Doctor Doom theory: how Franklin Richards makes him a god

One of the biggest questions about Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars might have been answered: how does Doom become God Emperor Doom, the king and god who brings Battleworld into being? Based on a couple of reports that surfaced at the time, my theory is that the answer is Franklin Richards, the son of Reed Richards and Sue Storm.

The reason this question matters is that Doom has been set up in the MCU very differently from the comics, or more accurately, he hasn't been set up at all. If I'm right, the same mechanism that lets the multiverse be destroyed could also be how it gets rebuilt.

Why Doctor Doom's path to God Emperor Doom is a problem for the MCU

In the comics, the Time Runs Out storyline leads directly into Secret Wars, and it's vital to what happens there. The MCU has nothing comparable building up to Doomsday. That's an issue, because Doomsday and Secret Wars together seem to be covering the whole Secret Wars comics story. It isn't only Avengers: Secret Wars that will mirror that comic. Both films are essentially one story.

By not building up Doctor Doom, Marvel has somewhat created a problem for itself. In Time Runs Out, Doom is trying to save the multiverse, and he's working with a key partner to do it. That partner is very important to how Doom becomes God Emperor Doom, and so are the Beyonders. Neither exists in the MCU so far. Whether it's one Beyonder, as in the first Secret Wars, or several, as in the second, they haven't been introduced, and neither has Doom's partner.

That seemingly points to Marvel Studios probably not going that route. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. Marvel never 100% adapts anything from the comics. It takes inspiration and loosely adapts stories for the big screen, so that's expected. But Doom still needs to become God Emperor Doom. He's the new villain who is supposed to be bigger than the last one, bigger than Thanos, who wiped out half the universe. Doom is seemingly going to wipe out the multiverse, in a sense, so he has to become powerful enough to be that threat.

How Doom gets his power in the Secret Wars comics

In the comics, the Beyonders are god beings. Doom defeats them by sending what is essentially a giant bomb: a container full of versions of that same partner. When the Beyonders fall, Doom's partner takes their powers and gives them to Doom. That's how he gets such enormous power.

Doctor Strange is there with them, but he turns the power down. He doesn't want it, and he walks away.

So what could do that for Doom in the MCU, especially when we haven't met beings that powerful? Marvel Studios could introduce them, but it's getting a little late for that, and it might be too overwhelming for the audience. I mean casual moviegoers here, not people who live this every day.

Franklin Richards, the MyTimeToShineHello report and the Fantastic Four post credits scene

The lack of buildup for Doom is the problem, but according to a couple of new reports at the time, that buildup is coming. According to a report from the insider MyTimeToShineHello, Doom will take Franklin Richards and use him for his plans.

That lines up with another report about the post credits scene for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which had not yet been released when I wrote this. There were test screenings for the film, The Hollywood Reporter was in attendance, and the outlet confirmed there was a post credits scene. The scene reportedly shows Sue Storm with her son Franklin. She leaves the room for a moment, and when she comes back, Doctor Doom is there next to Franklin. So I think there's validity to the insider's claim.

Marvel had also already signaled how powerful Franklin will be. In material shown at CCXP, Galactus can sense how powerful Franklin is before he's even born, and Sue goes into labor while the Silver Surfer tries to grab the baby from her. They're clearly going to establish that Franklin is an incredible being.

Could Franklin Richards replace Molecule Man in Doomsday and Secret Wars?

One leak said Franklin is going to have godlike power of molecular manipulation. The second I heard that, I thought of Molecule Man. It isn't comic accurate, but perhaps Franklin could take Molecule Man's place in the story of Doomsday and Secret Wars.

Story wise, this would solve the big problem of having no Molecule Man and no Beyonders, because Franklin is being introduced in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The title itself is also a nod to baby Franklin's first steps. That's good world, universe, or even multiverse building, because it establishes that Franklin is something special.

In the comics, he can create universes and change reality. When Norman Osborn is in the Baxter Building shooting at Franklin and his sister Valeria, Franklin turns his toy gun into a real one and shoots Osborn. Everybody is confused, because he's clearly holding a toy gun, but his powers made the bullet real. Introducing Franklin in First Steps means introducing a godlike being into the universe, and the multiverse. That's what has been missing: a way for Doom to ascend to God Emperor Doom.

Doom, Loki and the choice to save one thing

Franklin being the way Doom ascends makes sense, especially combined with something we'd previously heard: Doom is trying to get to Loki. Loki is holding the multiverse together. In the Loki season 2 finale, when the Loom broke, the branches were dying, and Loki powered them back on. That's why he's there. He's essentially the core of the multiverse, and that might be a power Doom wants.

In Time Runs Out, where Doom is with Molecule Man and eventually Doctor Strange, Doom is trying to save the multiverse. He learns of its impending destruction: the Beyonders are going to destroy every universe in the multiverse. He works with Molecule Man to stop it, but ultimately they realize they can't. Instead of letting everything die, Doom decides to try to save one thing, and even Doctor Strange agrees. That might be something we see with Franklin.

Franklin Richards' precognition and an Infinity War style plot device

In the comics, Franklin is a complicated character because of his powers. He can age himself up and back down again, and he has precognition, so he can see into the future. Perhaps he sees that Doom could be the only way to save something.

That would be like Infinity War, where Doctor Strange saw all of those outcomes and there was only one way to win. The Russo brothers and Christopher Markus are behind Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, and together with Stephen McFeely they did the same for Infinity War and Endgame. Perhaps they use a similar plot device to take Doom from man to god. Perhaps we get a scene where Franklin realizes it's the only way, but also sees how it can all be undone and the multiverse eventually brought back, which I believe he's ultimately going to do.

Many of us thought it was quick for Marvel to introduce Reed and Sue's kids, or at least one of them, when we're meeting the family for the first time in the MCU. I believe that's because Franklin is going to play an enormously important role in Doomsday and Secret Wars. There's also leaked concept art showing Doom on his throne with Franklin and Sue by his side, so I think that's most likely going to happen. If this all comes together like I think it will, Franklin will have his hand in the destruction of the multiverse and the creation of Battleworld, and in its restoration at the very end.