Avengers: Doomsday Theory: Doom Poses as a Hero While Doctor Strange Joins Him

My theory is that Doctor Doom starts Avengers: Doomsday as a wolf in sheep's clothing, pretending to be a hero while he is the villain all along. Robert Downey Jr. is returning to play Doom, one of the most iconic villains in superhero history, so we know he's the villain. What interests me is how he goes from hero to villain, and the specific reason he chooses to destroy the multiverse.

Along the way, I think Doctor Strange joins him. That's why we've seen that leaked concept art of Doom on his throne with Doctor Strange right next to him. It's a little like the comics, but with a different twist. There are also several Easter eggs that I think lead Doom specifically to the Earth 616 universe. That's a big question for me: why would the Fantastic Four travel to our 616 Sacred Timeline when Reed Richards doesn't seem to know much about multiversal travel yet?

A report puts Doom aboard the Fantastic Four's ship to Earth 616

The starting point is a report that Doom is on the ship with the Fantastic Four. Doom shows up in the post-credits scene of The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The expectation was that he would kidnap Franklin and leave, and that this would be why the Fantastic Four go to the 616 universe. According to this report, if it is accurate, it won't be like that. Instead, Doom is on board that ship with them, heading specifically to 616.

I think this checks out. In First Steps, Reed had only just figured out teleportation, so it doesn't seem like he's cracked time travel or multiversal travel yet. Those are different things, even if there are similarities. The post-credits scene is a bit of a time jump into the future, so maybe Reed has figured it out by then. But we know Doom has definitely figured it out.

Doom also seems to have a way to see everything, because he finds out that Steve Rogers caused an incursion that affected him. To learn that, you'd have to look back in time and watch Steve accidentally cause an incursion that would eventually destroy Doom's universe. From what we've heard, Doom had a wife and a son, or children, and they were destroyed because of an incursion or something Steve did.

A second claim comes from another source: in Avengers: Doomsday, Victor Von Doom asks the Fantastic Four for help with the incursions. They travel together to the MCU in their ship to warn everyone, then join forces to head to the X-Men universe, the source of the next incursion, to stop it before that universe destroys their own.

I believe Doom first tried to save the multiverse before realizing it couldn't be saved

I think that by the time we see Doom unite with the Fantastic Four, the Avengers and the X-Men, he has already figured out that the multiverse can't be saved. I do believe that at first he was trying to save it, and this is probably something they'll show us. After what happened to his family he was probably vengeful and wanted to know why it happened. But I think he starts out less vengeful because he doesn't yet know the real reason. All he knows is that an incursion destroyed his universe and his family.

So he travels through time trying to fix the multiverse and stop incursions, maybe going back to discover the source. That's when I think he discovers two things. First, that Steve Rogers directly caused the incursion that cost him his family. Second, that the multiverse can't be saved. I think it works like a domino effect, which is at least how it plays out in the comics: the first incursion sets off a chain, and the whole multiverse is going to be destroyed.

In the Time Runs Out and Secret Wars comics, that's ultimately what happens. The multiverse is destroyed until, I think, about 12 universes are left, then the final incursions hit and Doom creates Battleworld. In the comics, Doom spends a very long time with the Molecule Man killing other Molecule Men to stop the explosions that kill universes. At the end he realizes it's going to happen anyway. Doctor Strange is with him, and Doom asks whether it isn't worth saving something. Strange agrees that it's worth it to save one thing.

I think Avengers: Doomsday is already past that point. I'm sure they'll show some backstory, and I'm sure Doom will say he tried to save the multiverse and stop the incursions, but that it has already begun and can't be stopped. His real plan, and the reason he's pretending to be the hero, is to rule over one universe himself, which we know happens in Secret Wars with Battleworld. The difference from the comics is that in the comics it's a last minute decision. Here, I think it's premeditated and calculated.

Why I think Doom wants revenge on Steve Rogers

That brings me to why Doom seeks out Steve Rogers, which is also why we got that first trailer featuring Steve. There are many possible reasons we could be seeing him. But I think Doom does want revenge on Steve for causing an incursion that killed his own world and his family.

Doom is collecting powerful people, and I think he may be after objects like the Ten Rings too

How does Doom get the power to rule? We know he's collecting people like Franklin Richards. He might not kidnap Franklin at first, but I think he ultimately does. There's also a character with the powers of Eternity. I don't believe he's only collecting people, though. I think he's going to seek out objects too, and that's why he specifically goes to 616.

I think many people are forgetting about the beacon the Ten Rings set off. We saw it in the Shang-Chi post-credits scene, when Bruce Banner, Captain Marvel and Wong were inspecting the rings with Shang-Chi and Katy and said the rings had set off a beacon. They never said to whom. That was originally supposed to be for Kang. With Kang out of the equation, I think Marvel will simply change it and say it was for Doom. Doom is after any kind of power he can harness.

The official concept art already shows him with two emblems on his chest: Captain Marvel's star and Thor's hammer. So it seems he has already gathered power somehow, perhaps from a Thor and a Captain Marvel from different universes. We've also heard that his armor has powers that keep his body intact, because it isn't only his face that's scarred but his whole body. If you survived an incursion, maybe you'd be in bad shape too.

Besides the Ten Rings, I think Doom comes to Earth because of a beacon from the bangles that Kamala Khan and Captain Marvel have. I think this could be how they reach the X-Men universe. We know Monica Rambeau is there, and Captain Marvel is going to go there to try to get her back. She'll have one of the bangles, which will send a signal. So Doom follows the signals of the Ten Rings and one of the bangles to 616.

The X-Men universe could give Doom a bangle and the Phoenix Force

If Captain Marvel is in the X-Men universe, I think Doom will tell everyone they have to go there because it's the cause of an incursion with their universe and they need to fix it. But I believe he wants two things from that world. One is the bangle. I believe if Captain Marvel is already there, there's a chance that she just stays in 616 when Doom gets there.

The other is the Phoenix Force. We saw the trailer featuring the X-Men, and Cyclops is going wild in it. It's amazing, a perfect scene. Many people are saying Marvel likes to edit things out of trailers, so perhaps there's a dead Jean Grey somewhere in there, or perhaps Doom takes one of Cyclops's kids who has the Phoenix Force. Either way, I do believe the Phoenix Force is what Doom seeks from the X-Men universe.

It fits the pattern of him grabbing truly powerful people and objects so he can have that power for himself: the Ten Rings, the bangles, someone with some of the powers of Eternity, and Franklin Richards with the Power Cosmic. It makes a lot of sense to me.

The Library of Worlds is where I think Doom wins over Doctor Strange

At some point Doom will obviously reveal that he's the villain. I think he then reveals his plans to Doctor Strange, and I think this happens in the Library of Worlds. We've heard a couple of reports that the Library of Worlds will be in Avengers: Doomsday and will serve as Doom's base. In the comics it was created by the Beyonders, who essentially created the multiverse, so they could observe everything. From there you can go to any universe, and it holds a record of everything that has happened.

That's how I think Doom will know everything that has happened throughout time, and how he'll discover that Steve Rogers caused the incursion that killed his family. When Strange gets there, I think Doom will tell him to trust him and let him show him something. Picking up directly from Multiverse of Madness, I think Doom will take him to the Library of Worlds and show him that he and his variants have caused a lot of incursions, and that he's a pretty big reason the multiverse is going to be destroyed.

Then he shows Strange that it can't be stopped. It's a domino effect, and the multiverse will be destroyed. Much like in the comics, I think Doom will ask, "Isn't it better to save one thing than let everything die?" And he'll say he can do it, but there's something in the way: Loki.

A battle at the TVA reportedly ends with Doom winning

The Library of Worlds exists outside of space and time, so the TVA can't see Doom there. But we've heard many reports that a giant battle happens at the TVA and that Doom ultimately wins. We know Doom is going to win in this film, because that's what takes us to Secret Wars and Battleworld.

A recent report also says Strange decides to join Doom, and that he does it out of necessity. It's not that he thinks the heroes are bad, but that he believes this is the best way to survive. Doom probably pitches taking the people of the 616 universe, some X-Men, and what's left of the surviving worlds, and putting them all into one to save everybody.

That's another hero angle Doom could believe about himself and pitch to others: everything is going to die no matter what, but if he gets the power he will save parts of all their universes and they'll all live. Isn't living better than dying? Some people will obviously insist they should try to save everything. That's when I think Doom tells them he has seen everything and he's doing it his way, and he's revealed as the big villain.

I believe he destroys the TVA so it can't interfere, since it's a huge multiversal agency with Loki at the top. We've heard Loki has a tremendous story in this film, and Tom Hiddleston himself has said, "This has never been done." His role is gigantic.

I believe Doom ends up like He Who Remains, and I think that could be his downfall

I think Doom is replacing Kang in many ways, especially when it comes to the TVA and the Sacred Timeline. I believe he takes out the TVA and essentially does what Kang did, ending up like He Who Remains. He'll have one secluded universe while the rest of the multiverse is destroyed. That world will be Battleworld, with everything under his control.

The difference is that he'll be there on that planet, ruling as God Emperor Doom, and I think that's his downfall. If he's there physically, he can be attacked physically, and eventually the Avengers take him out. That's probably what Doctor Strange might see as well. Even without the Time Stone, he might find a way to see different realities play out and realize that everything is going to be destroyed, so the best option is to join Doom and eventually attack him. Keep your enemies close.

That's what I believe Doom's real plan is in Avengers: Doomsday. I do believe Marvel will tie in the Ten Rings and the bangles. At least I would think and hope they would, because those are story threads we've already seen set up in the MCU.