Let's Get Reel

It’s been more than a week since Marvel Studios shocked the world at Hall H, revealing that Robert Downey Jr was returning to the MCU… as Doctor Doom.

It’s an odd choice that left many fans scratching their heads. The internet, doing what it does best, immediately yelled that they were ruining the character and were creatively bankrupt.

If jumping to conclusions was an Olympic sport, they’d bring home the gold.

Not only is the movie a year and a half away, this is the only confirmed piece of news about Avengers 5, now titled Avengers Doomsday. It’s a weird piece of news for sure, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that it just may be an inspired one.

What Was Marvel Thinking?

Kevin Feige knows a thing or two. Out of 16 years of storytelling, the one thing Marvel Studios has consistently gotten right are the characters. Sure, the villains haven’t always been great, but they deliver when it matters most. Just look at Thanos, Killmonger, and Loki.

The leading theory behind this decision was that Robert Downey Jr will put butts in seats. That’s true. But simply hiring Downey for that reason would risk the audience not buying him as the character. Iron Man was the face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for 11 years. The second audiences see his face or hear his voice, they will think of Tony Stark.

Maybe they’ll keep him in the mask and distort his voice. Doom is known for that. But then why spend the $80 million to bring him back at all?

This is why there’s plenty of reason for fans to believe that there’s a creative reason for Robert Downey Jr’s return besides the obvious financial one. They wouldn’t sabotage the story of the next two Avengers movies just for the easy PR of Downey’s return.

But what could that reason be? We may have already gotten a massive clue.

A Suit of Armor Around the World

Robert Downey Jr didn’t say much on stage at San Diego Comic Con, but what he did say was important.

“New mask, same task”

Marvel has put an emphasis on this line because it’s their biggest hint at what they’re doing with Doctor Doom. That task seems to reference Tony Stark’s goal in Avengers Age of Ultron to “put a suit of armor around the world.”

This would heavily imply that this is some sort of Tony Stark variant that perhaps took on the mantle of Doctor Doom. Or maybe he grew up in Latveria in this timeline. The possibilities for a variant are endless. The one issue is that Joe Russo said that he’s playing Victor Von Doom.

Joe Russo specifically said the casting shows the true possibilities of the Marvel “multi-universe.” He could be talking about Robert Downey Jr playing different characters. He could also be referencing the character himself as a variant of Tony Stark that goes by Victor Von Doom in his universe.

The main takeaway is this: Marvel is purposely using Iron Man as a reference point to view Doctor Doom in Avengers Doomsday and Avengers Secret Wars. It’s safe to say that this isn’t just a case of hiring the same actor for multiple roles.

The Biggest Reason this Doctor Doom Could Work

The decision to cast the franchise’s biggest hero as the “big bad” of The Multiverse Saga is thematically great. It will challenge the Avengers to fight their friend. You can’t get a better ending to a multiverse story than that.

But then why is it Doctor Doom instead of Superior Iron Man? Probably because Doctor Doom is heavily associated with Secret Wars. They want to keep that true while marrying this idea to it.

Of course, it is weird that fans are more excited to see this Doctor Doom to fight Spider-Man instead of Reed Richards, his true nemesis. But that doesn’t mean this Doom will have no history with Reed. He could still have an appearance in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. But now this also challenges the rest of the Avengers. We could get the best of both worlds.

Just because Robert Downey Jr. is a strange casting choice doesn’t mean the character is ruined. There are so many different ways that this character could work as a Tony Stark variant named Victor Von Doom, as well as simply his own character. We have to wait and see as things will almost certainly clear up once we meet The Fantastic Four.

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Avengers Doomsday releases in theaters May 2026. Avengers Secret Wars releases in theaters May 2027