How Iron Man became Doctor Doom

Last summer, Robert Downey Jr shocked a packed audience at San Diego Comic-Con by revealing that he is to play Marvel arch-villain Dr Victor von Doom in "Avengers: Doomsday", due for release in May 2026, and its follow-up "Avengers: Secret Wars".

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

After more than ten years and a string of $50 million paydays, Downey 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 strode onto that stage in Dr Doom costume to say, "New mask, same task."

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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 the Fantastic Four, but also Spider-Man, Red Skull, Mephisto and the Avengers.

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

"It's important to remember," said Jesse Schedeen on entertainment site IGN, that "Iron Man and Doctor Doom have a long history together in Marvel's comic-book universe".

Doom 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 of Downey Jr 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", said Forbes.

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, pointing to "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.

In this scenario, 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.

But 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". So, casting Robert Downey Jr as Doctor Doom "is 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".

Who else could return for "Avengers: Doomsday"?

There are still "few details" known about the storyline of "Avengers: Doomsday", said gaming website GameRant, "but a huge cast is one thing that can be guaranteed".

The official roster is not expected to be revealed until closer to filming but "core Avengers favourites like Thor, Hulk, Hawkeye, and Spider-Man" are all expected to feature, and Benedict Cumberbatch is set to reprise his role of Dr Strange. Chris Evans will also return – not as Captain America but as the superhero Nomad.

Perhaps most excitingly for fans are more recent reports that Gambit, Deadpool, and Wolverine are also going to appear. This suggests that Marvel is "rolling all the dice for this one", said GameRant, and has already led to "a lot of X-Men speculation" and potential for "a whole host of others to appear". All this, of course, creates "tons of possibilities" and makes the film "easy to market" but also puts it "at risk of becoming oversaturated" and unengaging, the site warned.