Doctor Doom Already Has A Serious Power Upgrade Thanks To Galactus & Thanos

Doctor Doom's story in Avengers: Doomsday is destined to give the character a serious power upgrade compared to all his prior Marvel movie depictions thanks to the MCU roles of both Galactus and Thanos in the franchise. The MCU timeline has welcomed a huge range of villains in its almost two-decade-long run, meaning a wide assortment of Marvel's most menacing foes have made their appearances in the franchise.

However, the MCU has had more mixed results when it comes to showing the full extent of many of these antagonists' powers. For every Dormammu-level threat - or Thanos-level power upgrade - there have been figures who have not gotten to appear at the top of their game, for various reasons. Given the narrative setup that Thanos and Galactus provide for Doctor Doom, though, that doesn't appear like this will be a problem for Victor Von Doom going into Avengers: Doomsday.

The MCU's Approach To Thanos & Galactus Means The Franchise Has To Make Doctor Doom Extremely Powerful

While there's much we have yet to learn about the MCU's depiction of Doctor Doom, there is one thing that can help inform us about how the franchise will need to handle him: what came before. Naturally, when it comes to villains, this topic inherently involves looking at Thanos' MCU story, as the prior major big bad for the Infinity Saga much in the way Doom is positioned to be the main antagonist of the Multiverse Saga.

Thanos having been given such inordinately strong powers via the Infinity Gauntlet and Infinity Stones in the most dramatic parts of the Infinity Saga means that anything short of matching or besting Thanos' peak with Doom's own story would be underwhelming for the second major arc of the MCU - particularly since the Multiverse Saga itself has aimed to top the spectacle of the Infinity Saga by putting the fate of not just one universe in peril, but rather the wider multiverse.

This alone sets the tone for Doctor Doom - but, given the Fantastic Four's clear set up to be a prominent force against their longtime comic archenemy (and occasional ally), The Fantastic Four: First Steps' main villain also establishes a major precedent for Doom's impending role and power level.

Having the Fantastic Four face off against Galactus in The Fantastic Four: First Steps similarly sets a very high bar for Doctor Doom's power levels, as giving the family a less potent enemy in their second MCU appearance would also be somewhat underwhelming. As such, Doctor Doom will need to be at the utmost height of his powers for Avengers: Doomsday - even if this is something that simply happens at the end of the movie to set the stage fully for Avengers: Secret Wars.

Doctor Doom being equipped with a serious power upgrade compared to both his movie variants and even his conventional comic power level in Avengers: Doomsday looks even more par for the course when taking into account the backdrop the MCU has lain for its next chapters already.

First and foremost, The Fantastic Four: First Steps ending with Victor Von Doom talking to Franklin Richards immediately raises a lot of possibilities for what happens next. It seems entirely possible Doom seeks to use Franklin's reality-warping prowess to make himself more powerful than ever before - or to harness Franklin's abilities for his own, especially if he believes his universe is in peril and only this can ensure its survival.

It's also of course worth keeping in mind that the Multiverse Saga is set to conclude via Avengers: Secret Wars, with Marvel's most recent comic run of the same name seeing Doctor Doom harness immense powers in order to rule over the surviving remnants of the multiverse as God Emperor Doom.

Altogether, the trajectory the MCU appears to be taking with the next Avengers movies and with Doctor Doom certainly looks as though it's gearing up for one of the most powerful on-screen depictions of the iconic Marvel character we've gotten to date. Given the villainous peers Doom needs to live up to - and the heroes he's set to face - this would seem like an especially wise direction when it comes to the MCU's next steps.