Last night, a new Avengers: Doomsday preview debuted during Game 1 of the 2026 World Series. I’m totally late showing it to you, because I slept through all the action. Whoops.
I thought this particular sneak peek was weird enough to bring into DrScreams’ lab, because it offers a truly bizarre mix of MLB icons alongside Doctor Doom’s arrival on the pitching mound we call Earth-616.
Marvel shoved five Major League Baseball stars into the middle of all this multiverse mayhem, with Bryce Harper, Freddie Freeman, Jacob Misiorowski, Junior Caminero, and Randy Arozarena showing up in a truly mind-twisting scene featuring the Fantastic Four.
The footage takes place at Ebbets Field, the former Brooklyn home of the Dodgers, in the retro-futuristic universe introduced in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards, wearing a Brooklyn Dodgers cap, takes the mound for a ceremonial first pitch. His elastic arm gives the routine a little extra reach, because apparently the Fantastic Four have their own way of warming up.
Misiorowski gets in a joke about how ceremonial first pitches keep getting bigger and bigger. That turns out to be a pretty good observation, because the next thing looming over the ballpark is Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom.
When Harper spots Doom in the sky, he doesn’t wait around to see how the game ends. “We gotta go. Like, now,” he tells the other players, who suddenly have a much bigger problem than a bad call from the umpire.
The preview was created specifically for the World Series, with the five current MLB players edited into the scene. It gives fans a new glimpse of Avengers: Doomsday without revealing much about what the heroes are facing when the full movie arrives.
The Brooklyn setting is a neat touch, too. Ebbets Field gives the sequence a connection to baseball history while fitting the alternate reality seen in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has visited baseball before: Captain America: The First Avenger features Steve Rogers waking up to a Brooklyn Dodgers game on the radio. This time, the players are getting a much closer look at the superhero business.
And Marvel clearly wants the World Series audience thinking about December. Avengers: Doomsday is the next major Avengers movie, bringing together characters from across the Marvel universe as multiple worlds face a threat from Doctor Doom. The massive crossover includes the Avengers and Fantastic Four, with familiar X-Men characters also returning to the mix. Downey, of course, is back in the MCU, but this time he’s playing the villain rather than Tony Stark.
That alone gives fans plenty to chew on. Downey helped define the MCU as Iron Man, and seeing him return as Doctor Doom has been one of the biggest talking points surrounding the movie. The film is also reuniting directors Joe and Anthony Russo with the franchise, following their work on Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
Marvel has been careful about how much it shows, which makes every new bit of footage a potential clue for fans trying to piece together the story. This World Series spot is more of a playful crossover than a full trailer, but it gives Doctor Doom another moment in the spotlight as the countdown continues.
Avengers: Doomsday arrives in theaters on December 18, 2026. If Doctor Doom is already interrupting baseball games, the Avengers might want to get moving.
