A Fantastic Four: First Steps promotional tie-in with People offered Marvel's first reference to the team's ultimate villain, Doctor Doom, as oblique as it may be. Up till this point, the Red Brand has been mum about the nature and existence of Doom, even though audiences know his path to the big screen is clear.
The nefarious name-drop came in the form of text from an in-universe advertisement, meant to persuade readers into purchasing their own HERBIE robot, just like the one that aids the Fantastic Four (FF) at the Baxter Building.
While HERBIE can only exist on the silver screen (fans can still take home a pint-sized, toy version of the friendly bot, though), there is something on the page far more intriguing about the MCU's path forward. At the bottom, there is copy that explicitly mentions a "Doom Detection" function built into HERBIE.
This is likely meant to be a bit of tongue-in-cheek fun for fans in the know, a silly little wink and nod to a significant part of FF lore. After all, there can't be a Fantastic Four without Doctor Doom. However, the "Doom Detection" bit stands as the first time Victor has been hinted at in any MCU-adjacent material:
"Order now and we'll throw in a free 30-day trial of our 'Doom Detection' early-warning system!"
Ever since Marvel Studios revealed that ultra-fan-favorite Robert Downey Jr. (known to millions as Iron Man) would be returning to the MCU as the malevolent Victor Von Doom (and explicitly not a Tony Stark Variant), fans have hardly been able to stop themselves from speculating. Downey's Doom will make his power grab in the two upcoming Avengers movies, Avengers: Doomsday, hitting in December 2026, and Avengers: Secret War, slated for the close of 2027.
First Steps' director Matt Shakman clamped down on rumors that Robert Downey Jr.'s Vic will cameo in the FF's first MCU foray. Per Shakman, "Doom is not a part of my film." Naturally, this has not ceased the endless barrage of fan theories that Shakman could be lying to preserve a surprise, or that Doom will crop up in a post-credits scene that Matt Shakman himself did not oversee, thus making the sequence "not a part of" his film.
Whatever the case may be, Victor Von Doom has always known exactly what he wants, and his intentions for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, nay, Multiverse, will be clarified soon enough.
Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps lands in theaters on Friday, July 25. The movie stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm. Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, and Sarah Niles fill out the supporting cast. The villain of the piece is the unceasing cosmic hunger, Galactus, brought to life by Ralph Ineson. Joining him is his herald, Julia Garner's Silver Surfer.
When Can MCU Audiences Expect a Glimpse at Doctor Doom?
With Avengers: Doomsday currently in production, Marvel wants to keep any happenings surrounding filming under lock and key, as is tradition. Many film studios are secretive about the movies they make these days, but few more so than Marvel.
With that in mind, Downey Doom devotees will probably need to exercise patience. Marvel knows that Robert Downey Jr.'s return to the franchise is one of Doomsday's biggest hooks, and there's virtually no chance of the House of Ideas letting this cat out of its bag early.
MCU die-hards hotly anticipating a spotlight on Doom at Marvel Studios' famous Comic-Con panel at San Diego this year are also out of luck. Apart from a "presence" for The Fantastic Four: First Steps (which is scheduled for the day following the picture's theatrical release), Marvel will skip the show and studio boss Kevin Feige will not take the stage at the San Diego Convention Center's Hall H, the usual launching ground for big MCU surprises.
There's always the possibility that Doom could make a post-credits pop-in on First Steps. Note that Matt Shakman claimed the character was not an aspect of his film. However, the MCU's post-credits stingers are not always shot by the directors of the rest of the movies. Case in point: Thunderbolts*' post-credits sequence was not supervised by its helmer, Jake Schreier, but by Joe and Anthony Russo on the Avengers: Doomsday set.
So, to borrow a phrase from Obi-Wan Kenobi, what Shakman stated could be true "from a certain point of view." There may be a Doctor Doom cameo in The Fantastic Four: First Steps that he had no hand in producing. This is not presently confirmed, and audiences will need to be patient a bit longer to find out.
Annie McDonough has been a writer at The Direct since its 2020 launch. She is responsible for the creation of news articles and features. She also has a particular affinity for action figures and merchandise, which she revels in discussing in the articles she writes, when the situation calls for it.
