Doctor Doom Has Now Grabbed Both Hulk and Scarlet Witch, and the Avengers Have a Problem
Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom has been one of the most talked-about mysteries in the run-up to ‘Avengers: Doomsday’. Marvel has shown his face, his costumes and his Latverian entourage, but his multiverse-conquering plan has stayed largely under wraps. That secrecy has pushed fans to treat every new scrap of footage like a puzzle piece.
Two of those pieces now seem to fit together. One came from the bonus scenes added to ‘Avengers: Endgame Encore’ when it returned to theaters, while the other arrived in the final seconds of the ‘VisionQuest’ finale. Together, they paint a picture of a villain who is quietly gathering some of the franchise’s most powerful characters.
The pattern is hard to miss. Doctor Doom has now collected both the Scarlet Witch and the Hulk, with each reveal showing him paying a visit to a hero who was supposed to be out of the picture. The idea of Doom assembling a roster of captured heavy hitters has become a major talking point for the movie.
The Hulk moment arrived as one of the new scenes in ‘Avengers: Endgame Encore’, which added bonus footage that was reportedly filmed during production on ‘Avengers: Doomsday’. The scene plays during the credits and picks up with Bruce Banner after the events of ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’. Banner is shown locked away in an underground bunker, working on a device meant to keep the Hulk from emerging.
Before he can finish, Doctor Doom shows up. Banner transforms into the Hulk to face him, and the scene cuts away before viewers see what happens next. Commentary on the scene suggests Doom said he was there to collect him, which has led fans to wonder whether the Hulk could end up on the villain’s side.
The second reveal came in the ‘VisionQuest’ finale, which wrapped up its run with a post-credits scene featuring Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff. Doom lifts the rubble from the collapse that apparently ended her life in ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’. He tells her to awaken, and he says her power will be his, before her eyes open.
Marvel has not formally announced that the Scarlet Witch is in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, but the scene has made it feel like a given. It also lines up with the Latverian Witches, a group created specifically for the movie that had already fueled speculation about Wanda’s role.
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The directors have been careful with their answers. Speaking to Empire, Joe Russo said “everything is premeditated” while breaking down the bonus scenes, a hint that the placement of each moment is deliberate. Even so, the filmmakers have declined to confirm or deny Banner’s role in the film.
That caution matters, because nothing in the footage confirms that Banner has willingly joined Doom. The abduction framing in the scene points the other way, and the stinger leaves the outcome of the confrontation open. Some theories suggest Doom could use captured heroes as mind-controlled minions, while others argue the Hulk will eventually break free and fight against him.
With the Hulk and the Scarlet Witch apparently under his control, the stakes for the movie are climbing. It is also unknown who else Doom has obtained before the next Avengers film arrives, since very little has been revealed about Downey’s take on the famous villain. That uncertainty is part of what makes the marketing so effective.
There is also a wider debate about how all this fits together. One analysis argues that the Hulk scene may not pay off in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ itself and could instead be laying groundwork for a later chapter. Whatever the case, the footage is designed to build hype, and it has clearly succeeded.
‘Avengers: Doomsday’, directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, opens in theaters on December 18. Until then, fans have plenty of time to speculate about who Doom has taken, who he might target next and whether any of his captives can turn the tide.
Which Marvel hero do you think Doctor Doom will target next in 'Avengers: Doomsday'?
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