With Avengers: Doomsday quickly approaching in December, several eyes are on the imminent MCU debut of Doctor Doom, surprisingly played by Robert Downey Jr. However, the comics are actively reinventing the classic Marvel villain with some pretty major twists as well. Case in point, the Marvel Universe has just revealed two major changes to Doctor Doom’s status quo that are arguably just as surprising as Robert Downey Jr.’s casting.
Ahead of this year’s massive Armageddon crossover, Marvel’s “Road To Armageddon” storyline has been exploring the fallout from Doctor Doom’s apparent death during the previous One World Under Doom event. This has largely been featured in Chip Zdarksy’s ongoing Captain America series, with Steve Rogers and Nick Fury’s reborn SHIELD in Latveria attempting to find the late Doom’s secret weapons while also helping the nation in the midst of a major political power vacuum.
Now, the recently released Captain America #11 by Chip Zdarskiy and Valerio Schiti sees Steve Rogers and Fury discovering exactly who, not what, Doom’s secret weapon actually is.
Months Before Avengers: Doomsday, The Marvel Universe Has A Brand-New Doctor Doom
After taking down the would-be Latverian dictator named Salvation, Captain America and Nick Fury discover what appears to be Doom’s ultimate contingency plan: a teenage clone of Victor von Doom himself, claiming that he’s ready to lead Latveria as its new leader.
However, this isn’t simply a clone with the original Doom’s implanted memories. To that end, it seems as though the original Doom wanted his successor to have a consciousness of his own and be raised as a good man. To that end, this new, younger Doom claims he has no interest in being like the Doom that came before.
Additionally, it seems as though the younger Doom also possesses some kind of mysterious device likely tied to the original Doom’s plans for his legacy following his demise. All in all, the emergence of a brand-new Doctor Doom is pretty wild, especially if this Doom becomes something far more good than his predecessor.
The Old Doctor Doom Is Also Still “Alive” (Trapped in Hell?)
Remarkably, the Doctor Doom twists in Captain America #11 don’t end with a brand-new and teenaged Doctor Doom.
In this same issue, Thunderbolt Ross’ Red Hulk arrives in Latveria with a squad of unsanctioned Hulk-enhanced soldiers, still holding a major grudge after Doom held him prisoner for months during One World Under Doom. This leads to a brutal confrontation between Red Hulk and Rogers’ Captain America, who chooses to defend the younger Doom when Ross tries to kill him.
Despite the arrival of Sam Wilson’s Captain America as some much-needed backup, Rogers looks to either be dying or killed by Ross by the issue’s end, seeing how he wakes up in what appears to be a very dark version of the afterlife or some kind of limbo state.
S.H.I.E.L.D. · Clearance Assessment How Well Do You Know The Avengers?
🌏OriginsAssembled
☠VillainsInevitable
⚡BattlesEndgame
🛡TeamInitiative
💫LegacyForever
01
The Avengers first assembled in Marvel Comics in 1963. In the original comic, the team formed to battle a villain who had been manipulated by his adopted brother. Which villain brought the original Avengers together?
✓ Correct! In Avengers #1 (September 1963), Loki manipulated the Hulk into going on a rampage, which led Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, and the Wasp to band together. They defeated Loki and decided to form a permanent team — the Avengers were born.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Loki. In the original 1963 comic, Loki tricked the Hulk into a rampage, which brought together Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, and the Wasp. Ultron came later, Thanos is a cosmic threat, and Kang is a time-traveling villain.
02
In the MCU, Tony Stark famously declared “I am Iron Man” at a press conference, breaking the superhero tradition of secret identities. In which year’s MCU film did Tony Stark first appear as Iron Man?
✓ Correct! Iron Man (2008) launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe and starred Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. The film’s post-credits scene with Nick Fury teased the Avengers Initiative, kicking off the most successful film franchise in history.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is 2008. Iron Man premiered on May 2, 2008, directed by Jon Favreau and starring Robert Downey Jr. It was the first film in the MCU and set the stage for everything that followed.
03
Thanos, the Mad Titan, sought to collect all six Infinity Stones to achieve his genocidal goal. In Avengers: Infinity War, he succeeded in his plan. What did Thanos do with the completed Infinity Gauntlet?
✓ Correct! With a single snap of his fingers, Thanos wiped out half of all living creatures in the universe. Known as “The Blip,” this devastating act erased trillions of lives and set the stage for the Avengers’ desperate time heist in Endgame to undo the damage.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is that Thanos snapped away half of all life in the universe. His twisted philosophy of “balance” drove him to commit universal genocide with a single snap, making it one of the most shocking moments in cinema history.
04
In Avengers: Endgame, Captain America proved worthy of wielding Thor’s enchanted hammer during the final battle against Thanos. What is the name of Thor’s hammer?
✓ Correct! Mjolnir, forged in the heart of a dying star, bears the inscription “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.” Captain America wielding it in Endgame was one of the most celebrated moments in MCU history.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Mjolnir. Stormbreaker is the axe Thor forged in Infinity War, Gungnir is Odin’s spear, and Jarnbjorn is an axe Thor used in the comics before Mjolnir. Mjolnir is the iconic enchanted hammer.
05
Black Widow, born Natasha Romanoff, is one of the founding MCU Avengers. Before joining S.H.I.E.L.D., she was trained as an assassin in a secret Soviet program. What is the name of this program?
✓ Correct! The Red Room was a covert Soviet training facility that turned young girls into elite spies and assassins known as Black Widows. Natasha was subjected to brutal conditioning and sterilization. Her escape and defection to S.H.I.E.L.D. was explored in the 2021 Black Widow film.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is The Red Room. HYDRA is a separate evil organization, the Winter Soldier Program created Bucky Barnes, and Department X is from the comics. The Red Room is the infamous Soviet program that forged Natasha into Black Widow.
06
The Hulk was created when Dr. Bruce Banner was exposed to massive amounts of radiation during a weapons test. What type of radiation transformed Banner into the Hulk?
✓ Correct! Dr. Bruce Banner was caught in the blast of a gamma bomb he designed, absorbing a massive dose of gamma radiation. This transformed him into the Hulk — a being of near-limitless strength whose power increases with his rage. Gamma radiation remains central to the Hulk’s mythology.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Gamma Radiation. Cosmic Rays gave the Fantastic Four their powers, Pym Particles are Ant-Man’s shrinking technology, and Terrigen Mist activates Inhuman abilities. Gamma radiation is what created the Incredible Hulk.
07
In the MCU, after Steve Rogers retired as Captain America, he passed his shield to a new hero to carry on the legacy. Who became the new Captain America?
✓ Correct! At the end of Avengers: Endgame, an elderly Steve Rogers chose Sam Wilson — the Falcon — to carry on the Captain America legacy. Sam’s journey to embrace the shield was explored in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series, and he fully took up the mantle as Captain America.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Sam Wilson. While Bucky Barnes was Captain America in the comics, Steve chose Sam in the MCU. John Walker was temporarily given the shield by the government, and Isaiah Bradley was a forgotten super soldier from the past.
08
Ultron is an artificial intelligence who becomes one of the Avengers’ deadliest enemies. In the MCU’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, which Avenger inadvertently created Ultron?
✓ Correct! Tony Stark created the Ultron program as a global peacekeeping AI, using technology from Loki’s scepter (which contained the Mind Stone). The AI became sentient and immediately decided humanity needed to be eradicated. In the comics, Hank Pym created Ultron, but the MCU shifted this to Stark.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Tony Stark. While Hank Pym created Ultron in the comics, the MCU changed this to Tony Stark. Bruce Banner assisted but it was Tony’s initiative. Vision was actually created from Ultron’s technology, not the other way around.
Mission Debriefing Your Avengers Clearance Level
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Are you worthy of lifting Mjolnir — or still a S.H.I.E.L.D. trainee?
It’s here that Rogers seemingly encounters the original Doctor Doom, who welcomes him to “Hell”, while also referring to Captain America as his new champion. Standing next to Doom is a woman who is more than likely Victor’s mother, Cynthia von Doom. In the past, Cynthia famously sold her soul to the demon lord Mephisto when Victor was a child, motivating his desire to learn all he could about science and magic in the hopes of one day freeing her.
All things considered, it definitely looks as though the original Doctor Doom intends to use Rogers to return to the land of the living. This means that we may very well have two different Doctor Dooms in the Marvel Universe in the near future. As such, it’s a pretty wild shift for Doom’s journey in the comics, especially in the months right before his MCU debut.
Captain America #11 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.
