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You really can’t keep a good bad guy down — especially when they’re about to make their big screen return in one of the most highly anticipated movies of the next 12 months.

Victor Von Doom died at the end of Marvel Comics’ 2025 event series One World Under Doom in November — he sacrificed himself to undo the accidental death of his godchild, Valeria Richards, seemingly fading into cosmic dust in front of Reed Richards as he presented the leader of the Fantastic Four with his last will and testament — but his return is already being teased as part of the company’s Comics Giveaway Day 2026 plans.

The official publisher description of the Armageddon/X-Men CGD 2026 special issue runs, “The heroes of the Marvel Universe assemble to take on the Red Hulk in a critical story by Chip Zdarsky that sets the stage for this summer’s Marvel event…ARMAGEDDON! Armageddon is here, and no one is safe from the coming end. PLUS: Your first look at this summer’s big X-MEN event…and DOOM!” Those last two words refer to the third story in the anthology issue, written by Ryan North, which Marvel described elsewhere in its announcement as a “check in with Marvel’s First Family.” North is not only the writer of the regular Fantastic Four comic book series, but was also the writer of One World Under Doom, and as such the man responsible for Doom’s apparent death.

This won’t be the first time that Doctor Doom has returned after apparently dying — in fact, he’s made a habit of doing so in comic books for decades, dating all the way back to 1962, when he shrunk “into nothingness” in Fantastic Four #10, only to return six issues later — but the speed at which Marvel has teased his return might be the most surprising thing about his revival. After all, One World Under Doom #9, which featured his death, was only released on November 19, and his return was teased in a press release issued December 16, less than a month later.

Then again, the return of Doctor Doom was inevitable; not only does he have that aforementioned habit of escaping certain death in comic book form, but the release of Avengers: Doomsday, the much-heralded big screen debut of Robert Downey Jr. as the latest cinematic Doctor Doom, is a little over a year away. Was there really any true chance that Doom wouldn’t be back in time to see his own cinematic triumph?

Armageddon/X-Men CGD 2026 #1 will be available in participating comic book stores May 2, 2026. Those looking to see what happens while he’s still dead might want to check out The Will of Doom #1, a special issue setting up Doom-related plot developments, in stores December 24, 2025.

Keep up to date on Popverse's Marvel coverage, with these highlights:

• The MCU needs Anya Taylor-Joy's Magik in it (and not just for the X-Men connection)
• How Disney+'s What If...? is the moonshot for the next 50 years of Marvel Studios & the MCU
• Marvel Studios has accidentally created a new Phase that predates Phases 1 - 6: the MCU Phase Zero
• Overgrown children of the atom: Marvel's X-Men can't evolve past their '90s commercial peak
• The biggest outstanding questions of the Marvel Studios' movies & TV shows
• Donald Trump is the landlord for Marvel's House of Ideas
• Marvel Studios swapping out Doctor Doom for Kang offers the chance to jettison the Multiverse Saga
• What Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige is saying (and not saying) about the MCU X-Men franchise says a lot about the future of the Mutant Saga
• If Marvel is going to bring Loki back for Secret Wars, it's time to give him an upgrade
• In 2021, Sony's boss said people won't miss Spider-Man in its Spider-adjacent movie. Turns out, they do.