Warning: Spoilers ahead for Doctor Who season 15, episode 5, "The Story and the Engine."Doctor Who season 15, episode 5, "The Story and the Engine," includes a coy nod to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, revealing Ncuti Gatwa"s Fifteenth Doctor"s opinion on the state of the comic book movie franchise since the release of 2019"s Avengers: Endgame. The MCU"s Avengers movies, and the Infinity Saga in general, combine to form one of the most successful movie franchises of all time. As well as many of its pre-Endgame entries receiving widespread critical acclaim, the Marvel storyline that ended with Endgame was incredibly profitable.
Since 2019, a huge portion of the MCU fan base has arrived at the conclusion that the franchise has dipped in its consistency. Doctor Who"s Disney era gives the show a behind-the-scenes Marvel connection, with Marvel being owned by the same company that has co-produced the long-running British sci-fi show alongside the BBC since 2023. During an exchange with the villain in "The Story and the Engine," Fifteen references the MCU in a way that quietly criticizes the current position of the superhero property.
The Doctor Watched The Marvel Movies, But Stopped At Endgame The Death of Tony Stark served as a stopping point for the Doctor & Sága Close The Barber (Ariyon Bakare) tries to convince everyone in "The Story and the Engine" that he has long been the real figure behind various Gods throughout human history, including the Norse Goddess, Sága. Where the Barber goes wrong is naming Sága, as the Doctor reveals he met her, and the Barber isn"t her. While recounting his relationship with the Norse figure, Fifteen tells the Barber they watched all the MCU movies up to and including Avengers: Endgame. The implication here is that anything after that movie wasn"t worth watching.
[indent] "Sága and I watched Marvel movies up until Endgame. She didn"t like Thor, [his] muscles were too small."
- The Fifteenth Doctor in "The Story and the Engine."
[/indent]The thought of a Norse God watching movies is quite funny, but not surprising given the powers a deity can often have. Even if they can"t travel through time to engage with the MCU, meeting with the Doctor can (and did) change all that thanks to his TARDIS. It sounds as though the Doctor recommended the MCU to Sága, but also suggested that they stop after Endgame, implying he shares the widespread opinion that the franchise peaked in 2019. Granted, Endgame is a brilliant stopping point, but Fifteen appears to be against acknowledging later MCU efforts.
Doctor Who's Marvel Movie Reference Comes At The Worst Possible Time Thunderbolts* is currently proving the Doctor very wrong Until very recently, Doctor Who"s playful insult of the MCU"s post-Avengers: Endgame content would have made sense, even if those watching "The Story and the Engine" didn"t necessarily agree with Fifteen"s point of view. However, the episode debuted while 2025"s Thunderbolts* is playing in movie theaters. It"s been a long time since an MCU movie has received such an overwhelmingly positive reception from critics, so Doctor Who has some ridiculously unfortunate timing with its little Endgame joke.
The Doctor"s time-traveling nature should really make him aware of Thunderbolts*"s success.
Now softly renamed The New Avengers, Thunderbolts* is a return to form for the MCU after fans and critics alike have poked holes in almost every Marvel movie and TV show that has been released since 2019. The Doctor"s time-traveling nature should really make him aware of Thunderbolts*"s success, so the fact it has done so well but doesn"t get a mention in "The Story and the Engine" makes Fifteen seem a little less aware of the franchise as a whole. Then again, maybe he had simply given up on the MCU by then.
Related How Doctor Who Season 15, Episode 5's Villain Is Connected To "Lux" "The Story and the Engine" includes a coy nod from its villain to a previous Ncuti Gatwa adventure, creating a connection between the episodes.
Posts What"s especially interesting about Thunderbolts* is that, although it is part of the larger MCU timeline, it feels very much like a self-contained adventure. Therefore, it"s very accessible to those who haven"t kept up with the vast number of movies and shows that have followed Endgame. Because of this, it feels even more as though it belongs in the same category as the Marvel Cinematic Universe"s landmark Avengers movies, and highlights the absence of its title from Doctor Who"s MCU reference in "Story and the Engine."
Doctor Who Season 15"s Release Schedule On Disney+
Episode
Title
Release Date (2025)
1
"The Robot Revolution"
April 12
2
"Lux"
April 19
3
"The Well"
April 26
4
"Lucky Day"
May 3
5
"The Story and the Engine"
May 10
6
"The Interstellar Song Contest"
May 17
7
"Wish World"
May 24
8
"The Reality War"
May 31
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Like Follow Followed Doctor Who Adventure Mystery Sci-Fi 5/10 243 7.1/10 Release Date December 25, 2023 Network BBC Directors Douglas Camfield, David Maloney, Christopher Barry, Michael E. Briant, Barry Letts, Michael Ferguson, Richard Martin, Peter Moffatt, Pennant Roberts, Lennie Mayne, Chris Clough, Ron Jones, Paddy Russell, Paul Bernard, Michael Hayes, Timothy Combe, Morris Barry, Gerald Blake, Graeme Harper, Waris Hussein, Rodney Bennett, Mervyn Pinfield, Hugh David, John Gorrie Writers Russell T. Davies, Dave Gibbons, Kate Herron, Steven Moffat Franchise(s) Doctor Who / Whoniverse Cast See All Ncuti Gatwa The Doctor Millie Gibson Ruby Sunday The latest Doctor Who series introduces the Fifteenth Doctor, joined by new companion Ruby Sunday.
Powered by Expand Collapse Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount's Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.

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