Robert Downey Jr. Isn't The Only Doctor Doom In The MCU's Multiverse

Published Nov 13, 2026, 12:30 PM EST

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Avengers: Doomsday is set to properly introduce Doctor Doom to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Robert Downey Jr.'s version technically isn't the only variant of the character. Robert Downey Jr. being cast as Doctor Doom has been a big deal for a long time now. Even setting aside the fact that Doomsday marks Downey's return to the MCU after Iron Man's death in Endgame, Doom is being set up as an even greater threat to the Avengers than Thanos. That alone makes his MCU debut momentous.

Doctor Doom has technically appeared in the MCU already through the post-credits scene of VisionQuest, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and an added scene in the re-release of Avengers: Endgame. Of course, Doom has also appeared before outside the MCU, most notably in the live-action Fantastic Four franchises from 2005 and 2015. Still, Doomsday is special, as it's the first time Doom will get to show the true scope of his power against the full might of the Marvel universe.

Except, Robert Downey Jr. technically isn't the first version of Victor von Doom in the MCU's multiverse. While he is the first in the main MCU timeline and continuity, there's another universe with its own version of Doom. In fact, that version of Doom predates Downey's rendition by nearly 30 years. Doom was briefly featured in Spider-Man: The Animated Series back in 1997, and a much newer Marvel television show brought that version into the MCU.

X-Men '97 Retroactively Brought Its Own Version Of Doctor Doom To The MCU Multiverse

Spider-Man: The Animated Series is part of the Marvel Animated Universe (MAU), which also includes several other animated shows from the 1990s like X-Men: The Animated Series and The Incredible Hulk. For years, the MAU was completely separate from the MCU and not even part of the film franchise's multiverse. That changed in 2024, when X-Men '97 included a cameo from The Watcher, and the same Watcher that appears in What If...? and Daredevil: Born Again season 2 to boot.

X-Men '97 is a direct continuation of the animated series from the '90s, which itself had direct crossovers with Spider-Man: The Animated Series. Since The Watcher appeared in X-Men '97, that retroactively means that the entire MAU exists as a parallel universe that is part of the MCU's multiverse. The main continuity of the MCU still exists as Earth-616, but the MAU joins the ranks of spinoff universes like the ones featured in What If...?

Since the MAU is now a parallel universe in the MCU, Spider-Man: The Animated Series technically has the MCU multiverse's first version of Doctor Doom. He appeared in season 5 of the series, during the "Secret Wars" arc, which also means the MAU was the first to adapt Secret Wars three decades before Avengers: Secret Wars. The MAU's version of Secret Wars revolved around Spider-Man, as it was a test by the Beyonder and Madame Webb to see if he could lead the Spider Wars.

X-Men '97 also ironed out the only wrinkle that might have kept the MAU and MCU separate. The Watcher actually appeared in the original X-Men: The Animated Series, but it was a different version of that character from the one in What If...? and the MCU. X-Men '97 solved that by explicitly showing the cosmic, non-corporeal version of The Watcher that the MCU had already introduced. In short, there's at least one official variant of Doctor Doom in the MCU besides Robert Downey Jr.

Other Versions Of Doctor Doom From The Fantastic Four Aren't Part Of The MCU's Multiverse... Yet

As previously mentioned, the MAU and MCU are hardly the only cinematic universes that have included Doctor Doom before. 2005's Fantastic Four and 2015's Fantastic Four also had their own versions of the character. Unlike X-Men '97, Fox's live-action Fantastic Four franchises are not officially an alternate universe contained within the MCU's multiverse. They're still completely separate, but they may not remain that way forever.

Very notably, Deadpool & Wolverine brought a single element of 2005's Fantastic Four into the MCU: Chris Evans as Johnny Storm. While that movie didn't canonize the entirety of Fox's Fantastic Four, it left the door open. Future MCU projects could easily bring Julian McMahon's version of Doom into a parallel universe in the MCU, especially considering the multiversal incursions and the events of Secret Wars on the horizon.

Bringing 2015's Fantastic Four into the MCU multiverse may prove a bit more tricky. That film was infamously unpopular and a massive box office flop. There's far less desire to see Toby Kebbell's version of Doom, especially since his design was one of the main points of contention fans had with the movie. Still, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has done it before, and if Marvel Studios wants more variants of Doctor Doom, they've already got several versions waiting.

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