The Russo Brothers’ Doctor Doom Comments Prove They Understand What Makes the AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY Villain Tick

Doctor Doom can conquer worlds, rewrite reality, and make gods look small, but none of that is what makes him one of Marvel’s greatest villains. Victor Von Doom becomes truly fascinating when all that power collides with his ego, fear, ambition, and absolute certainty that he’s the smartest person in the room.

That’s why Anthony Russo and Joe Russo’s comments about the character have me feeling pretty damn good about Avengers: Doomsday.

The filmmakers recently contributed a foreword to a new edition of Time Runs Out, Jonathan Hickman’s epic Marvel Comics storyline that leads into Secret Wars and stands as an important influence on the upcoming MCU film.

In discussing Doom, the Russos zero in on the qualities that have made him such an incredible character for decades.

They aren’t talking about how powerful he is or how big a threat he poses to the Avengers. They’re interested in Victor, the deeply flawed man inside the armor, and what happens when someone convinced he alone can save existence is given the power to actually try.

The Russos explain: "Doom is not just an adversary. He is ambition and fear woven together. In Secret Wars, he tries to hold reality in place through sheer will.

“He believes he can save everything if he controls enough of it. Hickman reveals the strain behind that effort and the human fragility beneath the armor. Even someone who can reshape existence cannot escape the emotions that define him."

That’s the Doctor Doom I want to see in the MCU. Doom works because his incredible power has never been able to fix Victor Von Doom. Give him technology, magic, political power, or control over reality itself and he’s still fighting the same ego, insecurity, anger, and need for control underneath the armor.

Hickman took those characteristics to their extreme with God Emperor Doom in Secret Wars. After the destruction of the multiverse, Doom creates Battleworld from what remains and effectively becomes its god. He can reshape existence, yet possessing that kind of power doesn’t suddenly make him whole.

If Avengers: Doomsday is heading anywhere near that territory, there’s a ton of great material for Robert Downey Jr. to dig into.

A Doctor Doom fueled by tragedy, resentment, self-loathing, and the conviction that he’s the only person capable of fixing everything feels tailor-made for Downey.

The Russos also offered more insight into why this interpretation of Doom appeals to them: "We have always been drawn to characters who walk that line. People who reach for something noble and lose themselves along the way.

“Sometimes, destruction does not arrive as a single blow. It arrives through decisions made in uncertainty and through fractures between people who want the same thing but cannot find their way to each other. That is its own kind of ending. It is quiet, painful and incredibly human."

That approach could be exactly what Avengers: Doomsday needs. The best versions of Doctor Doom don’t have him waking up every morning wondering what evil thing he can do next.

Doom believes in himself with almost frightening certainty. In his mind, the world really would be better if Victor Von Doom controlled it, and anyone standing against him simply doesn’t understand what he does.

It makes the possibility of God Emperor Doom and Battleworld especially exciting. If Victor reaches the point where he has enough power to hold reality together himself, his desire to save existence and his obsession with controlling it could become indistinguishable from one another. That’s where Doom gets really interesting.

There has been some concern surrounding Downey’s Doctor Doom voice following the first Avengers: Doomsday trailer, but more recent footage has helped ease those worries. The character’s physical presence and Downey’s more emotionally charged delivery have offered a better idea of what Marvel may be going for with this version of Victor.

Whatever Marvel has planned, the Russos’ foreword gives us an encouraging idea of how they view Doctor Doom. They understand that the character shouldn’t simply be another ridiculously powerful MCU villain standing at the end of a massive Avengers movie.

Doom should be frightening because his motivations make sense to him. He can want to save reality while also needing to own it. He can believe he’s protecting everyone while stripping them of any choice in the matter. He can possess the power of a god and still be driven by painfully human flaws.

Give Downey that version of Victor Von Doom, and Avengers: Doomsday could have one hell of a villain on its hands.

Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters December 18.