As we inch closer and closer to the release of Avengers: Doomsday, although we've been given little snippets and clues here and there, for the most part, this Doctor Doom-centric story remains a mystery. Details are slim in order to avoid any major spoilers and leaks, which is known to happen. But that also means comic book fans aren’t really sure what to expect, but directors Joe and Anthony Russo shared where some of their inspiration is coming from, and it makes me cautiously optimistic.
In recent months, the Russo Brothers have been sharing more snippets into their thought process behind Doomsday, as well as Avengers: Secret Wars. They have spoken before about how crafting Doctor Doom has been ‘very intense’, as well as about how they have a ‘radical vision’ for these two movies. On the subject of source material inspiration, they informed TechRadar that they are drawing from both the 1980s and 2010s comic book series that bear the Secret Wars title, which obviously makes sense. On the topic of how closely to those comic books the movie is gonna follow, Joe Russo had this to say:
Well, we always create our own version of the story, So, we use the comics as loose inspiration. But, you know, I grew up on the original run. That's something that got me into Marvel comic books. The Hickman run is also fantastic [and they're] very different from each other in a lot of ways, so we'll draw inspiration from both of them.
If you’re like and have only read summaries of these comic books, to just give you a quick rundown of those stories. The 1980s Secret Wars series by Jim Shooter tells the story of The Beyonder, a cosmic entity that is determined to find the best superpowered being of them all to do battle in a distant galaxy called Battleworld.
The 2010 Secret Wars series by Jonathan Hickman involves the destruction of the Marvel multiverse. This is due to a cataclysmic event that causes the various universes to collide and destroy each other. The fragments of whatever is left from these realities are stitched together to form a Battleworld that is ruled over by an iteration of Doctor Doom. Based on this bare bones knowledge, it’s safe to say that we’re probably going to see some combined iteration of these stories reflected in Doomsday and Secret Wars.
The MCU's Multiverse Saga, unlike its predecessor, The Infinity Saga, has had some issues with finding its footing when it comes to resonating with the audience. Since the announcement of Robert Downey Jr. coming back to play Doctor Doom, many have been wary about the future of Doomsday and Secret Wars. Some of this is because Doctor Doom completely replaced Kang, who was set up in Loki Season 1 and the Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania end-credits scene to be the next Thanos level threat. However, because Jonathan Majors was dropped by Marvel due to his legal issues, Doctor Doom was brought in to fill that big bad role, something Majors has commented on.
This kind of massive, full story change instead of a simple switch of actors has me and other fans weary on whether or not this will be a success. But I remain cautiously optimistic solely because the original source material that the Russo Brothers are drawing inspiration from already seem like compelling stories. As a writer myself, I will trust the process until more information is given.
There are rumors as to why Doctor Doom will be the main antagonist, but only time will tell if those rumors are correct. Seeing as we still have The Fantastic Four: First Steps coming up as part of the 2025 movies schedule, and Doom is that team's arch-nemesis, fingers are crossed that we might see a teaser in that movie for what’s to come in regard to his involvement in Doomsday. Only time will tell.
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