8 Comics That Avengers: Doomsday Is Most Likely to Adapt

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With Avengers: Doomsday officially on Marvel Studios’ slate, speculation is running wild over what the cataclysmic event and the villainous Doctor Doom have in store for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. However, to uncover the true plot of the film before its release, we need to take a look at some of Doctor Doom and the Avengers’ best comics. Fortunately, Marvel is chocked full of perfect stories that Avengers: Doomsday might adapt.

To fully understand the kind of threat that Doom poses, it’s worth looking back at the comics that have defined his rise in popularity. From global takeovers to mind control to multiversal conquests, Doctor Doom’s most iconic storylines often place him in direct opposition to the Avengers. The eight essential comics featured in this list showcase the full scope of Doom’s character and the world of possibilities that we may see in Avengers: Doomsday.

8

Doomwar (2010)

By Jonathan Maberry, Scot Eaton, & Andy Lanning

In Doomwar #1-6, Doctor Doom launches a full-scale, calculated invasion of Wakanda to seize control of its Vibranium reserves, believing the material to be the key to reshaping the world in Doom’s image. Black Panther, now stripped of his kingship, leads a coalition of heroes to repel Doom’s forces. While T’Challa is ultimately forced to strip Vibranium of its powers to stop Doom, this event shows something truly terrifying about the Latverian ruler.

Doomwar explores themes of nationalism, technology, and the ethics of power as Doctor Doom shows that he is willing to cross any line for his version of global “peace.” Following Black Panther 2’s themes of imperialism and the sanctity of international boundaries, we may very well likely see Wakanda face Doom’s forces in a new fight for not only global peace but for the sanctity of Wakanda and T’Challa’s legacy.

7

Books Of Doom (2005)

By Ed Brubaker, Pablo Raimondi, & Mark Farmer

Books of Doom #1-6 is a modern retelling of Victor Von Doom’s tragic origins, framed as an interview where Doom narrates his own life story. The storyline covers Doom’s Romani heritage, the death of his mother at Mephisto’s hands, his rise through sheer will and ambition, and the fateful experiment that scarred his face and led to his exile. Now settled in Latveria, Doom topples the preexisting monarchy and establishes himself as the nation’s new ruler.

Books of Doom is an admittedly sympathetic retelling of Doom’s origins, which humanizes the villain without completely softening his megalomaniac personality. If Avengers: Doomsday were to adapt this series, we’d most likely see Doctor Doom attempting to reap sympathy from the world while strengthening his iron grip around the multiverse.Books of Doom lays essential groundwork for understanding Doom as both a sympathetic figure and a terrifying global threat, perfect for the MCU’s adaptation.

6

Emperor Doom (1987)

By David Michelinie, Mark Gruenwald, Jim Shooter, Bob Hall, & Keith Williams

In Marvel Graphic Novel: Emperor Doom – Starring the Mighty Avengers #1, Doctor Doom finally succeeds in conquering the world. This time, instead of using force to subjugate humanity, Doom opted to employ mind control to passively enslave the world under a new order. With the Avengers now scattered and brainwashed, only Wonder Man is left immune from Doom’s schemes as he travels the globe attempting to reawaken other heroes from Doom’s mind control.

Despite Wonder Man and his fellow heroes’ aggressive reaction to Doom’s actions, even they are forced to realize that the world has found a stable peace under the ruler’s leadership. When put to the test, the heroes must decide whether Doom’s ends justify his terrifying means. However, after the heroes later choose to stop Doom, the world once again falls into chaos, proving his ultimate point that a utopia cannot exist without Doom’s steady hand.

5

Avengers Forever (1998)

By Kurt Busiek, Carlos Pacheco, & Jesús Merino

Avengers Forever #1 -12 is a time-hopping journey in which a team of Avengers, pulled from various points in time, are assembled by Kang the Conqueror and his parallel self Immortus to prevent a multiversal catastrophe unlike any other. While Kang may no longer be the MCU’s leading villain, this storyline still has the promise to be adapted into Avengers: Doomsday, as the narrative themes echo Doom’s own obsession with controlling destiny.

Just like in Avengers Forever (1998), the MCU’s Doctor Doom could face his own time-traveling threat that requires the aid of heroes from numerous realities to face. Unless Earth-616’s various teams of Avengers are willingly exploring the Multiverse, which seems unlikely as of now, then they are most likely going to be pulled by force into one of Doom’s ongoing schemes. Fortunately, Avengers Forever is a densely packed story with enough material to fuel an entire film if needed.

4

Avengers Forever (2021)

By Jason Aaron and Aaron Kuder

Decades following the original Avengers Forever miniseries, writer Jason Aaron launched a new Avengers Forever run that sees a new band of Avengers, featuring heroes like She-Hulk, Blade, and Robbie Reyes’s Ghost Rider, face numerous multiversal threats from a band of Mephisto and Doctor Doom variants to a time-traveling wizard seeking forgotten moments in time. The modern version of Avengers Forever truly unlocks what all the multiverse has to offer.

However, what is even more grand than a collection of Doctor Dooms or devils is that the series’ greatest villain is the universe itself. Long before the existence of the Multiverse, Marvel’s cosmos originally existed as a single, universal entity whose rebellious children later broke apart. Once again, we may see Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday harvesting Avengers from across the Multiverse to face an even greater threat than he can handle alone.

3

Avengers: The Children’s Crusade (2010)

By Allan Heinberg, Jim Cheung, & Mark Morales

In The Children’s Crusade #1-9, the Young Avengers, led by Wiccan, lead a search for the Scarlet Witch following the catastrophic finale of the House of M crisis. Meanwhile, during Wanda Maximoff’s self-exile, Wanda has found herself in the clutches of Doctor Doom, who has been caring for the Avenger in her amnesiac state. However, despite his seemingly kind ambitions, Doom plans to drain the Scarlet Witch of her chaos magic to rule over Earth with omnipotent force.

Soon, the Avengers and the Young Avengers are made to join forces, leading to multiple major character deaths. Unlike the list’s previous entries, Children’s Crusade offers a more mystical and emotional journey that may serve to add greater depth to Doom’s character and eviscerate the Avengers in Avengers: Doomsday. With that said, it’s still unclear whether the MCU’s Scarlet Witch survived her final battle against Doctor Strange in Multiverse of Madness.

2

Triumph and Torment (1989)

By Roger Stern, Mike Mignola, & Mark Badger

Doctor Strange & Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment #1 teams Doctor Doom with Doctor Strange as the two set off on a quest into Hell to rescue the soul of Doom’s mother. It is revealed that the Latverian ruler has attempted every year to rescue his mother since her abduction, only to fail each time. When Doctor Strange wins a bet to assist Victor in his journeys, the emperor tepidly agrees to let Strange accompany him.

The journey ultimately challenges both men’s convictions, sense of nobility, and relationship with the mystic arts as the two explore the foulest reaches of Hell. Ultimately, Doom nearly sacrifices Strange to defeat Mephisto, but later defeats the devil through sheer intellect and cunning, rather than raw power. This one-shot reveals the humanity beneath Doom’s metallic form, positioning the character as being more than a villain, making this a perfect prelude to Doctor Doom’s origin, even if it doesn’t include Doctor Strange.

1

Secret Wars (2015)

By Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic

While Avengers: Secret Wars is going to be its own movie, it’s more likely that the Secret Wars film will be based on the Time Runs Out prelude to the actual Secret Wars (2015) event. In Secret Wars, the multiverse has just fallen to the wrath of the unstoppable incursions, leaving only fractions of various realities in the wake of the disaster. By pulling together the powers of the Beyonders and Molecule Man, Doctor Doom and Doctor Strange reforged a new amalgam world where Doom reigned as God Emperor.

In this new world, Doom is married to Sue Storm, Doctor Doom and a horde of Thors known as the Thor Corps protect Doom’s sovereign land, and a pack of wild Hulks terrorize the outer planes of existence. However, Doom ultimately realizes that his version of perfection was broken and surrenders his power to Reed Richards. Secret Wars is arguably the clearest blueprint for Avengers: Doomsday, combining Doctor Doom’s megalomaniac obsession with power and his ultimate quest for control.

“}]] These comics could inspire Avengers: Doomsday.  Read More