The much hyped Avengers: Doomsday is finally on the horizon, especially after the release of the film’s first official trailer, yet there are plenty of questions regarding the way Doctor Doom has been introduced. The villain hasn’t been seen on screen yet outside of a single shot from behind in the post-credits scene of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and even the trailer doesn’t feature him often. All that’s certain is that Robert Downey Jr. is playing him and that Thor is scared of the threat that Doom poses to the entire MCU.
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It’s understandable to view this lack of Doom as disappointing, especially since he has to follow a great big bad in Thanos. The MCU attempted to give Kang a lot of room to develop into this kind of threat, but that fell by the wayside. However, a closer look reveals that the “less is more” approach is the right way to go with Doom. It seems to get forgotten or overlooked, but Thanos didn’t have a great build either, and the result was one of the best villains in the MCU at the center of two stellar films.
Thanos’ Build Was Inconsistent
While it’s true that Thanos was seen far more than Doom ahead of his starring movie, it wasn’t like the MCU featured a ton of the villain. He first appeared in a post-credits scene in The Avengers, and that was a great tease. However, it also proved to be an inconsistent one. That scene spoke about how challenging humans would be to “court death.” That’s an interesting phrase to use when you consider the comic book storyline that Avengers: Infinity War and Thanos’ entire arc in the MCU were adapted from.
In the comics, Thanos collects the Infinity Stones as a way to win the affection of Mistress Death. It looked like the MCU would follow that route, yet the whole concept of death being involved was gone by the time Thanos officially appeared, replaced by his misguided motivation to improve the number of resources for the population. Thanos’ appearance in Avengers: Age of Ultron also makes no sense. He says, “Fine, I’ll do it myself,” as he attempts to go after the Infinity Stones, yet it’s not like he sent Ultron to do that.
It would’ve made sense to say that after Loki failed, yet his lack of connection to Ultron made the line odd. There are also consistency issues with some of Thanos’ story, including Guardians of the Galaxy telling the audience that Gamora was the last surviving member of her race, only for Avengers: Infinity War to have Thanos say the planet was thriving. While it could’ve just been a case of Thanos lying, it remains another bit of odd or inconsistent writing regarding the character. Thanos also never showed much interest in perfect balance until Avengers: Infinity War.
The MCU Got Away With Thanos’ Lackluster Build Due To Goodwill
You didn’t hear much about the lack of a good build for Thanos because the MCU was thriving at the time. Heading into Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, the MCU had an incredible level of momentum. The franchise hadn’t put out a single movie that received poor reviews, and almost every installment was a major box office success. The two years before Thanos became the focal point were also the best for the MCU thanks to hit sequels and popular new additions like Black Panther and Spider-Man. They seemingly could do no wrong.
Those glory days for the Marvel Cinematic Universe have come and gone, though. Since Avengers: Endgame, the franchise has shown some cracks. Projects like Eternals, Secret Invasion, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania missed with critics, while the likes of Captain America: Brave New World and Thor: Love and Thunder disappointed many. This has made the lack of build for Avengers: Doomsday more glaring because things around it aren’t going too smoothly. Had this era for the MCU kept up that momentum and consistency, fans would likely not be as vocal about Doom’s setup.
The Lack Of Doctor Doom In This Build Might Be The Best Thing For Avengers: Doomsday
Considering how great Thanos was across his two movies, not having a ton of build beforehand didn’t matter much. That’s part of why it’s a good thing that they’re doing this with Doom. Knowing that Avengers: Secret Wars is only a year away from Avengers: Doomsday makes it feel like this is part one of a story, similar to Avengers: Infinity War. That means the film could be about establishing Doom’s power and how much of a threat he is. Easily stopping Thor, as seen in the trailer, and similar acts would be enough to make him a great antagonist.
The key is how the MCU incorporates Doom. Even if Thanos’ build wasn’t great, the first three phases revolved around the Infinity Stones, so he fit in perfectly. Things are different now, with the Multiverse Saga covering so much ground and a lot of characters seemingly not even showing up anymore, like She-Hulk and the Eternals. Ensuring that Doom fits the overarching narrative is more difficult, yet if the MCU can pull it off, this can be a special two-part epic. If Doom fits into the story and delivers as a great villain, people won’t remember concerns about the build.
Avengers: Doomsday will be in theaters on December 18th. Discuss it with us on the ComicBook Forum!
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Forum Conversation: If Avengers: Doomsday & Secret Wars Disappoint, Are You Still Giving MCU Phase 7 A Chance???
Go to ForumI’ll be there watching all of them of course but doesn’t mean I’m gonna keep liking it. Too far in to give up now
It’s sad the MCU has come to this. I think, for me, Endgame was the mistake; I remember writing at the time that the only way to properly handle an event like the snap was to undo it with time travel. Because the MCU really works when it’s set in “the world outside your window”, and an event like the snap breaks that. There is no sane and sensible way to imagine that this is “the world outside your window” anymore. That five-year time jump made things worse, because you had five years of progression that was unseen. How much of the Hulk’s story, for example, was actually on-screen in the first place? Honestly, I think Endgame broke the MCU. I enjoyed the film – but it was a full stop, not a comma. A conclusion, not a launchpad.
That, to me, is the big issue with Secret Wars. If Marvel get this wrong, it will feel like a full stop – and a bigger one than Endgame, because it will tie a bow over every Marvel story since 2000 (possibly beyond, if Wesley Snipes’ Blade is in it). The stakes are very, very high right now. And I don’t know if Marvel realize it, or frankly can pull this off the way it needs to be.
I’ll still watch. I still am a fan; but I’m undeniably less passionate and excited, and it’s a matter of individual projects getting me engaged rather than the universe itself. I’ve always loved the X-Men, so I’m guaranteed to see those. But beyond that… Marvel hasn’t sold me on much yet. Black Panther 3 has Ryan Coogler, but I dislike that we’ve had an entire Black Panther movie where Shuri becomes the new BP, and the very next film is about a new one. Actually, dislike is too weak a word; that actively annoys me. And if Marvel dare reduce Storm to “New T’Challa’s love interest,” when that’s only one arc for a character who’s been around since 1975, then I will be seriously angry. Coogler’s involves, so I have hope, but the MCU doesn’t do well at handling female characters.
Maybe this is just me being nostalgic for when I was younger, but this year I’ve been rewatching Raimi Spider-Man, Fox X-Men, etc. and there’s almost something refreshing about watching a superhero movie that isn’t part of some massive interconnected universe. I kinda miss movies like that.