Warning: This post contains spoilers for Avengers Endgame: Encore and potential spoilers for Avengers: Doomsday.
One of the biggest perks of any Marvel Cinematic Universe crossover is seeing characters who have never met finally interact with each other. When the franchise was still in its early days, it seemed surreal to think that Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, and Captain America would cross paths on the big screen. That same feeling was recreated when Spider-Man finally fought alongside the likes of Iron Man and Black Widow in Captain America: Civil War, and when the Guardians of the Galaxy got to meet the Avengers during the events of Infinity War. Now, history is about to repeat itself, except in a much more ambitious way.
Avengers: Doomsday will assemble the X-Men, Fantastic Four, Thunderbolts, and Earth's Mightiest Heroes in a single movie. What once seemed like an impossibility due to licensing rights is now a few months away from materializing on the big screen. However, just because all of these characters are branded as superheroes doesn't mean they will all get along with one another.
The trailers for Avengers: Doomsday have already given us a glimpse of the X-Men fighting against Earth's Mightiest Heroes. However, it seems the Fantastic Four won't be left behind, as one of its members will go toe-to-toe with one of the MCU's strongest characters.
The Hulk will reportedly fight the Thing in Avengers: Doomsday
As revealed by industry insider James Mack, the Avengers will go to Latveria—presumably during the third act of Avengers: Doomsday—and they will have to fight "thousands" of Doombots and all of the Latverian Witches. One of the members of the coven will be none other than the Hulk himself, who will be wearing a Doom mask. At that moment, the Thing will say, "Leave this one to me," and charge toward the Green Goliath.
The Thing vs. the Hulk has been one of the most recurring and common hero-versus-hero fights in comics, with both winning on different occasions or even ending in a tie (although Bruce Banner usually gets the upper hand). As such, it isn't surprising to learn that Marvel wants to recreate this iconic moment on the big screen. Besides, the studio already planted the seeds for the Hulk joining Doom's ranks.
One of the post-credits scenes of Avengers Engame: Encore revealed Bruce Banner's fate after the events of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Given that the decorated scientist lost control of his other half and destroyed the headquarters of the Department of Damage Control, he was incarcerated inside a containment unit at a military complex.
Banner attempted to make the most of his time by creating a Gamma serum that could act as a replacement for his inhibitor, which was destroyed by Jean Grey. Unfortunately, before he could make a major breakthrough, Doctor Doom appeared at his containment unit and "collected" him.
The idea that the Green Goliath will be one of the Latverian Witches in Avengers: Doomsday has been reported since January 2026 by the same source that also revealed that the Gamma monster will fight the Thing. As such, it seems all the more likely that such a confrontation will come to be.
At this point, it isn't a secret that fans haven't been too pleased with the Hulk's portrayal since the events of Avengers: Infinity War. The destructive monster has been set aside in favor of Professor Hulk—the combination of Banner's mind and the Hulk's strength. Since then, the iconic anti-hero hasn't been allowed to wreak havoc on the big screen for years, until that finally changed in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Looking ahead, it's likely that the Hulk will act as an unstoppable monster once again, with rumors suggesting Marvel will set up a World War Hulk storyline during the events of Avengers: Secret Wars.
Avengers: Doomsday could feature Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man fighting Hugh Jackman's X-Men, the Avengers battling the X-Men, and the Thing facing off against the Hulk. Is it safe to say that not even Captain America: Civil War featured as many shocking hero-versus-hero moments? Granted, it's important to take rumors with a grain of salt, but with a bit of luck, all of these confrontations will come to be.
Avengers: Doomsday will be released on Dec. 18, 2026.
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