MCU Phase 6 Rumor Suggests The Fantastic Four: First Steps Ending Reveals Doctor Doom’s Hidden Avengers: Doomsday Plot

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Image via Marvel Studios

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While the face of Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom was never seen in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the classic character's brief, ominous cameo at the end of the film served as an intriguing introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, did this post-credits scene reveal more about Avengers: Doomsday than fans initially caught onto?

A new rumor suggests that The Fantastic Four: First Steps post-credits sequence, in which Susan "Invisible Woman" Richards (Vanessa Kirby) finds a hooded, uninvited Victor von Doom visiting with her four-year-old son, Franklin, is a clue as to what the villain has in store for Avengers: Doomsday. Supposedly, he plans to kidnap Sue and Reed Richards' (Pedro Pascal) gifted child and use him to control what are described as "rogue incursions" happening throughout the Marvel multiverse.

In other words, there have been instances in which two concurrent alternate realities collide with one another, resulting in the demise of one or both of these worlds. Doctor Doom reportedly wants to put an end to these cataclysmic events by saving one dimension and leaving the other destroyed and, supposedly, Franklin Richards holds the power to make that happen, which is why he may intend on taking the child with him.

The Fantastic Four — also including Joseph Quinn as Sue's younger brother, Johnny "Human Torch" Storm, and Ebon Mass-Bachrach's Ben "The Thing" Grimm — went through a lot of trouble, and even put humanity at risk, to prevent Reed and Sue's young boy from falling prey to Galactus (Ralph Ineson) in their introductory MCU film from 2025. So, assuming this rumor about Doctor Doom's plan is true, that is likely what leads the superhero family to travel beyond their reality, causing them to cross paths with the heroes from the MCU's main timeline, as teased in the Thunderbolts* post-credit scene from earlier in the year.

How Marvel Comics Influence This MCU Phase 6 Rumor

A person can often infer a lot about what to expect from the plot of a comic book movie just by taking a look at the source material. For instance, a good number of Marvel fans going into 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier likely knew that James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes (Sebastian Stan) would come back as the eponymous assassin based on the reveal in Captain America Vol. 5, #6. There is a decent chance that fans could make some plausible predictions about Avengers: Doomsday using the same method.

In fact, the rumor about Doctor Doom's plan to eliminate incursions with the help of Franklin Richards is largely based on information that originates from Marvel Comics. While it is not explicitly stated just how powerful he is in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Reed and Sue's son possesses the ability to change reality to his will, among many other gifts that make him a force to be reckoned with, so it makes sense that Doom needs the child to carry out his plans.

On top of that, in the 2015 crossover event Secret Wars, a series of various incursions led to Doctor Doom's creation of a barbaric arena for superheroes to be pitted against each other called Battleworld, as well as the ultimate destruction of the Marvel Multiverse as a whole. The sequel to Avengers: Doomsday, which comes out in 2027, is called Avengers: Secret Wars, which is probably all the information one needs to come to the conclusion that Battleworld will serve as a major plot point and that the incorporation of interdimensional travel in the MCU is coming to a close.

Avengers: Doomsday is set to hit theaters Dec. 18, 2026.