How Iron Man became Dr Doom

It is fair to say that nobody saw it coming when Robert Downey Jr. was unveiled as Marvel's Dr Victor von Doom. Before an ecstatic audience at Marvel's presentation at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday, Downey revealed himself in costume as the Fantastic Four villain, who will star in "Avengers: Doomsday", due to be released in May 2026, and a further instalment titled "Secret Wars".

The "Iron Man" star hung up his suit five years ago, having kickstarted the multi-billion dollar Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) back in 2008. Downey's charismatic interpretation of Tony Stark helped propel the MCU to become the highest-grossing film franchise to date – earning the actor $50 million paydays in the process. But it has been a "challenge" for Marvel to find a protagonist to replace the large hole left by his retirement from the role, said The Hollywood Reporter, "giving Saturday's announcement all the more meaning".

How is this even possible?

While the announcement was met with an explosive reaction from the crowd, the immediate aftermath was one of confusion about Downey's return to the MCU as an entirely different character.

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While there are a lot more questions than answers at this point, said Jesse Schedeen on entertainment site IGN, "it's important to remember one thing – Iron Man and Doctor Doom have a long history together in Marvel's comic book universe".

Doom, an evil scientist with magic powers and a trademark metal mask, has tussled with Iron Man several times but "their relationship isn't always purely antagonistic". In Marvel Comics' "Civil War II" storyline from 2016, Doom even became the new Iron Man for a time after Tony Stark was left in a comatose state.

One possible workaround for the double casting is that "you'll never see Doom's face" behind his mask, said Den of Geek. That Downey Jr will play Doom with "no Stark-strings attached" is the most "simple explanation", agreed Forbes. 

However, another option is that he will be played as an "evil Tony Stark variant". "That's not just pulled out of thin air", said Forbes, "there is 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.

This is the "more likely answer" for what is about to come, said Den of Geek. The MCU has dabbled increasingly in "multiverse" plotlines in recent movies and TV shows, and so it would not be a departure from form if this Doctor Doom comes from an alternate reality.

This Tony "may undergo some twisted inversion of the origin story seen in 2008's 'Iron Man', leaving him disfigured and retreating inside a powerful suit of armour to plot vengeance", said Schedeen.

Whether Downey's Doom is Victor von Doom or Tony Stark, "it may not matter much in the end", he concluded. This is a villain "who's egomaniacal to an extreme", a "twisted inversion of everything Iron Man stands for". "That's why you cast Robert Downey, Jr. as Doctor Doom. It's a chance for the MCU's most pivotal actor to play a completely different kind of character, but one who can have an equally profound effect on the future of this universe."