An eagle-eyed Marvel fan has translated the secret message written in Latverian runes seen on the jacket of Avengers: Doomsday star Robert Downey Jr. during this weekend’s Comic Con panel.
While the panel featured plenty of Avengers chatter — and confirmation that Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool will appear in the movie — Marvel’s big Comic Con showing also held a secret hidden in plain view: a string of runes that covered Downey Jr.’s clothing, left for fans to decipher.
Brilliantly, these runes also featured on the Latverian coffee bags previously given out to fans at another recent convention, SXSW London, and it’s from these bags that Popverse’s Grant DeArmitt was able to begin working out the language to discover what exactly the new runes were saying.
A coffee shop pop-up for ‘AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY’ has been spotted in London.
“Dom Latveria Coffee … Richards was wrong.”
(via cinemakaination | IG) pic.twitter.com/e3YelaV4e8
— Cosmic Marvel (@cosmic_marvel) June 2, 2026
At first, the process seemed easy — as the runes directly replace English letters 1-for-1. But the language also appears to spell some words differently (the runes for “coffee” spell the word “kavi”, for example, requiring some logic to work around a more phonetic alternate spelling).
This can be seen in one section of the runes, which can be translated to “THERE IS NO PROMISE OF TOMORRO”, with the missing letter of “tomorrow” just apparently how it is written in Latverian.
Other runes elsewhere on the jacket spell out the words “JUSTICE” and “REVENGE”, while more spell out “TO THE VICTOR” (a fun nod to Doom’s name) and “GO THE SPOILS.”
One runic message still needs deciphering, as Downey Jr.’s jacket only showed a glimpse of it. Still, though, most of what was written has now been unearthed, and it’s a series of typically Doom-like proclamations that the Avengers would do well to take heed of. Here’s hoping he’s wearing the jacket when he pops up in Doomsday, and the Avengers are quick to translate what it says.
Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters December 18, 2026. Here’s the official synopsis:
“Universes collide and the Multiverse Saga begins its final chapter in Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Doomsday,” the movie’s newly-revealed description reads. “Beloved heroes from three distinct universes will be set on a deadly collision course and ultimately face an existential threat unlike anything they’ve ever encountered. This epic film will lay the foundation for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”
Last week, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige revealed that he had mapped out the company’s movie plans up to 2042, hinting at a “streamlined, simplified” universe post-Avengers: Secret Wars, a big push for the new X-Men, and plans to eventually unveil a live-action Miles Morales.
For all the news and announcements from Hall H, catch up with everything announced at Marvel Studios; Comic Con 2026 panel right here.
Image credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
