Knowledge cards
Each card takes about 30 seconds. Labels show what's on screen and what comes from the comics.
A collection of parallel universes — each with its own versions of people, places and events. A version of a character from another universe is called a variant.
The Time Variance Authority. It existed outside time and “pruned” any branch that strayed from the Sacred Timeline — until Loki's story changed that.
Robert Downey Jr. plays Victor von Doom, announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2024, and Marvel presents him as the villain of Avengers: Doomsday. A hooded Doom figure already appeared in the mid-credits scene of The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Victor von Doom: scientist, sorcerer and ruler of the small European nation of Latveria. Since his debut in 1962 he has been one of Marvel's greatest villains and the Fantastic Four's arch-enemy.
Collisions between universes. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) introduced the idea: when one universe crashes into another, one or both can be destroyed.
In Jonathan Hickman's Avengers and New Avengers comics, Reed Richards and a secret group called the Illuminati spend years trying to stop incursions — and fail. The final incursion triggers Secret Wars (2015).
Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm — a family of explorers who gained powers after exposure to cosmic rays. Marvel calls them its First Family.
In the comics they were college rivals. Victor's experiment exploded and scarred him; he blamed Reed, who had warned him about a flaw in his calculations.
The Thunderbolts — Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, U.S. Agent, Ghost and Bob. A team of former assassins and outcasts that Valentina de Fontaine publicly rebranded as the “New Avengers” at the end of Thunderbolts* (2025).
Bob Reynolds gained godlike power from an experiment. His darkest feelings take shape as the Void, a shadow that can swallow people whole. In Thunderbolts* the team helps him fight it instead of fighting him.
A hidden underwater kingdom ruled by Namor, whose people adapted to life under the sea thanks to a vibranium-infused plant. After clashing with Wakanda in Wakanda Forever (2022), the two nations ended in an uneasy truce.
The home universe of the Fantastic Four in First Steps (2025) — a retro-futuristic world separate from the main MCU, known as Earth-616. That makes their meeting with the Avengers a crossing between universes.
Most are played by the stars of Fox's X-Men films (2000–2014); Channing Tatum's Gambit debuted in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024). Marvel hasn't said which universe these versions come from — but that film already brought Fox-universe characters into the MCU through the TVA.
At the end of Endgame, Steve returned the Infinity Stones, stayed in the past and lived his life with Peggy Carter. He reappeared as an old man and handed his shield to Sam Wilson. Both Steve and Peggy are confirmed for Doomsday.
Steve Rogers passed the shield to Sam Wilson, who became Captain America in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Joaquín Torres took over as the Falcon, and John Walker briefly held the Captain America title before becoming U.S. Agent.
A subatomic dimension where time and space work differently. Scott Lang's five years trapped there inspired the Avengers' time heist in Endgame, and in Quantumania Scott and his daughter Cassie were pulled back in to face Kang.
Ancient weapons that gave Shang-Chi's father, Wenwu, immense power and a life of a thousand years. Shang-Chi now wields them — and a mid-credits scene revealed the rings are sending out a mysterious signal.
Thor: Love and Thunder ended with Thor adopting Love, the daughter of the villain Gorr, and raising her. A post-credits scene showed Zeus sending his son Hercules after Thor.
In the 2015 comic event, incursions destroy the multiverse and Doctor Doom rebuilds what survives into Battleworld, ruling it as God Emperor. The story shares its name with Avengers: Secret Wars, the film that follows Doomsday.
Photo: Gage Skidmore · CC BY-SA 2.0
Because Robert Downey Jr. played Tony Stark, some fans speculate his Doom could be a version of Tony from another universe. Marvel has not confirmed anything — treat this as speculation, not fact.
