New Delhi, July 13 -- Doomsday opens, Marvel Studios released the concept art that answered what every corner of fandom had been asking. The image debuted at an expo in Shanghai and spread immediately. Robert Downey Jr. stands at the center as Doctor Doom, green armor dominant, with Loki positioned beneath him as a kind of power source for whatever Doom is building across the multiverse. Surrounding them: the Russo Brothers definition of what a Marvel ensemble looks like in 2026. It is the largest assemblage of characters ever placed in a single piece of franchise concept art.

Endgame, the last Russo Brothers Marvel film, was not released theatrically in China. Choosing Shanghai for this moment is not incidental. Doomsday wants back in, ...