The Ominous <em>Fantastic Four</em> Post-Credits Scene Offers a Big <em>Avengers: Doomsday</em> Hint

This story contains spoilers for The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

When Robert Downey Jr. stepped onstage one year ago at San Diego Comic-Con and unmasked himself as the new Doctor Doom, it raised a lot of questions about the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Too many questions, really. But with The Fantastic Four: First Steps on the slate, there was hope that maybe things would start making sense.

Well, the Fantastic Four's MCU debut is here. For most of the First Steps runtime, there isn't a single mention or appearance of the leader of Latveria, the villain's home country. And, of course, how and why Doctor Doom now looks like Tony Stark remains unclear. But that all changes in the movie's post-credits scene, when the vibe shifts and suddenly there's a metal-masked stranger hanging out in the living room of the Baxter Building.

If you've seen The Fantastic Four: First Steps and need some Reed Richards–level tutoring to figure out just what the heck is going on, fret not. Esquire is here to make sense of it, along with one important question of our own: Is Doctor Doom native to Earth-828?

With Galactus vanquished, peace has returned to the New York City of Earth-828. Four years later, a toddler Franklin Richards enjoys an afternoon in the Baxter Building with his mama, Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby). When Sue goes to retrieve one of Franklin's favorite books, she returns to see a cloaked stranger in their home, kneeling before Franklin.

While the hood of his forest-green cloak obscures his face, the stranger holds in his hands the familiar mask of Doctor Doom. Yup, this scene sets up exactly what you think it does: It tees up Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom.

Aside from an empty seat reserved for Latveria at the United Nations, most of The Fantastic Four: First Steps is unconcerned with Doctor Doom. It's not known if the Doctor Doom who shows up in the post-credits scene is, in fact, the leader of Latveria on Earth-828. But what if he is? And why might Victor von Doom have the face of Tony Stark of Earth-616?

Aside from the sheer possibility just being wide-open, there's poetry to Earth-828's Doctor Doom bearing an exact resemblance to Earth-616's Tony Stark: It's because he is Tony Stark, one who suffers the embarrassment of being second to the widely adored Reed Richards.

Throughout First Steps, it's established that the Fantastic Four are beloved public figures, embraced across the world as paragons of humanity's progress. Reed Richards is hailed as the genius of the century. But for a narcissist like Tony Stark, that could be a deep bruise to his ego; no matter Stark's level of intellect, he doesn't have the admiration or recognition his rival Reed Richards enjoys.