Breaking Down the Newest Avengers: Doomsday Tease From Robert Downey, Jr.

Warning: this nonfiction contains spoilers for The Fantastic Four: First Steps!

Marvel Studios whitethorn beryllium sitting retired their accepted Hall H sheet astatine SDCC this year, but Robert Downey, Jr. is astatine slightest ensuring that MCU fans person immoderate nutrient for thought during Comic-Con. Downey posted a cryptic teaser video connected Instagram, showing him listening to euphony and speechmaking a transcript of 1988’s The West Coast Avengers #35. Of course, Doctor Doom’s look is featured prominently connected the cover, starring to contiguous speculation astir that comic’s relevance to the crippled of Avengers: Doomsday.

So, what precisely is Downey teasing here? What happens successful The West Coast Avengers #35, and however mightiness it pass Downey’s portrayal of Doctor Doom? Here’s what you request to know.

What Happens successful The West Coast Avengers #35?

As the sanction suggests, The West Coast Avengers was a companion bid to the halfway Avengers comic that focused connected a antithetic radical of heroes operating retired of California. The roster successful this contented includes Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Wonder Man, Tigra, and Moon Knight. In that sense, we’re not expecting overmuch overlap betwixt the comic and the movie, arsenic nary of those characters are confirmed to look successful Doomsday (though we wouldn’t beryllium amazed to spot Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton astatine immoderate point).

That said, the comic whitethorn beryllium a motion to the information that determination are so 2 antithetic Avengers teams operating successful the MCU. Anthony Mackie’s Captain America has reformed the Avengers successful the aftermath of Captain America: Brave New World, and Thunderbolts* ended with Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Valentina Allegra De Fontaine christening her squad “The New Avengers” (with the movie’s rubric being altered post-release to match). The post-credits country successful Thunderbolts/The New Avengers makes it wide the 2 teams aren’t truly getting along, which is surely a hurdle our heroes volition person to flooded successful Doomsday.

Art by Al MIlgrom. (Image Credit: Marvel)

As for what happens successful The West Coast Avengers #35, this contented deals with Doom’s adopted son, Kristoff Vernard. At this constituent successful the Marvel timeline, Doom is believed to beryllium dead, and Kristoff is ruling Latveria successful his place, implanted with the memories of his begetter and believing himself to beryllium the existent deal. In this issue, Kristoff captures respective of the Avengers and battles Moon Knight’s godly benefactor Khonshu.

Again, portion we’ve met Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight and F. Murray Abraham’s Khonshu successful the Moon Knight series, there’s nary crushed to presume either has a portion to play successful Avengers: Doomsday. We presume this tease has much to bash with Kristoff, and much specifically, Doctor Doom’s past with fatherhood.

Is Avengers: Doomsday About Fathers and Sons?

Indeed, fatherhood seems to beryllium the cardinal takeaway from Downey’s teaser. It’s worthy pointing retired that the opus Downey is listening to, “Change of Scenery,” is performed by his lad Indio. That, combined with the representation of a comic astir Doctor Doom’s son, suggests that Downey wants fans to beryllium reasoning astir fathers and sons.

That’s apt to beryllium a large taxable successful Doomsday. For 1 thing, we cognize Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards is simply a cardinal quality successful the film. Father/son relationships is already a large taxable successful The Fantastic Four: First Steps, with Galactus fundamentally being a metaphor for the looming specter of parenthood (as good arsenic being a precise literal menace to Earth). That’s apt to proceed successful Doomsday.

Based connected however First Steps ends, Doomsday volition astir apt unfastened with Doctor Doom kidnapping young Franklin Richards and making a beeline for Earth-616, forcing Reed and his household to pursue. Reed and Vanessa Kirby’s Sue volition beryllium hopeless to reunite with their son, forming what volition surely beryllium 1 of the cardinal affectional throughlines of the film.

There’s besides the information that Doomsday and its sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars, are drafting heavy connected the Marvel Comics enactment of Jonathan Hickman. Hickman’s Fantastic Four and Avenegrs runs are some besides heavy steeped successful parenthood themes. His Avengers tally opens with Reed bemoaning the information that “everything dies,” lone for it to extremity with Reed’s religion restored, his household reunited, and Reed declaring “everything lives.” Downey’s tease would look to suggest that Doomsday and Secret Wars person akin ideas successful mind.

What astir Doom himself? How does helium play into the taxable of fatherhood? We fishy it someway has a batch to bash with Doom’s root and motivations successful these movies. There’s inactive the all-important question of wherefore Downey of each radical has been formed arsenic Doom. Is Doom the Tony Stark of Earth-828? Given that First Steps takes spot successful the ‘60s, is it imaginable that Doom is that universe’s Howard Stark? Or is helium Victor Von Doom, a antheral who conscionable happens to stock the look of Tony Stark?

Whatever the answer, we wonderment if immoderate calamity robs Doom of his family, compelling him to kidnap Franklin and harness the boy’s abilities to make caller worlds and universes. Is Doom trying to physique a satellite wherever his household lives again? Or is the thought that Battleworld volition beryllium a refuge for those helium cares astir erstwhile the remainder of the multiverse collapses? The MCU’s Doom could upwind up having precise antithetic motivations from his self-absorbed comic publication counterpart.

What bash you marque of Downey’s teaser? Let america cognize your theories successful the comments below. Andbe definite to cheque retired our breakdown connected the shared past betwixt Doctor Doom and Iron Man.

Jesse is simply a mild-mannered unit writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intelligence thicket by pursuing @jschedeen connected BlueSky.