Doctor Doom Stars In Time Travel Comic Ahead Of Avengers: Doomsday’s Release

Marvel raises hype for Avengers: Doomsday with a solo Doctor Doom project that places the Latverian ruler in the middle of a time travel story. Robert Downey Jr.’s MCU return as Doctor Doom is shrouded in mystery, having no direct set-up other than his empty seat at the Future Foundation assembly and his on-screen debut in The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ post-credits scene.

Doctor Doom himself would pride himself on the fact that he needs no introduction. Doom’s pride is often his undoing, but he backs up his words. As soon as he steps into the room, he dominates every hero, anti-hero, and villain with nothing but his words and his mere presence.

Still, Doctor Doom deserves some kind of prelude ahead of his proper MCU introduction, considering how massive Avengers: Doomsday promises to be.

Doctor Doom Stars In A Time-Traveling Story Ahead Of Avengers: Doomsday

Doomquest #1; Written by Ryan North; Art by Francesco Mobili

Doctor Doom charges up an energy attack in Doomquest comic cover

This May, Marvel Comics’ DoomQuest follows Doctor Doom as he travels across history, using time travel to change key events and rewrite the past, present, and future. Which version of Doom this is, and whether his actions will have permanent ripples across Earth-616 and the wider Marvel multiverse, is yet to be seen. Penned by One World Under Doom writer Ryan North and illustrated by Judgment Day artist Francesco Mobili, DoomQuest will release on May 27, seven months before Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters.

DoomQuest won’t arrive alone. In June, Marvel will release the single-issue comic Doom: Day One, which will likely retell Victor von Doom’s origins with an update to his backstory. Doom: Day One may serve as a new beginning for the villain following his death in One World Under Doom, possibly setting up the start of a new lifetime on Earth-616. After all, his return is only a matter of time.

The MCU's Doctor Doom glares at the camera next to Josh Brolin's Thanos on a fiery setting

Avengers: Doomsday Presents Doctor Doom With An Impossible MCU Problem

Doctor Doom debuts at the peak of his power in Avengers: Doomsday, posing a unique challenge for his MCU character arc and future development.

Marvel Comics’ original Doomquest comic is a seminal Marvel crossover where an accidental temporal displacement strands both Iron Man and Doctor Doom in the Arthurian age of Camelot. While Tony Stark aligns himself with King Arthur, Doom characteristically pursues a darker path, seeking an alliance with the sorceress Morgan Le Fay to harness the mystic arts and liberate his mother’s soul from Hell. Meanwhile, the 2026 DoomQuest miniseries sees Doom attempt to shape history to his own image.

Marvel Is Reinforcing Doctor Doom As A Multiversal Villain

Doctor Doom Is More Skilled Wielding Time Travel Than Kang, Even In The Comics

God Emperor Doctor Doom sits on his Secret Wars throne

Doctor Doom’s evolution from a local Latverian dictator to a cosmic sovereign reached its zenith in Jonathan Hickman’s 2015 Secret Wars, arguably the most ambitious event in Marvel’s publishing history. Eleven years later, Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom will achieve something similar on the big screen in the MCU’s upcoming Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. In both events, Doom has transcended the boundaries of time and space to become the definitive final boss of the Marvel Universe.

Throughout the years, Doctor Doom has weaponized time travel, used it to acquire magical knowledge, pursued the Fantastic Four through different eras, and developed a rivalry with Kang the Conqueror himself. Now, DoomQuest continues to reinforce Doom’s link to time travel and the multiverse. His mastery of science and magic has transformed Doctor Doom into an apex predator of reality.

How do you think Doctor Doom will change history in DoomQuest?