Insider Charles Murphy Details How the Russos Reportedly Planned to Handle Doom Looking Like Tony Stark in Avengers: Doomsday

According to Murphy, none of the 616 heroes would see Doom's face, but the audience would, and the story would use that gap to build suspense.

I went a couple of years without covering Murphy, but he became a lot more active around this time. He writes his own editorial at Murphy's Multiverse, which covers a lot of news. He used to be extremely active in the scoop game and had moved away from it, but in the week before this piece he was back at it. I covered his first round of Avengers: Doomsday details in full. This second round filled in a lot of blanks, confirmed some of the scoops that were already out there, and added context to other details that made them seem a lot more interesting. The usual spoiler warning applies from here.

Murphy Says No 616 Hero Would See Doom's Face in Avengers: Doomsday

The insider opened with a simple line: "Doomsday is dramatic irony." In his words: "As has been already shared by 30 plus scoopers already, none of the 616 heroes will see Doom's face, though the audience will, allowing them to have some critical information that should create some suspense."

The idea, as Murphy described it, was that viewers would be holding critical information the characters on screen did not have, and that imbalance would generate the tension. He added that it sounded like the Russos had used the device cleverly. Murphy was also upfront that this particular detail was not new, noting that more than 30 scoopers had already shared it.

Murphy Frames Avengers: Doomsday as a Rhyme With Civil War, With Captain America as Doom's Target

Murphy then drew a comparison to Captain America: Civil War, and he was careful to separate what had been shared with him from his own reading of it. He said he would editorialize a bit but would be clear about what was shared and how he was interpreting it. In Civil War, he pointed out, the deaths of Howard and Maria at the hands of Bucky are shown to set Tony on the road to becoming Iron Man, which is why Tony ultimately ends up in the suit. Although the Winter Soldier was to blame, Steve also became the focus of Tony's anger.

In Doomsday, he said, it sounded as though Loki was at fault for the relocation, and Rogers would be Doom's target, which he again noted 30 scoopers had already shared. Without getting into heavy spoilers, he said small details led him to believe the Russos were going to play on the audience's knowledge of who is behind Doom's mask to lay out some rhyming beats that would give viewers a sense of familiarity.

According to Murphy, rhyming with Civil War, Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame would create a sense in the audience that they know what is coming, which would let the Russos pull the rug hard from under them. He clarified that he did not mean fans who follow other scoopers and had already heard all of this. On the fan debate around the matchup, he said: "Where it's caused a lot of consternation among fans from what I'm seeing Cap vs. Doom will be very smartly done." He also said Doom's origins, as in the comics, would be tied to his obsession with fixing a problem not directly tied to Rogers.

Rhyming Beats Are About Familiarity, Not a Cop Out

When Murphy talks about rhyming beats, he does not mean rhyming dialogue or lines. He means there would be certain structural points in the narrative, the plot and the way the film feels that key the audience in to beats they have felt and seen before. This happens quite often in stories that sit in the same franchise, whether sequels or prequels. We saw it in Star Wars, where a film takes the very common structure of a first, second and third act and then fills it in with very common beats along those acts, almost as if we have seen it before.

You might think that is a cop out, just doing what they have already done. I don't think so. When it is done correctly, it is meant to invoke that sense of familiarity with the franchise and deliver the nostalgia you expect from a film living up to the others and feeling like part of that group.

Plus, the blueprint worked. Whatever groundwork they laid, whatever they learned and whatever system they had by the time they got to Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, it worked. So whatever the best parts of that system were, and whatever worked narratively in telling a huge ensemble crossover like this, it is not surprising at all to hear they were going back to it. The big new change is Doctor Doom looking like Tony Stark, being played by Robert Downey Jr., and the tension between him and Captain America.

Why Captain America as Doom's Main Target Doesn't Worry Me

I know what Murphy was alluding to with that consternation remark. A lot of people have complained that Doom's whole thing is his duality with Reed Richards. I have talked about this before: Doom has had plenty of adversaries in the comics, and there are some very classic Doctor Doom runs that have nothing to do with Reed Richards.

This is also just the introduction of Doom and Reed Richards into the MCU. Recast for Doctor Doom or not, you have to imagine there is a future for Doom in the MCU somewhere down the road, with Reed Richards and Victor von Doom going on huge arcs. There is plenty of time for that relationship to play out on the big screen over the next, say, 10 years. It doesn't all need to be done at once.

So if Captain America feels like Doom's main target in this film, as has been implied many times before and as Murphy basically confirmed, it is definitely not going to be the end of the world for Doctor Doom, pun totally intended. There is still plenty of good Doom they can do without necessarily setting up the duality with Reed Richards.

Steve Rogers in the 828 Could Tie Doom to the Fantastic Four

Now that we know Steve is in the 828, which is where the Fantastic Four are from, I bet part of Doom's origin will be included, showing some sort of relationship that already exists between him and the Fantastic Four. As has been said many times, although Sue will be startled, she will apparently know who Victor von Doom is.

Remember, Doom was noticeably absent from that UN meeting in Fantastic Four, but it confirmed there is a Doctor Doom in that timeline. Then in the post credits scene, we know that Doctor Doom is most likely from the 828.

My Theory: Steve's Relocation Sets Victor von Doom on the Path to Becoming Doctor Doom

My final thought is that I can fill in the blanks a bit more clearly on what Murphy was getting at with these rhyming beats between Civil War, Bucky and Captain America. What he is basically implying is this. In Civil War, the death of Tony's parents is tied into the arc that set Tony Stark on becoming Iron Man. Tied in with Bucky being responsible was Steve Rogers knowing what had happened but choosing not to share it with Tony, and that became part of Tony's anger.

What I think happens here is that Steve Rogers will again be the target of Robert Downey Jr.'s anger, this time as Victor von Doom. In this case, it will be the relocation that causes the death of Victor's family and sets him on the path to becoming Doctor Doom. In the same way Bucky killing Tony's parents in the 616 led him to become Iron Man, Steve Rogers' relocation killing Victor's family in the 828 would lead him to become Doctor Doom. That sort of makes sense to me.

Does Captain America as Doom's main target work for you, or should the Russos have centred Doom on Reed Richards from the start?