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Marvel Matters: After Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts*, I see Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom assembling his own team with the Cabal

MCU fans have spent all this time speculating on the next Avengers, but we need to think about the villains creating their own Avengers.

Features by Chris Arrant, Editor-in-Chief

Published on Tue Apr 29 2025

This weekend is the release of Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts* - or what many will consider the next episode in the serialized story of the MCU. As this movie draws near and rumors flow (and some turn into idle speculation by people who should know better), we are at a liminal point where we have a lot of hopes and ideas for what the Marvel Cinematic Universe should be going forward - with none of that pesky reality to tell us what's actually happening yet. Here in this liminal phase, I am throwing out some idle speculation - the kind you'd share among friends - that may or may not prove to be true, but if it were would make a lot of sense.

There's no spoilers here - I have chosen not to attend an early press screening of Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts*, instead opting to see

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Chris Arrant: Chris Arrant is the Popverse's Editor-in-Chief. He has written about pop culture for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel, Newsarama, CBR, and more. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. (He/him)

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