Avengers: Doomsday is still over a year away, but fans might have already gotten their first look at Robert Downey Jr. as its main villain Doctor Doom. This look doesn’t come courtesy of an official first-look photo from Marvel Studios or even a set leak from the production set; instead, as with a number of previous major movies, merchandise and promotional artwork might have given things away.
The CinXperience X account posted an image from the Disney 2026 Merchandise Expo in Shanghai, China, that prominently features Doctor Doom. The design in question, featuring detailed design patterns on the armor, chain mail around the arms as opposed to armored plating, and what appears to be Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, on one of the left shoulder plates, doesn’t seem to be derived from any existing comic art. Instead, this appears to be an original piece for Avengers: Doomsday, either concept art used in promotional material or an actual image of Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom suit. Meanwhile, the X account Avengers Updates shared a lightshow from the same Shanghai Expo that prominently features Doom, suggesting these are official glimpses of what Downey’s version of the character will look like. See both the image and the video below:
What This Reveal Tells Us About Doctor Doom
Marvel Studios hasn’t confirmed whether this Doctor Doom artwork is officially representative of the upcoming MCU movie, but with over a year to go until Avengers: Doomsday, this is likely the most fans will see for quite some time. It’s entirely possible that the expo is using promotional artwork, and this isn’t the final design; as many fans will remember, a lot of the promotional material for Captain America: The First Avenger featured concept art of Chris Evans’ Captain America costume and not the final design from the film, even though they were close. For now, though, it does provide some likely clues about Doctor Doom’s place within the MCU.
The most notable detail is Mjolnir being represented on Doom’s armor, which implies a connection between the villain and the God of Thunder. Chris Hemsworth is set to reprise his role as Thor in Avengers: Doomsday, and the fact that he got the first chair reveal during the cast announcement might imply a large part for him to play. There’s been speculation that Doom’s plan involves dethroning Thor’s adopted brother Loki from his place as the God of Stories, so the movie might be a chase across the multiverse to see if Thor or Doom can get to him first. The lightshow does feature Doom sitting on a throne, which could be either his Latverian throne or Loki’s throne at the end of time.
There has been a lot of speculation about Doctor Doom, particularly with Robert Downey Jr. playing the character. Fan theories have popped up suggesting that he’ll be a Tony Stark variant, or will disguise himself as Stark to trick the Avengers, or that his main conflict will be with Chris Evans’ Captain America (who isn’t confirmed to be in the movie). While there’s certainly a lot of controversy surrounding Downey Jr.’s casting, it’s hard to dispute that, if this is the design for Doctor Doom used in Avengers: Doomsday, the filmmakers have outdone themselves. Unlike some other cinematic incarnations, it appears that they’re embracing Doctor Doom’s classic comic book aesthetic, rather than downplaying anything in favor of realism.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
