Marvel fans are debating whether the MCU's new big bad Doctor Doom should be introduced in other projects before Avengers: Doomsday

Robert Downey Jr. during the Doctor Doom announcement at Marvel's SDCC 2024 panel
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The next Avengers movie, Avengers: Doomsday, is set to bring a brand new big bad to the fore in the MCU: Doctor Doom, played by Robert Downey Jr. But just how much introduction does a new Thanos-level villain need? Marvel fans are discussing what they think is the appropriate level of setup.

"Seeing as Dr. Doom is going to be the next big bad for a few movies, how much setup will we need before the events of Doomsday?" asked one Reddit user. "Seems like such a massive production, but doesn't have the same setup as leading up to [Infinity War] or Endgame knowing the stones were the main mission for Thanos."

"While I think a cameo in a post credit in F4 this summer is likely, I don’t think we’ll see him pop up or be mentioned anywhere else until Doomsday," wrote another fan. "As for the set up, he just needs to have a scene on par with the opening scene of Infinity War to get audiences on board with the idea of Doom being an Avengers level threat. If we look back, I think we can overestimate how much build up Thanos had. He showed up in two quick post credit scenes and had like a minute of screen time in the first GOTG."

Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.