Had Avengers: The Kang Dynasty moved ahead as planned, then we'd have crossed paths with a lot of Kang Variants. Even this week, we've learned that the plan was for the Young Avengers to battle the Lizard Kang.
The time-travelling villain and his Variants have since been sidelined, but we are getting Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom. He's the Multiverse Saga's new big bad, but will we see only one Doom in Avengers: Doomsday next December?
That's one of many questions we have about the movie. However, assuming Victor has encountered and perhaps annihilated his own Multiversal Variants, the door is open to some exciting, fun cameos. It's those we're looking at here.
Check out some of our top picks for Doom's MCU Variants by clicking the "Next"/"View List" buttons below.
5. Doctor Doom "Thing"
What If...Dr. Doom Had Become The Thing? was published in the mid-2000s. The one-shot comic featured a version of Victor Von Doom who travelled into outer space alongside Reed Richards, Sue Storm, and Johnny Storm.
Bombarded by cosmic rays, Doom became The Thing in place of Ben Grimm, who, in this reality, was The Hulk. As you might imagine, Victor blamed Reed for his monstrous transformation, though he was ultimately foiled by Ben, who joined the Fantastic Four in the villain's place.
Fortnite has featured a throne for Doctor Doom made out of The Thing's remains. How cool would it be if we were to learn that Downey's Victor had killed this Variant, turning him into the seat he intends to rule the Multiverse from?
4. Dinosaur Doom
This Victor Von Doom Variant hails from a world where dinosaurs never went extinct and instead developed sentience. Essentially the Doctor Doom we all know and fear in the form of a T.rex, it would be so much fun to see this particular Doom on screen.
In the recent One World Under Doom storyline, Doom forced his most fearsome Variant to serve him. A dinosaur is frightening enough, but when you combine one with Victor's intelligence, you have a Multiversal creature that's a force to be reckoned with.
Would this be too silly for the next Avengers movies? Context is key, and it could go either way. However, handled the right way, a dinosaur Doom Variant would be a phenomenal use of the Multiverse concept before this Saga concludes with Secret Wars.
3. Doom 2099
Doom 2099 is supposed to be the Earth-616 Victor Von Doom, who was mysteriously stranded in the future (this being comics, it's one of many possible outcomes for the character).
Memory loss means that Victor lost his ability to wield magic, but with such advanced technology available to him, Doom was still a force to be reckoned with. Despite starting off as a freedom fighter looking to take Latveria back from its new leader, he soon reverted to his old ways.
There's not a huge amount of storytelling potential with this Doom, but it would be fun to see a Variant who relies heavily on future technology, not dissimilar to a time-traveller like Kang (in the comics, he was born in the 31st century). So, Doom 3099, perhaps?
2. Infamous Iron Man
By the time Avengers: Doomsday is released, seven years will have passed since Robert Downey Jr. last played Iron Man. That's arguably enough time to justify the Oscar-winner playing another MCU character, but his stint as Tony Stark will surely be referenced, right?
We'll see, but one idea would be to introduce an "Infamous Iron Man" Variant. In the comics, this was the post-Secret Wars Doom who, now healed, set out to become a hero in Tony's place.
On the big screen, we'd like this to be the Earth-838 Doom/Iron Man who created the Illuminati's Ultron guards and comes seeking revenge for what happened to his fellow "heroes." Of course, he'd be swiftly dealt with by the main Victor as he seeks to conquer the Multiverse.
1. God Emperor Doom
So, this "Doom" wouldn't be a Variant as such, but is where we'd like to see Downey's Victor by the time Avengers: Doomsday ends. Heading into Secret Wars, the villain stole the power of The Beyonders and reforged the dying Multiverse in his image.
As the ruler of Battleworld (a mashup of realities after they were destroyed during Incursions), God Emperor Doom had the literal power of a God. Doctor Strange was his right-hand man, while Sue Storm was his wife, and Franklin and Valeria were now his children.
This Doom was so powerful that he shrugged off the power of the Infinity Stones and tore Thanos' spine from his body when the Mad Titan challenged him. This needs to be the endgame for the MCU's Doom and the big bad our heroes need to defeat in Avengers: Secret Wars.