Robert Downey Jr looking at the camera and making a shushing motion.Image via Marvel Studios
By
Collier Jennings
Published 58 minutes ago
Collier Jennings is an entertainment journalist with a substantial amount of experience under his belt. Collier, or "CJ" to his friends and family, is a dedicated fan of genre films - particularly science fiction, fantasy and comic book adaptations, not to mention all forms of animation animation. This stems from a close bond with his father, who introduced him to these genres via copies of X-Men comics and reruns of the original Ultraman series. Using his near-encyclopedic knowledge and bottomless love of genre, he's been able to tackle a wide variety of articles.
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Avengers: Doomsday is shaping up to be one of the biggest blockbusters of 2026. Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the MCU to play the malevolent Doctor Doom, and the Avengers will also join forces with the Fantastic Four and the X-Men. On paper, that sounds like the kind of movie comic book fans dream about. But before this titanic team-up takes place, those fans will want to check out the Marvel Anime project spanning four different series in Iron Man, Blade, X-Men, and Wolverine.
The Marvel Anime project saw the House of Ideas joining forces with Madhouse Animation to deliver a unique take on some of Marvel's biggest heroes. Then-president of Marvel International, Simon Phillips, said that the anime project would "create an entire parallel universe for Marvel" during an interview with the New York Times. Add in the fact that Madhouse was behind iconic anime series like Death Note and Trigun, and the allure of this project was high. However, there's one singular element other than the animation that connects these shows, making it a superhero crossover that rivals any live-action project.
One Character Appears in All the Marvel Anime Shows
Wolverine fighting evil goons in the Wolverine anime.Image via Animax
Each of the Marvel Anime projects features its hero or heroes making a journey to Japan. In Iron Man, Tony Stark launches a new armor intended to replace him as Iron Man until it goes haywire. X-Men finds the mutant heroes, reeling after the death of Jean Grey, battling the U-Men and finding a new recruit in Japanese mutant Hisako Ichiki, aka Armor. Wolverine is a loose adaptation of Chris Claremont and Frank Miller's iconic Wolverine miniseries, taking Logan to Japan as he seeks his lover Mariko Yashida. Blade pits the Daywalker against an organization of vampires in Japan, led by Deacon Frost — the man who bit his mother and transformed him.
The other connection that runs through Marvel Anime is the fact that Wolverine makes an appearance in all four series. While Wolverine and X-Men feature him as a prominent character, Iron Man finds the Clawed Canadian and Armored Avenger joining forces to destroy a war machine created by the terrorist organization Zodiac, while Blade shows Blade running afoul of Logan in the criminal nation of Madripoor. Even more intriguing is the fact that Logan looks different in X-Men than he does in the other series; there, he looks more like his comics counterpart while the other series depict him as tall, youthful and handsome. Even the voices are different, as Milo Ventimiglia voices Logan in Wolverine, Iron Man and Blade while Steve Blum returns to voice him in X-Men.
Marvel’s Continued To Create Anime Projects
The Marvel Anime projct wasn't the end of Marvel's endeavors into anime, as Madhouse Animation created two direct-to-DVD films that followed up on the events of the series. Iron Man: Rise of Technovore pitted Iron Man against a mysterious new enemy, while also seeing him being hunted down by Black Widow and Hawkeye. Avengers Confidential: Black Widow and Punisher also took the espionage route by pairing the titular super spy and gun-wielding antihero on a mission with constantly shifting loyalties. This time, the Punisher was the character linking both films, with Norman Reedus providing his voice in Rise of Technovore and Brian Bloom voicing him in Avengers Confidential.
Marvel's also created two different anime series focused on the Avengers, and each has their own unique hook that makes them worth watching. Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers sees Earth's Mightiest Heroes being captured in disks by Loki, with five children tasked to retrieve them. It's basically "Avengers meets Pokémon," yet it works far better than you'd expect. Marvel Future Avengers centers on three teens who've been genetically altered by the terrorist organization Hydra, yet choosing to work with the Avengers to save the world; Madhouse would return to provide animation for Future Avengers.
It remains to be seen if another Marvel anime will grace our television screens. Given that anime tends to be a literal blockbuster draw these days, not to mention the reception to the anime-inspired visuals of the upcoming Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls video game and Marvel Animation's recent projects, it's possible we could see another Marvel anime universe sooner rather than later.
Avengers: Doomsday premieres in theaters on December 17, 2026.
Avengers: Doomsday
Like Follow Followed Superhero Adventure Action Sci-Fi Release Date December 18, 2026 Director Anthony Russo, Joe Russo Writers Stephen McFeely, Michael Waldron, Jack Kirby, Stan LeeCast
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Chris Hemsworth
Thor
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Vanessa Kirby
Sue Storm / Invisible Woman
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Joseph Quinn
Johnny Storm / Human Torch
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Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Ben Grimm / The Thing
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Avengers: Doomsday
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Wolverine
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once again, multiverses save the day
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