The first teaser trailer for Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday finally arrived this week after a very patient wait by fans. Not only did it deliver the footage that many expected to see, like the MCU’s mightiest heroes finally meeting face-to-face with the classic X-Men characters, but it gave us a taste of Robert Downey Jr.’s titular villain. Not only did we get a chance to hear what the Oscar-winning actor’s voice would be like in the film, but a display of his powers, as he clearly takes on Thor one-on-one and defeats him after barely lifting one finger. It did a lot to get fans hyped for an already big movie.
Ahead of their San Diego Comic-Con panel this Saturday, Marvel Studios has been dropping some more reveals for attendees to the event, with displays around and inside the convention. One display has been showing off various screen-used costumes from Avengers: Doomsday at the Marvel panel, and as cool as it is to see James Marsden’s Cyclops costume, there’s another very interesting one that could hint at Doom’s power. On Wednesday, the display for a “Latverian Witch” costume was revealed. Every day since, though, Marvel has changed out the costume to a new version, all with different color robes, which has us thinking: Are the Latverian Witches actually Doctor Doom’s version of Infinity Stones?
To begin, the prevailing theory upon the reveal of the Latverian Witch costume, which had signature green robes like Doom himself, is that it was perhaps an alternate-universe version of the Scarlett Witch, Wanda Maximoff. Though Elizabeth Olsen is not confirmed to appear in the movie, it’s a good guess by fans.
That said, Marvel swapped out the green Latverian Witch costume seen on Wednesday with an orange Latverian Witch costume on Thursday. Now that Friday has arrived, a third variant of the Latverian Witch is officially on display, with purple robes now present according to photos from the con floor. Purple, orange, and green may not seem like details that immediately conjure a specific idea, but they should; they’re three of the six colors of the Infinity Stones.
The Latcerian Witch on display at Marvel’s SDCC booth has been updated to a purple costume. 
#AvengersDoomsday pic.twitter.com/RwJTksx52A
As Marvel fans know, every universe has its own set of Infinity Stones. The Loki TV series not only confirmed this, but made it clear that, like the comics themselves, they’re useless outside of the universe they’re from. The pages of Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers & New Avengers, which Doomsday is borrowing heavily from with its incursion storyline, also revealed that sometimes the Infinity Stones in other universes weren’t stones or gems at all; sometimes they’re panes of glass, or links in a chain. Perhaps in Avengers: Doomsday, the stones are people, or perhaps these people are the keepers of the stones.
What would be a clearer indicator of Doom’s powers, though, if he were so strong that he didn’t even need his universe’s version of the Infinity Stones and instead kept them around as magical servants to do his bidding? Seems like a very Doom thing to do.
With Avengers: Doomsday being the last film in the MCU before Avengers: Secret Wars, fans are bracing for an ending to the former that clearly sets up the status quo of the latter. Readers of the comics are fully expecting the “God Emperor Doom” to appear on screen, with many hoping to see his encounter with Thanos happen in the MCU. Though the Mad Titan is dead twice over in the main universe, seeing Doom rip his spine out in a brief encounter is something many are eager to watch, if only to have an iconic moment come to life but also to solidify Doom’s place as such a major villain.
To that end, it’s possible that Doom’s magical abilities in Avengers: Doomsday will be so great that he doesn’t even need the Infinity Stones to beef himself up. That said, the storyline of Avengers: Doomsday and its incursions appears to be pulling not only from the “Time Runs Out” storyline in the comics, but also the “A Perfect World” storyline, where the New Avengers battle against heroes from another Earth who have become exhausted from all the alternate realities they’ve had to destroy.
In Avengers: Doomsday, it sure seems like the Fox X-Men characters are taking on that role (rather than the clear homage to DC’s Justice League that is seen in the comics). What remains to be seen is if the X-Men have their own version of the Infinity Stones at their disposal as well. To that end, there’s no chance that Doom allows their universe to continue when his own is in peril, and a display of force will be required.
Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18th.
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