Spoiler alert! This text comprises spoilers for The Improbable 4: First Steps
After the stunning post-credits scene in The Improbable 4: First Steps, there are some extremely compelling theories concerning why Physician Doom desires Franklin Richards, and the way this would possibly impression Avengers: Doomsday. The Improbable 4: First Steps’ post-credits scene is perhaps one of the vital intriguing teases Marvel has dropped in years. It supplied direct, and chilling, potentialities for Avengers: Doomsday.
Launched within the First Steps post-credits scene, Sue Storm momentarily leaves her toddler son Franklin in his crib. When she returns, she’s startled to discover a mysterious determine in a inexperienced cloak quietly taking part in with the infant. His face is rarely proven, however the ominous presence and signature cloak make it apparent – that is Physician Doom.
With Robert Downey Jr. confirmed to star as Doom in Avengers: Doomsday, the scene strongly implies that Franklin will play a significant position within the villain’s plan. It additionally hints at one thing greater: First Steps is ready in Earth-828, not Earth-616. Doom’s curiosity in Franklin will be the key to how he transitions between universes.
In Marvel Comics, Franklin Richards is without doubt one of the strongest beings in existence. That makes him each a treasured asset and a possible weapon. Whether or not Doom’s intentions are private, sensible, or purely about buying energy, the truth that he’s already interacted with Franklin raises the stakes for Doomsday and the conclusion of the Multiverse Saga.
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Doom Needs Franklin’s Universe-Creating Powers To Make Battleworld
Franklin Richards’ reality-warping talents are legendary in Marvel Comics. At the same time as a baby, he has created pocket universes from scratch, formed cosmic legal guidelines, and rebuilt damaged realities. If the MCU’s Franklin has even a fraction of that potential, he might be the right instrument for Physician Doom to assemble Battleworld, a central location in Secret Wars.
Within the comics occasion, Doom stole the Beyonders’ powers and merged fragments of destroyed realities right into a patchwork planet, ruling it as a godlike determine. For the MCU, Doom would possibly skip the Beyonders totally. He might as a substitute harness Franklin’s powers to create his personal model of Battleworld.
This is able to enable Marvel Studios to maintain the spirit of the comedian occasion whereas streamlining the narrative. The truth that Doomsday precedes Avengers: Secret Wars helps this idea, because it would arrange the sequel’s central battleground. By controlling Franklin, Doom wouldn’t simply have an extremely highly effective pawn – he’d have the means to rewrite the foundations of existence itself.
This idea additionally opens the door to Doom taking part in the “God Emperor” position from the comics. This will surely be becoming because the saga’s closing boss. It will rightly additionally place Franklin not merely as a baby in want of safety, however because the MCU’s most harmful dwelling weapon, one whose talents might determine the destiny of each surviving universe.
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Doom Needs Franklin’s Therapeutic Powers To Repair His Scarred Face
Physician Doom’s scarred visage is without doubt one of the most iconic facets of his comedian e-book identification. After a failed experiment exploded, Victor Von Doom was left with disfiguring accidents, prompting him to put on his well-known masks. But within the MCU, Robert Downey Jr.’s Doom has been confirmed to go unmasked in Avengers: Doomsday.
That raises questions on whether or not he was scarred in any respect or maybe discovered a approach to heal himself. On the finish of The Improbable 4: First Steps, Franklin demonstrates unbelievable therapeutic powers, reviving Sue Storm after she died in battle. It’s attainable Doom sees Franklin as the one being able to restoring his face to perfection.
This might be exactly what occurred within the First Steps post-credits scene. Franklin, in his playful method, could have simply restored Doom’s face in time for RDJ’s mask-less entrance. This motivation would humanize Doom in a manner not but seen within the MCU – beneath the ambition and menace lies a person consumed by self-importance, haunted by his personal reflection.
It makes little sense to solid a celebrated actor and conceal them completely beneath a masks. It makes even much less sense to take action when his look provides an entire new layer of intrigue as Iron Man’s look-alike. His interplay with Franklin might enable Doom to retain this important comedian e-book historical past whereas additionally permitting RDJ’s Doom to roam mask-free.
Whereas this might imply that Doom’s plans for Franklin have been short-term, they may straight join him with Doom’s grander schemes. Curing his disfigurement might be step one towards constructing the godlike picture he desires the multiverse to see. It might additionally embolden him considerably after surmounting such a elementary character trait.
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Doom Needs Franklin To Coerce Reed Richards Into Serving to Him Traverse The Multiverse
In First Steps, Reed Richards’ teleportation experiments are a key subplot. Initially examined on easy objects like eggs, the tech ultimately performs a task in sending Galactus away. It’s speculated that this expertise will enable the Improbable 4 to journey from Earth-828 to Earth-616, formally becoming a member of the principle MCU timeline.
If Doom is plotting a multiversal takeover, this tech can be invaluable – particularly if he desires to assemble alternate variations of himself or manipulate incursion occasions. Nevertheless, Reed would by no means willingly assist Doom, making Franklin the right bargaining chip. By holding the kid hostage, Doom might drive Reed to grant him entry to his multiverse gateway.
This idea matches neatly into the high-stakes household dynamic that has all the time outlined the Improbable 4’s greatest tales. It additionally dovetails with Marvel Studios’ doubtless plans for Doomsday to escalate the multiverse storyline towards its climax in Secret Wars. Reed’s tech might be Doom’s key to navigating collapsing universes, avoiding incursions, and cherry-picking realities to beat.
If true, Franklin’s kidnapping wouldn’t simply be a private disaster for Sue and Reed, it will change into the MCU’s subsequent main multiversal risk. The emotional stakes of fogeys racing to save lots of their son would completely complement the bigger, reality-spanning hazard Doom represents. It will guarantee Doomsday delivers each intimate character drama and epic-scale spectacle.
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Physician Doom Is Merely Attracted To Franklin’s Energy
Generally the best rationalization can also be probably the most harmful: Physician Doom may need Franklin’s powers for himself. Within the comics, Franklin has demonstrated talents on par with cosmic gods – creating universes, resurrecting the useless, bending time and house. For a personality as formidable as Doom, such energy can be irresistible.
On this situation, Doom’s plan in Doomsday might contain stealing or replicating Franklin’s talents, instantly elevating him to multiversal supremacy. This is able to align Doom’s arc along with his comedian counterpart’s rise to godhood in Secret Wars, whereas nonetheless maintaining the MCU’s path distinctive. If Doom absorbs Franklin’s talents, he might successfully rewrite actuality on a whim.
This is able to make him an unprecedented risk to each the Avengers and the Improbable 4. This idea additionally units Franklin up as a recurring goal in future MCU phases. His existence alone can be a relentless supply of hazard.
It will make Doom the type of villain who not solely challenges heroes in battle, but in addition forces them to guard somebody whose powers might finish all the pieces. The simplicity of this motive can also be its energy; it requires no convoluted backstory, simply the common fact that villains crave energy For Doom, Franklin himself is perhaps the final word prize.
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Earth-828 Doom Is Really Reed Richards
Some of the mind-bending theories means that Earth-828’s Doom isn’t Victor Von Doom in any respect – it’s Reed Richards. This is able to clarify why Franklin is so comfy with him within the First Steps post-credits scene; he could acknowledge him as his father. A idea posited by Display Rant means that Robert Downey Jr.’s Doom is only one variant.
It’s attainable that the MCU’s principal Doom can be performed by Pedro Pascal, who additionally portrays Earth-828 Reed Richards. On this twist, Reed might have suffered a tragedy that drove him to undertake Doom’s mantle, even perhaps merging components of science and sorcery to realize his objectives. It’s advised that RDJ’s casting might be an elaborate misdirect.
This is able to make Doomsday a deeply private story. The Improbable 4 wouldn’t simply be preventing a villain, they’d be confronting a corrupted model of their very own chief. It will additionally give Doom’s relationship with Franklin an unsettling dimension.
He would genuinely take care of the kid, even when he manipulates occasions to serve his personal ends. Such a reveal would redefine the emotional stakes of the Multiverse Saga, turning a simple villain plot right into a Shakespearean household tragedy on a cosmic scale. This is able to clarify neatly the connection between Physician Doom and Franklin Richards upfront of Avengers: Doomsday.
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Avengers: Doomsday
- Launch Date
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December 18, 2026
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Vanessa Kirby
Sue Storm / Invisible Lady
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Johnny Storm / Human Torch
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Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Ben Grimm / The Factor
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The Improbable 4: First Steps
7/10
- Launch Date
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July 25, 2025
- Runtime
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115 minutes
- Director
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Matt Shakman
- Writers
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Jeff Kaplan, Josh Friedman, Ian Springer, Eric Pearson, Kat Wooden, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee
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Reed Richards / Mister Improbable
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Vanessa Kirby
Sue Storm / Invisible Lady
