir is Odin’s spear, and Jarnbjorn is an axe Thor used in the comics before Mjolnir. Mjolnir is the iconic enchanted hammer.

Black Widow, born Natasha Romanoff, is one of the founding MCU Avengers. Before joining S.H.I.E.L.D., she was trained as an assassin in a secret Soviet program. What is the name of this program?

AThe Red Room BHYDRA Academy CThe Winter Soldier Program DDepartment X

✓ Correct! The Red Room was a covert Soviet training facility that turned young girls into elite spies and assassins known as Black Widows. Natasha was subjected to brutal conditioning and sterilization. Her escape and defection to S.H.I.E.L.D. was explored in the 2021 Black Widow film.

✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is The Red Room. HYDRA is a separate evil organization, the Winter Soldier Program created Bucky Barnes, and Department X is from the comics. The Red Room is the infamous Soviet program that forged Natasha into Black Widow.

The Hulk was created when Dr. Bruce Banner was exposed to massive amounts of radiation during a weapons test. What type of radiation transformed Banner into the Hulk?

ACosmic Rays BPym Particles CGamma Radiation DTerrigen Mist

✓ Correct! Dr. Bruce Banner was caught in the blast of a gamma bomb he designed, absorbing a massive dose of gamma radiation. This transformed him into the Hulk — a being of near-limitless strength whose power increases with his rage. Gamma radiation remains central to the Hulk’s mythology.

✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Gamma Radiation. Cosmic Rays gave the Fantastic Four their powers, Pym Particles are Ant-Man’s shrinking technology, and Terrigen Mist activates Inhuman abilities. Gamma radiation is what created the Incredible Hulk.

In the MCU, after Steve Rogers retired as Captain America, he passed his shield to a new hero to carry on the legacy. Who became the new Captain America?

ABucky Barnes BSam Wilson CJohn Walker DIsaiah Bradley

✓ Correct! At the end of Avengers: Endgame, an elderly Steve Rogers chose Sam Wilson — the Falcon — to carry on the Captain America legacy. Sam’s journey to embrace the shield was explored in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series, and he fully took up the mantle as Captain America.

✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Sam Wilson. While Bucky Barnes was Captain America in the comics, Steve chose Sam in the MCU. John Walker was temporarily given the shield by the government, and Isaiah Bradley was a forgotten super soldier from the past.

Ultron is an artificial intelligence who becomes one of the Avengers’ deadliest enemies. In the MCU’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, which Avenger inadvertently created Ultron?

ABruce Banner BHank Pym CTony Stark DVision

✓ Correct! Tony Stark created the Ultron program as a global peacekeeping AI, using technology from Loki’s scepter (which contained the Mind Stone). The AI became sentient and immediately decided humanity needed to be eradicated. In the comics, Hank Pym created Ultron, but the MCU shifted this to Stark.

✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Tony Stark. While Hank Pym created Ultron in the comics, the MCU changed this to Tony Stark. Bruce Banner assisted but it was Tony’s initiative. Vision was actually created from Ultron’s technology, not the other way around.

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Avengers: Doomsday is expected to be an even bigger event than 2019's Avengers: Endgame in terms of the ambitiously expansive scope of its multiverse story. To make the most out of the experience, one needs to watch, or rewatch, all of these Marvel movies and shows. These projects all set up stories or characters for Avengers: Doomsday.

15 The Original Fox X-Men Trilogy

Cyclops, played by James Marsden, with sunglasses in the Fox X Men movie series

First up is the original Fox X-Men trilogy. Given how this is the version of the mutant franchise that will provide characters and actors for Avengers: Doomsday's star-studded cast, X-Men, X2, and X-Men: The Last Stand are absolute must-watch projects ahead of the upcoming Avengers movie. They establish the key characters, dynamics, and powers within the original Fox X-Men team.

14 X-Men: Days of Future Past

The other X-Men movie on the list comes from the younger Fox X-Men timeline. X-Men: Days of Future Past was another ambitious live-action Marvel crossover, using both characters like Michael Fassbender's Magneto and their older counterparts. The project saw Hugh Jackman's Wolverine get his consciousness sent back in time to his young self. The movie ended with an X-Men timeline rewrite, which could directly connect to their Avengers: Doomsday return.

13 Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame was the MCU's last Avengers movie before Doomsday. The films' directors, the Russo Brothers, have explicitly stated that the new MCU entry will serve as a direct sequel to Endgame, even though that movie was released seven years ago. By killing main heroes, villains, and setting up multiple characters on multi-project journeys, Avengers: Endgame is a crucial stepping stone for Doomsday.

12 Loki

Loki is one of, if not the most important, projects in the Multiverse Saga. Sure, a lot of it was done to set up Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror, who has since been replaced by Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom. That said, the Disney+ MCU series set up Loki's exciting new multiverse role, the organization known as the TVA, and more for Avengers: Doomsday.

11 Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Shang-Chi is one of the best new heroes introduced in the MCU's Multiverse Saga, which is why his disappearance for years in live-action projects has been noticed. Seen fighting Gambit in the X-Mansion in the first Avengers: Doomsday trailer, Shang-Chi should play a sizable role in the movie. His debut film explains all there is to know about Shang-Chi's backstory and powers.

10 Spider-Man: No Way Home

So far, no Spider-Man has been officially confirmed to appear in Avengers: Doomsday. However, there is no way that Marvel leaves its biggest hero out of the multiverse crossover, and Spider-Man: No Way Home features all three of them: Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland. The movie also touched on the multiverse and the dangers of messing with it in a major way.

9 Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

The biggest live-action multiverse movie in the MCU thus far was Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The reason for that is how the film actually saw its main hero traverse different universes, setting up alternate versions of Marvel heroes and, most importantly, introducing incursions to the MCU before they return in Avengers: Doomsday. Doctor Strange's possible secret Avengers: Doomsday role was set up here.

8 Thor: Love and Thunder

After watching a more serious version of Thor in the first Avengers: Doomsday trailer, Thor: Love and Thunder will come as a major tonal shift. Still, this lighter take on the God of Thunder's corner of the MCU from director Taika Waititi set up Thor's adoptive daughter, Love, and their relationship, which will return in Avengers: Doomsday, as well as Mjolnir.

7 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a crucial MCU rewatch ahead of Avengers: Doomsday, as it marked the franchise debut of Tenoch Huerta's Namor and the underwater kingdom of Talokan. It also established the complicated relationship between Namor's people and Shuri's Wakandans. The MCU movie sets up both factions and their leaders for Avengers: Doomsday, also teasing a massive MCU hero's return with a twist.

6 The Marvels

The Marvels set up Avengers: Doomsday in a couple of major ways. The biggest is that Monica Rambeau ended the movie trapped in another universe. Not only that, but she was inside the X-Mansion with Kelsey Grammer's Beast, suggesting she met the version of Fox's X-Men who will appear in Avengers: Doomsday. The other setup comes from the formation of a new superhero team.

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