Doomsday Is Rewriting One Of Marvel’s Worst Movies

There is no shortage of reasons Avengers: Doomsday has become Marvel’s most anticipated release in years. Returning Fox-era X-Men figures like Magneto and Nightcrawler, escalating Multiverse Incursions, and the headline shock of Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.) are all creating hype not seen since the buildup to Infinity War. However, beneath the spectacle lies a subtler reason to celebrate.

Teaser footage remains cryptic, but one revelation speaks directly to Marvel’s evolving legacy. The Thor-focused Doomsday trailer shows Chris Hemsworth’s God of Thunder preparing solemnly for conflict with a foe he truly fears. The dialogue is weighty, the tone tense, and the brief teaser is a short but sweet return to the Thor fans knew and loved. In other words, it’s reversing Thor: Love and Thunder.

Among post-Avengers: Endgame MCU movies, few drew backlash like 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder. Its comedic excess reduced Thor to caricature, a creative choice that even Hemsworth himself later questioned. Restoring the dramatic weight of Thor now appears to be part of Marvel’s plans, with Avengers: Doomsday positioned to correct one of the MCU’s most debated portrayals.

Avengers: Doomsday Approaches Thor Differently From Love & Thunder

Marvel Is Finally Restoring Thor’s Gravitas

Chris Hemsworth looking into the camera with a blank stare in Thor: Love and Thunder

One of the clearest early takeaways from Avengers: Doomsday teasers is the MCU’s renewed seriousness toward Thor. Teaser footage presents the Asgardian hero as reflective and somber while he prepares to take on Doctor Doom. The absence of any exaggerated humor strongly suggests that Marvel wants to rebuild emotional authority following his divisive depiction in Thor: Love and Thunder.

This tonal shift addresses long-standing fan frustrations. In Thor: Love and Thunder, Thor leaned far too heavily into comedy. Thor has always been the source of some incredibly funny moments, of course, but Love and Thunder took this to new levels, completely undercutting his mythic stature.

Dramatic stakes were frequently overshadowed by jokes, diluting tension even when confronting threats like Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale). The approach alienated audiences who embraced Thor’s balance of humor and heroism in earlier appearances.

Chris Hemsworth himself has even acknowledged the imbalance (via Variety), remarking, “I got caught up in the improv and the wackiness, and I became a parody of myself. I didn’t stick the landing.” His self-reflection and admission of failure to deliver the best of the character is all the proof needed that Thor: Love and Thunder pushed its comedic tone far too hard.

What’s more, Hemsworth’s response to the Doomsday teaser (via YouTube) reinforces the blatantness of the course correction and the fact that it’s clearly intentional: “Yeah, you get a taste from [the Doomsday teaser],” Hemsworth explained, “that is a different tone than, I guess, what Love & Thunder was.”

The teasers already hint at a return to Thor’s most celebrated portrayals in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. There, he embodied wounded resilience, commanding presence, and emotional vulnerability (without sacrificing levity where it’s appropriate). It’s the blend that elevated him to an MCU fan favorite, and what he needs to return to.

Returning to the Thor of the Infinity Saga benefits both the character and the MCU. Thor functions best as a serious hero when the chips are down. Restoring his depth ensures his conflicts in Avengers: Doomsday carry emotional weight and that his dramatic credibility is intact heading into its next crossover crescendo.

How Robert Downey Jr’s Doctor Doom Is Raising The Stakes For The MCU

Doom’s Presence Instantly Redefines The Threat Scale

Doctor Doom from behind in Fantastic Four First Steps

The narrative justification for Thor’s renewed gravitas in Avengers: Doomsday is the looming menace of Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom. Teaser footage shows Thor praying to Odin, seeking strength before battle. His audible fear contrasts sharply with the confident rage driving Thor when he fought against Thanos (Josh Brolin). This alone is enough to signal that Doctor Doom is an adversary of unprecedented magnitude.

Robert Downey Jr’s casting was already a tease that Doctor Doom would be a threat unlike anything the MCU has seen. Reintroducing Marvel’s most recognizable star as a villain rather than a hero won’t just be a gimmick. Such a choice demands narrative justification worthy of its symbolic weight.

Thor’s apprehension in the Doomsday teaser reinforces that intent. The God of Thunder previously faced universal annihilation without hesitation, yet his unease about facing Doom implies a threat surpassing even Thanos’ devastation. The contrast makes it clear that the stakes are much, much higher.

Given the MCU’s post-Infinity Saga trajectory, Doom’s ambitions are clearly multiversal. Thanos ended life in half the universe, but Doom may be attempting to rewrite reality itself. The teaser’s emotional cues frame him as a destabilizing force capable of collapsing existence on a far broader scale than Thanos could ever dream of. Against a threat like that, a comedic Thor simply wouldn’t work.

Is Doctor Doom More Powerful Than Thor?

Power Hierarchies May Be About To Shift Dramatically

With Thor now seeming to be back to being a fierce warrior and preparing to face Doctor Doom, a key question has emerged among the MCU fandom – who is more powerful? Thor nearly defeated Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War thanks to his cosmic durability, elemental mastery, and battlefield dominance. His capabilities position him among the MCU’s most formidable heroes, capable of challenging galactic tyrants.

Doctor Doom’s power set historically differs in nature. Rather than sheer brute strength and the endurance of a literal god, Doctor Doom combines intellect, sorcery, and technology. In comics, his mastery of mysticism rivals cosmic entities, while strategic brilliance allows manipulation beyond brute force. That hybrid approach often neutralises physically stronger opponents.

The upcoming Avengers: Doomsday sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars, complicates comparisons further. The 2014 Secret Wars comic introduced God Emperor Doom, a near-omnipotent form of Victor Von Doom who rewrote the entire multiverse in his image. Should the MCU adapt that arc, Thor’s raw strength would likely prove insufficient against such omniscient control.

Plus, there’s also the unavoidable truth that if the MCU needs its version of Doctor Doom to be more powerful than Thor to make the story work, he will be. Even without direct adaptation, cinematic priorities shape outcomes. The MCU has consistently adjusted power scaling to serve narrative stakes. If Doom anchors the saga’s climax, his abilities will almost certainly eclipse existing benchmarks, Thor included.

Still, Thor’s strength remains significant. Combat experience, godly endurance, and lightning-fueled devastation ensure he remains a central frontline figure. He’s still formidable. However, Doom’s multidimensional capabilities suggest confrontation will hinge on ingenuity and unity rather than individual strength. Just like with Thanos, defeating Doctor Doom won’t be a task Thor can manage alone.

Ultimately, power comparisons in the MCU are always fun, but they’ll also be purely speculative until Avengers: Doomsday arrives. Thor represents heroic resilience; Doom embodies calculated domination. The contrast between them is exciting, but in a movie where existential threats demand more than physical might to overcome, they’re also not as consequential as many may believe.