New Avengers Doomsday Merch Unveils Doctor Doom’s Darkhold Replacement

Avengers: Doomsday is getting a new magical book to replace the destroyed Darkhold. Two of the Multiverse Saga's biggest Phase 4 projects - WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness - told stories centered on the Darkhold, aka the Book of the Damned. The dark magic grimerie was based on ancient carvings from the demon Chthon, and famously corrupts anyone who uses it. The Darkhold's most prominent users in the MCU thus far are Kathryn Hahn's Agatha Harkness and Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff, who ultimately destroyed every copy of it across the Multiverse in Doctor Strange 2.

Hot Toys officially unveiled its highly realistic 1/6 scale figure for Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday, finally allowing fans to examine all the finest details of the supervillain's MCU suit. But the biggest revelation came through a "concept-art-inspired magical book" that may be Doom's replacement for the Darkhold in Doomsday after its destruction during Phase 4.

Insider Alex Perez cleared up confusion on X, making it clear that Doom's latest bit of light reading isn't the Darkhold, as "concepts referred to it as the Book of God." This could be an original creation for Doomsday, or a take on the Word of God, a powerful book that once seemed magical but was actually founded in science, making it a perfect match for Doom's sorcery-tech hybrid power set.

The Word of God was created by an extradimensional engineer known as the Author, granting the reader the ability to create and destroy whole worlds and to travel between dimensions. Those abilities may explain how Doom and his fellow Earth-828 residents, the Fantastic Four, find their way to Earth-616 in Avengers 5, although Reed Richards has been working on his own form of Multiversal travel.

The Darkhold book featured in the MCU was just one copy of the inscriptions that Chton once carved atop Mount Wundagore in ancient times. The demon long prophesied the existence of the Scarlet Witch, who eventually made the ultimate sacrifice to destroy all copies of his work at the climax of Multiverse of Madness.

Despite Wanda's supposed sacrifice, many are convinced that the Scarlet Witch is alive and may be secretly working with Doctor Doom. Fans can only hope for more answers about the beloved reality-bender's fate when Doomsday hits theaters on December 18, or perhaps one year later in Secret Wars on December 17, 2027.

How Doctor Doom's Magic Will Shape Avengers: Doomsday

After 20th Century Fox failed Doctor Doom not once but twice in its Fantastic Four adaptations, Marvel Studios is aiming to adapt the character more faithfully. Part of that is leaning into Doom's place as a master of mystical arts that harkens back to his Romani sorceress mother, Cynthia von Doom.

In many ways, Doom is almost Doctor Strange-level in magical ability, but only becomes more lethal through his ruthlessness and technological intellect. Those traits and talents will only make Doom more of a danger on Avengers: Doomsday, especially if he does utilize a version of the Word of God.

One has to wonder whether the Word of God is already fueling Doom's power in Doomsday, or if it is a MacGuffin he may be seeking. While the Word of God doesn't appear in 2015's Secret Wars comic that Marvel Studios is building toward, its power to create and destroy universes could be instrumental in Doom's plans to create Battleworld from the remnants of the Multiverse.

Regardless, it seems Doctor Doom will be beyond powerful enough to contend with the Avengers, even without any extra magical buffs. Not only have fans already seen him comfortably contend with Chris Hemsworth's Thor and Stormbreaker, but he may also be wielding Wanda's Chaos Magic.