By HiCollector
For Marvel fans, it has been a long time since an upcoming movie has created as many questions as Avengers: Doomsday.
The film is currently scheduled for December 18, 2026, with Anthony and Joe Russo returning to direct and Robert Downey Jr. taking on the role of Victor von Doom/Doctor Doom. The story brings together characters associated with the Avengers, Fantastic Four, Wakanda, New Avengers and X-Men, making this one of Marvel’s biggest crossover events since Avengers: Endgame.
But Marvel is still keeping major parts of the story secret. And that’s where things get interesting.
What exactly is Avengers: Doomsday about?
Here are some of the biggest possibilities.
Doctor Doom May Be Trying to Save the Multiverse
The obvious assumption is that Doctor Doom is the villain. But what if it isn’t quite that simple?
One fascinating possibility is that Doom discovers the multiverse is collapsing and believes he is the only person capable of saving it. That would fit Doctor Doom extremely well. In Marvel comics, Doom isn’t simply a villain who wants to destroy everything. He frequently believes that the world would actually be better if he controlled it.
So Doomsday could present an interesting conflict: Doom may genuinely be trying to prevent the destruction of reality, while his solution requires him to become its ruler. Fan theories have similarly suggested that Doom could initially present himself as the solution to the multiversal crisis rather than simply announcing himself as its destroyer.
That could make him much more interesting than another villain trying to conquer Earth.
The Multiverse May Finally Be Collapsing
Marvel has spent years introducing alternate realities, timelines and universes. We’ve seen them throughout projects such as Loki, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. One concept that could become extremely important is an incursion—a catastrophic collision between universes. That gives Doomsday a logical reason to bring characters from different Marvel worlds together. Instead of everyone simply traveling through portals for a giant superhero reunion, their universes could literally be crashing into one another.
The Avengers may therefore face an impossible problem: What happens when saving your universe means another universe has to die?
That kind of conflict could explain why heroes who normally would be allies might actually fight one another.
Avengers vs. X-Men?
The return of familiar X-Men characters creates another intriguing possibility. What if the Avengers and X-Men aren’t initially on the same side? This is seen throughout the previews wherein heroes appear to be fighting each other……Is this because two universes are approaching an incursion. So are the Avengers are trying to save their Earth and the X-Men are trying to save theirs.
Remember neither group is evil. But perhaps only one universe can survive.
Suddenly an Avengers-versus-X-Men battle wouldn’t simply exist because audiences want to see superheroes fighting each other. There would be an actual reason for the conflict. Eventually, both teams could discover that Doom is manipulating—or exploiting—the situation. We know that the movie is based on the second series of the Secret Wars storyline – is this what is happening?
The Fantastic Four Could Be at the Center of Everything
If Doctor Doom is involved, Reed Richards cannot be far behind. The rivalry between Reed Richards and Victor von Doom is one of Marvel Comics’ most famous relationships. Two geniuses that could be opposite sides of a coin. Men who are both alike in many ways but have different views of reality.
Victor Von Doom is always linked to the superhero group; that makes the Fantastic Four especially important.
Reed may understand the scientific nature of the multiversal catastrophe better than almost anyone else, while Doom believes Reed is incapable of doing what is necessary to stop it. Could their conflict could become the intellectual center of Doomsday:
Two brilliant men trying to save reality—but disagreeing completely about how it should be done.
Franklin Richards Could Be Extremely Important
There is another member of the Fantastic Four family who could potentially become important: Franklin Richards. First appearing in Fantastic Four Annual #6 (November 1968), Franklin Benjamin Richards is an immensely powerful being with extraordinary reality-altering abilities and psionic powers beyond most Omega Level heroes.
That immediately makes him interesting in a movie about universes potentially being destroyed. Could Doom need Franklin’s power? Could Franklin somehow repair reality? Or could protecting him become one of the reasons the Fantastic Four become involved in the larger conflict?
Fan speculation has already connected Franklin to Doom and the multiversal crisis, although exactly what role he might play remains unconfirmed.
Why Does Doctor Doom Look Like Tony Stark?
This may be the biggest question of all….Robert Downey Jr. spent more than a decade playing Tony Stark/Iron Man.
Now he’s Doctor Doom. Marvel could simply treat Victor von Doom as an entirely unrelated character played by the same actor. But would Marvel really bring back the face of the MCU’s most recognizable hero without making that resemblance part of the story?
One theory is that this Doom is somehow a Tony Stark variant.
Another possibility is more interesting: he really is Victor von Doom, but his resemblance to Tony Stark becomes a psychological weapon against the Avengers. Imagine Peter Parker, Thor or other heroes seeing the face of Tony Stark standing underneath Doom’s mask. Could they hesitate? Could Doom deliberately use that resemblance to gain their trust? Or perhaps the audience won’t see Doom’s face very often at all.
Marvel hasn’t yet provided enough information to settle the question, and the Stark/Doom connection remains one of the most heavily debated parts of the movie.
Could Steve Rogers Have Accidentally Changed Everything?
Here’s one of the wilder theories.
At the end of Avengers: Endgame, Steve Rogers returned the Infinity Stones and apparently chose to remain in the past with Peggy Carter. But what if that decision had consequences? Remember the Ancient One’s warning in Endgame? Reality splits with every change in the timeline. Could Steve’s decision have created or altered a timeline that contributed to the instability of the multiverse?
Some fan theories have gone even further, suggesting that Steve and Peggy’s life together—or even their descendants—could somehow become important to the multiversal crisis. It’s speculative, but it would give the Russo brothers an interesting opportunity to connect Doomsday directly back to Endgame.
Doom Could Actually Win
This is the theory I find particularly interesting. Not to spoil anything about the second series of Secret Wars, but Doom had already won and built an entirely new battleworld filled with heroes….Doom was triumphant and literally a God among men.
What if Avengers: Doomsday is essentially the new Infinity War? In Infinity War, Thanos became Omnipotent accomplished his goal of wiping out half of the universe. Endgame was about dealing with the consequences.
Is Marvel using the same structure here? Using the Secret Wars storyline as a basis? If they are, then the Avengers, Fantastic Four and X-Men along with countless others spend Doomsday trying to stop the destruction of the multiverse.
They fail. Doom wins (Doomsday happens lol) –> The multiverse collapses. And Avengers: Secret Wars begins in whatever remains. That would explain why Doomsday and Secret Wars are so closely connected.
Battleworld Could Be Coming
Comic readers will immediately recognize where all of this could be heading. Battleworld.
Different versions of Marvel’s Secret Wars stories have involved worlds and realities being brought together into a strange patchwork existence. If Doomsday ends with multiple universes collapsing, Doom could potentially take the surviving pieces and construct a new reality. That would give Marvel an excuse to put almost anybody together.
Avengers. X-Men. Fantastic Four. Characters from alternate universes. Fox and Sony created characters….
Maybe even showcase heroes we’ve lost and villains we haven’t seen in years.
Everyone could theoretically exist on the same world. And sitting above all of them could be Doctor Doom.
Could Doomsday Reset the Entire MCU?
This leads to perhaps the biggest theory.
Maybe Doomsday and Secret Wars aren’t merely another pair of Avengers movies. Maybe they’re Marvel’s way of rebuilding the MCU. The multiverse gives Marvel an unusual opportunity. Characters who currently exist in different realities could eventually be combined into a single universe.
Imagine an MCU after Secret Wars where the Avengers, Fantastic Four and X-Men have always existed in the same world. Some history could remain unchanged. Other history could be rewritten. Certain characters could return with new actors. Others could disappear. Even some of the biggest fan speculation surrounding Doomsday has suggested that the current MCU could undergo some form of major reset through the events of these films.
What About Loki?
And then there is Loki. The conclusion of Loki Season 2 left him in an extraordinary position relative to the branching timelines. He was the source and binding that held the multiverse together. His Glorious Purpose discovered.
If the multiverse itself begins collapsing, it seems reasonable to wonder whether Doom eventually encounters—or challenges—the system Loki is maintaining. Could Doom attempt to take control of it? Could Loki become free to help the Avengers? Remember he died in the prime timeline. The Loki who saved the multiverse was from another timeline. That being said, could the TVA become involved? Or could the destruction of the existing multiverse make Loki’s current role impossible?
Marvel hasn’t revealed enough to answer those questions, but leaving Loki completely disconnected from a story about the fate of the multiverse would certainly be surprising.
And What Happened to Kang?
Originally, Marvel’s next Avengers movie was announced as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. Due to the personal issues of Johnathan Majors, Marvel’s plans subsequently changed and Doctor Doom became the central figure of Doomsday.
That leaves a major storytelling question….What happened to Kang?
Will Marvel simply move past Kang? Will Doom eliminate the remaining Kang threat? Could the collapse of timelines make the Council of Kangs irrelevant? Or could some portion of the abandoned Kang storyline be incorporated into Doom’s story?
We won’t know until Marvel provides more answers.
My Theory: Doomsday Is Marvel’s Next Infinity War
If I had to speculate about the broad shape of the story, I think Doomsday could follow a structure similar to Infinity War without copying it.
The Avengers discover that universes are colliding. The Fantastic Four become involved because Reed Richards understands what is happening. The X-Men arrive because their own reality is threatened. Doctor Doom offers a solution. The heroes reject the terrible price attached to that solution. Everyone fights desperately to save their respective worlds.
And they lose….
Doom saves what remains of reality—but remakes it in his own image (Just like in Secret Wars).
The movie ends with the Marvel universe fundamentally changed, setting the stage for Avengers: Secret Wars. That’s only a theory, but it would bring together many of the pieces Marvel has been putting on the board.
The Possibilities Are Almost Endless
That’s what makes Avengers: Doomsday so exciting to speculate about. Here are key points to consider:
- Robert Downey Jr. is back—but he’s Doctor Doom.
- The Avengers are returning (maybe even Iron man).
- The Fantastic Four came to the sacred timeline and are involved.
- The X-Men (and mutants) are now able to enter the equation.
- Multiple universes appear poised to combine or collide.
- And Secret Wars is waiting on the other side.
After years of Marvel building the Multiverse Saga, Doomsday may finally be the movie where all those alternate realities stop expanding and start crashing into each other.
The question may not be whether the Avengers can defeat Doctor Doom. It may be something much bigger:
Can the Avengers save their universe when saving one reality could mean destroying another?
Perhaps the most frightening possibility of all is that when the heroes finally understand what’s happening, Doctor Doom may have been right about the danger all along.
Avengers: Doomsday is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on December 18, 2026 – can’t wait to see it.