Disney has teased the rise of Robert Downey Jr’s Doctor Doom with a fresh look at the character’s design, superpowers, and a big tease for how he may establish his dominance in Avengers: Doomsday.
At the Showcase Expo in China, Disney put on a lightshow spectacular to showcase Avengers: Doomsday’s star villain. Of particular note was a recreation of the iconic moment from Marvel Comics’ 2015 Secret Wars run, where Doom kills Thanos in dramatic fashion.
In the comics, Doom punches Thanos’ chest and pulls out his spine, instantly turning the all-powerful titan into a skeleton. And now, Disney has showcased a new version of this moment — leading some to suggest Avengers: Doomsday will feature a similar scene.
An official ‘AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY’ light show was showcased at a Walt Disney Studios Marketing Expo in Shanghai. pic.twitter.com/Z3Vd0iwgP9
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 11, 2025
Of course, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thanos is already very dead — he was snapped out of existence by Tony Stark in the finale of Avengers: Endgame. But instead, MCU fans believe Disney may have a different supervillain in its sights to get skeleton-ised — Kang — which would certainly tie up his storyline.
While there’s no confirmation that Kang will be revisited following Disney’s firing of actor Jonathon Majors, some fans believe Doomsday will do something, however brief, to show Doom taking over as the Avengers’ main threat.
It’s easy to imagine the film opening with Doom exterminating the very last Council of Kangs member (perhaps we see them from behind, or in silhouette, so Majors isn’t required). With this, the ending of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is swiftly acknowledged, Doom’s quest to rule the multiverse is immediately established, and his power is quickly made clear — before the supervillain turns his sights on our beloved Avengers.
Little is known officially of Avengers: Doomsday’s plot, but many fans believe that Doctor Doom will be introduced as a relatable antagonist, on a mission to stop the multiverse from imploding after repeated incursions between universes by our pesky heroes. If so, squashing every version of Kang would likely be on Doom’s to-do list, before they cause an all-out multiversal war.
The only issue then is the fact that many of the MCU’s finest heroes (Loki, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel) have also been meddling with the multiverse in recent years — meaning that Doom may also have them in his sights. And, if recent set photos are to be believed, it may also mean Avengers: Endgame’s happy ending for one character is also suddenly at risk.
With just over a year to go until Avengers: Doomsday launches in theaters, Disney is already amping up the hype around the film. Last week brought our first proper look at Robert Downey Jr. dressed as Doctor Doom in promotional photos, just days after the film’s director duo, the Russo brothers, offered a cryptic social media tease.
Image credit: Marvel Comics.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
