When Marvel Studios brings Doctor Doom to life in Avengers: Doomsday, he'll prove to have several different abilities in comparison to the MCU's last major villain, Josh Brolin's Thanos. The Infinity Saga's big bad was responsible for wiping out half the universe with the infinity stones, but there were still quite a few tricks even Thanos didn't know.
Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the MCU to become the man behind Doctor Doom's mask, and his new role will mean he'll have a whole new arsenal he never had as Iron Man. Doom is a brand new rival in the MCU, who was teased at the end of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but his full abilities are yet to be seen in action.
Just like Thanos was the main character in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, Doctor Doom is expected to fill a similar role in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, but the two characters will be different thanks to their distinct powers.
Doctor Doom's Powers Rival Thanos'
After being alluded to in the post-credits scenes of several movies, Thanos finally made his debut in Avengers: Infinity War, and his might was quickly apparent. Thanos was a member of the alien race of Titans, which gave him superhuman strength, durability, stamina, and speed. He also had regenerative healing (hence his warning to Thor to always "go for the head") and, on top of that, possessed an advanced intellect that made him an exceptional military leader and strategist.
Naturally, Thanos also had many, many more powers thanks to the Infinity Stones, but there are still several ways Doctor Doom will stand apart from the Mad Titan.
Marvel Studios has already confirmed two of the major powers Doctor Doom will have in the MCU. The studio revealed that Doom will be "a master of cutting-edge science and powerful magic." The ability to wield magic is something Thanos was never able to do inherently, unless he was harnessing the power of the Infinity Stones. Meanwhile, Doom in the comics was introduced to his magic by his mother, a Romani sorceress, and then continued to study and harness it, using his intelligence and interest in science and tech to help enhance his abilities.
Doctor Doom showed off his mystical prowess in the Avengers: Doomsday trailer shown at CinemaCon, where he effortlessly stops the full force of Stormbreaker with just two fingers. Where Thanos was unable to block Thor's attack in Avengers: Infinity War even with the power of the Infinity Gauntlet at his disposal, such bombardments seem to be no match for Doom's magic.
Victor von Doom's mastery of science and genius intellect are also a step above Thanos. While Brolin's character was devious and clever, he didn't focus his intelligence specifically on science or technology. Doom's intellect is known to rival the greatest minds on Earth, including Reed Richards, and his ability to channel his scientific knowledge into his inventions results in the creation of some of the greatest technologies. His knowledge also extends to magic and the occult, which only serve to bolster his inherent magical powers. Thanos was intelligent, to be sure, but he wasn't a technological master like Doom will be.
The CinemaCon trailer may have teased that Doctor Doom may have yet another power that Thanos never had: flight. The footage shown behind closed doors featured a scene of Victor rising, as well as doing the trademark superhero landing. This gives Doom a mode of traversal that Thanos never utlitized in his MCU appearances.
The Russo brothers took it one step further, confirming outright at CinemaCon, via Entertainment Weekly, that Doctor Doom's powers exceed anything that fans have seen in the MCU up to this point.
Anthony Russo acknowledged how balancing Doom's "immense" power scale was a challenge for the filmmakers, but also opened up certain opportunities:
"Certainly with Doom, it's the problem in the extreme in that his power is so immense and so beyond. But that really liberates us all on a creative level, artistic level, to figure out where the complexities and the vulnerabilities are in the character."
Russo also confirmed that Doctor Doom has "unlimited physical power," placing him well above the threat level of Thanos:
"They may have seemingly unlimited physical power, but there is something inside them where they are vulnerable, where they are exposed, where [there are] places that they need to protect even more intently than their physical selves. So I think the real fun of the storytelling is in that zone there."
This vast amount of power places Doom well above the threat level of Thanos. While the Mad Titan amassed various abilities through the Infinity Stones, he was still limited by what his mind was capable of conjuring and his body's capability of withstanding the toll. Doctor Doom, meanwhile, does not appear to have these restrictions. The Avengers may have some trouble taking down such an omnipotent opponent, especially if the villain has any more of his powers from the comics.
