Tom Hiddleston’s God of Mischief could play a key role in Marvel’s 2026’s Avengers: Doom and its 2027 sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars. But what will Doom want from the MCU’s most beloved villain?
One possibility is to kill Loki and absorb his powers. This would allow Doom to build his own version of the multiverse, a Battleworld, before Avengers: Doom arrives.
Powers
As a Frost Giant, Loki has natural abilities that give him an edge against the mortal world. He possesses superhuman strength, speed, agility, durability and stamina thanks to his Jotunn physiology. Combined with the magic he learned from both Frigga and Odin, Loki is one of the most powerful magic users in existence.
His natural role as the God of Mischief gives him a variety of spells at his disposal that he’s used throughout the MCU. He has the ability to manipulate magical forces for various purposes, such as energy projection, creating force fields, temporarily increasing his own physical capabilities, granting superhuman abilities to living beings or inanimate objects, flight, hypnosis, illusion casting and inter-dimensional teleportation. He also has high-level psionic abilities that allow him to project his thoughts telepathically, across great distances and even through dimensional barriers.
In addition, he can shapeshift between snake form and human form as well as change his appearance. When combined with his near-immortal lifespan, Loki is a formidable opponent against any mortal.
While the MCU’s version of Doom has not been seen since Avengers: Infinity War, he is expected to be even more powerful than ever before in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday and Marvel’s Secret Wars events. One fan theory suggests that RDJ’s villain will absorb the powers of Loki in the course of those storylines, which would make him the MCU’s version of God Emperor Doom.
Intelligence
Aside from being a megalomaniac, Doom is also one of Marvel’s most intelligent villains. He is a scientist who often finds himself battling other scientists and superhumans with impressive brains, including fellow superheroes like Batman and Superman. During a fight against the godlike Beyonder in the 2011 video game Marvel vs Capcom 3, Doom shattered the teleportation device that kept him trapped on Earth-616 by using his own intelligence to reshape reality at the molecular level.
The Multiverse Saga takes place across all of the various Marvel universes and Doom’s intelligence could prove crucial as he navigates each one. He has the ability to create dimensional portals and has even visited alternate versions of himself in the past. He would be able to access different dimensions through these portals and use them to his advantage.
During Jonathan Hickman’s Time Runs Out and Secret Wars storylines in the comics, Doom reached his peak power as he killed off the Beyonders. The race of interdimensional alien beings had godlike powers and they were murdered by Doom, who then absorbed their power as God Emperor Doom. The resulting world, Battleworld, serves as the setting for the current Marvel Multiverse Saga.
However, the MCU doesn’t typically make direct adaptations of comic stories. Instead, it often deviates and takes inspiration from the original source material to deliver a unique story for filmgoers. In this case, it might be too difficult to introduce the Beyonders and kill them off within a few movies. In that case, it might be easier for the MCU to replace them with a character that audiences already know.
Strategy
While Loki Season 2 was a fun and entertaining series, the show missed out on a chance to deliver meaningful storytelling. As one of Marvel’s most popular characters, the TV series could have used its power to open up new and exciting narrative avenues for the MCU. Instead, the show stuck to a familiar time travel narrative that glosses over the inherent paradoxes of such a framework with flimsy “loop” logic.
If Loki is to be redeemed at the end of Avengers: Doomsday and if he’s to take control of the multiverse in the event known as Secret Wars, the show needs to address his connection to these events in a meaningful way. Otherwise, the entire Multiverse Saga will feel like a retread of past stories.
Loki is the perfect character to fill the roles of Molecule Man and the Beyonders. He is a powerful cosmic being with the potential to create reality at a molecular level and recreate existing realities. He is also a cunning and calculating character who can manipulate the world around him.
He can take the form of different versions of himself to confront his enemies, such as Boastful Loki, who wields a hammer and makes wild claims about his accomplishments. He can even take the form of God King Doom, who has god-level reality warping powers and defeated an Infinite Gauntlet armed T’Challa.
Debut
As a longtime Marvel Comics villain, Doctor Doom has seen it all when it comes to global takeovers and inter-dimensional invasions. That means his debut could be a massive threat for the Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic Four.
Unlike Thanos, who wielded the Infinity Gauntlet, Doom might not have the power to erase half of the universe with a snap. But Doom does have a weapon that can shape reality in a permanent way. In the comics, he has used a variety of cosmic energy to construct the universes he rules, including his own planet, Battleworld.
The multiverse fracturing after Heroes Reborn gave Doom the perfect opportunity to build his own version of Battleworld, where he can unite Avengers and other heroes from all different realities. This story would also help establish Doom’s status as one of the MCU’s most iconic villains.
In addition, this is the perfect time to introduce the character of Doomsday, who is a powerful version of Doom with a deep hatred for the Fantastic Four. The addition of Doomsday will further define Doom as a major rival for the Avengers.
Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is a beloved character and killing him off in the MCU would be a major blow to fans. That’s why Doom’s arrival is a smart move for Marvel Studios and how they can set up his rivalry with the Avengers.