Should There Have Been A Road Toward Doomsday?

Doomsday is near. One of the, if not the biggest, films of the year is right around the corner. And many fans of the MCU are clamoring for Avengers: Doomsday. From what has been officially revealed and what fans are speculating and joking about, the Avengers, the X-Men and the Fantastic 4 are going to be in a fight that has the multiverse at stake. And their lives are the first line of defense. At the center of their problems, is Doctor Doom. No doubt the MCU is doing a great job in hyping up Doctor Doom. Even fans are doing their own edits to elevate the threat. But one small criticism of the movie is the fact Doctor Doom did not receive the build up as Thanos did. With as much hype already going into Doomsday, did Doctor Doom really need the buildup?

What’s a crazy thing to think about, the MCU did adopt this formula for a previous Avengers movie. The studio had absolutely no buildup for Ultron. Not a hint of him was even whispered in any previous films prior to Avengers: Age of Ultron. But Ultron was doing numbers on the Avengers. Many people have their opinions about the movie but once some thought is put into Ultron’s actions, he did some work on the Avengers. He had them at each other’s throats the entire movie. Had them at odds. One round went to Ultron. Had the Avengers shaken. Had the strongest member shaken. Even had a huge influence to why the Hulk left Earth. Remains the only Avenger villain to have an outright kill over an Avenger (Quicksilver). Was just a perfectly timed hammer strike away from having his plan seen all the way through. And his legacy played a huge part to why the Avengers spilt in Captain America: Civil War. Ultron did all that with no buildup at all. His first appearance in the MCU had Ultron forcing the Avengers against a wall. No hype, just a near perfect score against the Avengers.

Doctor Doom has had a few breadcrumbs worth more of hype compared to Ultron. In Fantastic 4: First Steps, Latveria did have a name plank at a global summit but noticeably the ruler was absent. Then the mid credit scene had Doctor Doom appear in the flesh as he talked to young Franklin Richards. Oddly though, audiences did not see his face nor hear his voice. The next area where Doctor Doom had some impact was Avengers: Endgame: Encore. Even though the new extended ending did not have Doctor Doom, the implication had Doctor Doom all over it. The fact that Loki had to travel in the past to recruit a former adversary- Captain America – and Peggy Carter tells you enough how much a treat Doom is. Then the mid credit scene had him kidnapping Banner, presumably to use the Hulk. And the iron dings at the end credits of Avengers: Endgame was changed to show that it was Doctor Doom creating his own armor. So, Doctor Doom does have a minute worth of buildup. Enough to barely tease his arrival. But should it have been more?

Some fans would want a proper teasing but what everyone has is what everyone has got. But was it enough? Yes…and no.

Ultron and, for that matter, Thanos, had no to little set up. Yes, even Thanos had little set up before his grand arrival. Yet, it didn’t really bother the fanbase. When both threats went off, they…went…off. Both enemies had the Avengers’ number. Kept them off balance. Had them struggling. Even won a few rounds. Thanos actually saw his entire mission succeed. All that without a previous outing that lasted more than three minutes. No reason to believe Doctor Doom will get the same treatment. Within ten minutes of Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos killed several Asgardians, had Thor defeated, beat down the Hulk, and killed Heimdall and Loki. Doctor Doom will have something similar happening. And for the little that has been teased, the MCU has made each of those moments count. In each of those moments, the MCU has made Doctor Doom into this boogeyman figure. Meticulously and purposefully moving behind the scenes, putting his pieces into place, and setting up for something big. It’s a different approach but giving him that type of status right now, just giving the smallest of hints toward his presence, is quietly doing big things. In universe, the problem may not be known. But among the fans getting teased bit by bit but also knowing what is coming, is building up hype for Doctor Doom in a much different way compared to how the MCU did it for Thanos. The mysterious allure of Doctor Doom, is doing the job to create buildup. So, Thanos was this brick that was hellbent on getting his mission done. Doctor Doom is the smoke in the night hellbent on getting his mission done. The trailers and all the promotion are doing their job too. It just feels like this is not an Avenger movie. It’s a Doctor Doom movie. The needle of promotion leans heavily toward Doctor Doom. Each trailer just has powerful moments showcasing the true threat that Doctor Doom is. From raising Sentinels like giant zombies. To Mr. Fantastic yelling at him to uncover some truth. To blocking Stormbreaker with just two fingers. Then all the way up to tossing away Stormbreaker like some hollow branch. The promotion that the MCU is dedicating to Avengers: Doomsday is doing all the buildup it needs for Doctor Doom. So, even though the in-universe stories are keeping Doctor Doom in the shadows and building up hype there, the promos are elevating his threat status.

But at the same time though, there could have been a little set up for Doctor Doom due to the fact, he is much different that Thanos. Thanos was universal. Doctor Doom is multiversal. The Fantastic 4 from another Earth, the X-Men from the Fox universe, and heroes and villains from the MCU are all going up against Doctor Doom. And if rumors, or fan desire, are true, Tobey Maguire will reprise his role as Spider-Man. So many heroes from different Earths are set up against Doctor Doom due to his actions. Due to the sheer scope of his threat level, a scene from a movie or even a short film showcasing Doctor Doom’s power would have benefited him too. Or maybe even a few scenes from different movies highlighting what he could do in a fight, would have been big. This could have gave Doctor Doom just a little bit of a different style separating him from Loki, Ultron, and Thanos. Loki had all of Thor to establish himself. Ultron had nothing. Thanos had a few cameos where he didn’t do anything at all. By sprinkling Doctor Doom in a bit more movies showcasing what he could do, would have a fresh, unique way to set up a villain.

So, with Avengers: Doomsday on the horizon, fans are hyped for the film no matter which way the MCU took to establish Doctor Doom. With the Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic 4 teaming up, and fearful, that alone should show how menacing Doctor Doom is and will be. The MCU has history in setting up a big story by using others. Avengers: Doomsday is doing very letting of that. But is it working? Yes. Could it have helped a bit more if Doctor Doom did show up a little more? Also, yes. But for what fans got, it has created anticipation for Doctor Doom and for what he is going to do.