Robert Downey Jr. will make his Marvel Cinematic Universe return as Victor von Doom in the upcoming “Avengers: Doomsday.” While almost every detail about his character remains shrouded in mystery, we do know a few things. We’ve already got a look at Doctor Doom’s costumes for the movie, and heard Downey’s Doom voice in a “Doomsday” trailer. Now, we seem to have confirmation that this big screen iteration of the Marvel villain will wield a cosmic energy that emulates the look of the so-called “Kirby Krackle.”
This longstanding comic book convention takes its name from legendary artist and Doctor Doom co-creator Jack Kirby, who used black blobs of ink to represent a kind of cosmic particle effect when depicting explosions, energy blasts, and other unknowable phenomena. Now, it looks as though Marvel Studios has incorporated this into “Doomsday.” A new “Silence Your Phones” trailer posted by the studio on X shows Doom going up against Chris Hemsworth’s Thor and features the Kirby Krackle in a brief shot. Naturally, devoted fans immediately noticed the stylistic change, which heretofore hasn’t been seen in any of the movie’s trailers.
Interestingly enough, the footage revealing the Kirby Krackle in “Doomsday” has been seen before in multiple trailers without the immediately recognizable Kirby-influenced CGI. An “Avengers: Doomsday” special look from August 2026 shows the same footage with Doom releasing a much more generic green blast from his gauntlets, suggesting Marvel is still refining the CGI for this and other “Doomsday” scenes. Many fans will surely be glad to see the addition of such a small but significant detail, in what is a subtle but entirely appropriate way of paying homage to a comic book master.
The Kirby Krackle is a deceptively important part of comic book history
Adding a new CGI animation for energy effects in “Avengers: Doomsday” might seem like a minor thing to the casual fan — and, in fairness, it sort of is. But it’s also a promising sign that suggests Marvel Studios is returning to the fan-first formula that made it so successful in the first place. Likewise, the Kirby Krackle itself might seem like an arcane piece of comic book history, but not only is it the kind of thing comic book fans get excited about, it’s an influential artistic style that has been emulated countless times by comic artists across generations.
The earliest example of the Kirby Krackle likely dates back to 1940’s “Blue Bolt” #5 which Kirby worked on alongside Joe Simon. Since Kirby provided the pencils and Simon the ink, it’s unclear which of them actually created this distinct visual motif. But there’s no doubt Kirby came to refine and popularize it in the 1960s, particularly in “Fantastic Four” comics. Seeing it appear in “Doomsday,” then, should be a thrill for any comic book fan or anyone who appreciates the evolution of popular art in the twentieth century.
Judging by the online reactions, fans are indeed glad to see the updated Doctor Doom CGI in the latest Marvel trailer. @drdoomarchive is, as you might have guessed given the username, “obsessed” with the new CGI, while @captaincupkick found it to be “sick as hell.” Of course, cool visual effects alone aren’t going to change people’s minds on whether superhero movies should take a nice long break, but they are a step in the right direction. Here’s hoping the MCU is able to keep the momentum going into December.
Is Avengers: Doomsday gearing the MCU up for an emphatic return to form?
The 2025 box office proved the Marvel Cinematic Universe had fallen from grace. But it was hardly a shocking development, given the franchise had been pumping out streaming and cinematic effluent for a good few years. Now, following the box office success of “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” Marvel Studios is hoping to deliver an emphatic declaration of its restored greatness with “Avengers: Doomsday.”
Directors Joe and Anthony Russo, who oversaw both “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Endgame” are back for “Doomsday” and its sequel, “Avengers: Secret Wars.” Thus far, however, it has been a bit of an uneven road for the upcoming movies. The original “Doomsday” teaser trailers were met with derision by many fans who found them to be a dull way of kicking off the hype train. In fairness, that train had departed the station under similarly perplexing circumstances when Marvel announced that Robert Downey Jr. would be returning to the MCU not as Tony Stark/Iron Man but as one of the most formidable villains in Marvel history.
Now, however, things seems to be turning around. Not only did “Avengers Endgame: Encore” enjoy a successful opening box office weekend, the general sentiment among fans seems to be much more positive. Little additions such as the Kirby Krackle only help in that regard, showing that Marvel Studios hasn’t forgotten that its creators’ fandom is what helped it become the biggest blockbusters franchise in the world. Let’s hope the movie is full of similar nods to Marvel Comics history and that “Doomsday” does its job of heralding a new, much more successful era in MCU history.
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