Avengers Doomsday Confirms Doctor Doom’s God-Like Power Level In New Promo

A new look at Avengers: Doomsday seems to confirm Doctor Doom's god-like power level in his full MCU debut. Already teased to be the most iconic villain in Marvel history, Marvel is set to give Doom his most comic-accurate movie appearance to date after two previous depictions in the Fantastic Four from the 2000s and 2010s did not do the Latverian villain justice. Now, a recent look at Robert Downey Jr.'s new character only gives further credence to the idea that he will be a force to be reckoned with.

Marvel Studios released a new promo for Avengers: Doomsday, asking fans to silence their phones during the movie, as has been the case for past MCU movies. This promo included a new look at Doctor Doom using his powers in the upcoming battle against Chris Hemsworth's Thor, in which Doom tells the movie's heroes that they "have lived stolen lives."

Notably, this shot shows Doom using his powers in battle, with Marvel giving him the iconic "Kirby Krackle/dots" effect created by the late Jack Kirby, one of Marvel's original artists and writers. This effect is often used in Kirby's comics to help show some of the strongest powers and characters in Marvel history, a list that includes Doctor Doom as one of the most powerful villains ever.

Notably, this is the first time this visual effect has been utilized in a live-action MCU project, further teasing how insanely powerful he will be compared to past Marvel antagonists.

Speaking with Fandango, directors Joe and Anthony Russo further confirmed Doom's insane power levels, calling him a "very powerful character" who is also "meticulous" in his preparations against his enemies. Laying out what makes him so dangerous, the directors bluntly called him "very difficult to beat," comparing him to the "brute force of nature" that was Josh Brolin's Thanos as well:

"Yeah, I mean, Doom's magic is an ancient magic. He is a very powerful character, as you can see in the trailer. And he's genius. He studies his foes, he understands them, and he's also well planned. He's not somebody who just does something off the cuff. So, everything is meticulous with him, and he knows that if he's going to step on a battlefield against somebody, that he has to have the tactical advantage or a power advantage against that person. So, he's very difficult to beat. You know, Thanos was just like a brute force of nature. He would push his way through every problem. Doom is much more Machiavellian and manipulative than Thanos in that regard."

Ahead are the other instances in which the Kirby Krackle effect is shown in the MCU, coming from episodes of What If...? and Marvel Zombies.

Jack Kirby's Krackle Effect in MCU Animated Shows

Infinity Ultron

Appearing in three episodes of What If...?, Marvel Animation introduced a new take on the supervillain Ultron, who was dubbed "Infinity Ultron." This version of the antagonist (played by Ross Marquand instead of James Spader) is what Ultron would have been if he had implanted his consciousness into his new body, which eventually became Vision in the MCU.

This version of Ultron became one of What If...?'s most terrifying villains, slicing Thanos in half while only possessing the Mind Stone before taking the rest of the Infinity Stones for himself. This led to him becoming basically omniscient, enacting a genocide across the universe.

Strange Supreme

Benedict Cumberbatch returned to the voiceover booth to play Doctor Stephen Strange in multiple episodes of What If...?. However, this version of Strange shows much more power and a much darker side than the live-action version, after Christine Palmer's death in Season 1 leads to him becoming Strange Supreme, one of the most powerful characters in the show.

There is almost nothing that Strange Supreme cannot do, having absorbed and adapted the powers of multiple mystical creatures to try to save Christine's life. Essentially boasting god-like powers, he can shatter reality and holds his own against Infinity Ultron, showing insane levels of power at every turn.

Captain Carter

Hayley Atwell plays one of the leading roles in What If...?, embodying an animated version of her regular MCU character, Peggy Carter. This take on Peggy even becomes Captain Carter after Steve Rogers is injured during the process meant to turn him into a Super Soldier (this character debuted in live-action in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness).

While Carter was mainly a Super Soldier, she survived wielding all six Infinity Stones in Season 2, as she got help from Kahhori in containing their energy. She later harnessed an incredible amount of cosmic energy, evolving into a god-like being herself alongside Kahhori and Storm, Goddess of Thunder.

Uatu

What If...? featured countless major Marvel heroes and villains, but the series featured Jeffrey Wright's Uatu the Watcher as its main character. Starring in every single episode across the show's three seasons, the Watcher helped narrate the show from start to finish and even found himself involved in the main plot before long.

Along with knowing everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen, Uatu can generate massive force fields, fire energy blasts, and shift his physical size at will. He shows some of these powers in his fights against villains like Infinity Ultron, using the Kirby Krackle in the process.

Byrdie

In one of the wilder stories of What If...? Season 3, Kat Dennings' Darcy Lewis and Seth Green's Howard the Duck continued the relationship they started in Season 1. They even had a child together, having to protect an egg that eventually birthed their incredibly powerful daughter, Byrdie, played by future The Fantastic Four: First Steps star Natasha Lyonne.

Upon hatching, Byrdie vaporized and took out countless massive cosmic threats. After becoming an adult, she had the ability to shoot cosmic lasers from her hands and eyes, and she also had massive wings that allowed her to fly. Embracing the same cosmic energy as Peggy Carter, her abilities grew in strength, making her equally as powerful.

The Watchers

Along with Uatu, What If...? features other Watchers, who also keep a close eye on everything taking place throughout all the timelines and universes in the multiverse. While they do not boast quite the same levels of power as Uatu reaches, they are nearly omnipotent and can manipulate matter and energy, which shows in the visuals when they unleash their full might.

Storm

Originally brought to life in X-Men: The Animated Series and X-Men '97, Marvel Animation brought the Omega-level mutant Storm to life in the final season of What If...?. However, this version of Ororo Munroe has an upgrade, as she is worthy of wielding Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, and goes by the moniker of Storm: Goddess of Thunder.

Just like Peggy Carter and Byrdie, Storm harnessed the same cosmic energy as Peggy Carter, Byrdie, and Kahhori, becoming an almost all-powerful being. This allowed her to show off insane levels of physical power, which resulted in the Kirby Krackle coming out in full force.

Kahhori

What If...? took on a massive challenge in introducing Devry Jacobs' Kahhori, a character who had never been depicted before in Marvel Comics or any other Marvel projects. She comes from an alternate timeline where the Tesseract crash-lands in a lake on Earth in pre-colonial America, transporting anyone who falls in to a parallel dimension called Sky World.

Kahhori's powers come directly from the Space Stone, making her basically a god-like figure even before gaining extra powers alongside Peggy Carter, Byrdie, and Storm. The Kirby Krackle can be seen in the trail that flows behind her as she uses her super-speed powers.

Arishem

Season 3 of What If...? introduced the powerful Celestial known as Arishem, who was depicted in live-action during 2021's Eternals. The Kirby Krackle comes up during his epic battle in outer space with an extra-powerful version of Agatha Harkness, with the effect showing up when he blows up at the end of the fight.

Zombie Thanos

After first making a cameo appearance in What If...? Season 1, the zombie version of Thanos came back in full force in Season 1 of Marvel Zombies. Boasting all six Infinity Stones, he lost in epic fashion in a battle against the Black Panther, exploding and using the Kirby Krackle visual in a massive blast of energy.

Infinity Hulk

One of the most powerful beings in Marvel history came to life in Marvel Zombies with the introduction of Infinity Hulk. After being infused with the power of the Infinity Stones, the Kirby Krackle can be seen throughout his appearance in this show, as he shows limitless energy output and absorption while exerting insane levels of power over his enemies.

Wanda Maximoff

One of the most insane fights in Marvel Zombies occurred between the aforementioned Infinity Hulk and the zombie version of Wanda Maximoff, who was also introduced in What If...?. The Kirby Krackle came out in droves in this fight, as Wanda showed her mastery of Chaos Magic along with her ability to reshape reality and create illusions.