Craziest ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Theory Involves Dr. Strange… Working for RDJ’s Dr. Doom

‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ wrapped its theatrical run months ago, but its credits scene refuses to stop generating conversation. The brief glimpse of a cloaked figure offered fans their first tiny look at the MCU’s Doctor Doom, with Robert Downey Jr. set to bring the villain to life in ‘Avengers: Doomsday‘. Even now, deep into 2026, that thirty second sequence is still being picked apart frame by frame.

Part of the reason it stuck around so long is that Marvel barely showed anything at all. Doom’s face was kept fully hidden, and the film had already spent its runtime hinting at his absence through an empty Latverian seat at a United Nations style gathering. That secrecy left just enough room for alternate readings, and a fan theory circulating online had already floated the idea that the figure holding Doom’s mask wasn’t Doom himself at all, but someone else entirely wearing it as a disguise.

Now a new post from an account called Marvel Mania is pushing that same doubt in a very specific direction. According to the theory, the person kneeling in front of baby Franklin Richards wearing Doom’s silver mask is actually Doctor Strange, not Victor Von Doom, drawing a direct comparison to Jonathan Hickman’s ‘Secret Wars’ comics, where Strange famously served as Doom’s loyal right hand man rather than his enemy.

The timing lines up with something Marvel just showed off in person. At San Diego Comic Con 2026, the studio unveiled a costume labeled the Latverian Witch, a green robed, silver masked figure displayed against a stained glass window, its belt fastened with an unexplained diamond buckle, alongside rumors that the character could be tied to Doom in a much more personal way than fans expected.

That reveal sent theories spinning in multiple directions at once. Some fans immediately connected the mysterious follower to a twisted version of Wanda Maximoff, given how closely the silhouette echoes Doom’s own visual language. Others point to separate reporting claiming Doctor Strange, Clea, and Scarlet Witch are all being positioned as members of Doom’s inner circle in ‘Avengers: Doomsday,’ which would explain why a Strange shaped figure standing in for Doom isn’t as far fetched as it first sounds.

Even the score seems to be in on the mystery. When Matt Shakman was asked about the credits sequence’s music cue, he confirmed to ScreenRant that composer Alan Silvestri had literally titled the track with a question mark, saying “Yeah, that is what Sylvester called that cue.”

Officially, though, Marvel has already closed this particular door. Sue Storm actress Vanessa Kirby told Variety flatly that it was Downey under that mask, explaining “Robert’s never not been on set. He’s always there. He is our leader.” That leaves the Doctor Strange theory as pure speculation, no matter how neatly it fits the Latverian Witch’s arrival.

With ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ still months from release, the identity of the Latverian Witch and the true meaning behind that “Doom?” cue remain wide open. Do you think Marvel is hiding something bigger under that mask, or is this just fandom reading too much into a Comic Con costume rack? Sound off in the comments.