There’s a lot riding on The Fantastic Four: First Steps. It’s the film that finally introduces the

iconic team to the MCU (even if they aren’t on the right Earth just yet). It’s a film that’s striving to

do big box office numbers in a very crowded summer movie season and coming off the heels of

two underperforming Marvel movies. And, of course, it’s directly laying the foundation for 2026’s

Avengers: Doomsday and the rise of Robert Downey, Jr.’s Doctor Doom.

So how exactly does First Steps accomplish that last goal? How much does the film set up

Doomsday versus simply introducing the new Fantastic Four? And how much, if at all, does

Downey’s villain actually appear? How does the film answer one of our biggest burning

questions about Avengers: Doomsday? Let’s break down the ending and what it means for the

future of the MCU’s Multiverse Saga.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is directed by Matt Shakman and stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa

Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Julia Garner, Sarah Niles, Mark Gatiss, Natasha

Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, and Ralph Ineson. The film is now in theaters.