Doomsday – Who, What, Where, Why?
With Doomsday approaching fast, I want to give a refresher about what is happening in the MCU and what I think/hope will happen in this movie.
WARNING: If you do not want any spoilers for Doomsday (or any MCU movie in general) please stop reading. I will reference nearly all the rumors floating on the interwebs.
Now, with that covered - it is known that Doomsday (and then Secret Wars) is heavily based on Hickman’s Time Runs Out and Secret Wars storys with some influence/nods to the original Secret Wars story. I am a big fan of Hickman’s and if the MCU committed to it, they could have used the “Multiverse Saga” to be the full Time Runs Out storyline. But they did not…
With the re-release of Endgame and the additional scenes added, if the MCU wanted to do some retcon while also introducing a plot twist that would set the internet on fire, here is what Doomsday should and will include:
Incursions: These can be explained in a few minutes of exposition at the beginning of the movie with witty dialogue and serious faces. Maybe this will be the rumored scene that includes Deadpool, Wolverine and Tobey Maguire’s Spiderman. This will also include an intro to the multiversal threats: the Cabal, Rabum Alal, Black Priests and how Mapmakers bring the Beyonders.
Doom: Doom was missing in Fantastic Four because he was doing Rabum Alal + Cabal plot line (he is the leader instead of Namor). He is motivated by the loss of either his mother or his wife and child. After the events in First Steps, he explores Galactus’ ship and harnesses some of Galactus’ power. For four years his search knows no bounds trying to bring his beloved back. His tracking led him on a journey, first to Hell, then other dimensions, followed by the multiverse, then the Kings (RIP), and finally to The Sacred Timeline. He sees how some get to evade death while others suffer without mercy. Doom is now looking for the highest power so Doom can implement universal fairness. In this quest he has set up two important groups:
Rabum Alal: This is Doom and his witches. We see Doom on a throne outside of Space-Time with his witches reporting that another universe has been saved (meaning one Earth was destroyed). Also they have been capturing Wanda’s from the dying Earth (or whoever is the MCU version of the Molecule Man).
The Cabal: Instead of 616 Namor, Doom has recruited heroes/villains of worlds that he has destroyed to save 828. One of which is Deadpool who gives the audience an explainer. Another is Banner from 616 and Namor from 616. Doom is collecting pieces of what will become the MCU’s Battle World. There are also nomads, heroes of Earth whose planet was destroyed but their universe survived.
Thor (and Love): They are traveling the universe with a home-base somewhere super safe in the stars. After a recent mission, Thor feels off decides to go back to Earth to see old friends and leaves without Love, believing it will be short trip. He arrives on Earth and an incursion is going on. Either the Cabal or Doom’s Witches are about to blow up that Earth and Doom is there. Thor gets wrecked by Doom. Doom reveals to Thor that he has traveled to a different universe without even knowing it. Doom tells Thor that incursions are coming for everyone, including the ‘Sacred 616’. Doom subdues Thor and makes Thor watch him kill a world to save a universe. Doom then sends him back 616. This is the Doom/Thor battle we see in the trailer.
Fantastic Four/828: Doom returns from his multiverse agenda and is entranced by Franklin who is a living source of cosmic power, a power he can barely harness. Doom tells the F4 about the collapsing multiverse and that they need to build a raft to withstand the collapse of time and space. Doom knows the number of universes is dwindling and there is not much time left. Reed agrees, revealing he has already built the multiverse viewing station and has witnessed spontaneous incursions. He also reveals that he has built a raft that theoretically could withstand the collapse. During this discussion:
The 616 and the X-Men universes are identified as important which Doom takes offense to since there is no Doom there.
Doom says that Franklin has the power to solve this but is too young and someone would have to harness his power, which Reed and Sue object to.
The F4 decide to go to 616 and try to save as many people as they can before the final incursion(s).
TVA: People at the TVA are freaking out because too many branches is actually a VERY bad thing. They have begun collapsing in on each other, incursions, at the nexus point of their realities, Earth.
Loki: Loki is still the engine of the Multiverse tree. We see him spying into worlds and finding hero-variants watcher style (i.e. Steve, Peggy Carter, Cyclops, etc.). He begins inviting/collecting heroes for the battle(s) to come.
MCU PLOT TWIST: some of the MCU projects released during the ‘Multiverse Saga’ are revealed to have not taken place in the 616 universe but are branches of it (Secret Invasion, Eternals, etc.). This breaking/sharing of realities is due to Loki allowing all stories to exist.
Doctor Strange: The Multiverse of Madness ends with this post credits scene – him and Clea going to ‘fix an incursion.’ This post-credit scene easily set up the Black Priests storyline, Strange (and Clea) are destroying one of the Earths for the greater good. During one incursion they notice that some beings are escaping the crumbling worlds and follow them. This leads to them being killed/captured by the Witches of Rabum Alal.
616 Heroes: The Avengers* are the first to detect the incoming F4 and intercept them in space. The F4 split up and also go to Wakanda to talk to Shuri and Namor. During these talks, Namor reveals to be a part of the Cabal and has already killed Earths to save the 616. He reveals his allegiance to Doom and a fight breaks out. Namor escapes and everyone else retreats to space/HQ. Thor shows up and confirms everything the F4 are saying: Doom is impossibly powerful, incursions are happening and there is no way to stop them without killing one Earth. It is decided not to inform the 616 public as hysteria would break out.
Mid-Movie major battle scene: An incursion is happening between the 828 and the ‘Fox’ universe. They go there to confront Doom and the Cabal. Some of the Cabal to not want to kill their own universe and join the 616 heroes. The combined heroes look to be defeating Doom, until his Witches show up. Doom then wins the fight and sends the 616 heroes and the F4 back to the 616 universe. Doom leaves the others on the dying Earth. This is where we get the Fox vs Avengers fight and the “did you do this?” scene as seen in the trailer.
If Doomsday follows this setup, it should take about 90 minutes to get to this point. I hope the movie will include not only the final incursion and but also 15 to 30 minutes of post-final incursion fallout. I would like to see the world Doom creates, the regions and who is Lording over them.
Cut to me leaving the theater saying “It was a good movie, I just had hoped…”
