Who Are The Stolen Lives In ‘Avengers: Doomsday’?

Avengers: Doomsday (2026) paints a clear picture of what to expect in terms of incursions, Doctor Doom as the ultimate enemy, and heroes working together to stop a larger threat. But there's still a larger mystery we can't quite pinpoint, and it boils down to one line.

In the Special Look trailer, Doom mentions that the heroes have lived stolen lives and that his mission is to fix this and fix the universe after he lost his family. But the stolen lives in question may give us more answers about the story than we think, given who was mentioned.

The X-Men

While we don't know how this iteration of the X-Men compares to past films, we do know they have meddled in history, given they include Gambit from Deadpool & Wolverine (2024). Also, if they are the same team teased in The Marvels (2023), they also have Monica Rambeau in their world.

From possibly facing a tear in spacetime to harboring a character from an unknown reality, the X-Men were just waiting for an incursion to happen, and Doom knew this. As a result, it's likely he's speeding up the event to eliminate their world.

The Avengers

We know that the Avengers' changing time and returning the Infinity Stones in Avengers: Endgame (2019) was fated to happen. However, it still led to Loki breaking out and Steve Rogers forming a new timeline, which puts its fated chain of events into question.

The Avengers may have done the right thing, but it led to countless repercussions that have seemingly doomed the Multiverse and their world. More than that, it's called down the wrath of Doctor Doom.

Doctor Strange

Following Endgame, Doctor Strange had many more run-ins with the Multiverse and was a major cause of many people from other realities coming to his own in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). He also caused an incursion due to his meddling in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022).

We have seen a suit alluded to as being worn by Doctor Strange and similar to the Latverian Witches. While we don't know if it's him or not, it makes sense both as punishment for causing an incursion and also because Strange would understand Doom's logic more than any hero.

Loki

Loki was never supposed to exist when he snuck away in Avengers: Endgame. Yet his presence in the Time Variance Authority, introduction to Sylvie, and defeat of He Who Remains placed him on a collision course with a new fate.

As the God of Stories, he held the Multiverse together on a lonely throne outside of space and time. However, this condones multiple realities, which Doom sees as a problem, especially since he wasn't supposed to. If reality was meant to end, Loki changed that, and Doom must rectify it.

Love

Love was introduced in Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) as a reborn version of Gorr the God Butcher's child, created by the will of Eternity. However, this child possesses potentially limitless cosmic power and resides in the universe under Thor's care.

Doom understands that Love shouldn't be here, and that alone is an affront to the natural order of things: to create an incursion that could end everything. Therefore, Thor has a greater stake in fighting than almost anyone else in Avengers: Doomsday.

Susan Storm & Franklin Richards

Susan Storm sacrificed herself to stop Galactus and save her family in The Fantastic Four: First Steps   (2025). However, it was their son, Franklin Richards, who brought her back from the dead. 

Realistically, Sue was likely meant to die, but Franklin changed that. On the other hand, their reality shouldn't exist, so neither should Sue nor someone as powerful as Franklin, meaning, to Doom, that they've both been on borrowed time.

Steve Rogers

Perhaps the biggest offender of a stolen life, Steve Rogers was meant to return all of the Infinity Stones in Avengers: Endgame and return to his time. Instead, he stayed with Peggy Carter and had a life with her in the '40s.

During that time, Steve had a child and created the biggest excuse for an incursion than any other character. This could be why Doom has set his sights on him and Reed Richards the most, because both of them did more damage than anyone else.