After Seeing Robert Downey Jr’s Latest Doctor Doom Inspiration, I’m Even More Convinced 1 Major MCU Theory Is True For Avengers: Doomsday & Avengers: Secret Wars

By Zoe Miskelly

Published 2 days ago

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Image Made By Milica Djordjevic

After seeing the comic that Robert Downey Jr. has most recently teased as an inspiration for his depiction of Doctor Doom, I'm even more convinced one major the MCU timeline, it also makes things more interesting in a lot of ways, too.

One example of this is the matter of the MCU's Doctor Doom, with it being revealed that prior Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. will be taking on the Marvel villain role in the franchise's future. Robert Downey Jr. himself has increasingly teased what to expect from his depiction of Victor Von Doom, with one of his most recent nods towards what will be helping influence his version of Doctor Doom appearing to make a big theory about the impending story of Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars seem all the more likely.

1 Major MCU Theory Has Doctor Doom Seeking To Fight Against Galactus' Rampage

With Robert Downey Jr.'s appearance as Doctor Doom unsurprisingly confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday as the villain who inspires the fifth Avengers movie's name, plenty of theories have come out regarding how Doom will be positioned as the MCU's next major antagonist, especially with the franchise pivoting from focusing on Kang to making Doom instead the next Avengers movie villain. One prominent theory is that Doctor Doom will be focusing on attempting to protect his universe and possibly even others from Galactus' onslaught, leading him to villainous acts in the name of "greater good".

With Galactus set to debut in the MCU via The Fantastic Four: First Steps, it would make a lot of sense if these narrative threads were intended to be linked together. Since Doctor Doom is primarily an enemy of the Fantastic Four, tying his story in further with the heroes he so commonly faces could help the MCU mirror the comics, and ensure that Robert Downey Jr.'s version of Doom is depicted with more depth, since his goals being not at their core villainous would add dimension to his personal story and thus his conflict with the franchise's new Avengers team.

Robert Downey Jr's "Doom Workstation Essentials" The MCU Theory

In a recent Instagram post made during filming taking place for Avengers: Doomsday, Robert Downey Jr. shows a range of things he appears to be using during this part of production on a script holder labeled "Dr Doom" - including snacks, a coffee, and some glasses - with the actor having captioned the photo "Doom workstation essentials". This makes it all the more interesting that among these things is a comic - namely, that of Doom #1, which was written by Jonathan Hickman and illustrated by Sanford Green.

Doom #1 was released in May 2024.

Doom #1 is a notable comic in that it's a one-shot story that arguably shows Doom at his most powerful. In the comic, Doom is imbued with the powers of a Celestial after initially being enhanced with super-soldier serum in order to make sure his body can handle the procedure. While a drastic move, it's also one that seems somewhat needed for the character in this storyline, since his powers are upgraded in order to allow him to face a berserking Galactus, who is on a rampage that looks set to only end with the destruction of the universe.

While it's possible the actor has simply turned to Doom #1 as an example of how to portray Doom, the fact this comes just as both Doctor Doom and Galactus are being introduced to the MCU seems notable. With Avengers: Doomsday set to lead into Avengers: Secret Wars - which itself is set to draw from the original 80s Secret Wars comic, wherein Doom fights Galactus and eventually steals his power, and the 2015 comic story, wherein Doom also grows exponentially more powerful after the destruction of the multiverse - it doesn't seem unthinkable a similar path is being paved here.

Though it's almost definite that both Doom's story and the movies he appears in won't draw from Doom #1 alone, the fact that the comic is being considered a "Doom workstation essential" certainly reinforces the chances of the MCU pitting the character against Galactus at some point, particularly when the rest of the franchise's backdrop and setup for the future appears to point in this direction already. This is doubly true given the spectacle that such a story concept would bring forth in of its action.

Why The Doctor Doom Vs Galactus Theory Would Make Sense For The Avengers Movies

With the last Avengers movie in the MCU timeline being Avengers: Endgame - arguably the biggest superhero movie ever to date - the bar has been set seriously high in of what Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars need to do story-wise to hold up to the same standard that audiences will no doubt be expecting for the next film in the series. It's this exact kind of spectacle that a Doom vs Galactus story premise could bring to the films, since it'd put two of the most powerful new MCU characters against one another as well as the MCU's heroes.

Aside from this, placing Doctor Doom and Galactus against one another would provide some solid in-universe reasoning for Doctor Doom to get some considerable power upgrades, which would serve a dual purpose in of making him an increasingly dangerous threat for the Avengers and Marvel's other heroes, as well as adding a sense of increasing stakes and tension to the story. Showing Doom initially being less powerful could also help potentially match his power level to the Fantastic Four or Avengers, if the MCU wants to keep a Victor Von Doom in its universe in some way.

With Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars' respective debuts having been pushed back - meaning Doomsday is now coming in December 2026, and Secret Wars is releasing in December 2027 - the wait to see how the MCU movie handles Doctor Doom and the Avengers' next chapters is a stretch further away again once more. However, hopefully this longer window can be used in the MCU to ensure the scale and spectacle of the movies well and truly wows its viewers - whether we get a Galactus vs Doctor Doom fight within their runtime or not.