One of the most intriguing questions about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, along with who'll take on the Black Panther mantle, is how exactly Namor ends up being the main villain. In the comics, King T'Challa and Namor had a brutal rivalry, driven by Black Panther rebuking his efforts to bring him into a darker Illuminati. However, while it's a mystery how the Marvel Cinematic Universe will bring both empires to blows, what's certain is the feud will be violent and shake up the franchise's status quo.
But while fans are focusing on whether Wakanda can weather the storm, the aftermath of the war could be even more crucial. That's because it might redefine the MCU, all thanks to a sinister third party. And in the process, Wakanda Forever may create a path for the new Thanos to rise up to change all of reality.
It revolves around Doctor Doom, who could capitalize on the feud in a remix of 2010's Doomwar. In that event, Doom helped the Desturi take over Wakanda, pushing T'Challa and Shuri out. The heroes eventually got the X-Men to help, with the mutants as driven as ever because Doom and his cabal had Storm as a prisoner. It led to a destructive conflict, with Doom stealing all the vibranium from the African nation. He made armor for himself and a slew of Doombots that proved to be some of his deadliest war machines. Thankfully, Black Panther would save the day, but it ended with him using a device to render all vibranium inert and forcing Wakanda to rebuild without their precious metal.
Now, whether Wakanda wins or loses, if Namor's legion decimates the country, this can allow Doom to slip in and steal the vibranium for himself. As Klaue showed, it's possible, and with T'Challa gone, it's easy to see a genius like Doom pilfering the metal right under the royals' noses. That would allow the villain to use the metal on the scientific front to build weapons and make himself the twisted version of Iron Man.
In addition, he could unlock cosmic and mystical elements of the metal that Wakanda may have missed in their analysis. That would allow Doom all of Phase Five to work on the metal's properties, perfecting his science and decoding secrets. Movies such as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and series like Loki Season 2 and Agatha: Coven of Chaos could also provide missing pieces needed if he has indeed discovered a way vibranium can help him ascend to godhood. It'd nod to how Thanos spent so much time in the shadows, hiring thieves, before filling the Infinity Gauntlet himself.
Such a long-term project would give the unpredictable Doom ample time to build himself up as a weapon for the Fantastic Four reboot as it kicks off Phase Six in late 2024. But it also prepares him to be a threat for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty in May 2025 and Secret Wars in November 2025. The latter may take influence from the 2015 comic event, with Doom's goal all along being to transform into a God Emperor. Ultimately, tinkering with the vibranium could end with Doom killing cosmic entities like the Watcher while absorbing the powers of the Beyonders to bend reality and create his utopia, just like Thanos did with his Snap.
To see if Doom is ready to take advantage of the war, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters Nov. 11.