The much-anticipated Avengers: Doomsday is the latest entry on the list of upcoming Marvel movies, and fans are still champing at the bit for more insight into the Russo Brothers’ latest superhero team-up flick. Near the end of last week, Marvel seemingly teased the release of a new trailer, and that turned out to be a promotional video linked to MLB. The commercial does include some fresh footage, though, including a Captain America-centric joke. What I really didn’t see coming, though, were the responses to that quick gag.
A great deal of this MLB/Marvel Cinematic Universe promo takes place on Earth-828 (the home of the Fantastic Four) and sees Reed Richards throwing out the opening pitch at a ballgame. With that, real professional players like Bryce Harper, Randy Arozarena and Freddie Freeman are also shown presenting commentary on the event from the dugout. The exchanges from the players are interspliced with snippets of Doomsday footage, which can be seen below:
The ad above has a few key moments of new footage, including a conversation between Thor and Steve Rogers regarding the latter’s ability to wield Mjolnir. What really seems to have fans’ attention, though, is a new portion of the scene that sees all the heroes assembled in (New) Avengers Tower. In it, Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang/Ant-Man refers to Steve as “Cap” before current Captain America Sam Wilson gives him a look and he corrects himself. As seen on X, a portion of fans see this as a disrespectful slight towards Sam:
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- Better put some respect on Sam’s name, Tic-Tac 😤 – @Th3birdman15
- STOP DISRESPECTING SAM. – @branson_atx
- Sam deserves better than this. – @zeninhime
- ANT-MAN GET OUT OF HERE. – @1OnlyTylerTrout
- Don’t play in Sam’s face like that SCOTT. – @ilokineedsleep
- Not surprised. Sam has gotten the short end of the stick for a while now 😖 – @AnthosV
Evans’ Steve Rogers gave Sam Wilson his shield and Cap mantle at the end of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, and Wilson officially accepted that moniker in 2021’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Despite that, there are still some MCU fans who seemingly haven’t accepted Wilson in the role, much to the ire of others. Not only that, but those who’ve been in support of Wilson have made the argument that Sam has constantly had to prove himself as the Sentinel of Liberty despite what he’s accomplished.
On the other side of this equation, there are fans who have a different view of this joke. They don’t see it as a slight against Wilson but as a joke that tracks with Ant-Man’s characterization:
- Scott really said ‘Cap’ out of muscle memory and then remembered Sam’s been holding the shield for years now 😭 – @movieregion
- After Endgame, it makes total sense that Ant-Man is still entirely starstruck around him. – @TheSeriesFeed
- Ant-Man almost calling Steve Captain America out of habit is peak Scott Lang. He really cannot help himself. – @ZittaCulture
- Ant-Man correcting himself from ‘Cap’ to ‘Steve’ in one breath is the most Scott Lang line possible. – @BarelyBriefed
- Ant-Man would make that mistake 😂 – @Katysattorney
- I know folks gonna be mad at this but this is totally in character for people who’ve been around long enough to be used to calling someone else something. – @KrillinDVillain
Scott and Steve first met in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, and the former quickly proved to be a major fan of Rogers. Even in 2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp (which was even to have a Cap cameo), Scott lightly talked up the fact that he’d been able to fight alongside “Cap.” That humorous admiration carried into Endgame while the two worked together to help undo Thanos’ snap. So, in fairness, this kind of comment does align with what’s known about Lang.
As for me personally, I can see both sides of the argument. Like a number of other fans, Chris Evans’ MCU return for Doomsday gave me pause, as I questioned what it might mean for Sam Wilson. I’m hopeful Sam does indeed get his just due in this movie, especially considering he’s’ now the leader of a faction of Avengers. Still, I don’t personally think any harm was intended with this Ant-Man bit.
Here’s hoping the film, though, doesn’t harp too much on Rogers’ presence and maintains Sam’s status as the good captain. Aside from that, I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled in case another true Avengers: Doomsday trailer drops ahead of the film’s December 18th release on the 2026 movie schedule.