Discover how Marvel's First Family and Doctor Doom go from uneasy allies to bitter enemies in Marvel First Family & Doctor Doom Are Friends Until Doomsday.
Nobody expects that Doctor Doom, about to threaten every universe in the multiverse in Avengers: Doomsday, isn’t a stranger to the Fantastic Four. He’s family friend material. Reed Richards and Victor von Doom go back decades in the comics, and it’s confirmed after official comments from insiders reveal that it’s the emotional spine of the entire movie.
This isn’t the origin story where Doom shows up as a masked menace on day one. This is a slower, sadder kind of villain arc, and it’s exactly why Robert Downey Jr. signing on to play him made so much sense once you stopped picturing Iron Man and started picturing a man who lost everything and blames the people who once called him a friend.
Long before he was ruling Latveria and building doombots by the thousand, Victor von Doom shared a dorm with Reed Richards at State University. They were rivals in the lab, not enemies in the field.
The accident that scarred Doom’s face and pushed him toward sorcery and tyranny is tangled up with Reed’s own guilt — Reed warned Victor his calculations were flawed, Victor ignored him, and the explosion that followed set both of their lives on separate, colliding paths.
What makes their relationship genuinely unusual in Avengers: Doomsday is that it never fully curdled into simple hatred. Doctor Doom has, at various points, called a truce with the Fantastic Four to fight bigger cosmic threats.
He’s shown up for moments on with Marvel’s first family. Most strikingly, in the comics, Doom personally delivered Reed and Sue’s daughter, Valeria, when a pregnancy complication threatened both mother and child and he later became her godfather. That’s not a footnote. That’s a writer deliberately keeping the door open between a hero and his greatest enemy, generation after generation.
Why this matters for the movie: If the MCU is borrowing this dynamic, Doom isn’t being introduced as a stranger the Fantastic Four have to figure out. He’s someone Marvel’s first family already trusted. That’s a much heavier betrayal to write and a much heavier one to watch.
According to a widely circulated from industry leaker Daniel Richtman, the Fantastic Four’s Reed Richard and Doctor Doom are described as being on friendly terms heading into the film as people who have known each other for years rather than adversaries meeting for the first time.
The same rumor claims the fallout that turns them into enemies is essentially the plot of the movie itself, with Doctor Doom reportedly seen playing with Franklin Richards in a post-credits scene of Fantastic Four: First Steps. Vanessa Kirby’s Sue Storm saw them and tried to prepare to use her power to protect her son but the scene ended.
However, the scene made fans mind that Doom was an enemy, if he’s friendly then Sue may not see Doom as a threat and calm down.
“Doctor Doom is just playing with Franklin, he mean no harm to the kid” — Ritchman Says
Marvel Studios hasn’t laid out the Reed-Doom relationship on record. But it lines up too neatly with six decades of comics history to dismiss, and directors Joe and Anthony Russo have publicly described Doom as one of the most complex characters in Marvel’s library — someone they wanted to explore with “complexities and vulnerabilities” rather than write as a straightforward conqueror.
“He’s not simply a villain; he’s one of the most complex Marvel characters. He’s always three moves ahead.” — Joe Russo, co-director, on Doctor Doom
If there’s one thread connecting the comics history to the reported MCU plot, it’s Franklin Richards. In the comics, Franklin is regarded as one of the most powerful beings to ever exist — capable of warping reality, creating pocket universes, and reading minds before he can properly walk. The Fantastic Four: First Steps already introduced him as a baby who ages into a young child by the film’s end, and multiple reports suggest Doom’s interest in Franklin is central to why he moves against the family at all.
A godfather turning on the family he swore to protect, driven by what a child could become, that’s not comic book villainy for its own sake. That’s a tragedy with body count.
Read More 👉 Marvel’s Amazing Spider-Man #1000: What Fans Need to Know
| Title | Details |
| Title / Event | Avengers: Secret Wars (follow-up: Avengers: Secret Wars — Part II noted as Dec 17, 2027) |
| Release date | December 18, 2026 |
| Follow-up installment | Avengers: Secret Wars follows (sequel/next major MCU event) on December 17, 2027 |
| Main villain | Doctor Doom — played by Robert Downey Jr.; full costume unveiled at CinemaCon 2026 |
| Returning lead cast | Chris Evans (Steve Rogers), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Richards) |
| Fantastic Four presence | Seven characters from First Steps confirmed to appear, including HERBIE (the robot) |
| Directors | Anthony Russo and Joe Russo (returning to MCU since Avengers: Endgame) |
| Setting / premise | Heroes from three separate universes — Earth-616, Earth-828 (Fantastic Four’s world), and Fox X-Men universe — converge to face Doctor Doom |
The trailer shown at CinemaCon and in teasers has already leaned into Doom’s overwhelming power — a scene where he stops Thor’s Stormbreaker with one hand has become the moment fans keep replaying.
But the same trailer reportedly closes on a much quieter, more devastating line from Doom: “One day you will forgive me.” That’s not the sentence of a conqueror talking to strangers. That’s the sentence of someone talking to people he actually cares whether they forgive.
The MCU has struggled with villain motivation before — plenty of Phase Four and Five antagonists existed mainly to be defeated. Doom being a person the Fantastic Four actually liked, trusted, and maybe even loved solves that problem before it starts. They also don’t have to start from scratch in making us feel sympathetic for Doom; they get that from sixty years of history between Reed and Victor, and they get to spend their running time dismantling it on-screen rather than explaining it in exposition.
It also raises the stakes for everyone standing next to the Fantastic Four when Doctor Doom turns. If he’s willing to burn a friendship this old to get what he wants, nobody in Avengers: Doomsday is safe because they’re powerful. They’re at risk because they’re close to him.
Read More 👉 XMen 97 Season 2 Episodes 1-3: Who Really Sent the XMen Through Time?
Doctor Doom isn’t a fascinating Avengers: Doomsday antagonist simply because he’s the most powerful person present. He’s compelling because he’s introduced as someone Fantastic Four already know, trust, and consider part of their lives. That background makes every encounter not just a fight to save the multiverse, but the shattering of a friendship that once felt unshakable.
If Marvel follows the emotional roadmap it set forth in the comics, “Avengers: Doomsday” won’t just establish Doom as the MCU’s next major villain. It’ll show how pride, grief, and unthinkable choices can turn a trusted friend into the deadliest enemy Marvel heroes have ever encountered. And now, with the multiverse at stake and Reed Richards facing the friend he couldn’t save, the conflict is far more tragic than your standard-oh-hero-versus-villain story.
Dive into details of latest movies, series, and characters before watching it on Fandomfans
Discover the best Superhero Books and superhero comics to read, featuring iconic heroes, thrilling stories, powerful villains, and must-read adventures for every fan.
Walk into a comic shop right now and you’ll notice something that hasn’t happened in over a decade: DC and Marvel are both mid-reinvention at the same time. DC blew up its own continuity with 2024’s Absolute Power event and rebuilt half its roster from the ground up in a new line called the Absolute Universe. Marvel did something similar on its side, resetting the Ultimate Universe and letting Jonathan Hickman rewrite Spider-Man’s entire life before issue one even hits shelves.
If you’ve been searching for superhero books that are worth your dollars and your minutes, this is one of the best jumping on points we’ve had in years and every single superhero comic on this list either began or ended in the past two years, so don’t expect to find anything ancient in the boxes here.
Every pick below is either a currently-running series with a strong first volume or a maxiseries that’s already finished. Prices reflect standard trade paperback pricing at time of writing; flag anything below as unconfirmed and double-check at checkout, since comics pricing shifts with printings.
Writer: Scott Snyder | Artist: Nick Dragotta | Publisher: DC Comics | Collects Absolute Batman #1–6 | Price: ~$17.99 paperback (standard Absolute-line price; confirm at your retailer) | Best for: readers who want the flagship title everyone’s talking about
This is the book that kicked off DC’s Absolute Universe in October 2024, and it’s still the line’s biggest seller. Bruce Wayne here isn’t a billionaire — he’s a civil engineer with no manor, no Alfred, and a much rougher relationship with Gotham’s underworld. Snyder and Dragotta play that blue-collar card strong and it makes the character truly feel like something you haven’t read before. However, it’s a build-up, not a payoff like the marketing suggests, and if you’re expecting classic Batman gadgetry, the first half a dozen issues are more about building the world than throwing punches.
Writer: Jason Aaron | Artist: Rafa Sandoval | Publisher: DC Comics | Collects Absolute Superman #1–6 | Price: $17.99 paperback | Best for: readers who want Superman with real stakes and no safety net
Aaron strips away everything comfortable about Clark Kent — no Fortress of Solitude, no found family waiting at home — and drops him into conflict with a shady multinational corporation almost immediately. It’s a more streamlined and aggressive version of the character but it still keeps his decency intact. There is a limit to this as whiplash is felt: certain readers feel the corporate-conspiratorial plot is a step down from ambition compared to Snyder’s Batman – even if Sandoval’s art is ever-consistent.
Writer: Kelly Thompson | Artist: Hayden Sherman | Publisher: DC Comics | Collects Absolute Wonder Woman #1–7 | Price: $17.99 paperback, published August 2025 | Best for: readers who want horror and dark fantasy in their superhero comics
Thompson takes Diana’s known Themysciran childhood and turns it on its head by raising her in the underground with Circe rather than among the Amazons. The result is less a classic superhero origin story and more one of supernatural terror. Sherman’s art is just as eye-catching, with sharp linework and disquieting colors that lend the entire book a unique visual voice.
The only negative is that this is not the Wonder Woman that most casual fans know. For a more standard Themyscira-centric origin story, Wonder Woman: Year One is the superior place to begin.
Writer: Al Ewing · Artist: Jahnoy Lindsay | Publisher: DC Comics | Collects Absolute Green Lantern #1–6 | Price: $17.99 paperback, published December 2025 | Best for: readers who want cosmic sci-fi over street-level stakes
Ewing shakes up Green Lantern mythology with an alien monolith that arrives in a remote Nevada town and starts judging its citizens. Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, and Jo Mullein are all dragged into the fray, but they come out of the gate as ordinary people and not Corps members.
It’s an ambitious, high-concept set up, perfect for Ewing’s gift for weird, cosmic storytelling. The downside is that having four future Lanterns to balance means the first volume is a lot of world building before any one character really takes the stage.
Read More 👉 Best Spider-Man Marvel Comics for New Readers
Writer: Deniz Camp | Artist: Javier Rodríguez | Publisher: DC Comics | Collects Absolute Martian Manhunter #1–6 | Price: $17.99 paperback, published November 2025 | Best for: readers who want something genuinely strange
This is the trippiest book on the list. FBI agent John Jones gets his mind overwritten by an alien consciousness that perceives reality in ways the human brain can barely process, and Camp and Rodríguez lean fully into that disorientation rather than softening it for accessibility. It’s one of the more purely inventive superhero comics being published right now. The limitation is exactly what makes it interesting — the fractured, psychedelic structure asks more of a first-time reader than any other book on this list.
Writer: Ram V | Artist: Evan Cagle | Publisher: DC Comics | Collects The New Gods #1–12 (complete maxiseries) | Price: $17.99 paperback per volume (unconfirmed — verify at checkout) | Best for: readers who want a complete story, not an ongoing commitment
It is the one selection on this list you can consume all at once with no cliffhangers, as the entire 12-issue story arc was published from February 2025 to January 2026 and ended as a complete and very satisfying epic. Ram V reinvents Jack Kirby’s Fourth World mythos as Scott Free and Big Barda make their way through the jungle of new parents while an astral prophecy is poised to rip New Genesis and Apokolips asunder.
It’s honestly one of the best-reviewed superhero books in the past year. The catch: Ram V takes for granted, if not outright expects, that readers already know who the New Gods are, so it isn’t the softest introduction to characters like Darkseid, Orion, and Mister Miracle.
Writer: Pornsak Pichetshote | Artist: Rafael Albuquerque | Publisher: DC Comics | Single issue only — no trade collection yet | Price: standard single-issue price, likely $4.99–$5.99 (unconfirmed) | Best for: readers who want to get in on day one of a new series
This is the freshest book on the list — issue #1 hit shelves in May 2026 and sold well enough to warrant a second printing within weeks. Oliver Queen is murdered before the story even starts, and the mystery of who’s using his old Green Arrow gimmick to hunt down corrupt billionaires is told largely through Dinah Lance’s eyes rather than Oliver’s. It’s a sharper, more mystery-driven angle than past Green Arrow runs. The obvious limitation: there’s no collected edition yet, so you’re buying single issues or waiting, and it’s still unclear whether this becomes an ongoing series or stays a miniseries.
Writer: Jonathan Hickman | Artist: Marco Checchetto | Publisher: Marvel Comics | Collects Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) #1–6 | Price: $17.99–$19.99 depending on retailer | Best for: readers who want Marvel’s version of a no-baggage relaunch
Hickman brings Spider-Man to a startlingly new place: Peter Parker wasn’t bitten by a radioactive spider. Rather, he was raised, married MJ, had children, and he lived a normal life – until Iron Man comes calling and gives him the powers he never had as a kid.
The series was named Best Marvel Comic of 2024 by The Hollywood Reporter, and the 24-issue run is ending in February 2026, allowing new readers to experience the whole story without having to pause for the next issue. This is a much more down-to-earth, family-focused Spider-Man than the one most fans think of as the wall-crawler. This is not the quintessential teenage Peter Parker story, if that’s what you want.
Writer: Ryan North | Artist: not fully confirmed at time of writing — check current solicitation | Publisher: Marvel Comics | Collects Fantastic Four (2025) #1–5 plus the Free Comic Book Day 2025 Fantastic Four story | Price: unconfirmed, expect the standard $15.99–$17.99 Marvel trade range | Best for: readers who want smart, structurally clever superhero comics
Ryan North’s Fantastic Four run has developed into one of Marvel’s most consistently acclaimed ongoing books, and this 2025 volume is the latest jumping-on point after the team’s Doctor Doom arc. North’s scripts lean on clever high-concept plotting — time loops, killer Doombots, alternate worlds without losing the family dynamic that makes the FF work. But north’s take is dialogue-heavy and idea-dense, which some readers love and others find slows the pacing compared to a more action-first book like Absolute Batman.
Read More 👉 Will There Be Another Spider-Man Movie? Here’s Everything Confirmed So Far
Writer: Deniz Camp, with Jonathan Hickman | Artist: Juan Frigeri | Publisher: Marvel Comics | Collects Ultimates (2024) #1–6 and Ultimate Universe (2023) #1 | Price: unconfirmed, expect standard $17.99 Marvel trade pricing | Best for: readers who want Marvel’s Avengers-level team book without 60 years of continuity
Camp writes this as the flagship team book of Marvel’s rebuilt Ultimate Universe, with a search for answers eventually pulling in a reimagined She-Hulk. It’s been one of the better-reviewed launches in the Ultimate line, praised for treating its ensemble cast with real weight instead of just cameos.
Because it’s tied so closely into the wider Ultimate Universe relaunch, it reads best after — or at least alongside — Ultimate Spider-Man, rather than as a fully standalone entry point.
Don’t route all your buying through one retailer. Trade paperbacks on this list should be available through Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Books-A-Million, and Target, and if they’re not on your local comic shop’s shelves, they can most likely special-order them for you.
With respect to individual issues, primarily Absolute Green Arrow#1, which has no collected edition as of yet — your local shop or a site such as the regional comic shop locator will in general provide you with a copy sooner than you’d get it from a restock of a big box retailer. Digital readers can find nearly everything here through Marvel Unlimited or DC’s digital storefront the same day it hits print.
If you’ve never read a superhero comic and want the safest, most talked-about entry point, start with Absolute Batman Vol. 1: The Zoo — it’s the best-selling book on this list for a reason. If you want a complete story with no waiting, go with The New Gods or Ultimate Spider-Man by Jonathan Hickman, since both are already finished.
If budget matters and you only want to try one book before committing further, skip the newest single issue (Absolute Green Arrow) until a trade collection exists, and pick up one of the $17.99 Absolute Universe volumes instead — they’re consistently the best per-dollar entry point on this list. Whichever you choose, all ten of these are proof that 2026 is a genuinely good year to start reading superhero comics again.
Read More 👉 Why Spider-Man: Brand New Day Just Changed Everything for the MCU
Superhero comics are going through a surprisingly great moment for new readers this very moment. DC’s Absolute Universe and Marvel’s reconstructed Ultimate Universe both provide new starting points that don’t demand decades of continuity, and complete stories like The New Gods and Ultimate Spider-Man let you read from cover to cover without waiting for the next issue.
If you want the safest first pick, Absolute Batman Vol. 1: The Zoo is the obvious choice, while Ultimate Spider-Man is best for fans of a more down-to-earth, family-themed version of Peter Parker. For something weirder and more sinister or cosmic, there’s Absolute Wonder Woman, Absolute Martian Manhunter, and Absolute Green Lantern, all very different rides. Since all ten books provide fairly new entry points, 2026 is a great year to jump into superhero comics.
Explore Marvel’s plans after the Multiverse Saga, including new MCU storylines, upcoming heroes, Avengers projects, and future phases.
Marvel gave us powerful superheroes stories for years, now the Multiverse Saga has expanded the MCU into the new world by introducing alternate timelines, parallel universes, returning legacy characters, and stakes. One question is hovering among fans: what comes next for Marvel after the multiverse?
But as thrilling as those prospects have been, they’ve also left a lot of viewers wondering what direction Marvel can go next. With Avengers: Secret Wars anticipated to be the conclusion of the current era, stares are already turning to what comes next. From the much-anticipated introduction of the X-Men to a renewed emphasis on grounded storytelling and supernatural adventures, Marvel’s post-Multiverse future might just reimagine the franchise for an all-new generation of fans.
Secret Wars is genuinely the pillar of multiverse saga as it destroys a collapsing multiverse and then mends the surviving shards together into a unified, coherent reality.
Marvel Studios is highly likely to follow this exact blueprint. Let’s face it—the Multiverse Saga has given us unforgettable moments (hello, three Spider-Men sharing the screen), but it also brought a heavy dose of “variant fatigue.” When any deceased character can just pop up from an alternate Earth, the emotional weight of character choices can start to feel a little cheap.
The stakes worked of Infinity Saga because everything occurred on a single timeline. The Multiverse Saga expanded the sandbox, but it watered down the tension. Avengers: Secret Wars will serve as a narrative “soft reboot,” giving Feige the opportunity to merge different universes, retire aging heroes with grace, and introduce a brand new, streamlined timeline where everyone coexists.
No more explaining complex timeline mechanics to casual moviegoers. No more multiverse rulebooks. Just one universe, one shared history, and a clean slate.
There are signs that suggest the third chapter would be the Mutant Saga because Spider-Man: Brand New Day also shows the physical mutation of Peter Parker and Wolverine resurrection in X-Men’ 97, all signs indicate towards it.
For years, fans have been wondering when the X-Men would officially integrate into the main MCU. We’ve had teasing appetizers—Professor X in Multiverse of Madness, Beast in The Marvels, and the glorious R-rated chaos of Deadpool & Wolverine. But Phase 7 is where the mutants stop being multivariate cameos and start running the show.
Let’s mention all the signs that suggests Marvel’s mutant-focused future plans:
With the original Avengers largely retired, passed on, or scattered across space, the post-Endgame MCU has occasionally felt a bit leaderless. The post-multiverse era will finally establish the new narrative pillars of the franchise. Instead of Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor, the next grand saga will likely be anchored by a new trinity:
One of the loudest critiques of recent Marvel phases was that the scale got too big, too fast. We went from street-level heroes fighting arms dealers to cosmic entities holding up the sky, leaving the universe feeling fragmented.
Marvel’s post-Multiverse direction suggests a conscious effort to pull things back down to Earth. Marvel has already started scaling back its yearly output by tightening its creative strategy with strong characters, coherent storytelling, and the upcoming Phase 7 slate reflects a return to focused, character-driven storytelling.
Ryan Coogler is reportedly developing the next chapter of the Black Panther saga, which is heavily suggested to be one of the very first movies to kick off the post-multiverse era in 2028. After the massive, reality-altering events expected to define Secret Wars, a return to the political intrigue, rich culture, and grounded stakes of Wakanda is exactly what the MCU will need to recalibrate its tone.
Destin Daniel Cretton is still widely expected to return for Shang-Chi 2 after a long wait. A post-multiverse MCU could be the better space to grow the characters that are so compelling with mythology and hidden mystical corners of Marvel’s world. Exploring martial-arts underworld of the MCU without having to worry about a timeline collapsing overhead.
While the mutants handle the sci-fi and political drama, Marvel has another long-gestating corner ready to explode: the supernatural.
We’ve seen pieces of this puzzle scattered around for years—Moon Knight, Werewolf by Night, and the mystical underbelly of Agatha All Along. While certain projects like the Blade reboot have famously taken their time in development, Marvel hasn’t given up on its darker side.
Many industry insiders believe Phase 7 will finally deliver the Midnight Sons—a team of supernatural anti-heroes handling the magical, occult threats that the Avengers are entirely unqualified to fight. A team consisting of Blade, Moon Knight, Ghost Rider, and perhaps a magic-weary Doctor Strange would offer a completely different tonal flavor to the franchise, swapping out the colorful cosmic playground for gothic, high-stakes horror.
Read More:- Spider-Man: Brand New Day Settles the Debate: Peter Parker Has What Jean Grey Never Could
Change is hard, and saying goodbye to an era defined by endless, chaotic possibilities can feel bittersweet. But the end of the Multiverse Saga isn’t a funeral for the MCU; it’s a graduation.
By closing the book on alternating timelines, Marvel is giving itself—and the audience—the greatest gift possible: consequences. When there is only one universe left standing, death matters again. Actions have permanent weight. We get to stop staring at the sky wondering which nostalgic portal is going to open next, and start looking at the characters standing right in front of us. Whether you are counting down the days for the X-Men to finally suit up in yellow spandex or you just want to see a straightforward detective story on the streets of Manhattan, the future of Marvel is shaping up to be more focused, more grounded, and incredibly exciting.
The next chapter for Marvel looks like it dedicates less of its time to making the universe bigger and more making the universe stronger. The likely reset following Secret Wars gives Marvel a rare opportunity to streamline its storytelling, to usher in new flagship heroes, and finally bring iconic teams like the X-Men into the heart of the MCU.
But the character focus Black Panther 3, Shang-Chi 2 and potentially supernatural tales signals a return to character-based stories with more razor-sharp stakes and emotional payoffs. When the next era is officially announced, one thing is clear: Marvel is getting ready to move beyond multiverse saga and create a more unified, focused universe—one that could very well lead us for another decade of blockbuster storytelling.
Dive into the world of entertainment with fandomfans to get deeper details and theories of your favorite character, movies, and series.
