Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige is hitting back at Doomsday critics who feel like Dr. Doom hasn’t had the necessary buildup to crown him the next big bad of the MCU in the way that Thanos was back in the days of Infinity War.
It’s a conversation that’s been brewing on social media in the weeks leading up to Comic Con, and now that Marvel’s highly-anticipated Hall H panel has concluded, it’s boiling over.
After the panel, Feige was directly asked about his thoughts on the idea that, compared to Thanos’ arc in the Infinity Saga, Victor Von Doom just hasn’t had the necessary screentime to build himself up as the major villain that Avengers: Doomsday is making him out to be.
In response, the Marvel prez referenced the countless memes that cropped up after Thanos’ post-credits scenes in Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Age of Ultron, saying that fans at the time felt he wasn’t doing much of anything.
“The Thanos buildup has built up in people’s heads over the years,” he said in a carpet interview with Brandon Davis. “He sat on a chair at the end. He put on a gauntlet and said, ‘I’ll do it myself.’ And he yelled at Ronin on a video screen briefly. I remember the memes making fun of Thanos. ‘He’s just sitting in a chair.’ There was a Twitter feed updating every day, ‘I’m still sitting in my chair.’ It was more clever than that, it was funny.”
Then Feige dropped a hint that shed a bit more light on the future of the MCU; Doom will be officially introduced in Doomsday in the same way Thanos was fully introduced in Endgame.
“When we got to Infinity War we said, ‘This is really the introduction of Thanos the people.’ That’s how that movie was built. That’s what we’re doing with Doom. Doomsday is an introduction to the story of Doom. You peel the onion, you learn things about him as you go. It’s very much meant for audiences that know and love him from the comics and audiences who have no clue who he is,” he continued.
Kevin Feige addresses fans saying that Doctor Doom has no buildup compared to Thanos:
“The Thanos buildup has built up in people’s heads over the years. He sat on a chair at the end. He put on a gauntlet and said, ‘I’ll do it myself.’ And he yelled at Ronin on a video screen… pic.twitter.com/87nXC1WvL6
— Avengers Updates (@AvengersUpdated) July 26, 2026
It’s highly likely that the fight against Doom doesn’t stop in Doomsday, and that we will have several more films in between the major battles exploring new stories within the MCU.
Marvel is certainly building up Doomsday to be their next big hit, though, given the sheer size of the film’s cast, many of whom showed up to the Hall H Panel. Of those who turned up, the next Black Panther, David Jonsson, was also in attendance, who made his big reveal for Black Panther III to the cheers of thousands of excited fans.
A new Ghost Rider movie was revealed, as well, with Ryan Gosling confirmed to play the titular role. Other than that, no major news was revealed — but with Spider-Man: Brand New Day releasing later this month and D23 happening in August, it’s possible we could see more of Marvel’s plans in the coming weeks.
Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she’s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.
