Summary
Avengers: Doomsdayis the official title ofAvengers 5, leading many to question if it holds any deeper meaning than first thought. After the massivemovie and TV reveals of San Diego Comic-Con 2024, Marvel Studios has an exciting future ahead. Not only do the three films being released in 2025 look incredibly promising, but thelist of upcoming Marvel movieshas been solidified now that the confusion surroundingAvengers 5has been nullified.
Given the issues surroundingJonathan Majors' role as Kang the Conqueror, Marvel Studios has decided to move away from the character completely. What wasAvengers: The Kang Dynastyis nowAvengers: Doomsday, making up one of the twoAvengersmovies set for release in the MCU’s Phase 6. WithMarvel’s Kang replacement now confirmed,Avengers: Doomsdayis drawing the attention of many, not only for its returning directors and cast members, but for its title too.
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Doomsday May Refer To A 2011 Marvel Comics Event
Avengers 5 May Take Inspiration From A Short Marvel Run
In 2011,a 12-issue comic run was released by Marvel Comics titledUltimate Comics: Doomsday. In this run, the remaining members of The Fantastic Four teamed up with other Marvel superheroes in the Ultimate Marvel universe to uncover the identity of a mysterious villain who is hellbent on destroying the timeline. Eventually, it is uncovered that the villain is actually Reed Richards from the Ultimate Marvel universe who had been driven to villainy by past trauma.
In this run of comics, Reed is affected by a previous run calledUltimatum, as well as his break-up with Sue Storm and the deaths of his parents. Although it is later revealed that Reed orchestrated the death of his parents, he continues his path of evil tendencies under the name Maker. Eventually, Maker is defeated by a group of superheroes including The Thing, Spider-Woman, Spider-Man, and Carol Danvers among others.
Doomsday Certainly Refers To RDJ’s Doctor Doom
A Returning Marvel Actor Lends His Character’s Name To Avengers 5
More so than theUltimate Comics: Doomsdayrun, it is safe to assume thatAvengers: Doomsday’s title is in reference to the film’s villain. When the movie was announced at SDCC 2024, it was confirmed thatRobert Downey Jr. would return to the MCU as Doctor Doom. Downey Jr. will portray the iconic Marvel Comics villain in bothAvengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Wars, with the Russo Brothers returning to direct after helmingCaptain America: The Winter Soldier,Captain America: Civil War,Avengers: Infinity War, andAvengers: Endgame.
With Downey Jr.’s Doom serving as the Avengers' primary villain in Phase 6,Avengers: Doomsdayrefers to him. Doomsday is a common word used to describe a time of great danger, while also containing the word Doom taken from Victor von Doom’s name.Given thatAvengers 5will see the team attempt to stop whatever Doom’s plan will be, the title works on both fronts; Not only does it tease Doom’s threat to the MCU, but it plays off of his supervillain name too.
What Avengers 5’s Doomsday Title Means For The Story
Avengers 5’s Title Could Be Deeper Than Surface Level
A stylized version of the Avengers logo in green, with the subtitle Doomsday underneath, featuring a white shine on the letters.
DespiteDoomsdayreferring to RDJ’s Doom on the surface, it likely has a deeper meaning for the film’s story too. Going back to the aforementionedUltimate Comics: Doomsdayrun, this story could influence that ofAvengers 5. As mentioned,this comic run centers around a familiar face in the Marvel multiverse breaking bad and becoming a villainwho threatens various universes. While it is unlikely thatAvengers: Doomsdayinvolves Reed in this manner by turning him into the Maker, RDJ’s casting could see Reed swapped out for Iron Man.
The Russo Brothers hinted that RDJ will play Victor von Doom rather than a Tony Stark variant in the Avengers movies, but this remains to be seen.
This could also take cues from Brian Michael Bendis’Infamous Iron Manstory, in which Doctor Doom takes on the moniker of Iron Man afterCivil War II.Avengers: Doomsdaycould combine these stories by reversingInfamous Iron Manand seeing a variant of Tony Stark becoming Doctor Doom, rather than the other way around. This would be how Tony would substitute for Reed becoming the Maker inUltimate Comics: Doomsday, combining the two comic book events.
After this story is established, it would likely follow theDoomsdaycomic run more thanInfamous Iron Man. It would make sense forAvengers: Doomsdayto follow the story set-up of a familiar face turning evil and looking for ways to destroy universes, especially considering Phases 4, 5, and 6 of the MCU make up the Multiverse Saga. The Avengers of the MCU multiverse would then set out to stop RDJ’s Doctor Doom from causing multiversal havoc.
How Avengers: Doomsday Could Set Up Avengers: Secret Wars
Avengers 5 Will Tie Into Avengers 6 Like Infinity War Did With Endgame
The final major question concerningAvengers: Doomsdayis how it could set up the story ofAvengers: Secret Wars. If the latter movie follows the events of the 2015 Marvel Comics run of the same name, it will see God Emperor Doom reigning over Battleworld. Battleworld is the remnants of the many universes in the Marvel multiverse that survived endless incursions, leading to variants of Marvel heroes living together on a somewhat lawless planet. Doom, with the power of the Molecule Man, combined the remnants of the many incursions into Battleworld, ruling it as Emperor.
Doom could begin causing incursions across the Marvel multiverse due to his actions…
Concerning howAvengers: Doomsdaycould set up this story, it is simple enough.Avengers 5could establish the aforementioned potential plot point of a Tony Stark variant becoming Doctor Doom or even have RDJ simply play Victor von Doom. Either way, Doom could begin causing incursions across the Marvel multiverse due to his actions. The Avengers could team up to try and stop him inAvengers 5, leading to them failing as Doom accidentally or purposefully destroys thousands of universes.
Doom could then harness the power of the Molecule Man and create Battleworld at the end ofAvengers 5, setting the stage forAvengers: Secret Wars. The latter film would then focus on the heroes that survived the incursions from across the multiverse teaming up to stop Doom, including Reed Richards and potentially the Maker fromUltimate Comics: Doomsdayas happens in theSecret Warscomic run. As evidenced, the new title ofAvengers: Doomsdaygives a lot of potential for the film when it releases in May 2026.
