Warning! This article contains SPOILERS forThe Fantastic Four: First StepsMarvel made a risky move by repeatingAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s post-credits tease inThe Fantastic Four: First Steps, but it seems to be the right decision. Following a major overhaul,Avengers: DoomsdaytookAvengers: The Kang Dynasty’s place as the prelude to theMCU’s ambitiousAvengers: Secret Wars. Accordingly, Doctor Doom became the franchise’s next big bad.
AlthoughThe Fantastic Four: First Stepsis a pretty self-contained MCU movie, it drops a major clue aboutAvengers: Doomsday’s plot. After the titular team defeats Galactus atthe end ofThe Fantastic Four: First Steps, Sue Storm witnesses Doctor Doom approach Franklin Richards. This brief scene sets up Doctor Doom’s main villain role just in time forAvengers: Doomsday.
Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania’s Post-Credits Scene Set Up Kang To Fail
Kang Wasn’t Locked To Return After Quantumania’s Credits Tease
According toKevin Feige’s 2025 comments on the MCU’s past and future, Marvel was already considering replacing Kang with Doctor Doom as the Multiverse Saga’s final villain.Early plans to introduce Doom apparently started even before Jonathan Majors' personal controversies. Hence, it’s safe to say that Marvel wasn’t as confident in Kang’s future asAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s post-credits scene made it seem.
The possibility of Kang’s replacement was already open beforeQuantumaniahit theaters
Despite Kang’s seemingly definitive defeat,Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s post-credits sceneset up a huge showdown between the Council of Kangs and the Avengers. This scene teased the arrival of hundreds of Kang variants inAvengers: The Kang Dynasty, all played by Jonathan Majors. Yet, the possibility of Kang’s replacement was already open beforeQuantumaniahit theaters.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Post-Credits Scene Takes A Huge Risk
Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania & The Fantastic Four: First Steps' Post-Credits Scenes Are Eerily Similar
Similarly toQuantumania,The Fantastic Four: First Steps' post-credits scenesets up the Avengers' final multiversal threat.Doctor Doom’s introduction inFirst Steps' credits tease seems to be a central plot point that kicks off the events ofAvengers: Doomsday. Previously, the Council of Kangs' reunion appeared to serve the exact same purpose in relation toAvengers: The Kang Dynasty.
What’s more,The Fantastic Four: First Steps' post-credits tease takes an even bigger risk and marks the debut of Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom.Quantumania’s credits scene also introduces several Kang variants, but Kang had just played a main antagonist role.Once again, a prior post-credits tease may be required watching beforeAvengers: Doomsday’s theatrical release.
Marvel Studios’ Release Plans Help The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Credits Tease Avoid Quantumania’s Problem
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Is Directly Tied To Avengers: Doomsday
UnlikeAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,The Fantastic Four: First Stepsis narratively and logistically tied toAvengers: Doomsday. Marvel was already deep intoAvengers: Doomsday’s production whenThe Fantastic Four: First Stepswas released. In fact,First Steps' post-credits scene was shot on theAvengers: Doomsdayset, with Robert Downey Jr. actually playing Doctor Doom.
Most, if not all, ofMarvel’s upcoming movie projectsmay be closely interconnected. This ensures that the clues dropped in movies likeThunderbolts*andThe Fantastic Four: First Stepsdon’t go to waste. Following the success of these movies, Marvel Studios may continue to plan out each link between projects more carefully.
