f.Daddy Doomsday or Disaster Darling? Pedro Pascal’s Flirty Marvel Quip Sparks Internet Meltdown Amid Fantastic Four’s Box-Office Blues.f

In the high-stakes arena of Marvel’s multiverse, where heroes clash and egos soar higher than a Hulk smash, one off-the-cuff remark can ignite a firestorm faster than a Snap. Pedro Pascal, the Chilean heartthrob who’s stretched himself thin playing everyone from a grizzled bounty hunter in The Mandalorian to a stretchy genius in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, dropped a bombshell during a breezy chat with Brazilian outlet AdoroCinema on July 29, 2025. Teasing his upcoming showdown with Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom in the Russo Brothers’ Avengers: Doomsday, Pascal gushed: “He’s delicious. It’s loads of fun. He is Daddy Doomsday to all of us, truly.

” What started as playful banter—Pascal’s signature blend of charm and cheek—quickly morphed into a meme-fueled maelstrom, with X users erupting in a chorus of cringes, cheers, and outright calls for cancellation. Hashtags like #BanPedroNow and #DaddyDoomsday trended for 48 hours straight, amassing over 1.2 million posts, as fans dissected the quip like a post-credits scene. Was it harmless flirtation between two MCU vets? Or the final straw in Pascal’s “daddy” era that’s worn thin on a post-Last of Us audience weary of his relentless relatability? As Doomsday filming wraps at Pinewood Studios—slated for a December 2026 bow—the comment has cast an unintended shadow over Pascal’s Fantastic Four glow-up, especially as his lead vehicle First Steps limps toward a projected $520 million worldwide haul, branded by critics and counters as Marvel’s latest “disaster” in a Phase Six plagued by plummeting returns.

Pascal’s “Daddy Doomsday” slip isn’t his first rodeo in the flirt factory. The 50-year-old actor, born in Santiago and raised in the U.S. after his family’s political exile, has long leaned into his smoldering screen presence with self-aware humor. Back in 2022, during a Vanity Fair lie detector test, he quipped, “Daddy is a state of mind,” embracing the internet’s thirst trap label that exploded post-Narcos and Game of Thrones. It was catnip for queer fans and meme lords alike, spawning edits of Pascal as a paternal powerhouse—think him cradling Grogu in Mandalorian armor, captioned “Call me Daddy.” Fast-forward to 2025: Pascal’s star is supernova-bright, juggling Reed Richards’ elastic intellect in Fantastic Four with Joel Miller’s grizzled survivalism in The Last of Us Season 2. But the “daddy” shtick? It’s curdled for some. Enter Downey, 60 and reborn as Victor von Doom after a decade as the quippy Tony Stark. Their Doomsday pairing—Pascal’s Reed leading the charge against RDJ’s armored tyrant—promised electric tension, with early set leaks showing the duo bantering over “homework days” at Downey’s Malibu manse, workshopping scenes amid ocean views and organic smoothies.

The AdoroCinema interview, conducted amid Fantastic Four‘s promotional blitz, was meant to hype the crossover: Pascal, Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Thing), and Joseph Quinn (Human Torch) all reprising in Doomsday, facing off against a multiversal mash-up including Chris Hemsworth’s Thor and Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson. Pascal’s praise flowed freely: Downey’s “generous and inviting” vibe made him feel “safe to be afraid,” a nod to the vulnerability required for Reed’s family-man facade cracking under cosmic pressure. But that “delicious” descriptor? It landed like a poorly timed portal jump. Within hours, X lit up. “Pedro’s ‘daddy’ phase needs an intervention—RDJ’s a legend, not thirst bait,” tweeted one user, racking up 45K likes. Another fired off: “From ‘daddy’ to ‘Daddy Doomsday’? BAN PEDRO NOW before he Mandalorians the whole MCU!” Memes proliferated: Photoshopped RDJ in Iron Man armor with a pacifier labeled “Doom’s Diaper Duty,” or Pascal stretching like Mr. Fantastic to escape a “daddy issues” seminar. Pete Davidson, no stranger to viral roasts, piled on in a Saturday Night Live monologue snippet: “Pedro blows up, becomes ‘Daddy,’ and suddenly everyone’s like, ‘Go the f— away.’ Classic Hollywood—love him till he’s too hot to handle.”

The backlash isn’t baseless; it’s baked into Pascal’s brand evolution. Once the underdog charmer stealing scenes in Kingsman and Wonder Woman 1984, he’s now A-list adjacent, commanding $10 million per flick. But the “daddy” trope, born from fanfic fever dreams and amplified by his Euphoria dad bod glow-up, has tipped into oversaturation. Co-stars have noticed: In a June 2025 Vanity Fair cover, The Last of Us‘ Bella Ramsey confessed discomfort with the label, calling it “weird and sexualized.” Pascal, ever empathetic, responded in the same piece: “I get it—it’s a state of mind, but if it creeps anyone out, we pivot.” Downey, for his part, leaned in with grace, posting a Doomsday set selfie captioned “Thanks for the title, Pedro—Doom’s got diapers now? #DaddyDuties.” It’s classic RDJ deflection, the same wry armor that armored him through addiction scandals and MCU mandates. Yet the quip’s timing couldn’t be worse: It dropped as Fantastic Four: First Steps—Pascal’s MCU debut—stumbled out of theaters, its retro-futuristic flair failing to stretch beyond a middling $519 million global cume against a $200 million production budget (plus $150 million marketing, per industry estimates).

First Steps, directed by Matt Shakman (WandaVision), promised a cosmic reset for Marvel’s most maligned family. Set in an alternate 1960s-inspired Earth-828—think beehive hairdos meets quantum leaps—the film catapults Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben into a star-faring saga against Galactus (voiced by Ralph Ineson as a planet-munching void) and his herald, Julia Garner’s ethereal Silver Surfer (Shalla-Bal, a gender-flipped twist on Norrin Radd). No origin drudgery here; the foursome’s already four years into heroics, balancing celebrity with sibling squabbles—Reed’s absent-minded genius clashing with Sue’s protective force fields, Johnny’s flame-fueled ego tempered by Ben’s rocky heart. Production buzz was electric: Pascal stretching via innovative MoCap rigs, Moss-Bachrach’s Thing a practical suit blending Cloverfield-style grit with ILM polish, and a Michael Giacchino score evoking Lost‘s wonder. Premiering July 21 at L.A.’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion—live-streamed on Disney+ for the first time—the film dazzled with chrome interiors by Kasra Farahani and enviable threads from Alexandra Byrne. Early screenings hailed it as “the most welcoming Marvel movie in ages,” per USA Today’s Brian Truitt, a ★★★ romp “full of retrofuturistic 1960s flavor” requiring “no previous history or homework.”

Critics largely agreed: A 78% Rotten Tomatoes fresh rating praised the “engaging family dynamics” and “visually stunning reboot,” with standout nods to Kirby’s maternal might and Garner’s haunting herald. Pascal’s Reed earned raves as “the smartest guy around,” his elastic antics—corkscrewing through zero-G dogfights—adding whimsy without goofiness. Yet cracks showed: Pacing lulls in the mid-act cosmic jaunt, underdeveloped arcs (Ben’s transformation feels rushed, Johnny’s a hothead trope), and a predictable Galactus clash resolved via Sue’s “protective baby” force bubble, wasting the devouring deity’s Thanos-level threat. “It’s lovely wide-eyed idealism,” The Independent noted, “but unfortunate it follows DC’s Superman—no angst, just shimmer.” Audiences echoed: An IMDb 7.0 average lauded the “top-notch cast,” but Reddit threads griped “mid movie” status, calling it “better than Ant-Man 3, but no crown jewel.” Box office? A tale of triumph turned tragedy. Opening to $117.6 million domestic—trailing Superman‘s $125 million by a whisker—the film soared on fan fervor, crossing $250 million U.S. by week four. Globally, it hit $519 million, edging past Captain America: The Winter Soldier‘s adjusted domestic take and becoming 2025’s top Marvel earner.

But the drop-off? Catastrophic. A 66% second-week plunge to $40 million—worse than projected 55-60%—signaled word-of-mouth woes, exacerbated by Superman‘s steady $58 million hold and family fare like The Bad Guys 2. By Friday two, it cratered 79.6%, obliterating conservative forecasts. Analysts blame multiversal fatigue: Post-Endgame, audiences crave stakes, not “snoozefest” setups. Forbes dubbed it “another dull MCU entry that refuses to have fun,” lamenting Galactus’s one-film whimper. Competition stung—Jurassic World Rebirth and The Naked Gun siphoned families—while marketing misfires (overhyping Pascal’s “stretch” without emotional hooks) failed to broaden appeal. “Superhero movies open on fans, hold on families,” one insider told Variety. First Steps nailed the former, flubbed the latter. Projected losses hover at $40 million after ancillaries (Disney+ streams, merch), but for a $350 million total investment, it’s no Avengers payday. MCU skeptics crow: “Go woke, go broke,” citing diverse casting (Garner’s non-binary herald vibes) as alienating purists. Defenders counter: It outgrossed Captain Marvel Phase Four legs, proving viability sans billion-dollar bar.

Pascal’s quip, then, lands like a misplaced portal: Amid First Steps‘ stumbles—praised for visuals, panned for predictability—his RDJ roast amplifies the “Pedro fatigue.” X threads dissect it as “thirst over talent,” with #BanPedroNow memes morphing into boycott calls for Doomsday. Yet allies rally: Downey’s “homework days” anecdotes paint Pascal as the set’s soul, his vulnerability fostering Downey’s Doom deep-dive (backstory scribbles, costume tweaks). Bella Ramsey’s Vanity Fair shade? Contextualized as anti-objectification, not anti-Pedro. As Doomsday looms—Russos teasing a “defining” Doom with Hemsworth, Pugh, and Mackie—Pascal’s charm could redeem. “He’s the glue,” Downey told the mag. “Reaffirms my faith in this mad industry.” For now, the internet’s shivers are seismic: A flirt that flopped harder than First Steps‘ Friday, reminding us Marvel’s magic thrives on tension, not just “delicious” diversions. Will Pascal pivot, or persist? In the MCU’s multiverse of mishaps, one thing’s certain: Daddy Doomsday’s got jokes—and the web’s got receipts.