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Face front, Marvel fans, because Avengers: Endgame \u2013 Encore<\/u> is now in theaters. The limited rerelease of the Infinity Saga\u2019s finale is actually quite a big event for the MCU, because it has additional footage for the IMAX and Infinity Vision versions of the film. We can also confirm that the leaked footage<\/u> is indeed legitimate, with a new ending where Loki visits Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter, and additional post-credits scenes that connect to Avengers: Doomsday<\/u>. But now that we\u2019ve seen this new footage, has Marvel tipped their hand as to what Doctor Doom\u2019s plan is<\/em> in the next Avengers installment? Going by the scene where Doom kidnaps Bruce Banner, it appears that Doom may in fact be putting together his own team of heroes!<\/p>\nHow would this work? Let\u2019s look at the comics and the implications of Encore\u2019s additional footage to piece it together.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nIs the MCU Adapting Time Runs Out?<\/h2>\n Now that we\u2019ve seen the extra scenes from Encore, it seems clearer than ever that the Russo Brothers turned to Jonathan Hickman\u2019s run on New Avengers for inspiration when shaping Avengers: Doomsday. While we always knew that Secret Wars was coming, and that the film would most likely be based on the 2015 version of the event, adapting the events from Hickman\u2019s Avengers run that led into<\/em> that Secret Wars was not a guarantee. After all, the fifth Avengers movie was originally supposed to be The Kang Dynasty before Jonathan Majors was fired and the Multiverse Saga switched gears to feature Doctor Doom<\/u>. Now that Doom is set in place, it makes sense to use more of Hickman\u2019s material from New Avengers, which was a multi-year saga about a group of Marvel\u2019s most intelligent heroes trying to prevent the death of the multiverse.<\/p>\n If you aren\u2019t familiar with the comics, here’s a brief rundown. Hickman\u2019s New Avengers actually starred the Illuminati \u2014 a team consisting of Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, Black Panther, Namor, Doctor Strange, Beast, and Black Bolt. Together they worked in secret to stop the threat of the Incursions<\/u>, which occur when Earths from two different realities collide, destroying both universes in the process. However, the book is far more depressing and tragic than most superhero fare, with the heroes betraying their morals and turning on each other as it becomes more and more apparent that no matter what they try, the death of the multiverse is inescapable. They even go so far as to destroy other Earths before they can collide with Earth-616, the primary Earth of Marvel comics, but it only delays the inevitable.<\/p>\nThe Doomsday trailers and new Encore footage point to the MCU giving us a live-action take on the Illuminati trying to prevent the collapse of the multiverse.
\u201c<\/span><\/span><\/div>\nThis arc culminated in a story called Time Runs Out, where the Illuminati can no longer keep a lid on the multiversal collapse. Doctor Doom has been working on his own plan to destroy the Beyonders, who are responsible for the Incursions; he steals the Beyonders\u2019 power, which he uses to create Battleworld from the shattered remnants of the remaining universes. He then remakes himself as God Emperor Doom and uses his cosmic powers to hold what is left of reality together. Fans of the comics will certainly want to see Robert Downey Jr.\u2019s Doctor Doom ascend to God Emperor form in Secret Wars, but when it comes to Doomsday, the recent trailers and the new Encore footage point to the MCU giving us a live-action take on the Illuminati trying to prevent the collapse of the multiverse.<\/p>\n
Is Doctor Doom Going to Lead the Illuminati?<\/h2>\n Although we saw an alternate version of the Illuminati hailing from Earth-838 in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the team hasn\u2019t yet appeared in the mainline MCU. Conventional wisdom dictates that Doctor Doom would be the film\u2019s main antagonist \u2014 the movie is called Doomsday<\/em> after all \u2014 but what if the title has more than one meaning? Yes, the film features Doctor Doom, but could it not also mean that the end times are coming? That would certainly track with the new scene in Encore where the TVA find themselves scrambling as they monitor thousands of Incursions, with Ke Huy Quan\u2019s Ouroboros saying that \u201cthe multiverse is collapsing.\u201d Did the MCU\u2019s Doctor Doom cause<\/em> the Incursions, or is he actually trying to save<\/u> what\u2019s left of the multiverse?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n
The Most Surprising Avengers and Marvel Characters Not Announced for Doomsday<\/h3>\n<\/span><\/output><\/p>\n
Going by the Doomsday footage, I\u2019m inclined to say the latter. The TVA scene in Encore reveals that one of the worlds in danger is Earth-10005, aka the Fox X-Men reality. This tracks with a shot in the first Doomsday trailer where Patrick Stewart\u2019s Professor X looks up to see another planet falling out of the sky. I\u2019ve long theorized that the X-Men are doomed (!) in Avengers: Doomsday; Doom needing to destroy the Fox X-Men\u2019s Earth to save another reality would be the perfect way to establish the movie\u2019s stakes. Perhaps the scene from the trailer where Doom activates an army of Sentinels to fight the heroes isn\u2019t the climactic finale, but actually a scene early on before Doom has managed to relay the gravity of the situation to everyone else.<\/p>\n
The Encore scene where Doom kidnaps Bruce Banner also supports this theory. In the comics, Bruce was a late addition to the Illuminati who the others didn\u2019t want to have involved because of his past with the group \u2014 after all, they were the ones who shot him into space. But Banner is smart enough to figure out what’s happening on his own, and joins the team midway through the story. While some may think the MCU\u2019s Doom wants Banner for his gamma-powered alter ego, what if he actually wants Banner\u2019s mind<\/em>? Is Bruce Banner the first recruit in Doom\u2019s version of the Illuminati? Will Pedro Pascal\u2019s Reed Richards have no choice but to join forces with his greatest enemy<\/u>? And what about the Latverian Witches whose costumes we saw at San Diego Comic-Con? Is that a pathway for Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch to finally return to the MCU as a member of Doom’s team?<\/p>\n <\/p>\nPerhaps the plot of Doomsday is less about the heroes working together to confront Doom, and instead sees them divided over how to handle the threat of the Incursions. Maybe that\u2019s the explanation for why Shang-Chi is fighting Gambit, or why Invisible Woman appears to be battling Namor. We won\u2019t know for sure until Doomsday drops in December, but for now, the new teases from Encore are certainly tantalizing.\n<\/p>\n
What do you<\/em> think will happen in Avengers: Doomsday? Let us know in the comments!<\/p>\nCarlos Morales writes novels, articles, and Mass Effect essays. You can follow his fixations on <\/em>Twitter<\/em><\/u><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n