Did Deadpool & Wolverine Give Us the Explanation for RDJ’s Doctor Doom?

Over the play Marvel Studios reclaimed its crown arsenic the king of summertime blockbusters with the instantly palmy merchandise of Deadpool & Wolverine and a monolithic instrumentality to its kingdom of San Diego Comic-Con.

At the studio’s yearly Hall H panel, Marvel brag Kevin Feige announced the Russo Brothers are officially coming backmost to helm Avengers: Doomsday (replacing the now-scrapped Kang Dynasty movie) and Avengers: Secret Wars successful a one-two punch that near fans stunned. As if that wasn’t enough, Marvel besides mic-dropped the lawsuit with the announcement that Victor Von Doom would beryllium this phase’s caller large atrocious and played by nary different than Robert Downey Jr. You know, the feline who, until precise recently, was successful the Marvel Cinematic Universe arsenic sacrificial leader Tony Stark/Iron Man.

Which leaves america with the question connected everyone’s mind: how the heck is this going to beryllium pulled off?

Let’s dive into a mates theories, based connected immoderate precise absorbing things we learned done Deadpool & Wolverine regarding “anchor beings” and the “Johnny Storm Effect.” Big spoilers up obviously.

What are anchor beings?

Image: Walt Disney Pictures

In Deadpool & Wolverine, erstwhile Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) gets pulled retired of his timeline by the Mr. Paradox (Matthew MacFadyen) and the TVA, it’s explained to him that his beingness is dilatory decaying owed to the nonaccomplishment of its “anchor being.” In this case, it’s the “best” of each the Wolverines, a.k.a. Hugh Jackman’s mentation of Wolverine from the Fox X-Men movies up to Logan. As Deadpool & Wolverine reminds us, that leader is ace dead—and that timeline decay is simply a meta allusion to the Fox X-Men universe’s extremity since it was acquired by Disney.

In bid to prevention his timeline, Deadpool goes connected a travel done clip to find a replacement Logan to simply insert into his universe, hoping that volition bash capable to halt the decay. In that “Power of Love” multi-verse question montage, we get the consciousness that these universes thin to person a Logan arsenic their anchor beings, and arsenic specified they don’t permission without a fight—except for one: the “worst” Logan.

How does Deadpool & Wolverine archetypal link to the ineffable timeline?

Now here’s wherever it gets interesting. This variant Wolverine has already screwed up his timeline by not being determination erstwhile his X-Men were killed; the accusation is, potentially, it’s lone being held unneurotic by his beingness arsenic punishment for Logan to unrecorded retired his ace agelong days burdened by the guilt of his actions, which he’s desperately tried to portion away. So Wade takes him connected arsenic his project, making his “educated wish” that if Wolverine helps Deadpool’s timeline, they could besides spell backmost and hole Wolverine’s. That’s the crippled of Deadpool & Wolverine—a fun, convulsive romp— but there’s thing successful the condiment determination with those “anchor beings.”

There’s a amusive country aboriginal connected that establishes Deadpool visiting the ineffable timeline circa 2018 (using Cable’s watch), hoping to articulation the Avengers done an interrogation with Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) successful bid to beryllium a leader successful Vanessa’s eyes and unrecorded up to his potential. This is wherever helium learns and sees who is portion of that roster, including Chris Evans’ Captain America and Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man. Deadpool wanted to speech to Stark but didn’t get an assemblage due to the fact that arsenic Happy enactment it, Wade was successful it for himself– and Avengers became heroes to assistance others.

How does Tony Stark acceptable into this?

Okay, so… since Deadpool instinctively seeks retired Tony Stark, possibly we tin instrumentality an educated conjecture that the ineffable timeline’s “anchor being” is, successful fact, Tony Stark. After all, wherefore gravitate to this universe, this Tony, if helium could spell to immoderate world wherever the Avengers existed? It’s lone been since Tony made his sacrifice successful Endgame that the multiverse’s fracturing began. Right now, it’s lone being held unneurotic by the volition of Loki, portion the TVA attempts to salvage arsenic galore timelines arsenic possible, straight mounting up Deadpool & Wolverine‘s arc with the renegade Mr. Paradox.

And similar Deadpool’s universe, which present has a caller Wolverine “anchor being” successful spot to support it together, you tin posit that there’s a mighty large spread successful the ineffable timeline’s “anchor being” relation that’s ripe for the taking—maybe by the “worst” mentation of a Tony Stark type.

Image: Walt Disney Pictures

At Marvel’s large Hall H sheet this weekend, it was specifically stated that Robert Downey Jr. volition play Victor Von Doom, which muddies whether oregon not Victor tin beryllium a Tony variant–even though there are comics that delve into identity-usurping betwixt the two.

But let’s callback Loki‘s first-season finale, and Kang’s informing that sidesplitting him would lone bring astir the state for another, worse Kang to arrive. That theory, of course, was presented for a villain we’re apt not seeing again. We’re guessing the spaghetti-ing of Loki play two’s Victor Timely—a Kang variant—will person thing to bash with erasing each Kangs from beingness for now. Victor Timely besides backs up the thought that aggregate characters tin stock the aforesaid actor’s face, adjacent if they’re variants oregon different radical each together.

To debar getting excessively confused, due to the fact that we genuinely don’t cognize however the inhabitants of the ineffable timeline volition respond to the look of their leader connected the look of an evil invader, let’s spell backmost to Deadpool & Wolverine‘s Chris Evans cameo. When Deadpool recognizes him successful the Void, helium assumes it’s Captain America—until he, similar a batch of assemblage members, is shook by the uncover that this is Johnny Storm from the 2005 Fantastic Four movie.

This Johnny Storm conscionable truthful happens to look precisely similar Steve Rogers’ Captain America. And similar Peter Parker (a bully campaigner for Sony Marvel Universe’s “anchor being”), helium has 3 variants we’ve seen implicit the years with antithetic faces; we’re presuming that includes Michael B. Jordan (2015’s Johnny Storm, who besides shares a look with Black Panther‘s Killmonger!) and his latest variant, Joseph Quinn, who’ll beryllium seen successful adjacent year’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

Thanks to Deadpool’s Captain America/Johnny Storm confusion, portion we whitethorn not cognize why immoderate variants volition stock the aforesaid look with different wholly antithetic characters, we cognize they volition beryllium recognized. This means that erstwhile the villainous Victor Von Doom arrives successful the ineffable timeline and takes his disguise disconnected (something Doom is seldom consenting to bash successful the comics, and thing that volition inevitably hap successful the MCU anyway, due to the fact that you’re paying for Robert Downey Jr.) revealing a countenance identical to Tony Stark’s, it’s going to beryllium awfully unsmooth connected Tom Holland’s mediocre Peter Parker.

It feels similar a hole that takes connected elements of however the Kang quality was intended to beryllium used; owed to the quality of the redirect betwixt the container bureau let-downs that were expected to acceptable up Kang Dynasty and Jonathan Majors’ MCU exit, Marvel had to travel up with a beardown solution. Bringing backmost the fan-beloved Downey feels precise safe. Setting him up to beryllium a Victor Von Doom who’s perchance the worst signifier of Tony Stark makes sense, particularly if there’s a team-up successful the works betwixt Marvel’s archetypal household and the Avengers. Who other could halt Doom, really?

There’s truthful galore elements astatine play. Sure, Marvel apt wants to acceptable up RDJ versus Marvel’s biggest heroes to get butts successful seats. And there’s plentifulness of threads connecting our anchor being Logan backmost to the ineffable timeline now: adamantium has been introduced into the ineffable timeline, thing that volition beryllium explored successful Captain America: Brave New World. That could springiness our caller Logan information to combat against the Serpent Society—which we’ve seen successful The Wolverine with Viper, but present led by Giancarlo Esposito’s Sidewinder—especially if oregon erstwhile Doom expresses involvement successful that precious resource.

And portion we’re disquieted astir the benching of assorted caller heroes these phases were readying to put in, we spot the vision, overall, of wherever this is going to go. This re-direction is one mode to critic-proof your films; bring backmost a acquainted leader to beryllium the villain and look disconnected with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine until they’re 90. Perfectly balanced arsenic each things should be, arsenic Cable—er, Thanos—said.

Want much io9 news? Check retired erstwhile to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s adjacent for the DC Universe connected movie and TV, and everything you request to cognize astir the aboriginal of Doctor Who.