I Know It's Fiction. Shut Up.

Fair warning: this essay includes tangents from someone who takes Marvel far too seriously for someone who doesn’t work there.

But I haven’t been this locked in on Marvel news since Endgame. My daughter's just as invested; this has been our thing since she was eight.

I Googled how to get into the next San Diego Comic-Con and quickly realized it might be easier for someone to get out of the mafia than to get into SDCC.

But I am undeterred because Hall H makes sense for what I cover.

Last week, I wrote about the power of a great story and how, after Avengers: Endgame, the MCU just wasn't quite the same.

Then Robert Downey, Jr. walked back onstage, and soon after that infamous Avengers: Doomsday cast announcement, it became very clear the proverbial stakes were back.

I’m not a screenwriter, and I don’t run a billion-dollar franchise. I’m sure my loved ones were hoping that by this point in my life, I’d be writing essays on The Seventh Seal or pontificating on The Double Life of Veronique.

Instead, here I am obsessing over the MCU like they pay me.  

[1] I have range. Right now, I'm choosing the MCU.

Before all that, when the multiverse started changing plot rules every few minutes, I had tapped out. Even the Russos acknowledged the post-Endgame slump was...inevitable. (Heh.)

To be fair, Endgame was a colossal hit for all the right reasons, so of course anything that came immediately after was bound to be overshadowed.

Still, a lot of us are craving that level of theatre experience again, and chasing that high ever since has been frustrating to say the least. It's irrational, I know, but that's what usually happens when you've had too much of a good thing.

I never got into the Disney+ lineup. I did see part of Loki Season 1, mainly because Hiddleston and Wilson are magic together.

But even then, I still couldn’t finish it. The ending got spoiled for me, and in my head canon, if I didn't see something, it never happened.

Which is why, to this day, I refuse to watch Marley & Me.

In the meantime, I told myself I'd spent enough time immersed in the MCU; other things deserved my attention.

[2] Believe it or not, I’m a grown-ass woman with bills and deadlines and all that.

And then…the debut of Thor: Love and Thunder. Oof.

I hadn’t physically cringed that much since The Incredible Hulk, a movie that even Edward Norton won't talk about, and he starred in it.

Which makes sense, being that most of that film's issues had one thing in common: him.

Love and Thunder still somehow managed to be worse.

[3] I’m so sorry, Mr. Hemsworth. Still a big fan, just… not of whatever that was.

Being a Marvel fan began to feel complicated; you had to specify the era, like, “Yes, I loved that Marvel…but not this Marvel.”

Because my daughter and I had history with that Marvel. Her first superhero movie was Iron Man. By the time she was nineteen, we were in a theatre watching Stark die in Endgame.

So when RDJ was announced to return in Doomsday, we were both more than a little curious about what could possibly come next.

The Avengers: Doomsday cast reveal shattered records: 275 million digital views, 3.1 million social interactions, and the biggest Marvel Studios livestream ever.

And let me just say, the slow, deliberate execution of it felt very old-school MCU. So they do, in fact, still know exactly how to get our attention.

Which brings me to a few thoughts.

That cast reveal wasn't subtle by any stretch, but it didn't reek of desperation, either. Marvel was lighting the beacons because this lineup is stacked. I’m betting the budget’s probably larger than some countries’ GDP.

I think the sun will shine on those yet-to-be-named characters again. Especially (please, Kevin!) on the brothers who never got their goodbye.

If Marvel believes in emotional symmetry, I wouldn't be surprised if Thor and Loki team up again - older and changed, and bound by something deeper than fate this time. A lot of unresolved history, finally (hopefully) getting the closure we've all been waiting for.

[4] Not unlike most of my family gatherings, but with way better outfits.

As we head toward Secret Wars, Marvel is clearly back to playing the long game. And since speculation is half the fun of being a fan, here's my completely predictable, mostly regurgitated take.

(Yes, I've read the same half-dozen theories you have. Humor me.)

First: Doom has the face of someone Peter Parker loved like a father. For one aching moment, Peter thinks he's looking at the man who taught him everything - only to be met with a detached, "Who's Mr. Stark?" Uggghhhh…..

Second: This feels like Infinity War. Somehow, for all the heroes named so far, I don't think they're actually going to win this one.

Third (but not final): Earth-616 Tony Stark shows up just long enough to see what he could've become if only. And then they take him away again.

Because Marvel lives for inflicting that kind of emotional damage.

[5] I exaggerate, but not by frickin' much.

I’ll say this: something about all of this feels different.

Maybe this is Marvel’s redemption arc, or maybe it's just elite-level marketing. Either way, if it leads to another epic theater moment with my kid, then it’ll be well worth it.

[6] Ideally, from a premiere seat. Preferably not next to anyone who defends Love and Thunder.

I know I'm not the only one thinking this, but if one of these theories pans out, I’ll happily take the credit. And maybe a premiere invite in exchange for never posting about it again.

[7] Just kidding. I live for this nonsense.

So, if this really is the comeback, we’re more than ready.
And Kevin? I’m always available for notes.

Related Reads

• Stark Contrast - for MCU debates that never die.
• Movies: Escape or Compass? - why certain stories stay with us.
• Two Truths and a Comic-Con Lie - breaking down the hype vs. reality.

Heather Papovich is a long-form essayist, cultural writer, and longtime ghostwriter whose work explores lived experience, cultural identities, and the emotional mechanics of everyday life.

She is the founder of Unfinished Business, an independent digital publication blending personal narrative with cultural commentary, currently read in 33 verified countries.

Her writing focuses on reinvention, the emotional weight of ordinary moments, and the role popular culture, particularly long-running franchises, plays in how people cope, connect, and create meaning.