How can Iron Man be Doctor Doom?

Robert Downey Jr shocked San Diego Comic-Con last summer by revealing – six years after hanging up his Iron Man suit – he is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The Oscar-winning actor will play Dr Victor von Doom in "Avengers: Doomsday", due for release in May 2026, and its follow-up "Avengers: Secret Wars".

Fans were given their first sight of the arch-villain in the mid-credits scene of the recently released "The Fantastic Four: First Steps". Taking place four years after the events in the film, we see a cloaked man standing over Franklin Richards, holding an instantly recognisable silver mask in his hand.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Played by an unseen Downey Jr "you don't need to be an expert to know that this is Doctor Doom", said Radio Times, and "this little glimpse will certainly do a lot to whet the appetites of fans ahead of 'Avengers: Doomsday'".

It also "wrong-foots one of Marvel's greatest characters", said The Wrap, and "establishes a potentially massive problem" for the studio's upcoming "Avengers" event films.

Why is Robert Downey Jr playing Doctor Doom?

Downey Jr's surprise return to the MCU caused a multiverse-melting mix of joy and confusion among fans – because he was, of course, the star who kickstarted the multibillion-dollar Marvel franchise back in 2008 with his charismatic interpretation of Tony Stark and his Iron Man alter ego.

After more than 10 years and a string of $50 million paydays, Downey Jr hung up his "Iron Man" suit in 2019. But it has been a "challenge" for Marvel to find a protagonist to replace the large hole left by his retirement, said The Hollywood Reporter. That surely goes a long way to explaining why Downey Jr strode onto that stage in Doctor Doom costume to say, "New mask, same task."

Who is Doctor Doom?

Dr Victor von Doom, also known as Doctor Doom, is one of the main villains of the Marvel Universe, and creator Stan Lee's "favourite". An evil but brilliant scientist and sorcerer with a trademark metal mask that hides his scarred face, he is best known as the "eternal nemesis" of the Fantastic Four, said comic book database Comic Vine.

The "tyrannical ruler of the technologically-advanced European country known as Latveria," Doom "believes himself destined" to expand his power over "the rest of Earth, as well as the entire universe", according to fan encyclopaedia Villains Wiki. Over the years, Doctor Doom has sparred not only with the Fantastic Four, but also Spider-Man, Red Skull, Mephisto and the Avengers.

So how can Downey Jr be Doctor Doom and Iron Man?

Downey Jr's casting as Doctor Doom is a "huge development in the MCU timeline and has prompted fervent debate around how it will manage the fact he resembles the MCU's most important hero: Iron Man", said ScreenRant.

The most likely theory had been that the arch-villain would be played as an "evil Tony Stark variant", said Forbes. "That's not just pulled out of thin air" given there is an "actual comic source material precedent for this kind of storyline". The 75-year history of Marvel Comics includes countless variations on body-swap and alternate reality plotlines, and indeed "there are versions of Doctor Doom in the Marvel multiverse who actually are Tony Stark", said IGN.

But Downey Jr – who is said to have "so immersed" himself in Doom's character development that he is "writing backstory" and even contributing "costume ideas" – has publicly dismissed the Stark-variant idea.

That leaves a more obvious workaround for the double casting of Downey Jr: "you'll never see Doom's face" behind his mask, said Den of Geek. That the Oscar-winning actor will play Doom with "no Stark-strings attached" is the most "simple explanation", said Forbes.

It would also be the "laziest" solution, said ScreenRant. "While Marvel had an opportunity to explore this uncanny resemblance in a meaningful way, their casting choices suggest they're avoiding the issue entirely."

This also begs the question why Marvel would be willing to pay Downey Jr tens of millions of dollars if you never actually see his face.

"With this kind of price tag on the table, one has to assume that Marvel Studios has a very pointed reason for putting this actor in that role", said The Wrap. "For this reason, it's hard to imagine that Downey's Doctor Doom will be entirely unrelated to his portrayal of Tony Stark – two characters that, though certainly not strangers, don't have the most significant relationship in Marvel Comics."

Who else is joining for "Avengers: Doomsday"?

Alongside Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the Fantastic Four, Marvel has confirmed MCU stalwarts such as Chris Hemsworth's Thor and Tom Hiddleston's Loki will also star in the new instalment.

"Perhaps most surprising" was the confirmed return of several figures from the "X-Men" movies, said Radio Times. These include Patrick Stewart's Professor X and Ian McKellen's Magneto. Joining them are Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler and James Marsden as Cyclops, as well as Channing Tatum following his turn as Gambit in last year's hugely successful "Deadpool & Wolverine".