As the dust settles on the Avengers: Doomsday trailer, I’ve seen a mixed reception emerge. There’s plenty of excitement about the first Avengers movie since 2019’s all-conquering Endgame, and much fun speculation about the true nature of Steve Rogers' appearance. Clearly, the mainstream audience is on board, too, with impressive day-one advance ticket sales and huge views for the trailer itself.

But tempering the excitement somewhat are complaints not just around the visual effects we see in the trailer, or a perceived reinforcement of MCU fatigue some say they feel while watching the trailer, but Doctor Doom’s star turn as the villain.

My timeline is full of people saying that the introduction of Doctor Doom feels rushed, that it should have been built up over the course of multiple movies for fans to feel the excitement of a pay off much like the one they got when the Avengers teamed up to battle Thanos. Thanos, let's remember, appeared in cameo form in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy and 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron before starring in 2018's Infinity War and finally biting the dust in Endgame. Indeed, Thanos first reared his ugly head all the way back in 2012’s The Avengers.

Doctor Doom, played by Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr., however, has had little to no build up. Yes, he appeared, menacingly, at the end of last year’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps with Reed Richards and Sue Storm’s son, Franklin (we’re still not sure what Doom wants with him). But that’s it, which leaves us with a debut appearance in this December’s Avengers: Doomsday.

This, some say, is evidence of Marvel Studios’ rushed attempt to create a big bad for its cinematic universe after the plan for Kang fell apart. Doom is the MCU's Hail Mary, a last-ditch attempt to rekindle the glory days amid waning interest in superheroes. But, others counter, there is hope amid the doom and gloom.

Let us consider the many, many wonderful villains who have graced our screens without any build up at all. Darth Vader didn’t need a handful of cameo appearances before be became perhaps the greatest villain of all time in A New Hope. I don’t remember Hannibal Lecter making weird noises from the shadows in movies set before The Silence of the Lambs. Nor did Sauron require the hours and hours of origin story we have subsequently received for The Fellowship of the Ring’s journey to Mordor to hit hard.

Avengers: Doomsday Trailer: First Look at Doctor Doom

Perhaps the best example of a successful villain who needed little introduction came from the MCU itself. I’ve always thought of Ultron as the standout character in the otherwise disappointing Avengers: Age of Ultron. This was a villain who wasn’t just introduced and defeated all in one movie, but created.

So, it’s perfectly reasonable to expect a successful introduction of Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday, which I'm sure will be long enough to accommodate plenty of exposition. It will, as most things in movies do, come down to the story, the characters, the direction, and of course the performances of the actors. I don’t need a build up to Doom’s reveal for Robert Downey Jr.'s inevitable 'how can you have Tony Stark’s face?' conversation with Thor and Captain America to get my heart racing. To dismiss Doomsday now because we haven’t had a few Doom teases beforehand seems a little premature.

In any case, Doomsday might be the Doom setup. While he's the main event in the Doomsday trailer, we may not see much of the character in the movie itself. Rather, the big fights and Doom debates may be reserved for next year's Secret Wars. We might not even see Doom take off his mask in Doomsday, or any other character see his face.

While we wait to find out how this Doom thing is going to go, we’ve got plenty more on Avengers: Doomsday to digest. For example, there's a debate about whether a character was edited out of one shot from the trailer. Is it Doctor Doom? Speaking of Doom, we also have a new Avengers: Doomsday poster that teases Doctor Doom's motivation in the story.

Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters December 18, 2026. Here's the official synopsis:

"Universes collide and the Multiverse Saga begins its final chapter in Marvel Studios' Avengers: Doomsday," the movie's newly-revealed description reads. "Beloved heroes from three distinct universes will be set on a deadly collision course and ultimately face an existential threat unlike anything they've ever encountered. This epic film will lay the foundation for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe."

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.