One of the longest-standing story threads in the Marvel Comics universe is that the Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards was once a college roommate of Victor von Doom. So when Doom didn’t appear in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, aside from a post-credits tease, many fans wondered if Reed and Victor’s history would remain intact for the MCU. Well, early trailers for Doomsday did confirm the Richards family knew Victor when he was younger. But in a recent Empire magazine article, Pedro Pascal revealed that not only were he and Doom friends, but they were “science bros” together. Here’s what he said on the subject:
They’re very bonded in a lot of different ways. They’re bonded as scientists. They think together through the lens of science and math, and think in ways that most people don’t. You can’t help but create a bond of friendship and kinship, and feel less alone in the world because there is a mind that is equal, if not superior, to your own.
In the comics lore, Reed and Victor were roommates at Empire State University. This was before Doom left after the tragic accident that disfigured him. They were never actually friends in the real sense, despite Reed’s best efforts at extending a hand of kindness toward Victor. Doom always saw Reed’s attempts at bonding as condescending. So the two smartest people in the school were “frenemies” at best. But based on Sue’s comments in the Doomsday trailer, at one point, the Earth-828 Victor was once kind.
Nerdist’s Take: Reed and Doom’s Rivalry Is One of the Parts of Avengers: Doomsday We’re Most Excited About
In some alternate continuities, that school Reed and Victor attended together was MIT. And judging from Pedro Pascal’s and Robert Downey Jr.’s “costume swap” for Halloween, where Pascal dressed up as Doom with an MIT sweatshirt, we imagine that the MCU will have both men as alumni of that prestigious institution. We’ve already had the positive version of “science bros” in the MCU, with Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. With Reed and Victor, we’re about to see a version of that relationship gone terribly wrong. And it’s one of the aspects of Doomsday we’re most excited to see.