Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Captain America #9Marvel Comics has officially replaced Doctor Doom in a big way, and the timing couldn’t be crazier ahead of Avengers: Doomsday. In eight months, Victor von Doom will make his MCU debut, where he’ll be played by none other than Robert Downey Jr. However, the Marvel Universe we see on the page has just introduced a major status quo shift for Doom’s nation of Latveria.
Right off the bat, it’s important to establish that Doctor Doom is currently dead in the Marvel Universe, the result of the recent One World Under Doom crossover event. In the aftermath, Doom’s nation of Latveria has been experiencing a major power vacuum with various groups vying for control, each with its own vision for the country’s future.
While some wish to introduce free and fair democratic elections after years of Doom’s rule as a dictator, others simply want to claim the throne by any means necessary. Now, the latest issue of Captain America from Chip Zdarsky and Ton Lima sees Steve Rogers trying to prevent the next Doctor Doom from rising in the Marvel Universe.
Captain America Just Laid Down A Major Challenge To Doctor Doom’s Replacement (Salvation)
As seen in Captain America #9, Steve Rogers and a newly reformed SHIELD have expanded their original mission of securing dangerous weapons in the wake of Doom’s absence. This is due to the major conflicts between various political factions seeking to shape Latveria’s future.
On the one hand, you have the Homeland Party led by Alina von Doom, Victor’s secret cousin, who up until recently, had been keeping her last name a secret, believing that its use would do more harm than good to her cause. Instead, Alina is now using her full name to prove her family doesn’t define her, nor does Latveria’s past subservience to Doctor Doom define them. This is the party seeking greater democratic freedoms with free and fair elections.
On the other side of the coin is the Latveria Party led by Marius Wolf, also known as Salvation. Operating out of Castle Doomstadt, Salvation simply wants to take over Victor von Doom’s rule for himself. Although Wolf and Captain America once fought together against Doctor Doom shortly after Rogers came out of the ice, it was recently discovered that Salvation had 400 citizens killed for vocally opposing him at protests, an act that has obviously turned Captain America against him with a vengeance.
Promising to take down Salvation just like he did Adolf Hitler and Red Skull, Rogers makes it painfully clear that he intends to bring a swift end to Salvation’s rule over Latveria, joining with Alina and rallying the people against Wolf.
Salvation Has Officially Become The New Doctor Doom In Marvel Comics
If there was any doubt about Salvation’s dark ambitions, the final pages of Captain America #9 make it brutally clear after Alina von Doom gets shot, with her fate unknown by the issue’s end. We then see Salvation himself emerge from Doomstadt wearing all-new armor, telling Rogers that “Salvation will be you Doom.” As a result, Marvel is showing us in no uncertain terms that Captain America is 100% fighting to prevent the rise of the next Doctor Doom in the Marvel Universe.
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?
With Avengers: Doomsday on the horizon, there’s some pretty impressive franchise synergy going on here. After all, the next Avengers will feature Steve Rogers’ Captain America returning to fight Doctor Doom in the MCU, while the comics are showing Rogers taking on Doctor Doom’s successor. Keeping that in mind, it’s going to be fascinating to see how both Captain America/Doom fights play out this year, especially with these recent issues of Captain America setting up Zdarsky’s upcoming Avengers: Armageddon crossover event.
Captain America #9 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.
