Is Robert Downey Jr's Doctor Doom the Hero or Villain of Avengers: Doomsday?

Marvel Studios tantalized fans by debuting a trailer for Avengers: Doomsday astatine CinemaCon, but lone for those fortunate capable to beryllium successful the country wherever it happened. Fortunately, that trailer has present yet gone wide, and that means we’ve each gotten our archetypal existent sensation of Robert Downey, Jr. arsenic Doctor Doom. Suffice it to say, this isn’t conscionable Iron Man successful a greenish cape.

The caller Doomsday trailer doesn’t uncover a batch astir the crippled of the caller film. If anything, it raises a bigger question astir Doom’s relation successful this multiversal conflict. Is helium the leader oregon the villain here? Is helium the doomsday the Avengers and X-Men are hopeless to prevent, oregon is helium our heroes’ lone anticipation against the coming destruction? Let’s instrumentality a person look astatine this caller footage and research what relation Doom seems to beryllium taking successful this conflict.

Meet Robert Downey, Jr.’s Doctor Doom

This whitethorn not beryllium the archetypal Avengers: Doomsday footage Marvel has released, but it is the archetypal trailer to really diagnostic Doom himself. All 4 teaser trailers that were attached to Avatar: Fire and Ash focused connected the Avengers and X-Men, leaving Doom inactive shrouded successful mystery. But astatine agelong last, we’ve yet got a bully look astatine the quality and tin really perceive his voice.

Visually, Marvel seems to beryllium sticking beauteous adjacent to the comic publication root worldly here, surely much truthful than with erstwhile cinematic incarnations of Doctor Doom. He’s got the emerald greenish robes covering the silver, astir medieval-looking armor. The disguise is beauteous overmuch one-for-one with the comics. About the lone ocular quality we tin spot present is that Doom’s thorax is covered by armored plating, whereas successful the comics, helium usually conscionable has a greenish cloak implicit his armor. That small flourish seems to beryllium a motion to the enactment of Secret Wars creator Esad Ribic.

It’s not astonishing that a movie that’s yet giving america the Fox X-Men characters successful comics-inspired costumes would besides opt for a precise accepted mentation of Doom. Once Doom’s look was solidified by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby successful the aboriginal Fantastic Four comics, it truly hasn’t changed overmuch implicit the decades.

One happening the trailer doesn’t archer america is what Downey’s Doom looks similar nether that mask. Which is understandable, arsenic he’s famously beauteous shy astir taking it off. Marvel has offered a fig of antithetic root stories for Doom implicit the years, immoderate of which connection conflicting accounts of what Doom’s look looks like. One root communicative suggests that Doom forged his disguise to fell a azygous scar, lone to don the disguise earlier it had decently cooled and pain himself irreparably.

In the MCU, characters thin to beryllium a small freer astir unmasking, successful portion due to the fact that Marvel doesn’t walk the large bucks connected these A-List actors conscionable to fell their faces. One would presume the aforesaid holds existent for Downey successful Doomsday, and that we’ll yet spot him uncover his look to a radical of awestruck Avengers. As it stands, Doom already showed his look to young Franklin Richards successful the post-credits country for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Franklin, for his part, seemed beauteous intrigued by what helium saw.

The trailer does springiness america a wide sensation of Downey’s Doom voice, however. Up until now, it was an unfastened question arsenic to however Downey would grip the voice. Would Doom dependable beauteous overmuch similar an evil mentation of Tony Stark? Would Downey particulate disconnected his trusty British accent from films similar Sherlock Holmes and Chaplin?

Downey is opting for thing overmuch antithetic and much reflective of Victor von Doom’s Eastern European roots.“

The answer, it seems, is that Downey is opting for thing overmuch antithetic and much reflective of Victor von Doom’s Eastern European roots. Which makes sense, since First Steps established that Latveria exists arsenic its ain state connected Earth-828. Doom whitethorn look similar Tony Stark, but helium seems to person the inheritance and upbringing of the classical Doctor Doom.

Downey’s Doom dependable is amazingly heavy and baritone successful quality, with a distinctive Austro-Hungarian accent. Again, that tracks, fixed wherever successful the Marvel Universe Latveria is expected to beryllium located. Downey’s Doom dependable reminds america much than a small of the precocious Henry Kissinger, and we wouldn’t beryllium astatine each amazed to larn that the histrion drew inspiration from Kissinger’s galore speeches successful crafting his character.

The astir striking happening astir Doom’s dependable successful the trailer is conscionable however antithetic helium sounds from Tony Stark. If Marvel didn’t specifically uncover that Downey is playing this relation up of time, would anyone recognize it was him nether the mask? That whitethorn beryllium the full constituent here. Whatever the existent mentation for wherefore Doctor Doom has Tony Stark’s look successful the film, Doom whitethorn beryllium looking to fell that information from the Avengers until the inevitable expansive uncover yet arrives. We tin easy spot however the Avengers would beryllium nary the wiser until Doom is yet unmasked.

Is Doom the Hero oregon Villain of Doomsday?

No, this caller trailer doesn’t uncover overmuch astir the crippled of Avengers: Doomsday that we didn’t already know. We knew that Doomsday is simply a multiverse-spanning movie that centers astir the Avengers of Earth-616, the X-Men of Earth-10005, and the Fantastic Four of Earth-828.

We spot heroes from each 3 groups successful the trailer, including respective shots confirming the X-Men and Avengers volition so beryllium battling 1 another. For example, we spot Channing Tatum’s Gambit brawling with Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi, and Rebecca Romijn’s Mystique warring and impersonating Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova.

But what the trailer does bash is rise caller questions astir however Doom fits into the wide picture. Is helium truly the villain of the film, oregon is determination a small much nuance astatine enactment here? At the precise least, we get the beardown content that Doom is chopped from the aforesaid cloth arsenic Josh Brolin’s Thanos. He’s a feline doing what helium feels helium has to for what helium sees arsenic the greater bully of the universe. Or, successful this case, the multiverse.

When we archetypal spot Doom successful the trailer, he’s telling the Avengers, “Something is coming. Something we whitethorn not beryllium capable to deter. Before this time is done, we shall beryllium faced with an unthinkable decision.”

Doom is astir surely referring to the Incursions, a cosmic improvement that’s been referenced successful past Multiverse Saga films similar 2022’s Doctor Strange successful the Multiverse of Madness and 2023’s The Marvels. In lawsuit you’ve forgotten, Incursions hap erstwhile the Earths of 2 parallel universes commencement to collide. If 1 Earth isn’t pushed backmost oregon destroyed, some universes volition dice arsenic a result. The Incursions are a concatenation absorption of demolition that is presently rippling crossed the multiverse.

Doom seems to beryllium informing the Avengers that an Incursion is coming to destruct Earth-616. Only by making what Doom refers to arsenic “an unthinkable decision” volition Earth’s Mightiest Heroes beryllium capable to prevention their home. They whitethorn good person to judge that the lone mode to prevention their satellite is by destroying different world. And we’d stake bully wealth that the different satellite successful question is Earth-10005, the location of the Fox X-Men.

That seems to beryllium astatine the basal of the struggle betwixt the Avengers and X-Men successful the film. Each squad is warring for the destiny of their respective Earth. That’s wherefore 2 teams that we’d usually expect to enactment alongside 1 different are alternatively astatine each other’s throats. They don’t person the luxury of clip oregon practice here.

But what is Doom’s existent purpose here? Is helium helping the Avengers flooded the X-Men? Or possibly vice versa? There’s inactive a batch we don’t cognize astir the character’s origins and existent motivations. Is Doom trying to sphere his ain Earth here? Which Earth is his existent home, anyway? Is Doom simply playing some teams against 1 different for his ain benefit?

Assuming Doomsday follows the comics, Doom’s eventual extremity isn’t to prevention the multiverse truthful overmuch arsenic marque himself maestro of each existence. In 2015’s Secret Wars, Doom confronts the Beyonders, the cosmic gods down the Incursion phenomenon, and becomes a deity himself. Doom transforms himself into the God Emperor of Battleworld, an artificial satellite composed of the fragments of dozens of dormant realities. Doom whitethorn person akin plans successful caput here. His extremity whitethorn beryllium to manipulate the Avengers of Earth-616, the X-Men of Earth-10005, and the Fantastic Four of Earth-828 arsenic portion of a larger program to execute eventual powerfulness implicit reality.

It’s wide that Doom already has plentifulness of powerfulness to spare successful Avengers: Doomsday. We perceive Chris Hemsworth’s Thor urging the Avengers and X-Men to enactment speech their differences and hole for the eventual battle. Thor warns them, “Mark my words - we are going to request a miracle."

We past get a sensation of Doom’s afloat mightiness erstwhile Thor attacks him with Stormbreaker and Doom calmly stops the limb with his fingers. Bear successful mind, this is the limb that gravely wounded Thanos successful 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, but it’s a trifle for Doom. Doom’s mastery implicit subject and sorcery is seemingly truthful large that not adjacent a thunder deity stands a accidental against him.

It’s present that the trailer reveals the antheral who mightiness beryllium the occurrence Thor desires. Echoing the climax of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, we spot Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers participate the battlefield, prime up Mjolnir, and archer Thor, “Hey, buddy.”

If the rumors are true, Steve’s blessed status has travel astatine the terms of the precise multiverse itself. “

Clearly, the erstwhile Captain America is cardinal to this conflict. In fact, rumors suggest that Steve is the bosom of the Incursion problem, with his determination to elope with Hayley Atwell’s Peggy Carter successful different beingness being the basal origin of those disasters. If the rumors are true, Steve’s blessed status has travel astatine the terms of the precise multiverse itself.

Rumors besides suggest that Doom has a precise idiosyncratic beef with Steve due to the fact that of that decision. As overmuch arsenic comic fans are utilized to seeing Doom nonstop each of his rage and hatred toward Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four, it would look that helium has a precise antithetic archnemesis successful the MCU. Ironic, considering that helium has the look of Tony Stark.

We besides wonderment however overmuch Doom’s program involves targeting the children of the Avengers. The archetypal teaser trailer for the movie revealed that Steve is present a happy, doting father, and the 2nd alludes to Thor’s adopted daughter, Love. Meanwhile, this trailer pointedly shows america a glimpse of Kathryn Newton’s Cassie Lang, reminding america that galore of the Avengers person families and loved ones to protect. And, arsenic mentioned earlier, Doom already confronted the Fantastic Four and revealed himself to young Franklin Richards.

Franklin is speculated to beryllium the root of Doom’s godlike powerfulness successful overmuch the aforesaid mode Molecule Man was successful the Secret Wars comic. But does Doom besides person designs connected Steve’s lad and different children similar Love and Cassie? Is helium stealing the adjacent procreation of heroes distant from their parents to rise them successful his ain image? Hey, each God Emperor needs an heir.

Let america cognize your theories astir Doom’s motivations successful the comments below. And for much connected the aboriginal of the MCU, cheque retired each Marvel movie and bid successful development.

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