'Avengers: Doomsday' Is Leaning Into the Best Part of Marvel Comics With Its Latest Teaser

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Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/Thing in Avengers: Doomsday

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The teasers are coming out fast for 2026's Avengers: Doomsday, with the fourth, and potentially final, of the snippets released in screenings of Avatar: Fire and Ash finally being released. This teaser stands out the most among the four because of its interaction between two teams that fans have long wished to see team up on the big screen: The Fantastic Four and the forces of Wakanda. The team-up would be significant not just because of the return it would symbolize to the older MCU approach of increasing crossovers, especially in its tentpole projects, but also because of how it would pay homage to the comics' history between The Fantastic Four and the Black Panther. With the parallels and differences in how these two sides see and approach the world around them, it should set up a fascinating subplot for Doomsday that, as the teaser suggests, could provide tension and humor.

'Avengers: Doomsday's Fourth Tease Shows The Thing and Black Panther Meeting

The Doomsday teaser begins with Shuri (Letitia Wright), now the Black Panther after the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, monologuing about her responsibilities to her people, before shots of Namor (Tenoch Huerta) on his throne and M'Baku (Winston Duke) walking beside Shuri. The specific location is currently unclear, as the desert wasteland looks like it could be The Void from Deadpool & Wolverine, but the architecture shown behind Namor looks like it could be Talokanil territory, with the ocean having dried up.

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However, rather than staying focused on one team or character, as the previous teasers did with Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), and the X-Men, Doomsday's fourth trailer shows Shuri and M'Baku meeting with Ben Grimm (Ebon-Moss Bachrach). This provides the only back-and-forth dialogue yet, since Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) only speaks to Magneto (Sir Ian McKellen) in the X-Men teaser, with M'Baku introducing himself as King of Wakanda and Ben making a self-deprecating joke about being from the less fancy Yancy Street. This interaction is the first sign that the Russo Brothers will be bringing their signature quips with them on their return to the MCU, balancing both the high stakes and fun tone that they established with films like Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Infinity War.

'Avengers Doomsday's Fantastic Four and Black Panther Team Up Has a Long Comics History

This meeting will excite more than just fans of The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Black Panther, as these two teams have a history going back decades in the comics. The first iteration of Black Panther, T'Challa, first appeared in the comics Fantastic Four #52 and #53, where he plays a strategic game of cat and mouse with the team, trying to trap them before he grows to respect them after they help defend Wakanda from Ulysses Klaw, played in the MCU by Andy Serkis. Despite their rocky start, their shared commitment to doing good culminates in T’Challa’s declaration that he will “pledge my fortune, my powers—my very life—to the service of all mankind.” With this most recent trailer revolving around Shuri's responsibilities as Black Panther and how they differ from those of a king, Marvel could revisit how The Fantastic Four’s globalized sense of altruism contrasts with Wakanda’s traditionally isolationist approach.

Seeing these two characters crossover will bring many fans back to the feeling that Infinity War and Endgame gave audiences when seeing their favorite characters interact, a trademark that goes back to the comics, with characters appearing in others' issues, even for short periods, simply to expand the world. Whether this will be a team-up that lasts the entire film, similar to how Infinity War split up Chris Evans and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) into separate groups battling Thanos (Josh Brolin), is yet to be seen. However, while some of the other teasers haven't been met with the expected hype many would have expected, this most recent snippet should get many fans excited to see just what other historic meetings could be portrayed in Doomsday, and what kind of consequences that will have on the plot.

Avengers: Doomsday comes to theaters on December 18.