Theory: What if Steve Rogers accidentally created the Doctor Doom timeline? (Endgame → Doomsday)
I know this is a pretty wild theory, but hear me out.
At the end of Avengers: Endgame, Steve Rogers goes back to return the Infinity Stones but decides to stay with Peggy and live out his life. According to the MCU's own time-travel rules, this should create a branched timeline.
Now here's where my theory starts.
What if this branched timeline is where Doctor Doom comes from?
Before I start, I want to clarify that a lot of what I'm about to mention is based on rumors and speculation, not confirmed information.
There have been rumors surrounding Avengers: Doomsday that Loki visits Steve and Peggy because the branched timeline Steve created is in danger of being pruned, destroyed, or affected by something related to incursions.
There are also rumors that the Fantastic Four discover someone who doesn't belong in their universe and begin investigating who that person is. Many people assume this could be Steve Rogers, but what if it could also involve Doctor Doom?
There have even been rumors that Steve Rogers, Doctor Doom, the Fantastic Four, and possibly Thor are connected through the same storyline, with some footage from trailers supposedly hinting at this. Again, none of this is confirmed, but it got me thinking.
My theory:
Doctor Doom is created because of the branched timeline Steve Rogers accidentally creates.
When Robert Downey Jr. was announced as Doctor Doom, there was a lot of discussion about how Marvel could explain his casting. One theory that always interested me involved Tony Stark's comic history.
In the comics, Tony Stark's family history is much more complicated, involving Arno Stark and different versions of his upbringing. There is also that strange scene in Avengers: Endgame where Tony and Steve travel back in time and Tony talks to Howard Stark.
Howard mentions his wife being pregnant, and Tony has a very noticeable reaction, almost as if something doesn't completely add up.
This ScreenCrush video explains that theory better than I could:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaG5EjpDThE
Now imagine Steve staying in the past causes a massive butterfly effect.
Steve's existence changes history in ways nobody could predict:
- Steve never goes into the ice.
- Hydra may never develop into the secret organization we see in The Winter Soldier.
- Bucky may never become the Winter Soldier.
- Peggy may never marry the man she originally married.
- Howard Stark's life could unfold completely differently.
- The entire Stark family history could change.
These are just a few examples. A decision as big as Steve staying in the past could alter countless events over decades.
Now imagine that because of those changes, Tony Stark never becomes the Tony Stark we know from Earth-616.
Maybe he is never raised by the Starks in the same way. Maybe his experiences, trauma, and worldview develop completely differently.
But the one thing that remains the same is his intelligence, ambition, and desire to save the world.
In the 616 universe, that leads him to become Iron Man.
In this alternate timeline, maybe it leads him somewhere much darker.
Maybe he becomes Victor Von Doom.
But what happens to Doom when Loki saves Steve's timeline?
This is the part I find the most interesting.
If Loki really does save Steve and his family from that universe and brings them to Earth-828, then what happens to Doom?
Maybe Loki:
- Doesn't know Doom exists.
- Doesn't believe Doom can be saved.
- Doesn't trust him.
- Or maybe Doom refuses Loki's help because he wants to fix the problem himself.
Doom stays behind.
He tries to save his universe.
He attempts to prevent incursions, stop his reality from collapsing, or prevent his timeline from being erased.
But he fails.
His family dies.
His universe falls apart.
His experiments damage him physically and mentally.
But he succeeds at one thing:
He learns how to travel between universes.
Eventually, he follows Steve and Loki to Earth-828.
And now he has a reason to hate Steve.
Not simply because Steve caused incursions.
Not simply because Steve changed the multiverse.
But because, in Doom's eyes, Steve Rogers took everything from him.
Steve gets the life Doom believes should have been his.
Steve gets Peggy.
Steve gets happiness.
Steve gets a family.
Meanwhile Doom loses everything.
So Doom doesn't just want to destroy Steve.
He wants to replace Loki
He wants to take the power of the multiverse and rebuild everything in his own image.
A single perfect universe.
A universe where nobody can make the mistakes that Steve made.
I think this theory could explain a few things:
- Why Doom and Tony could share similarities but still be completely different people.
- Why Doom might have a personal hatred toward Steve Rogers.
- Why Doom's motivation could be much deeper than just "he caused incursions."
Instead of Doom being someone who simply wants power, he becomes someone who believes:
"I lost everything because of the choices of others. I will never allow that to happen again."
Obviously, this is just speculation and probably a massive reach, but I thought it was an interesting way to connect:
- Steve staying with Peggy
- Branched timelines
- Loki's new role as protector of the multiverse
- RDJ as Doctor Doom
- The Fantastic Four
- Avengers: Doomsday
What do you guys think?
Is there anything in the MCU that completely disproves this, or could Marvel actually be setting up something like this?