Avengers: Doomsday will feature three Latverian Witches (at least), and there may be some familiar MCU faces hiding underneath. Leading the antagonistic front for Doomsday is Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom, a master manipulator and powerful sorcerer who rules over the Eastern European nation of Latveria. But it seems Doom's intentions (or at least those he discloses) might not be outright evil, as he sets out to stop the Incursions threatening the Multiverse by any means necessary.
Days before Marvel Studios delivers its blockbuster Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con, Avengers: Doomsday news has already emerged from the event. Those visiting the MCU section at the San Diego Convention Center's Exhibit Hall spotted a female, Doctor Doom-esque costume on display for a "Latverian Witch." The studio hasn't acknowledged these masked antagonists until now, which suggests they may be hiding major MCU cameos under them.
Interestingly, Marvel Studios rotated the costume displayed on the mannequin each day at SDCC 2026, but each was another "Latverian Witch." On the convention's second day, attendees spotted an orange costume variant that many confused for red and leaped to theories about Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch.
On Friday, the Latverian Witch had once again redressed, this time in all purple, echoing a similar shade to Charlize Theron's Clea, who was briefly introduced in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Doctor Doom and his Latverian Witches may not be alone, as previous rumors claimed that he would enter Avengers 5 with a "wizard sidekick" who acts as his "second in command." Supposedly, Doom's chief lieutenant will be played by Doctor Strange actor Benedict Cumberbatch, setting up the magical Avenger's unexpected alliance that he sees as being in the Multiverse's best interests.
When Marvel Studios unveiled Doomsday's cast last year with its infamous chair event, it announced 27 main returning actors (later bumped up to 28, thanks to Chris Evans), and yet only five were female. Avengers 5's undeniably poor male-female gender divide might not be as bad as fans once thought, if it turns out that several of these starring women are hidden behind these Latverian Witches.
There's every chance that Marvel Studios will keep its Latverian Witches and the actors behind them secret until Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18, but there are some clear candidates.
Avengers: Doomsday: Who Are Doctor Doom's 3 Latverian Witches?
Naturally, the first witch on everybody's minds who could be working with Victor von Doom is Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff. The Scarlet Witch was last seen vanishing beneath Mount Wundagore in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, leading to her apparent, but unconfirmed, death.
Arguably, more so than anybody else in the MCU, Wanda joining Doom is a logical step, as he could prey on her desire for redemption after Multiverse of Madness. Recent merch also hinted that Doom could use red chaos magic, which he may have picked up from Wanda, if she is one of his followers.
When word spread of Doom's coven earlier this year, rumors claimed that Hayley Atwell's Peggy Carter would be among their ranks. The report stated that she sees Doom's agenda as being the best way to "fix the current status of the Multiverse, which is partially the fault of Steve Rogers."
The notion is rather confusing, as Marvel Studios is officially classifying Doom's followers as Latverian Witches, but Carter has no history with magic. The title could be more honorary, or, equally, Doom could have another magic wielder posing as Peggy to torment her husband, Chris Evans' Steve Rogers.
Over four years ago, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' post-credits scene introduced Benedict Cumberbatch's sorcerer to Charlize Theron's Clea. In that moment, she employed Strange's help to "fix" an incursion that he caused, which is curious given that the Multiversal events are the subject of Doom's cause.
There hasn't been much to suggest that Clea will return in Doomsday, beyond a few rumors, but that makes sense if the character was mostly concealed under a mask that Theron herself may not even be under. It stands to reason that she could be one of the Latverian Witches and perhaps the one who recruited Strange.
When it comes to witches in the Multiverse Saga, it's hard not to think about Disney+'s Loki and Sophia Di Martino's Sylvie, who sparked theories about a Doomsday return with a curious photo posted during production last year. Her inclusion would be fitting given Tom Hiddleston's Loki may be crucial to the narrative, and her advanced magical abilities could be useful to Doom.
As the one who killed Jonathan Majors' He Who Remains, Sylvie is arguably to blame for opening up the infinite Multiverse, leading to Avengers 5. Doom could have manipulated Sylvie into joining his cause to fix the Incursions that may have only become possible due to her actions in Loki.
If Marvel Studios is looking to play on any more Iron Man connections than just casting Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom, Avengers 5 could bring back Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's widow on Earth-616.
The studio could cast Paltrow as an original Latverian witch in a fan-servicey nod to her Iron Man role, or follow another path in which Pepper is manipulated by Doom, bearing the same face as her late husband, into joining him.
But who's to say that all of Doom's witches would be connected to the MCU? Many have expressed confusion about why Halle Berry's Storm was omitted from Avengers: Doomsday's returning X-Men line-up, which starts to become clear if her inclusion was a major spoiler being saved for the movie.
While Storm's absence from Doomsday is undeniably strange, there is a clear place for her in Secret Wars if it follows the 2015 comics in which she was a member of the Thor Corps on Battleworld. If Storm is to join Doom's Mjolnir-wielding police force, her first being among his followers may be fitting.
If Victor von Doom has three female followers masquerading as these Latverian Witches and aiding his Multiversal cause, the logical choices are Wanda Maximoff, Clea, and Sylvie. That notion gets a little confusing, given the reports that Peggy Carter would be a "follower of Doom," but Lokis have been known to shapeshift, and a disguised Sylvie could be enough to throw off even the best insiders.
