The Marvel Cinematic Universe is building toward something massive, and ScreenCrush has cracked the code on Avengers: Doomsday. In their comprehensive breakdown, they’ve analyzed seven post-credit scenes from the Multiverse Saga to piece together what might be the most ambitious Marvel film yet. Buckle up, because this theory connects everything from Tony Stark’s sacrifice to Doctor Doom’s reign of terror.
Doctor Doom’s Shocking Connection to Tony Stark
The Russo Brothers have confirmed that Tony’s snap in Endgame is directly connected to Doctor Doom, and that Robert Downey Jr. was the only actor who could play this version of the character. ScreenCrush theorizes that Avengers: Doomsday will open with a cold open featuring Doom’s origin, explaining why he bears Tony Stark’s face.
The theory suggests the film could open with The Watcher narrating, similar to What If?, providing exposition without feeling forced. After Tony says “I am Iron Man” and snaps, The Watcher could reveal: “But not in every universe.” This sets up the crucial concept that Tony Stark and Victor Von Doom are the same person across different universes, but their divergent life paths led them to become very different heroes—or villains.
One possibility is that Tony, after snapping, becomes omnipotent like Infinity Ultron, discovering he’s actually a Von Doom who was adopted by the Starks. However, ScreenCrush suggests an even better alternative: that Doom is from a universe where he was never adopted, became Dr. Doom instead of Iron Man, and survived his own snap against Thanos despite receiving severe scarring. The key revelation? This multiversal constant exists where this person almost always snaps away Thanos—the choice that defines whether he becomes a hero or villain.
The Aftermath of Endgame and Splintering Realities
Doomsday will serve as a direct sequel to Endgame, picking up on Tony’s sacrifice and the concept of splintering realities introduced in that film. Remember when Tony encountered his father and seemed confused about his mother’s pregnancy timing? This could hint that Tony wasn’t actually a biological Stark but was adopted after the Starks lost their biological child.
The film will need to address how the Multiverse Saga’s seemingly disconnected stories all connect. The Sacred Timeline—Universe 616—was kept isolated from the wider multiverse by He Who Remains. When Sylvie killed him, the Sacred Timeline began touching other universes, which is what the Council of Kangs was referring to when they said “they’re beginning to touch the multiverse.”
Multiversal Incursions: The Space Crisis Explained
The “space crisis” mentioned in the Thunderbolts post-credit scene refers to incursions—universes colliding and threatening to destroy each other. With He Who Remains dead and Loki holding the strands of time together without fully controlling them, the multiverse has become unstable.
Several incursions are brewing:
- The potential collision between Universe 838 (from Multiverse of Madness) and Universe 616
- Monica Rambeau trapped in the Deadpool/Fox X-Men universe after the tear in spacetime from The Marvels
- The Fantastic Four traveling from Universe 828 into Universe 616
- Multiple tears caused by constant universe-hopping throughout the Multiverse Saga
As Reed Richards explained in Multiverse of Madness, the only way to save your universe from an incursion is to destroy the other universe first. This desperate reality will drive much of the conflict in Doomsday.
Setting Up Secret Wars: The Big Picture
ScreenCrush believes Doctor Doom will single-handedly eliminate the Council of Kangs, removing the only overseers of the multiverse. With no one policing reality, incursions will spiral out of control. The theory suggests we might see or hear about Doom destroying the Council in a scene reminiscent of Rey and Palpatine’s lightning blast in Rise of Skywalker—wiping out Kangs and their sympathizers across existence.
Doom will then seize Loki’s throne at the center of time, using his position and the power of Franklin Richards to intentionally collapse the multiverse. He’ll leave nothing but the void, then construct Battleworld from chunks of destroyed universes—directly setting up Secret Wars.
Cameos and Character Roles: Who Shows Up When
Based on their analysis and publicly available set information, ScreenCrush maps out an intricate sequence of events:
The Fantastic Four Arrive: After Doom kidnaps Franklin Richards in the Fantastic Four: First Steps post-credit scene, the FF will rip through space chasing him, crash-landing in the MCU’s Hudson River. The New Avengers and Spider-Man will greet them, leading to a meeting at the tower.
Two Teams of Avengers: Bucky will call Sam Wilson despite team tensions (echoing Tony calling Cap in Infinity War). Sam arrives with his own Avengers team including She-Hulk, Hulk, and Shang-Chi. Expect some fun banter about Sam’s team having two Hulks.
The 10 Rings Beacon: Shang-Chi will share his knowledge of the multiverse, revealing the 10 Rings beacon. The theory proposes that this beacon, which looks identical to Loki’s time tree turned sideways, is actually a map to Loki himself. When combined with Kamala Khan’s bangles, they’ll have a complete map to reach “the man at the end of time.”
Thor’s Entrance: Thor will make a Wakanda-style entrance at Kamar-Taj, accompanied by his adopted daughter Love. She’ll have had a vision about Loki, Doom, and the end of the multiverse through her connection to Eternity. Thor will quickly settle any debate about Avengers leadership by declaring himself clearly in charge.
Multiple Teams, Multiple Missions:
- One team (Thor, Falcon, John Walker, The Thing) heads to the TVA to find Loki before Doom
- Another team (Reed Richards, America Chavez, Kamala Khan) travels to the X-Men universe tracking Franklin and Doom
- A third team stays behind to protect Universe 616
Key Theories: Loki, Council of Kangs, Franklin Richards, and the Fantastic Four
Loki’s Role: Loki thought he bested He Who Remains by giving the Sacred Timeline free will and letting it join the multiverse. But he’s in over his head. An ever-expanding multiverse is destined to collapse on itself—the “big crunch” opposite of the big bang. Loki holds the strands together but doesn’t truly control anything, making him vulnerable to Doom’s attack.
Council of Kangs Eliminated: The Council knows how dangerous Doom will be, which is why Immortus said “if we let them, they will take everything we’ve built.” Doom will eliminate them, removing the last overseers of reality. He Who Remains may have even engineered Victor Von Doom becoming Tony Stark in Universe 616 to prevent this exact threat from emerging.
Franklin Richards’ Power: Franklin’s connection to the Power Cosmic allows him to create entire universes with his mind. Doom will use Franklin’s reality-warping abilities to collapse and reshape the multiverse, creating Battleworld for Secret Wars.
Fantastic Four’s Investment: The FF’s personal stake—saving their son Franklin—will drive their heroism. They’ll use Reed’s multiversal tracking technology (similar to how he tracked Silver Surfer) to locate Franklin across realities.
The X-Men Universe Connection
When heroes reach the X-Men universe, expect the classic “heroes meet and fight before teaming up” sequence. But not everyone will join forces. ScreenCrush theorizes that Magneto, as an isolationist, will refuse to save other realities when his own universe is at stake. He may even defect and attack Universe 616 to destroy it first, following the harsh logic that destroying the other universe is the only way to survive an incursion.
Set photos and cast interviews have confirmed Nightcrawler appears, with Alan Cumming mentioning fighting against Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards) and Chris Hemsworth’s stunt double, supporting the theory of complex allegiances and conflicts in the X-Men universe.
The Climactic Battle at Loki’s Throne
The theory culminates in a devastating sequence: Doom reaches Loki’s throne despite Thor’s team standing guard. He’ll savage the heroes, with Thor being the last one standing but ultimately falling to Doom’s power. Reed and the others will storm in too late—Doom has already taken the throne.
In a heartbreaking mirror of Infinity War, we’ll see Loki on the ground holding Thor (reversing Thor holding Loki after his death). But Thor won’t be dead… yet.
With control of time itself and Franklin Richards’ reality-warping power, Doom will initiate the complete collapse of the multiverse, leaving only the void and chunks of universes that will form Battleworld.
Final Thoughts
ScreenCrush’s theory brilliantly weaves together seemingly disparate threads from across the Multiverse Saga. From the Council of Kangs to the 10 Rings beacon, from Doctor Strange’s incursions to Loki’s sacrifice, everything points toward one conclusion: Doctor Doom seizing control of reality itself.
The film promises to be exposition-heavy by necessity, but if executed with the elegance of What If?’s Watcher narration, it could provide the connective tissue the Multiverse Saga desperately needs. With multiple Avengers teams, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and heroes from across the multiverse converging, Avengers: Doomsday is shaping up to be the most ambitious crossover event in MCU history.
One thing is certain: after Doomsday’s multiversal collapse, nothing will ever be the same. Secret Wars awaits.
What do you think of ScreenCrush’s theory? Does it align with your expectations for Avengers: Doomsday? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Source: ScreenCrush – “Avengers: Doomsday Plot Explained” (August 14, 2025)
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