Is Doctor Doom from Reed Richards' Earth? Fantastic Four rumor

A rumored scene from Marvel's Fantastic Four film shows the team consulting world leaders and visiting Latveria, with the Latverian flag on display but no Doctor Doom in sight. If it's true, I think it points to Victor von Doom being from the Fantastic Four's own Earth. It would also explain why Avengers: Doomsday was reportedly heading back to that timeline: to give Doom a backstory.

There have been plenty of questions about why Victor von Doom in the MCU is played by Robert Downey Jr. and looks like the 616 Tony Stark. To me, a more pressing question is how Marvel plans to introduce Doom and establish him as the character he's meant to be from the comics. If the rumors are true, it has presumably only two Avengers films and a post-credits scene in the Fantastic Four film to do it. This leak starts to answer that, along with the question of where Doom is from.

The leaked Fantastic Four scene shows Latveria's flag but no Doctor Doom

The leak first came from a less vetted source. It was later backed by a scoopster on Twitter. According to that account, there's a scene in the Fantastic Four where the team consults world leaders, because Reed Richards has to make a plan to defend Earth against Galactus.

At one point the team reportedly visits Latveria. We see the Latverian flag, but Doctor Doom is nowhere to be seen, as if he has chosen to skip the meeting.

Reed Richards is central to Doctor Doom's story, and Doom is just as central to Reed's. The duality between these two characters is woven into the core of both of their stories.

Doom's rumored Franklin Richards abduction suggests he's from the Fantastic Four's Earth

This is a spoiler for the rumored post-credits scene. According to the rumors, Doctor Doom apparently abducts Franklin Richards from inside the Baxter Building. It reportedly happens in the family's living room, after Sue Storm goes to the kitchen and comes back.

If the Latveria scene rumor is true, and taken together with the post-credits rumors, it means Doctor Doom is most likely from the Fantastic Four's Earth.

Avengers: Doomsday leaks say Marvel is returning to the Fantastic Four timeline

This also fits with the Avengers: Doomsday scene leaks, most of them from UnboxPHD. Those leaks suggested the film would revisit the Fantastic Four timeline. Industry insider Daniel RPK said the same thing. According to him, they were filming in the original Fantastic Four timeline on a baseball field. Some of the leaks had also made it look like the production was going back to a retro timeline.

I think this is because Victor von Doom is from that Earth's timeline and already knows Reed Richards. They probably have a past. The Fantastic Four film wasn't going to explore that, because there simply wasn't time.

So I think going back to the Fantastic Four timeline in Avengers: Doomsday isn't about setting up more Fantastic Four. The team is already in the 616. The trip back is about establishing Doom's backstory. From there, I think we can deduce that Victor von Doom will be from the same Earth as the Fantastic Four, whatever designation Marvel ends up giving it.

Earth 828 and why it's probably not the Secret Wars incursion universe

One rumor did give us a number. The Fantastic Four's Earth is said to be Earth 828, one off from Earth 838, which we visited in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. That's where we saw John Krasinski's Reed Richards as part of the Illuminati. I'm not sure the number matters much, but I'll call it the 828 for the rest of this piece.

If Marvel plans to emulate Jonathan Hickman's 2015 Secret Wars, that story was built on a major incursion between the 1610 and the 616. I think the MCU's version will still be about the X-Men timeline threatening an incursion, not the Fantastic Four's. It's worth considering, though. If Doom truly hails from the 828 and that timeline is being used in shoots, perhaps it becomes the universe on a collision course with the 616.

I'd argue against that. A major part of Secret Wars was the heroes of the 1610 Ultimate universe battling the heroes of the 616. From what we've seen of the Fantastic Four timeline, there are no other heroes there, unless there's a major time jump forward, which wouldn't make sense. That makes it a poor candidate for the other incursion universe.

A recent plot leak said the story is a major incursion event, with a universe headed toward the 616. I think that will still be the X-Men universe, which hasn't been designated yet. If my speculation is right, it will be a retcon for all of the Fox properties. That's where we'll find the X-Men, including Deadpool and Wolverine, and it will be Earth 10005. So the matchup is 10005 and 616, not 828 and 616.

Why Doctor Doom's backstory needs the trip back to the 828

If we do revisit the 828, everything in these leaks points to it being for Doom's backstory. That makes sense. Marvel only has about a film or so to work with. Even with a post-credits scene in the Fantastic Four establishing him as Doctor Doom, there's a lot of work to do before he becomes God Emperor Doom in Secret Wars.

So wouldn't it make sense to go back to the early days of Victor von Doom and show how he became this villain? He should be one of Marvel's biggest bads of all time, and he has very little screen time to get there. I think a backstory was always on the table.

That same backstory could show how Reed Richards and Victor von Doom know each other, and what limited history has caused whatever lies between them. I think it would also explain why Doom skipped the world leaders meeting. There might already be a full backstory for these characters, and I think there likely is.

That's why Doom is missing from the meeting, why we only see the Latverian flag, and why Avengers: Doomsday revisits the Fantastic Four timeline. It's to show the backstory for Doom and his duality and relationship with Reed Richards. The theory seems pretty airtight to me, but there are always other ways of looking at things.