Ever sinceRobert Downey Jr.dramatically confirmed his casting as Victor von Doom, AKA Doctor Doom, in the upcomingAvengers: Doomsday, MCU fans haven’t stopped speculating about what role the villain will play in the popular franchise. The only downside is Doom arrived at the party too late,missing some epic battles with MCU characters who died in earlier films.
Even though some of our favorite heroes and villains are gone, they’re not forgotten, especially because many might actually return at some point. Thus, we’ll take a moment to imaginehow the greatest fallen characters in the MCU would have kicked the metal ass of Doctor Doom. This list has been carefully sorted by the character’s powers, their history with Doom in the comics, and most importantly, how much fun it would have been to see.
Played by James Spader
In terms of villains lurking in the pages of Marvel Comics, Victor von Doom is on the shortlist of the most dangerous to face, so his inclusion in the MCU should be nothing short of greatness. At the same time, Doom is a man who follows very selfish motivations and, on rare occasions, teams up with otherwise sworn enemies to fight a common foe. A character like Ultron (James Spader), who aimed to exterminate the human race, would have forced Doom to fight alongside the Avengers, especially if the war made its way to his home of Latveria.
With the power of the Mind Stone inside his prime body,Ultron would be a severe threat to Doom in a one-on-one fight. Ultron’s drones and Doctor Doom’s Doombots would cancel one another out, leaving Ultron with the physical advantage against the comparably underpowered and human Doom. If given the time to prepare, Doom can come up with an attack plan, but Ultron’s ability to adapt and improve on the fly is faster than what Victor can account for.
Avengers: Age of Ultron
When Tony Stark and Bruce Banner attempt to jump-start a dormant peacekeeping program called Ultron, things go horribly wrong and it’s up to Earth’s mightiest heroes to stop the villainous Ultron from enacting his terrible plan.
9Cassandra Nova
Played by Emma Corrin
Last year’sDeadpool & Wolverineintroduced audiences to the character of Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin), a dangerous telepath who also happens to be the twin sister toX-Menfounder Charles Xavier. She didn’t survive her run-in with Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), but then again, most people don’t survive meeting those two, even when they’re friendly. However, just because she lost against two kill-happy mutants doesn’t mean she can’t take on Doctor Doom.
Cassandra won’t be able to win in a hand-to-hand fight, so she’ll likely keep her distance. If Doom didn’t come in prepared to block a telepath, the fight would be over immediately when Cassandra locks on to memories of Victor’s mother. In the comics, Victor is obsessed with retrieving his mother’s soul from hell, andCassandra could easily exploit that painful secret to destroy Doomfrom within.
Deadpool & Wolverine
8Black Panther
Played by Chadwick Boseman
With his introduction inCaptain America: Civil War, Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) became an immediate fan-favorite character with a magnetic presence in and outside the suit. T’Challa’s first solo adventure,Black Panther, was one of the biggest hits for Marvel Studios, cementing the brief but impactful legacy of King T’Challa within the world of the MCU and to fans everywhere. Although the passing of Boseman led to an off-screen death for T’Challa, theWakandan king has a long history with Doctor Doomin the comics.
Doom and T’Challa have a specific and rare commonality of being kings of their respective lands, and it’s that same unifying trait that forced them into some famous Marvel battles. Doom’s magical abilities give him an edge over T’Challa’s superior combat skills, but the Wakandan hero is a master tactician in his own right. With preparation and a plan, theBlack Panther would have had an all-time great on-screen encounter with Doctor Doom.
Black Panther
Played by Paul Bettany
Synthezoid Vision (Paul Bettany) was a modern marvel that combined cutting-edge technology with space-age mysticism via the Mind Stone to become one of the strongest Avengers on the team. First appearing inAvengers: Age of Ultron, Vision’s powers were on full display when taking on the indestructible Ultron with ease. However, a body made of vibranium didn’t help him when facing Thanos inAvengers: Infinity War, who easily killed the hero by pulling the Mind Stone from his head.
Unfortunately for Doctor Doom, he doesn’t possess the raw strength of Thanos, so a fight against Vision won’t be easy. As a synthezoid, Vision doesn’t get tired, so endless endurance, along with superhuman strength, speed, and the ability to fly, makes for an opponent with godlike powers.For Doom,fighting Vision would be like going up against Superman, and that’s a conversation for another day.
Avengers: Infinity War
Played by Tom Hiddleston
One of the rare MCU villains to live across multiple movies,Loki, the God of Mischief (Tom Hiddleston), would give Victor von Doom an epic challenge to conquer. Charming, funny, and never to be trusted,Loki makes double-crossing look like an art form, lying his way through multiple adventures before dying at the hands of his one-time ally, Thanos. A skilled wielder of magic, Loki excels at casting illusions and confusing his opponents.
Although Loki would be able to physically hold his own against the human Victor von Doom, the concept of a traditional fight would bore him. Doctor Doom is a character who uses logical analysis to make tactical decisions, andLoki’s chaotic actions could disrupt the villain’s plans. Whether it was tricking Doom into fighting an illusion or turning the Doombots against him, Loki’s creative offense would keep Doom on his toes long enough to allow a fatal blow.
Played by Robert Downey Jr.
The hero that opened the door for the rest of the MCU to flourish,Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man(Downey Jr.), would make fora worthy opponent to the loathsome Latverian. On paper, Iron Man didn’t seem like a match for Thanos (Josh Brolin) either, but when he stopped trying to raise a family in a cabin, Tony was able to vanquish the Mad Titan at the cost of his life.
Both Tony and Victor rely heavily on their suits of armor because, at the end of the day, they’re both humans whose superpower is their intelligence.Tony plays the fool more than he actually is, and that would play to his benefit with the arrogant Victor, seeing the Stark Industries playboy as nothing more than a quick annoyance to dispatch. Tony’s greatest advantage was always people underestimating him, and he could exploit Victor’s vanity to come out ahead after a hard and close fight.
4Mr. Fantastic
Played by John Krasinski
Who better to go up against Doom than his greatest intellectual rival and lifelong arch-nemesis, Mr. Fantastic?Victor Von Doom and Reed Richards have been locked in a strugglealmost as long as Fantastic Four comics have existed, with their battle of wits and wills documented in comic books for over 70 years. The leader of The Fantastic Four and Doom know one another well enough to calculate each possible move the other can make, so their stalemate will likely continue far into the future.
Mr. Fantastic’s time in the MCU was so brief movie-goers didn’t get a chance to see his brilliance during his cameo inDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) kills Reed with an alarming quickness, but we’ll chalk that up toJohn Krasinski’s version of Mr. Fantastic not being equipped for such high-level threats. Perhaps his version of Doctor Doom was played byRainn Wilson, and their rivalry was more prank-based.
Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness
3Scarlet Witch
Played by Elizabeth Olsen
A woman strong enough to control an entire neighborhood in her subconscious, The Scarlet Witch, or Wanda Maximoff, would make for a visually unforgettable fight with the Doctor of Doom. The last time she was seen, Wanda was ripping her way through dimensions to find the children she conjured, ultimately dying at the end ofDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.Out of all the possible characters to make a return, the Scarlet Witch seems the most likely because she’s that powerful of a being.
The Scarlet Witch’s strength in the dark arts makes her a formidable foe against Doom, who would likely underestimate her when attacking. The interesting aspect about the Scarlet Witch is she was never able to tap into the full potential of her powers without losing control, so a scenario where she’s properly trained would make herthe most dangerous person the MCU has introduced.
Played by Kurt Russell
Doctor Doom is a villain that strikes fear in most heroes, but for a living planet like Ego (Kurt Russell), Victor is just another mortal in a toy suit. The father of Peter “Star-Lord” Quill (Chris Pratt) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Ego had designs to make the entire universe in his image, but theGuardians of the Galaxyruined his plans by killing him.
In terms of villainous aspirations, Ego is playing chess, while Doctor Doom is playing checkers. Doom wants to control the world? Ego wants to control all existence in the known universe, and he was powerful enough to almost do it if it weren’t for those meddling kids and their gun-wielding raccoon.Ego is ridiculously overmatched for Victor, both in terms of physical power and, of course, ego. With over a million years of exterminating any number of life forms, Doom would be an asterisk on Ego’s ledger.
Played by Josh Brolin
It’s unlikely the MCU ever spends as much time developing one villain as they did Thanos. For multiple films, the threat of his impending arrival cast a large shadow over every Marvel adventure, no matter how far removed it was from the Mad Titan’s designs on curbing the universe’s population by half. It took two films and a desperate last stand, but Thanos was finally defeated, giving the world a small moment to relax.
In a direct fightagainst Doctor Doom, the genius scientist won’t put a scratch on Thanos’ purple chinbecause even with his suit, Victor’s strength can’t compare. For the sake of this argument, Thanos doesn’t have the infinity gauntlet because he doesn’t need any more things working in his favor. Even without it, the odds look in favor of Doctor Doom not walking away from an encounter. If Doom has a chance to plan out a winning strategy, the fight between the two would be closer, but there’sno guarantee Doom has enough Doombots on standby to slow down Thanos.
