Avengers: Doomsday sees MCU’s best and brightest uniting to try to defeat Doctor Doom, but from everything that’s been teased so far, it seems it will be their greatest challenge yet.

We haven’t seen much of the character, aside from a few post-credits nods, so as an audience, it’s tricky to work out why he is such a formidable foe. Now director Joe Russo has shed some light on that in a new interview.

“Doom’s magic is ancient,” he told Fandango. “He is a very powerful character, as you can see in the trailer, and he’s a genius. He studies his foes. He understands them, and he’s also well-planned. He’s not somebody who just does something off the cuff.”

Russo continued: “Everything is meticulous with him, and he knows that if he’s going to step onto a battlefield against somebody, he has to have the tactical advantage or a power advantage against that person. So, he’s very difficult to beat.”

Robert Downey Jr. returns to the MCU to play the iconic villain in the new movie, but we’ve only had a few glimpses at his performance so far. He’ll be sporting a mask and a new accent, but it does seem like he’ll have a link to Tony Stark. The Russo brothers aren’t giving anything away at the moment, but they have teased the connection will be addressed.

Avengers: Doomsday arrives in UK cinemas on December 16 and in US theaters on December 18. For more, check out our guide to upcoming Marvel movies and shows.