Josh Brolin wants a Thanos vs Doom showdown, and Marvel fans are worried for his spine
Thanos's actor is volunteering for a rematch his character already lost in the comics. Marvel could hardly ask for a better way to show off Doom.
Asked by Polygon at New York Comic Con whether Thanos could beat Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom, Josh Brolin declined to name a winner. He was there for Whalefall, the 20th Century Studios thriller out on 16 October, in which he plays the late father of a diver swallowed by a sperm whale. Instead, he said he likes the idea of any confrontation with Downey, then switched to fan mode:
"I love that he's doing that, by the way. I can't wait to see it."
— Josh Brolin to Polygon, on Downey playing Doom
On 15 October r/marvelstudios answered with the top comment of the thread, at 105 upvotes: "Josh do you like your spine and skeleton intact?" It isn't a joke about his back.
What Doom did to Thanos in 2015
The fans are quoting a specific page. In Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribić's Secret Wars (2015), the comic that gives the 2027 Avengers film its title, Doom rules Battleworld as a god. In issue #8, Thanos turns up to challenge him without an Infinity Gauntlet. Doom kills him with his bare hands, tearing out his spine and skull, and moves on to the next rebel. It is one of the most famous panels of the event, and it is not a long fight.
The films have spent seven years setting up the rematch without anyone calling it that:
- 2018–2019: Brolin's Thanos wipes out half of all life in Avengers: Infinity War, then dies in Avengers: Endgame, snapped out of existence by Tony Stark, played by Downey.
- July 2024: Downey walks on stage at San Diego Comic-Con and takes off a mask. He is Victor von Doom now.
- SXSW London: Joe Russo puts a fan's question to Downey, who is more powerful, Thanos or Doom. Downey doesn't pause: "Doctor Doom."
- 18 December 2026: Avengers: Doomsday opens. Brolin is not in the announced cast.
- 17 December 2027: Avengers: Secret Wars, named after the comic in which Doom kills Thanos.
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Marvel has not confirmed a Thanos return, and Brolin has no confirmed role in either film. What follows is fan theory, and mine.
A comeback on any terms
Brolin has said before that a return is Marvel's call and that "if it happens, it happens", and told Josh Horowitz that if Marvel rang him in London, he'd "be there tomorrow". Read together, the Polygon answer sounds less like a dream match and more like a man ready to come back for any scene, including the one where he dies.
The thread read it the same way, only with less romance. The second most upvoted comment, at 57: "He likes the idea of how much money Disney would pay him for that to happen." Fair enough. Downey's own Doom deal is the precedent: Marvel killed off his Tony Stark in 2019, then brought Downey back as the villain.
The best way to prove Downey's Doom is scarier than Thanos is to kill Thanos in front of everyone.
That is why Brolin has handed Marvel its best idea for Secret Wars. Doomsday has to sell a new big bad to an audience that spent a decade on the old one, and nothing does that faster than the old one losing in seconds. r/MarvelStudiosSpoilers has already storyboarded it as a cold open, with the surviving Avengers watching Doom finish the Mad Titan.
Brolin wants the fight. Marvel would be mad not to give it to him, as long as he is happy to be the trophy.
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