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Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday has been fully unleashed, and it's confirmed his power level is even greater than Thanos. When Marvel Studios started promoting the upcoming event film, the focus was put on the familiar heroes returning rather than Downey's much-discussed MCU return. The official Avengers: Doomsday trailer has now given him the spotlight.
The pressure is on Marvel, Downey, and the Russo brothers to make the villain the biggest and baddest the Avengers have ever faced. That's no small task considering the threats they've defeated in the past, with Thanos standing out as the most powerful MCU villain audiences saw the original Avengers fight. The Mad Titan's already formidable strength and intellect were only enhanced with all six Infinity Stones.
As the next major villain for the Avengers, Doom is the MCU's Thanos (and Kang) replacement. He'll have to prove his strength with less build-up and against a larger collection of heroes. And while the Doomsday trailers haven't shown that much of him overall, one moment has already put Doom in a power class of his own, making him even stronger than Thanos.
The big, splashy moment of Avengers: Doomsday's trailer comes as Thor battles Doom in a destroyed location. And in a show of Doom's unmatched power, he stops Stormbreaker mid-swing as a fully powered Thor attempts to go for the head (learning a lesson from his failure against Thanos). Comparatively, Thanos couldn't even stop Stormbreaker in Avengers: Infinity War with the power of all six Infinity Stones.
How Doctor Doom Can Stop Thor's Stormbreaker With Just Two Fingers
Doom's impressive display of power isn't an example of Marvel Studios juicing up a villain's abilities just so they can top Thanos. It's a result of the movie applying Victor Von Doom's specific and unique abilities from the comics to the shared universe.
Thanos might be more powerful than Doom overall, but Doomsday's villain has something the Mad Titan doesn't: magic. That is how he stops Stormbreaker in the movie. It's not a reflection of how strong his suit is or how smart he is. He's able to halt Thor's attack due to how skilled he is as a sorcerer in the MCU, just as he is in the comics.
There are even subtle teases of his magic in use as he fights Thor with the color green. Doom's magic is traditionally green in the comics. Right before Stormbreaker hits Doom's fingers, a green light flashes in front of it, and that light starts to spread around the axe as the god of thunder tries to push it closer. Some of the green is even reflected in Victor's eyes.
While the specifics of the spells Doom has cast are unclear at this juncture, magic is responsible for his stunning act. Downey may have become an MCU icon for playing a hero with a powerful suit, but Doom's true power goes beyond his silver armor.
Avengers: Doomsday Is Making Doctor Doom A Scarier Threat Than Thanos
Having Doom be more powerful than Thanos is one thing, but Doomsday has also already established that he is the most fear-inducing threat the Avengers have faced. The trailer includes a notable speech from Thor where he says as much:
I've fought with many warriors in my time. They were far stronger than all of us put together, and they died. They died facing enemies and threats that scared me far less than this one.
Whether Thor is talking about the threat of incursions destroying multiple universes or Doom specifically is unclear based on the trailer. However, the line has been used by Marvel Studios as a way to build up Doom's threat level. They want audiences to be very afraid of their favorite MCU characters coming face-to-face with the Multiverse Saga's ultimate big bad.
Based on Doom stopping Stormbreaker without much effort and Thor's now repeated displays of fear in the marketing, Avengers: Doomsday will look to show that Doctor Doom truly is the most dangerous villain the MCU has ever encountered.
