Doctor Doom may not be Avengers: Doomsday‘s only antagonist, but he may not have a traditional team of henchmen. Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom is undeniably the most anticipated aspect of Destin Daniel Cretton’s Avengers: Doomsday, as his physical appearance, costume, powers, and origin are the biggest mysteries about the movie. Where Doom comes from and why Downey plays him might be make-or-break for Phase 6.

Yet, Avengers: Doomsday has many more surprises in store than just Doctor Doom. Just like Avengers: Endgame featured cameos by several major and minor characters few fans expected to see again, Avengers: Doomsday might bring back familiar faces and revisit memorable events from the MCU’s timeline and other Marvel universes. Besides, Doctor Doom may be accompanied by other antagonists few may have considered.

Doctor Doom Probably Won’t Arrive Alone In Avengers: Doomsday

The MCU’s Doctor Doom promises to be the most powerful and ᴅᴇᴀᴅliest villain in the Marvel multiverse. But as dangerous as he might be on his own, Doom can’t take on every hero at the same time. For practical reasons, movies need to split characters into different teams and feature multiple antagonists in order to keep the cast, plot, and pacing digestible for audiences.

Loki had the Chitauri in The Avengers, Ultron had the Ultron Bots in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Thanos had the Outriders and the Black Order in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Likewise, Doctor Doom may have his own group of followers in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Doom’s classic Doombots are almost guaranteed to appear. But like Thanos, Doom may also need a select squad of collaborators.

Leading up to Marvel Comics’ 2015 Secret Wars storyline, Doctor Doom works with the Cabal to survive multiversal collapse parallel to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Doom’s allies include Loki, Norman Osborn, Emma Frost, and the Hood. While Avengers: Doomsday might bring back multiple MCU villains in surprise cameos, the MCU is more likely to focus on more recently relevant characters.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Introduced Doctor Doom’s Greatest Weapon

The first member of Doctor Doom’s group of antagonists could be none other than Franklin Richards. The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ post-credits scene suggests that Doom will take Franklin under his wing and pressure the kid into using his immense power for Doom’s benefit. Manipulated by Doom, Franklin could see the Fantastic Four and the rest of Avengers: Doomsday‘s heroes as enemies.

Doctor Doom and Franklin Richards are both powerful enough to fight all heroes by themselves. Still, dividing the heroes into at least two big battles ensures Avengers: Doomsday delivers spectacle on the same level as Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Doctor Doom could fight the Avengers while Franklin Richards brushes off all other heroes trying to bring him back to his family.

In the comics, Doctor Doom builds a father-daughter relationship with Valeria Richards, Franklin’s sister who hasn’t been introduced in the MCU. While she stays with her family, Valeria genuinely appreciates Doom like he was her uncle. Avengers: Doomsday could do something similar with Doom and Franklin, with Franklin sincerely defending Uncle Doom from his own parents and friends.

Thunderbolts* Introduced Doctor Doom’s Two Perfect Bodyguards

Doctor Doom and Franklin can technically defeat every hero in Avengers: Doomsday with a fraction of their full power. Still, Avengers: Doomsday‘s packed cast warrants more than one main villain and one secondary antagonist. While Doom fights one team and Franklin fights another, Sentry and the Void could face off against one or the other two hero squads.

Doom can make things easier for himself by simply turning Bob Reynolds against the New Avengers and other heroes. Doom probably knows the right magic spell to reawaken the Void within Bob, or he could pressure Bob into using his Sentry powers against his teammates, bringing the Void out in the process. Like Franklin Richards, Doom might manipulate Sentry and the Void into serving him as henchmen.

Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, with no superpowers or magical knowledge whatsoever, managed to influence Bob’s mind in her favor. Doctor Doom has all the charisma and manipulation skills he needs to do the same in Avengers: Doomsday, and possibly permanently this time. If the Void reawakens, the New Avengers might not be as lucky as they were in their first encounter with Bob’s dark side.

Captain America: Brave New World’s Post-Credits Scene Teased The Leader’s Link To Doctor Doom

Also in 2025, Captain America: Brave New World‘s post-credits scene saw Tim Blake Nelson’s Samuel Sterns a.k.a. the Leader tease the events of Avengers: Doomdsay. Sterns warned Sam Wilson about “others”, apparently referring to other worlds that will fight for survival in an imminent multiversal collision. The Leader’s knowledge of the multiverse could be useful for Doom.

Captain America: Brave New World doesn’t reveal how exactly the Leader reaches the conclusion that Earth-616 will collide with other worlds, but Samuel Sterns’ repeatedly displays superhuman deduction skills. In Avengers: Doomsday, Doctor Doom could recruit the Leader to perfect his conquest plans. As The Incredible Hulk and Captain America: Brave New World have shown, Sterns is quite easy to keep under control.

The Leader is Doctor Doom’s ideal ally if he wants to remove governments and armies from the equation. Although he was defeated in Captain America: Brave New World, Samuel Sterns came dangerously close to starting international war. Together, Doctor Doom and the Leader could be Avengers: Doomsday‘s masterminds, Franklin Richards their power source, and Sentry and the Void could be their muscle.