How 'Avengers: Doomsday' Could Fix the MCU

At San Diego Comic-Con in 2024, Marvel broke the Internet when it announced Robert Downey Jr.'s return to the big screen. The former Iron Man actor is set to play the Marvel Cinematic Universe's next big bad, Doctor Doom. The move single-handedly quelled many fans' fears about the MCU’s future, while inspiring its fans to post sprawling theories on Reddit once again. Still, many questions have yet to be answered regarding exactly what Downey Jr.'s shocking reveal means for Marvel films moving forward.

Longtime Marvel directors Joe and Anthony Russo will also return to helm the next two Avengers outings—Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. The two films will cap off the next phase of the MCU, which begins with February's Captain America: Brave New World, May's Thunderbolts*, and July's Fantastic Four: Next Steps. Outside of a few casting confirmations, it’s tough to pinpoint anything about what will transpire plot-wise by the time we sit down in cinemas for Doomsday. That is, unless there's a true Marvel Comics fan like myself to walk you through the possibilities.

Follow along below, and I'll break down how the MCU arrived at Doom, what will likely happen in the next two Avengers films, and what it all means for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

For Starters, Why Doctor Doom?

Before revealing Downey Jr.’s return to the public, Marvel Studios found itself at a significant crossroads. The “Multiverse” phase including Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness resulted in disappointing box office sales and poor critical reception. Plus, the film franchise needed to replace actor Jonathan Majors's legal troubles. Majors was originally set to follow Thanos as the MCU’s next main villain, Kang the Conqueror.

At the same time, Marvel also reacquired the filming rights to many of its characters that were owned by Fox, including the Fantastic Four and the X-Men. So, Marvel came up with a plan. A new Fantastic Four film would introduce Marvel's first family to the next phase of the MCU. Plus, the villainous Doctor Doom (played by Downey Jr.) would replace Majors’s Kang.

In Marvel comics, Doom is a relatively simple character to understand. The Fantastic Four foe is your classic comic-book villain—a maniacal genius and a brilliant scientist with plans to rule the world. You don’t need several superhero films to understand his ideology, a la Thanos.

Introducing Doom this late into the MCU still has its problems. It’s easy to have a simple villain when he’s one of the first antagonists in Marvel history. Luckily, there’s roughly ninety years of Marvel comics to help us out.

What Can Marvel Comics Tell Us About Doomsday and Secret Wars?

A decade ago, Marvel Comics found itself with a similar set of issues as the current MCU. The comic-book publisher released a vast number of stories set across multiple timelines, so readers had a tough time keeping track of continuity. It was also incredibly difficult for any fan of Avengers films to pick up a comic book and understand what in the hell they were reading. It just didn’t connect with audiences.

So, Marvel underwent some spring cleaning. They decided to throw out everything that didn’t work anymore and shove everything that did into one new project moving forward. By the time that Avengers: Infinity War premiered in 2018, readers could pick up a Marvel comic book and feel that they are truly looking at the first issue of a new series.

The restructuring began in Jonathan Hickman’s run of Ultimate Fantastic Four, which featured a retelling of the classic team’s origins, but in a separate universe from the original Marvel Comics timeline. Marvel planned to shutter the series because they were involved in a legal battle with Fox over filming rights. So, Hickman began work on a finale to the story titled Ultimate Comics: Doomsday in 2011. The tale followed this new version of the Fantastic Four as they learn about a mysterious outside force that threatens the very existence of their universe. Fitting, no?

The threat was eventually revealed in Hickman’s next story, Secret Wars, which saw the superhero team up against another universe that was about to collide with their own. The only way for the Avengers to save their world was to destroy another. The “incursions,” as Hickman called them, would keep happening until there was only one universe left. Doctor Doom is the major antagonist—and partial savior—of the Secret Wars story. In the end, he creates a new universe where every character from every timeline can live in harmony. Just one problem remains: Doom is in charge. Basically, Marvel figured out how to make their real-world downsizing the actual plot.

Once Doom was defeated and the day was saved, the comic book publisher began a line of new titles including Captain America: Sam Wilson, Spider-Man with Miles Morales, Moon Knight, and limited series about Vision that later served as partial inspiration for WandaVision.

What Does This Mean for the MCU Moving Forward?

Marvel hasn’t released a single plot detail about the upcoming Doomsday or Secret Wars films, but it’s fair game to speculate that they’re planning on adapting the comics of the same name above. The largest complaint from audiences is the sheer volume of multiverse stories muddying the overarching plot. If Doomsday plans to borrow from Hickman’s story, the MCU can reduce the number of these projects back down to one simple story. Much like the comics, Doom is the solution.

We don't know which MCU Avengers will appear in the next two team-up films, but that very subject has fueled Internet chatter for months now. Deadline reported that Chris Evans would return to the MCU in Doomsday; one month later, he denied the report to Esquire. Even Benedict Cumberbatch seemingly has zero clue which of the two films features more of his character, Doctor Strange. We do know that the MCU's new Captain America, Anthony Mackie, will return for more action. Here's what Mackie said of the future Avengers outings in his new digital cover story with Esquire US:

“What you don’t want is Infinity War and Endgame 2.0... The Russos, they’re so smart, and they have such a hold on this universe and the history and the comic books that I know they have an idea. I mean, they better have an idea. I don’t know how you put all those people onscreen together and make it work.”

I'll leave you with the one aspect of Doomsday that I can’t begin to answer: how Robert Downey Jr. is wrapped up in all this. It’s possible that Tony Stark becomes Doom in another timeline. The Russos could also invent some wackadoo plot where Stark is revived, and he learns how to solve the incursions before anyone else in the MCU. There’s even a whole comic published after Secret Wars titled Infamous Iron Man, in which Doom takes up the mantle of Iron Man after Tony Stark dies. I don’t see the MCU going down this route since they’re portrayed by the same actor, but anything is possible.

Audiences will find out the answers when Avengers: Doomsday premieres in cinemas on 1 May, 2026. Hopefully, I haven’t left you more confused than ever.

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