Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has addressed the criticism surrounding the introduction of Robert Downey Jr as Doctor Doom in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).The MCU boss, who was at Comic-Con’s “Avengers: Doomsday” panel, fielded questions about the Thanos vs. Doom debate. Addressing criticism that RDJ’s Doctor Doom hasn’t received the same gradual build-up as Josh Brolin’s Thanos, Feige argued that the Mad Titan’s presence before “Avengers: Infinity War” was relatively limited and that the supposed “build-up” was just in the fans’ heads.
Kevin Feige Says Thanos Was ‘Built In Fans’ Heads’
In a chat with Brandon Davis, Feige said, “The build-up to Thanos has built up in people’s heads over the years. He sat in a chair at the end. He pulled out a glove and said, ‘I’ll do it myself.’ And he yelled at Ronan on a video screen briefly, that was a bit.”Feige recalled how Thanos himself became the subject of Internet jokes before Infinity War finally put him front and center. “I remember the memes making fun of Thanos just sitting in a chair…with ‘Infinity War’ we said, this is really introducing Thanos to people, this is how that movie was built, this is what they were doing with Doctor Doom. [with ‘Doomsday’].”
Kevin Feige, GONE by the fans
However, Feige’s explanation sparked strong reactions on social media, with many fans arguing that Thanos’ influence extended far beyond his limited screen time. Slamming Feige, one fan wrote: “This is crazy considering it’s literally called ‘The Infinity Saga’ because the plot of almost every movie involves Thanos’ motives/search for the infinity stones.‘”Another fan argued that the character’s presence was felt throughout the Infinity saga. it has been indicated by Dr. Doom, plus a post-credits appearance in last year’s underperforming Fantastic Four? nothing The second MCU saga was about multiverse and timeline variants. Alternate realities, alternate timelines, and the threats these alternates contain. Dr. Doom is not associated with the multiverse in any unique or singular way.”Another fan criticized Feige’s assessment, insisting that audiences naturally accepted the long-term introduction of Thanos. “This is such a crazy response from #KevinFeige. The effectiveness of Thanos’ release was not built into our heads. We’re not all under mass hypnosis believing we liked it. We liked it ORGANIC. So accusing fans of exaggerating its effectiveness is a ridiculous response. new false narrative about Thanos’ release after accusing THEM of making up a false narrative about it. Come now.”Others argued that the arrival of Doctor Doom appears to be the result of Marvel’s change of direction following the studio’s original plans for Kang the Conqueror following the controversial departure of Jonathan Majors. “This argument would hold more if we didn’t know that Doctor Doom was a last-minute pivot when the Kang Dynasty’s plans fell apart, Doctor Doom hadn’t been a virtual non-entity in their Fantastic Four movie, and the obvious stunt casting of RDJ in the role.“Another post said: “What a lie… Literally every movie since the MCU has set the stage for a major future threat… And every movie centered on one of the Infinity Stones… Thanos was created from the beginning… Dr. Doom had no build up.”Still another pointed out the recurring references to the Infinity Stones and Thanos saying, “is he ignoring the infinity gems appearing in multiple movies, plus multiple cameos, gamora and nebula acting as their heralds, Loki being tortured by him, visions of Thor and Tony foreshadowing the end?‘Avengers: Doomsday’, which marks the last two chapters of the Multiverse saga, will be released on December 18. The film will be followed by ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’, which will be released in December 2027.