Popverse's coverage of Comic-Con International: San Diego 2026 is brought to you by Dark Horse Comics.

We don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but Doctor Doom is kind of a big deal for Marvel Studios at the moment. While the biggest announcements from San Diego Comic-Con were definitely about the new Ghost Rider and Black Panther 3 castings, the general vibe at the panel was all about Avengers: Doomsday. How completely did Robert Downey Jr. take over Hall H? Enough to change the San Diego Comic-Con logo whenever he was on stage.

This was one of those small details that show how much thought goes into setting the stage for a big show like the Hall H panels. As Robert Downey Jr. walked onto stage in his green suit decked out with mysterious writing, the logos behind him changed. This was no longer San Diego Comic-Con; the panel was now part of San Diego Doom Con. Because if there is a supervillain who has a big enough ego to make a whole convention dedicated to him, it is Victor von Doom.

The feeling that the night belonged to Doom was compounded by the fact that Marvel had passed out a load of Doom masks to attendees in the audience. The new logo for Doom Con stuck around until RDJ had left the stage and was honestly a pretty small detail when compared to the spectacle of all these stars on the stage and the new trailer for the movie that was very different from what we all spotted last week. But it helped do an important job, which was to make Avengers: Doomsday feel more important to the panel than it actually was.

Sure, Ryan Reynolds confirming that Deadpool is in Doomsday was fun, especially in the greyscale suit he was wearing, but we all kind of suspected that. And seeing members of the X-Men, Avengers, and Fantastic Four on stage together gave you a good sense of the scale of this movie. However, nothing major actually got announced for the crossover event. It was all vibes and hype, which is all the movie really needs right now.

It does make me think, though; what do you suppose the food court is like at Doom Con? I bet the lines are long, but at least they’re orderly.

Consider this a meta post-credits scene for Marvel fans - the four key articles you need to read next to continue the thrills:

• All the upcoming MCU movies, TV series, and specials on the horizon
• How to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe in release or chronological order
• The best Marvel Comics stories of all time
• All the MCU movies ranked from best to worst