Robert Downey Jr’s Doctor Doom has been unleashed. The full trailer for Avengers: Doomsday debuted at CinemaCon, which showed off the MCU’s new big bad. Whereas the previous Doomsday teasers were focused on specific characters, this one offers a broader look, featuring the X-Men (including Gambit fighting Shang-Chi and Yelena Belova fighting “herself,” with Mystique taking on that form), a very concerned Thor, and Steve Rogers wielding Mjolnir. It hasn’t yet been released online, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to get excited about.
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The idea of Avengers vs. X-Men happening in some form and the reunion between Thor and Steve, coming several years after Avengers: Endgame, are both tantalizing for fans, but the big thing here is, of course, Doom. Downey’s return alone guarantees that, but this is also the MCU’s true Thanos replacement – a villain who will define not only Doomsday, but also Avengers: Secret Wars. While a lot of the plot is still being kept under wraps, the trailer does give a few key reveals about the MCU’s take on Victor von Doom.
5) Doom Teases “Something Is Coming”
The footage is described as having narration that seemingly comes from Doctor Doom himself, as he warns that “Something is coming. Something we may not be able to deter.” Given that we know Doomsday is a multiversal story, then if Doom is the one saying this, it would seemingly fit with the idea of him being the hero of his own story here. The “something” in question is presumably an incursion (or perhaps incursions), the event where two universes collide and are typically both destroyed.
One of the big theories about Doom is that he comes from a world that is destroyed by an incursion, and that is why he is looking to fix the multiverse, as it were, but in his own image. It’s not dissimilar to Thanos’ rationale for balancing the universe, and may be what’s used to make him a more complex villain, rather than someone outright evil (though hopefully won’t inspire a slew of “Doom was right” takes).
4) RDJ’s Doom Has An Accent
This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, given Victor von Doom is from Latveria – which in real-world terms would be Eastern Europe – but it’s nonetheless still notable that Downey Jr is indeed speaking with an accent in Doomsday. Curiously, there are some conflicting reports of exactly what accent he’s using, with a couple of descriptions of it as sounding deep and British, and others that it’s more like the Eastern European accent you’d expect.
The latter would make more sense, but you’d trust Downey to get it right. Also, while this doesn’t entirely rule out the theory that Doom is a Stark variant (or vice versa), it does make it seem less likely, since there’s not much point going that route if you’re making it very clear they’re different people with such different backgrounds from the off.
3) What Doctor Doom’s Face & Mask Look Like
Doom’s face is briefly seen in the trailer, according to some reports, and is described as being scarred. That’s been a question ever since Downey Jr. was cast in the role, since there are different ways to approach it: in some versions of the comics, the character is heavily disfigured; in others, it’s more minor scarring, but his ego is what leads him to believe he must cover his face with a mask. It sounds more like the former, which should further differentiate Doom from Tony Stark.
In terms of the mask, it’s said to be very similar to the artwork shown in the post above, a squared-off, rather blocky take with some detailing (a little more intricate than we could see from The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ post-credits scene). That’s pretty much what you’d expect, rather than a reinvention of the wheel.
2) Doctor Doom Fights Thor & Catches Stormbreaker
Doom’s brief bit of action in the trailer comes against one of the MCU’s most powerful characters, Thor. The footage seemingly positions the God of Thunder as the new leader of the collective heroes, banding them together for the fight. This also fits with Doomsday‘s Thor teaser trailer, where he prayed to the All-Father for strength, presumably before heading into battle against Doom. It seems like he’s going to need all the strength he can get, because he throws Stormbreaker at the villain, who catches it effortlessly in two fingers.
1) Doom Is More Terrifying Than Thanos
Thor is incredibly strong – given he is literally a God – and Stormbreaker is a weapon that, had he aimed for the head, could have actually succeeded in killing Thanos. So for Doom to so effortlessly stop the ax says a lot about his power level. As ever with comics, this has increased and decreased at different points through the years, and he’s been defeated by Thor before. But given his mix of genius-level intellect, advanced technology, and his own sorcery abilities, all of which will presumably be part of the character in Doomsday, he’s certainly a force to be reckoned with (and that’s before we get to the God Emperor Doom we might see in Secret Wars).
Certainly, it’s enough to have Thor completely shaken. Chris Hemsworth’s character gives the key monologue of the trailer, and confirms that Doom is the scariest threat he’s ever had to face, which means he’s even more terrifying than Thanos: “I have fought with many warriors in my time. They were far stronger than any of us combined and they died. They died facing enemies and threats that scared me far less than this one. Everything that we sacrificed will be for nothing if we do not stand together. If you return, you will return as brothers and sisters, but mark my words, we’re going to need a miracle.”
Really, we know that Doom has to win in some way, similar to Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, because the existence of Secret Wars means he can’t be defeated yet. But even with that knowledge, it seems like Doom is going to be one of the MCU’s most powerful villains ever.
Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18th, 2026.
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Image courtesy of Sony
