Seven years later, Doctor Doom may finally succeed in Avengers: Doomsday where Thanos failed in Avengers: Endgame. Not only is there a strong possibility that Iron Man's dire warning in Endgame will finally come to pass in the form of Victor von Doom, but Doom himself may fulfill the ultimate goal of the Mad Titan, creating a peak bridge between the two major MCU crossovers.
With Robert Downey Jr.'s shocking return as Victor von Doom, Avengers: Doomsday looks to be positioning this major new MCU villain as hell-bent on correcting the Avengers, potentially acting as the dark consequence of their actions in Endgame (having used time travel to retrieve the Infinity Stones and restore half of all life that Thanos removed). At the same time, it's quite likely that Doom may share motivations with Thanos himself, perhaps similarly believing he's reality's only true savior.
Seeing as how it's been suggested that Doomsday will be more of a direct continuation of Avengers: Endgame than we currently realize, it feels worth speculating on all the ways Doctor Doom can serve as an inevitable consequence, while also accomplishing Thanos' ultimate Endgame goal after it evolved beyond mere balance.
The MCU Has Already Teased Avengers: Endgame's Most Important Line
Immediately before the epic final battle in 2019's Avengers: Endgame, Iron Man warns Captain America about the consequences of manipulating time after the Avengers Compound was attacked by Thanos from the year 2014: "You mess with time, it tends to mess back. You'll see."
Seven years later, Tony Stark's line feels more important than ever before for the MCU's future. After all, it was prominently featured in the recent trailers promoting Marvel Studios' upcoming Avengers: Endgame Encore theatrical re-release, which is set to feature additional footage bridging the gap to Doomsday. As such, the prominence of the Iron Man line in these promos does seem to support long-held theories that Iron Man's warning was in fact quasi-prophetic, foreshadowing consequences the Avengers have yet to face in the wake of Endgame.
Likewise, the MCU has proven that the multiverse has gradually become more unstable in the years since the last major MCU crossover. Perhaps Avengers: Doomsday is when the dam finally breaks and time truly does mess back in the form of RDJ's Doctor Doom. It'd certainly be fascinating to see Doom viewing everything that has happened after the Blip and effectively decide that the Avengers' actions have ultimately done more harm than good for the multiverse at large.
Doctor Doom Will Be The "Inevitable" Consequence Of Avengers: Endgame
Overall, the epic Avengers: Doomsday footage released thus far has already teased that Doom's motivations are connected to the idea that the heroes have been living "stolen lives", suggesting that Doom intends to correct and/or balance said lives as a restorative act. Likewise, the idea that Doom potentially views himself not as a tyrannical dictator but as a corrective force seeking to save the multiverse by any means necessary would track with how the Russos have portrayed MCU villains in the past.
Naturally, this would create a key parallel with Thanos, who similarly believed the universe required dark correction only he could provide, seeing himself as inevitable via the perceived necessity of his crusade. As such, it wouldn't be surprising if Doom had similar convictions behind his role as Doomsday's main antagonist.
It's also been teased that Doom has experienced heavy personal loss, perhaps somehow resulting from the actions committed in Endgame, fueling his crusade even further. Ultimately, this kind of motivation and characterization for the MCU's new Doctor Doom would fit extremely well, as the comics' Victor von Doom has always seen himself as the only one worthy to rule/save the world.
"A Grateful Universe" — Will Doom Succeed Where Thanos Failed?
Last but certainly not least, one of the most fascinating potential connections between Doom and Thanos may come from what became The Mad Titan's ultimate goal by the end of Avengers: Endgame. After arriving from 2014 and seeing all the Avengers had done to undo his future self's work, Thanos no longer wanted to balance the universe as he originally intended: "I will shred this universe down to its last atom and then, with the stones you've collected for me, create a new one teeming with life that knows not what it has lost but only what it has been given. A grateful universe."
This is remarkably close to what Doctor Doom actually accomplished in 2015's Secret Wars comics event by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribić. Following the total collapse of the multiverse via multiple incursions, Doctor Doom uses power taken from the Beyonders to create Battleworld, a realm made up of the remnants of various realities, installing himself as the ruling God Emperor with the vast majority having no memory of existence as it once was. "A new universe that knew not what it had lost." The only ones who remembered were those Doom chose (like Doctor Strange) as well as the few heroes who'd been protected during the final incursion.
With this lens and assuming the MCU's Doctor Doom does indeed follow suit, the end of Avengers: Doomsday/beginning of Avengers: Secret Wars could see RDJ's Doom succeed where Thanos failed, having been erased by RDJ's Iron Man using the Infinity Stones. The multiversal narrative symmetry would be wild.
With Endgame set to receive brand-new connections to Doomsday before the new crossover releases in December, it's going to be fascinating to see if Endgame Encore supports any of the above ideas or offers any glimpses into the kind of Doctor Doom we'll soon see in the MCU (as well as how and why Endgame will matter so much for Victor's own motivations in Doomsday)
All in all, it stands to reason that Avengers: Endgame will soon look very different in retrospect. Tony Stark's warning about time messing back may very well become one of the most important lines in the entire MCU, and Thanos' unfulfilled final goals may very well be accomplished by Doctor Doom as the Multiverse Saga comes to a close with Doomsday and Secret Wars.
Avengers: Doomsday releases in theaters on December 18th from Marvel Studios.
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Avengers: Endgame
9/10- Release Date
- April 26, 2019
- Runtime
- 181 Minutes
WHERE TO WATCH
StreamingRENTBUYAvengers: Endgame, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, concludes the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Infinity Saga. It follows the remaining Avengers as they attempt to reverse the destruction caused by Thanos.
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Avengers: Doomsday
- Release Date
- December 18, 2026
- Runtime
- 165 Minutes
Cast
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Thor -
Vanessa KirbySue Storm / Invisible Woman -
Johnny Storm / Human Torch -
Ebon Moss-BachrachBen Grimm / The Thing
Avengers: Doomsday is the fifth Avengers film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and will bring together heroes, new and old, to face off against Victor von Doom - played by the returning Robert Downey Jr. The upcoming film notably marks the beginning of Phase 6 of the MCU.
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