A newAvengers: Doomsdaytheory explains how Doctor Doom’sMarvel Cinematic Universedebut could lead to the villain having a darker plan for the multiverse than he had in the comics. With Robert Downey Jr. playing Victor von Doom, the Multiverse Saga’s new main villain afterKang the Conqueror actor Jonathan Majors was fired, all eyes are on his debut. While there arereports that Doom could make an appearance inThe Fantastic Four: First Steps' post-credits scene, the official word from Marvel Studios is that Downey’s key role inAvengers: Doomsday’s castmarks the character’s MCU arrival.
As such, theupcoming Avengers moviehas the job of setting up RDJ’s version of Victor von Doom, revealing his backstory and what he has in mind for the multiverse.Doctor Doom played a key role in Marvel Comics' Secret Wars events, especially the one that inspired 2027’sAvengers: Secret Wars. However, the character’s story had a surprising twist to it in the comics, and a newAvengers: Doomsdaytheory shows how the MCU’s Multiverse Saga has already paved the way for Doctor Doom’s multiversal quest to be very different, becoming darker than expected.
What Are The MCU’s Anchor Beings?
The Multiverse Saga Has Introduced Key Terms To the Franchise
Incursions, Absolute Points, variants, Anchor Beings, and more are terms that have been introduced to the MCU throughout the Multiverse Saga. As it was a multiverse-heavy film, it made sense thatDeadpool & Wolverinewould be responsible for one of the most important aspects of the multiverse storyline. The film saw the debut of the Anchor Being concept. It consists of a character that is so integral to their universe that after they die, everything starts to slowly crumble, with the universe fated to stop existing after a period of decay.
Deadpool & Wolverine’s example of that term was Hugh Jackman’s original Wolverine. After the character died in 2017’sLogan, the Fox X-Men universe was destined to decay until it was completely destroyed. Interestingly, Deadpool managed to stop that by bringing in a new Wolverine variant and making him just as heroic as Jackman’s original Logan, stopping his universe’s destruction. So far,Marvel Studios still has to reveal who is Earth-616’s Anchor Being. However, major heroes like Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange, and Tom Hiddleston’s Loki all appear as possible candidates for that role due to their franchise importance.
Doctor Doom Hunted Molecule Man In Marvel Comics’ Secret Wars
The Character Has Not Been Introduced In The MCU
Doctor Doom’s story in Marvel Comics' version of Secret Wars saw the character go on a multiverse-wide search for Molecule Man. The character is not part of the MCU. Molecule Man was important to the comics' Secret Wars because he was a being that was divided throughout the multiverse. This meant that while every universe was unique in some way, all of them had one of Molecule Man’s variants. This was by design by the powerful Beyonders — cosmic beings from beyond the multiverse — whomade the Molecule Men their safeguard to destroy the multiverse.
Doctor Strange Facing Doctor Doom In Doomsday Is Key To Proving Robert Downey Jr Isn’t Just Playing Another Iron Man Replacement
Benedict Cumberbatch’s confirmed Doctor Strange Avengers: Doomsday role can be responsible for making Doctor Doom more than an Iron Man replacement.
In the comics' Secret Wars,Doctor Doom did not intend to destroy the multiverse, but save itfrom the Beyonders. Victor von Doom teamed up with Molecule Man, and they went from universe to universe, killing his variants so they could not be used as multiverse-ending bombs by the Beyonders. However, their actions lead to the multiverse contracting and collapsing upon itself, setting off a chain reaction of incursions that would destroy almost everything. After confronting the Beyonders, Molecule Man took their power and gave it to Doctor Doom, who created Battleworld to rule over the remains of the multiverse.
Avengers: Doomsday Theory Suggests The MCU Replaces Molecule Man With Anchor Beings
Doctor Doom Takes A Darker Turn
Marvel Studios does not have enough time left in the Multiverse Saga to properly debut Molecule Man and make him a part ofAvengers: Doomsdayin a way that does not feel convoluted. As such, the character is unlikely to play the same role he did in the Secret Wars comics in the MCU. However, there is no reason to worry, as anAvengers: Doomsdaytheory suggests that Anchor Beings could be used to replace Molecule Man. Just like the Marvel Comics character,every universe has an Anchor Being, and their death triggers the destruction of their universe.
Due to that, Anchor Beings could serve as easy stand-ins for the Molecule Man variants in the MCU. However, theAvengers: Doomsdaytheory does not stop there, as it gives Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom a darker mission than the one the character had in the comics. The 2015 Secret Wars event had Doom work with Molecule Man to save the multiverse. In the Avengers movie theory,Downey’s new MCU villain would not be trying to save the multiverse, but going around killing the Anchor Beings of every universe to lead to the destruction of their universes.
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This would be more in line with the role Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror and his variants from the Council of Kangs would have originally played in the next two Avengers movies. It also makes Doctor Doom’s MCU debut that much more of a threat to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.Marvel has already shown a few different universes, such as the Illuminati’s Earth-838, the X-Men universe fromThe Marvels,What If…?’s many universes and more. That could have been done to set up their destruction inAvengers: Doomsday, with Doctor Doom seeking control of what is left of the multiverse.
How The Void Could Become The Comics’ Battleworld
The MCU Location Fits The Multiverse Event
Much like how introducing Molecule Man would be too convoluted, the same goes for Battleworld, the patchwork planet made of different universes that is created by Doctor Doom in Marvel Comics' Secret Wars. Just like Molecule Man can be replaced by Anchor Beings in the MCU, the Void can serve as Battleworld’s stand-in. The MCU location has been used in key Multiverse Saga projects. Disney+‘sLokiintroduced the Void and explainedit was where the TVA sent pruned characters, objects, and locations. With so many similar multiverse elements to the comics, it would be perfect as the MCU’s Battleworld.
Using a popular MCU location like the Void as Battleworld works due to how similar it is to the comics’ location, in terms of speeding up events in the film, and providing connective tissue to the rest of the Multiverse Saga.
Avengers: Doomsdayalready has a lot on its plate withthe mission of debuting Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom and assembling a new Avengers team. As such, using a popular MCU location like the Void as Battleworld works due to how similar it is to the comics' location, in terms of speeding up events in the film, and providing connective tissue to the rest of the Multiverse Saga. Downey’s Doctor Doom could kill several Anchor Beings and trigger incursions, leading him to pick pieces of the multiverse to send to the Void and rule it inAvengers: Doomsday.
