5 MCU TV Episodes To Watch Before 'Avengers: Doomsday'

Published Nov 15, 2026, 2:34 PM EST

Jessica is a young writer from Brisbane, Australia. An avid consumer and lover of all things Film and TV, you will never tear her away from a screen. A tendency rooted from childhood, she once had dreams of becoming a member of the famed kids-band 'Hi-5'. Perhaps that's what pushed her to secure an education with a theater background. But now, as dreams evolved, her passions have turned to admiring performances from afar. Frankly, she's just grateful that she can put her binging skills to good use. Outside of work, Jessica recently completed her undergraduate double degree in Arts/Communications. Other than that, she spends most of her free time with family and friends, probably never forgetting to talk about the new movie or show she watched the day prior.

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Spoiler Alert: This list contains spoilers for the VisionQuest finale.The road to Avengers: Doomsday has been a long one, and if there's one thing that the MCU's Multiverse Saga has taught us, it's that the smallest details can have some pretty enormous consequences. With familiar heroes returning, new alliances taking shape, and Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.) looming over the future of the franchise, there's a lot of catch-up we're needing to do.

And we're not just talking about the movies. It turns out, you need to know what has happened in the television world, too. Between the introduction of major characters and conflicts to the planting of storyline seeds that are finally coming to fruition, these are the episodes that offer some useful context for what may lie ahead. So, before Doomsday hits the big screen this December, here's some homework that you might find useful.

"The Star-Spangled Man" (Episode 2)

'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier' (2021)

Image via Disney+

As Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) try to find their footing in a world without Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), they discover that the government has already chosen his replacement: John Walker (Wyatt Russell), a decorated soldier whose polished image doesn't exactly win them over. But along the way, amid an investigation, the two encounter Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), a Black super-soldier whose history with the Winter Soldier reveals the darker side of the Captain America legacy—one that forces Sam to seriously grapple with what carrying the shield would really mean.

Now, while this episode doesn't deal directly with multiversal magic, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is an important watch for understanding Sam's complicated relationship with the Captain America mantle. Importantly, this episode explores the racial implications of having a Black man represent a country that has historically mistreated people like Isaiah, adding a layer of nuance that Captain America: Brave New World also (briefly) touches on as he goes on to fully embrace the role. But now, with Evans bizarrely returning in Doomsday, it does leave us wondering whether Sam's position could become even more complicated, especially since there's already discourse as to who's even leading the "Avengers".

"Glorious Purpose" (Season 1, Episode 1)

'Loki' (2021–2023)

Image via Marvel Studios

The first episode of Loki picks up with the 2012 version of the God of Mischief (Tom Hiddleston) escaping with the Tesseract during the Avengers' time heist in Avengers: Endgame. Unfortunately, his freedom doesn't last long as he's quickly apprehended by the Time Variance Authority, an organization responsible for maintaining the so-called Sacred Timeline. There, he meets TVA agent Mobius (Owen Wilson), who introduces him to the concept of variants and the multiverse itself.

Although the episode is largely concerned with setting up Loki's new adventure, it introduces some of the most important concepts heading into Doomsday. The TVA, branching timelines, and the existence of alternate versions of familiar characters all become central to the MCU's multiverse story, particularly as the franchise brings together heroes and villains from different realities—as well as familiar faces we thought would never return. With Loki confirmed to appear in Doomsday, it's worth remembering that this isn't quite the same character who fought against (and alongside) the Avengers. He's a variant whose journey has taken him far beyond the events of the original films, and this episode explains how that all began.

"Glorious Purpose" (Season 2, Episode 6)

'Loki' (2021–2023)

Image via Disney+

The second season of Loki builds towards a crisis that threatens to destroy an entire multiverse, as the branching timelines begin to collapse and the TVA struggles to keep any of them alive. In the finale, Loki finally understands that he can't simply repair the Temporal Loom or force the timelines back into a single, manageable path. Instead, he makes an extraordinary sacrifice, stepping outside the flow of time and using his own powers to hold the countless branches together. The result is a new role for the God of Mischief who's no longer simply a trickster trying to escape his fate, but the figure keeping the multiverse alive.

If there's one episode on this list that feels particularly important, it's this one. Loki's position at the center of the multiverse could make him crucial to whatever Doctor Doom has planned, especially with the film bringing together characters from other cinematic universes. The finale also establishes the TVA's new mission: monitoring the multiverse and keeping an eye on the remaining Kang variants, effectively closing the chapter on the villain originally intended to lead the Multiverse Saga. With Doom now stepping into that role, Loki's sacrifice could have enormous consequences for the conflict ahead (which is arguably a shame since his arc was so narratively perfect). So, if you haven't got time to revisit the entire show—even though you really should—this episode is at least a must.

Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes What MCU Superpower Would You Have? Strength · Spider-Sense · Invisibility · Chaos Magic

Eight honest questions about how you actually are: your first instinct when things go wrong, what your friends rely on you for, how you handle stress, what your real flaw is. Answer them and we will tell you which power you would wake up with. The best ones in the MCU are never random, because they always say something about the person who got them.

💪Super Strength(Hulk)

🕸️Spider-Sense(Spider-Man)

🫧Invisibility(Fantastic Four)

🔮Chaos Magic(Scarlet Witch)

FIND YOUR POWER →

01

What is your first instinct when something goes wrong? Go with the honest answer rather than the heroic one.

AGet in front of it. BReact before I have finished thinking. CStep back and work out what is happening. DFeel all of it at once, then move.

NEXT QUESTION →

02

How do you handle being the centre of attention? Every hero on this list answers this differently.

AFine, as long as it is for something useful. BI did not plan it, but here we are. CI would much rather nobody noticed me. DIt depends entirely on my mood that day.

NEXT QUESTION →

03

What do your friends rely on you for? They would all name the same thing about you.

ADoing the heavy thing nobody else wants. BSpotting trouble before anybody else does. CNoticing what everybody else missed. DSaying the thing everybody is feeling.

NEXT QUESTION →

04

How do you deal with stress? Nobody picks the healthy one, and that is fine.

ACarry it quietly and say nothing. BTake on more, which never once helps. CGo quiet and disappear for a while. DLet it out, then clean up afterwards.

NEXT QUESTION →

05

What is your actual flaw? The useful thing here is picking the true one.

AI carry things that are not mine to carry. BI cannot switch off. CI keep far too much to myself. DI feel everything much too strongly.

NEXT QUESTION →

06

What kind of help do you actually give people? Everybody has one default, whatever the situation is.

APractical help, straight away. BI turn up before they have asked. CI quietly remove the problem. DI sit with them in it.

NEXT QUESTION →

07

How do you want strangers to see you? Answer for the first ten minutes, not the first year.

ASolid, and worth relying on. BQuick, warm and switched on. CI would rather they formed no opinion yet. DInteresting, and a little hard to read.

NEXT QUESTION →

08

What would you want a superpower for? Eight questions in, this is the one that picks your power.

ATo protect the people I care about. BTo never be too late again. CTo move through the world unnoticed. DTo change something I could not change before.

REVEAL MY POWER →

The Gift Is Given Your Power Is…

Four powers, and four completely different kinds of person behind them. Here is what you would wake up with, what it would cost you, and why the MCU keeps handing it to somebody exactly like you.

Super Strength

You get the power that is really about taking the hit so that nobody else has to. Strength in the MCU always lands on people who were already carrying too much, which is exactly why it suits you.

• Your instinct is to put yourself between the problem and the people, and you do it before anybody has thought to ask.
• Bruce Banner is the most interesting version of this because his story was never about lifting things, it was about control.
• The catch with strength is that people stop checking whether you are alright, since you have made a habit of looking like you always are.
• You would be the one everybody calls at two in the morning, and you would answer every single time.

Spider-Sense

You get the power that never switches off. Spider-sense is a gift and a nervous system on permanent alert, and the people who get it in these films are always the ones who were already worrying about everybody.

• You read a situation faster than you can explain it, and you are usually right in a way you cannot show your working for.
• Peter Parker is the template because he takes on more than he can hold and then apologises for not holding it well enough.
• Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrived in July 2026 and put him back to being local, broke and permanently on call.
• The cost here is real, since a power that warns you about everything also means you are never quite off duty.

Invisibility

You get the quietest power in the building, and quietly the most useful. Invisibility comes with force fields for a reason, because the people who prefer not to be seen are usually the ones holding a shield around everybody else.

• You notice everything, largely because you spend more time observing a room than performing in it.
• Sue Storm is the strongest member of her team and the least interested in anybody saying so, which is very much your energy.
• The Fantastic Four: First Steps finally gave the family a proper MCU home in 2025 and made her the centre of it.
• Your risk is that being unseen becomes a habit rather than a choice, and the people who love you would like a look in.

Chaos Magic

You get the biggest and least comfortable power on the list, the one that runs directly on feeling. Chaos magic is not really a superpower in the MCU so much as an emotional state with consequences attached.

• You feel things at a volume other people do not, and you have spent years managing that rather than being managed by it.
• Wanda is the best written character Marvel has, precisely because her power and her grief turned out to be the same thing.
• WandaVision remains the high point of Marvel television, and it works because the spectacle is only ever a symptom.
• The warning attached to this one is simple. A power that answers to how you feel is only ever as steady as you are.

↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ

"The Series Finale" (Episode 9)

'WandaVision' (2021)

After spending the entire show trapped in an ever-changing sitcom-inspired reality, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) finally comes face to face with the consequences of her actions in Westview—that also involves embracing the full extent of her powers and her identity as the Scarlet Witch. Unfortunately for her, bringing down the Hex magic also means saying goodbye to the idyllic family life she created, including the version of Vision (Paul Bettany) and her sons Billy (Julian Hilliard) and Tommy (Jett Klyne), who only exist within it.

If we're being honest, the entirety of WandaVision is essential viewing. But the finale is particularly important, especially given the recent VisonQuest post-credit reveal. This episode establishes Wanda as one of the most powerful magic users in the MCU, introduces the Scarlet Witch's connection to the Darkhold, and sets up the emotional importance of Billy and Tommy. Yes, Wanda's story continues in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, where she seemingly dies when Mount Wundagore collapses around her. However, VisionQuest has now thrown that ending into question. So, if you want to understand the significance of chaos magic, this is where you'll get the rundown.

"Forever" (Episode 8)

'VisionQuest' (2026)

Image via Disney+

The VisionQuest finale brings the show's story of identity and family to an emotional close, with Tommy (Ruaridh Mollica) and Billy (Joe Locke) finally reunited and helping to bring their father back online after his fatal confrontation with Ultron (James Spader). It's the family reunion they (and the fans) have been desperately yearning for. And yet, it's the second post-credits scene that delivers the episode's biggest shock as it returns to the rubble of Mount Wundagore, where Doctor Doom lifts the debris and commands the Scarlet Witch to awaken.

Frankly, it's about as strong a confirmation of Olsen's return in Doomsday as Marvel could give up. Plus, it also raises intriguing questions about Doom's intentions in harnessing Wanda's immense power—the biggest ones being about the Latverian witches that have already been teased. Will Wanda be one of them? It's likey so. Then, there's the potential family angle: with Billy and Tommy now reunited with Vision, could they be drawn into a story about rescuing their mother? Fans of Avengers: The Children's Crusade will recognize the parallels, particularly the comic's storyline involving the Maximoff family and Doom. Thankfully, we only have to speculate for a month until our questions are finally answered.

VisionQuest

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  The Vision

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  Ultron