Earlier this weekend, a synopsis for Avengers: Doomsday revealed that "Doctor Doom has officially arrived in the MCU. This villain, a master of cutting-edge science and powerful magic, will unleash a cascading crisis across the entire Multiverse."
Between this and our first look at the MCU's take on the iconic supervillain, we believe that the Russo Brothers are using one of the best comic book versions of Victor for their main source of inspiration in the upcoming Multiverse Saga finale.
We are, of course, talking about Rabum Alal. Everything from the costume to the description above sets up Victor Von Doom as a character who will be strong enough to shift the course of the Multiverse's destiny.
During Jonathan Hickman's Avengers and New Avengers runs, Doom figured out that the Molecule Man could be used to oppose the cause of the incursions and inevitable decay of the Multiverse.
As they travelled back through time together, it was revealed that the Beyonders had created the Molecule Man as a singularity across every single universe, turning him into a "bomb" they could use to destroy the entire Multiverse in one fell swoop. If he died, his entire universe died with him, so if they were "detonated" at the same time, every reality would crumble into nothingness.
The only way to counter this plan was for Doom to spend years prematurely killing every single Molecule Man before they could fully detonate in 25 years. Unfortunately, each of their deaths still caused tiny contractions in the Multiverse, as per the Beyonders' design, which began the incursions.
After killing thousands of Molecule Man's Variants, Doom encountered a young woman who would be the first of his Black Swans, a cult he would form around the religious concept of himself, under the identity of "Rabum Alal" (the "Great Destroyer"). They were tasked with destroying one of the two worlds involved in an incursion, as it meant buying time for other realities.
The villain later pivoted and collected the Molecule Man Variants to use as a bomb against The Beyonders. In a last-ditch attempt to save the Multiverse, Doom took Doctor Strange and the countless captured Molecule Men to confront the Beyonders, destroying them at the cost of thousands of universes. He then stole their power, became God Doom, and created Battleworld, a reality comprised of bits and pieces of other worlds that he ruled over.
Doom, Strange, and Molecule Man were the only ones who remembered the world as it used to be, though a handful of survivors from Earth 616 and 1610 did manage to escape from the destruction of those final two realities.
Reading the above, we're sure you can see how this might inspire what the Russo Brothers have planned for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Key elements will be changed (Franklin Richard's and Loki are sure to play key roles) and Kang could still come into play, but by adapting this take on Doom, we can be confident that Marvel Studios and Robert Downey Jr. will deliver the definitive take on Victor.
The villain would benefit from a backstory, though we can likely expect that to be filled in with flashbacks, not dissimilar to Thanos, who had barely a couple minutes of screentime before Avengers: Infinity War.
Only time will tell, but those of you concerned that the MCU's Doom will be an Iron Man Variant or little more than a rushed replacement for Kang should take solace that the early signs are pointing to us being in store for something special next December.
Avengers: Doomsday stars Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Winston Duke, Tom Hiddleston, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, and Robert Downey Jr. Wyatt Russell, Simu Liu, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Florence Pugh, Danny Ramirez, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, and Lewis Pullman all make their Avengers franchise debuts in the movie.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps leads Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn join them, as do X-Men franchise stars Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, and Deadpool & Wolverine star Channing Tatum.
Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, and Ryan Reynolds are also set to appear, according to recent reports from the trades.
The Russo Brothers direct the movie from a screenplay by Stephen McFeely, with whom they previously collaborated on the Avengers and Captain America franchises. Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness's Michael Waldron is also working on the script.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18, 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled to arrive on December 17, 2027.