I love the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I’m not afraid to say it. For all its ups and downs (lately, more of the latter than the former), I think the positives still outweigh the negatives. With the critical and fan success ofThunderbolts*recently, I have a ton of hope for the future of the MCU withAvengers: Doomsday. Now that the MCU is leaving behind some of its most scandalous times, my hopes are much higher.
Not to mention,whether one likes their non-MCU content,Joe RussoandAnthony Russohave more than proven themselves in the Marvel realm, and I think this spells good things forAvengers: Doomsday. There are so many things that could happen in this movie. With everything that’s happened sinceAvengers: Endgame, the possibilities truly do feel endless. While some things may seem “out of pocket,“I could definitely see these wild things happening in the fifth Avengers film. Time will tell, but there is a way for all these theories to actually come to life come December 2026.
10The Death of the Kangs
We all know it has to happen.
With everything controversy-wise that happened withJonathan Majorsthese last few years, the fifthAvengers movie was retitled fromAvengers: The Kang Dynastyto what it is today,Avengers: Doomsday. Safe to say that Marvel Studios will need to find a way to write the character out of the universe because of how much they teased him to be an incoming threat at the end ofAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
I think this is most certainly going to result in someone, most likely Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.),absolutelymassacring that giant room of Kangsfrom theAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniapost-credits scene. The power-scaling that Doom killing them all would accomplish would be incredibly effective in truly building him up as a massive threat.
Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania
9Doom Utilizes Galactus
He’s in ‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’ for a reason.
I haven’t seen many people consider this idea, because it may be a bit out of left field, but I really thinkAvengers: Doomsdaymight feature Doom utilizing Galactus (Ralph Ineson) in some way, shape, or form. For one,the Fantastic Four, as powerful as they may be, are unlikely to kill Galactus inThe Fantastic Four: First Steps. Very few people can actually do it, and it’s already pretty clear thatthe team will flee their universe to come to Earth-1999(as seen at the end ofThunderbolts*).
Marvel Studios definitely shouldn’t just drop a force like Galactus. I think having Doom find a way to use him to his advantage in bothAvengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Warswould be not just a good idea for Marvel but for Doom as a character. After all, Doom and Galactus are two of the best villains in the MCU, and their close connection to Marvel’s First Family would instantlycement them as the franchise’s new power players.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
8Light Adaptation of the New Ultimate Universe
Who needs The Maker when you have Doom?!
Doctor Doom isn’t just a villain; he’s a ruler. WithAvengers: Secret Warscoming directly afterAvengers: Doomsday, I have a wild thought that the Russos and Marvel Studios could very well be doing a light adaptation, or at least take inspiration from, the new Marvel Ultimate Comics universe established in 2024. For non-comic readers, this featured the villain known asThe Maker effectively rewrites the Marvel Universe in his image. He stole the spider before it could bite Peter Parker, killed the Fantastic Four, destroyed the Stark image, and… well, you get the point.
I 100% see a world whereDoom does the same thing, or something similar, at the end ofAvengers: Doomsday. This is a plan that is right up Doom’s alley, and while it may sound potentially bonkers because it’s merely his first appearance, the prevalence of the multiverse in these upcoming stories leads me to believe this could very well happen. Not to mention, it would give audiences whole new versions of heroes to follow intoAvengers: Secret Wars.
7The Young Avengers Assemble
It’s got to happen at one point.
There’s pretty much no doubt thatAvengers: Doomsdaywill take a similar approach to its story asAvengers: Infinity Warand split the Marvel universe into separate groups to accomplish different tasks to take Doom down. It could feel wild, given that it is supposedly a primary Avengers film, but I really thinkthe Young Avengers are going to assembleinAvengers: Doomsdayand join the fight.
People have been asking for a Young Avengers project for quite some time, and after the teasing of Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) forming them at the end ofThe Marvels, it’s bound to happen eventually.Coming together to stop Doom would be perfect, in my opinion. Sure, it’s not a film of their own, but one can only ask for so much when working around events as large as the next two Avengers films.
6Doctor Doom Pulls An Eobard Thawne
Hear me out real quick…
Some people have been relatively confused about how Doom is going to come to life inAvengers: Doomsday. Somehow, the Russos have both said that Robert Downey Jr.’s Doom is very much Victor von Doom, yet Tony Stark’s snap at the end ofAvengers: Endgameis still crucial to his story (stated inan interview withThe Times). How will it be possible? I think Doctor Doom will borrow fromThe Flashvillain Eobard Thawne’s (Tom Cavanagh) playbook andput himself into the body of the dead Tony Stark.
We’ve seen this wild idea already in action through the events ofDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, when Earth-1999 Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) put himself into his variant’s dead body through dreamwalking, leading to the now-infamous Zombie Strange. Thus, we already know it’s possible; all audiences need to know is why. Is it because Tony’s body is infused with Infinity energy? Only time will tell.
Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness
5The Avengers Will Lose
Not again…
IfAvengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Warsare going to be essentially a back-to-back event, it may seem wild to do it again, but I thinkthe Avengers are most certainly going to loseinAvengers: Doomsday, andAvengers: Secret Warswill pick up with Doom’s success. Some people may think that it would be impossible for them to do the same thing again, but I really think it could work.
I even think thatsome of the Avengers will die, for good this time. I can definitely see a world where a main universe character dies, and a variant comes in to fill their place. If a new world is createdat the end ofAvengers: Secret Wars, these new versions of the characters carrying over would definitely help make for a soft reboot of the MCU, which many want.
Avengers: Doomsday
4The Evil Avengers
One team under Doom.
Even villains like Thanos (Josh Brolin) need henchmen for the Avengers to face; the Black Order and his army were certainly worthwhile threats for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. While Doctor Doom has his classic Doombots, a Black Order-like team could be—hear me out—a team of evil Avengers variants. People have been theorizing thatChris Evanswill make a return as HYDRA Captain America from the comics, so what’s some more evil variants? How about Superior Iron Man?
It would be totally out of left field for Doom to summon the very people he’s trying to kill to serve him.
A team of evil Avengers could be a truly cool thing to see. Not to mention, it would be totally out of left field for Doom to summon the very people he’s trying to kill to serve him. Yes, out of the blue, but also incredibly fitting for the villain, a perfect checkmate to the Avengers, X-Men, and the Fantastic Four. If they’re going to fight him,Doom will make them face themselves first.
3An Iron Man Comeback
Is he really going to let Doom get away with stealing his body?
I know it may sound too soon or ridiculous, but I truly believe it would besuch a cool move to have a version of Iron Man face off against Doom. The irony of Doom getting his butt whooped by someone with the same face as him would be amazing. Not to mention, if there’s validity to the villain’s dreamwalking into the old hero’s corpse, there’s even more irony here.
If the Russos played their cards right, having a huge reveal of Iron Man coming into the battle in the final hour to help the Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic Four would be a moment to rival Captain America wielding Mjölnir inAvengers: Endgame. Plus, if you’re gettingRobert Downey Jr. to come back as a villainin a movie about the multiverse and don’t bring him back as Iron Man, what are you doing?
Avengers: Endgame
2An Absent Spider-Man
“Someone’s gotta look out for the little guy.”
Look, I know we all love whenSpider-Man teams up with other MCU heroes, but the rumors that Spider-Man (Tom Holland) will not be appearing inAvengers: Doomsdayhave some validity to them. WithSpider-Man: Brand New Daycoming before the fifth Avengers film now, there’s even more opportunity there. Honestly, I think the absence of Spidey inAvengers: Doomsdaycould be for the better.
Spider-Man has entered a whole new era in the MCU and is (hopefully) going to be far more street-level from now on. I would honestly love to see a plot whereSpider-Man decides to stay in New York City to protect it from whatever chaos ensuesvia Doom’s arrival. The Avengers now have the X-Men and the Fantastic Four at their side, but who does New York City have? It’s going to need Spider-Man.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day
1There Will Be Multiple Dooms
I’m telling you, the signs are there.
I have been voicing my theory that there are going to be multiple Dooms and, therefore, actors portraying him inAvengers: Doomsday. One. After all, it would make sense for Doom to gather other versions of himself to get a leg up on the Avengers, but also, I think that Marvel has genuinely been hinting at this for the last year or so, and I’ll explain why.
First off, when the Russo brothers announced Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom, there weremultiple Dooms standing on stage. Sure, this could be because they were trying to make it mysterious, but with the context that other Marvel content likeMarvel Rivalsfeatures multiple Dooms from other realities, I think that Marvel is being very strategic about planting the idea of multiple Doctor Dooms in people’s heads. The interesting part iswho these Dooms will be and whether Downey will play them all. Alas, not even I venture to guess.
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