Avengers: Doomsday Should Focus on Doom Not the Heroes

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2026 promises to be a major year for Marvel. This summer will see the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and the year will finish with the highly anticipated Avengers: Doomsday. Doomsday is shaping up to be the biggest superhero event since Avengers: Endgame, as it will begin the final phase of the Multiverse Saga, leading into Avengers: Secret Wars. While fans are excited about Doomsday, there’s noticeably more worry and skepticism compared to the anticipation surrounding Avengers: Infinity War.

While the Marvel Cinematic Universe has had some recent successes, it hasn’t been as strong overall since the conclusion of the Infinity Saga. Even its best movies and shows haven’t clearly set up a major future event. Disney is hoping the upcoming film, Doomsday, will re-energize the MCU and get fans excited again, but a disappointing release could significantly damage the franchise. Fortunately, the directors of the popular Infinity War and Endgame, Anthony and Joe Russo, are returning to direct Doomsday, and they should consider using a similar approach that worked so well in Infinity War.

Avengers: Infinity War Revolved Around Its Villain

The directors, the Russos, have explained that Thanos is actually the central character of Infinity War, despite being the villain. The story mainly focuses on his journey, beginning with the destruction of his home world and concluding with a scene of him believing he’s saved the universe. The film even hints at his return in Endgame. Essentially, Infinity War is Thanos’ story, and the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy act as challenges he must overcome.

A similar storytelling method could really work for a Doomsday film. The key is building up the villain beforehand, like Marvel did with Thanos. Thanos appeared briefly in earlier Avengers movies and had a larger role in Guardians of the Galaxy, giving audiences time to understand him. We also learned about Thanos through characters who had a personal connection to him, which helped create a more compelling narrative.

Even without knowing much about him beforehand, the movies made audiences eager to see this character appear. That hasn’t happened with Doom. His only appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far was a brief, silent cameo in a post-credits scene for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, where he remained unseen and didn’t speak.

Doctor Doom hasn’t been referenced by any other characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, leaving his connection to the Fantastic Four – his classic rivals – a mystery. For Doom to be a convincing villain, the movie needs to clearly establish his powers, personality, and reasons for acting the way he does, and that’s easier to achieve if he’s the main focus.

Avengers: Doomsday Will Be the MCU’s Most Complicated Film

Focusing the movie on Doom as the main character would simplify the story. The project already has 27 actors returning, with hints of more to come. However, managing all these heroes is complex. Infinity War only had to bring together the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and the people of Wakanda. This new film, though, will need to coordinate the New Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and other independent heroes like Shang-Chi.

Jumping around between different groups could make the story confusing, but centering it on Doom would simplify things. If heroes appear only when they directly connect to Doom’s story, it will feel more seamless. While Infinity War didn’t always follow this, it demonstrated that making heroes react to the villain’s actions keeps the story focused and understandable.

Focusing the story on Doctor Doom carries some risk. Unlike Thanos, his Marvel Cinematic Universe version hasn’t been established yet. While Robert Downey Jr. is popular with fans, his previous role as Justin Hammer received a mixed reaction. Some believe it was a publicity grab, and others are upset that Doom’s Romani background was overlooked once more. Many also find it strange that the actor who played Tony Stark will now be the next major villain.

Downey has overcome big hurdles in his career before. He was the first actor to play a superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and his performance was crucial to the franchise’s success, especially in films like Endgame. He even helped create one of the most iconic moments in Iron Man through improvisation. Downey could potentially make Doomsday a huge success, similar to Infinity War and Endgame, but the movie needs to give his character enough screen time to truly stand out.

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2026-02-14 01:39