It was a moment that Marvel Studios fans won’t soon forget. From the Hall H stage at San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige revealed that the title of the upcoming Marvel movie Avengers 5 had shifted from Avengers: The Kang Dynasty to Avengers: Doomsday. Focus was shifting from Kang the Conqueror – thanks to the legal issues of Jonathan Majors – to the dominant threat of Victor Von Doom. But that wasn’t the biggest news. The Russo Brothers, helmers of multiple Captain America and Avengers films, would be returning to the MCU to helm Avengers: Doomsday and its sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars. And they would be bringing lucky charm leading man Robert Downey Jr. back to the MCU with them.
The moment looked like this:
It was a thrill to see Robert Downey Jr. back on stage with his Marvel brethren, back in the franchise that catapulted him to global superstardom after killing off Tony Stark in Avengers: Endgame, then winning a well-deserved Oscar for his layered performance as Lewis Strauss. Once the PR buzz wore off, though, we started to ask questions about how this would work in the overall MCU. Clearly, Marvel Studios needed to pivot away from Jonathan Majors. Instead of recasting Kang, Marvel rolled out a bigger gun in Doom. But then they took a massive swing by using the role to lure back arguably the biggest star from the Marvel galaxy.
It might work.And I have faith in the Russos, especially if they signed up for these massive movies. They must have an idea on how to make this work. But here are the immediate questions following the news that Robert Downey Jr. is playing Doctor Doom in the MCU.
Is this a Tony Stark variant?
Probably not, though I understand why fans might jump to that conclusion. We have been learning a lot about variants in the MCU during the Multiverse saga. But Marvel hasn’t always been consistent with regards to how they treat them. When Doctor Strange encountered various Stranges from alternate universes, they all looked like him, and were played by Benedict Cumberbatch. The same can be said for the different Wolverines (Hugh Jackman) that Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) met as he hopped around looking for a replacement Anchor Being. Well, one of them wasn’t played by Jackman, and that was awesome. Let’s hope that’s not a one-off appearance.
At the same time, several MCU characters have met variant versions of themselves, and they are played by different actors. The MCU’s Peter Parker (Tom Holland) met two very different Spider-Men in the incredible Spider-Man: No Way Home, still one of the best Spider-Man movies. John Krasinski played Reed Richards in one MCU movie, but Pedro Pascal will play him in another.
This is all to say that just because Robert Downey Jr. is playing the character, the character doesn’t have to be Tony Stark. There are “What If?” possibilities where, in one multiverse, the genius Stark went on to become a megalomaniac hellbent on world domination instead of an armor-clad hero. But I don’t think we are getting “Evil Tony Stark” in Avengers: Doomsday. I think this is Victor Von Doom, which is how Joe and Anthony Russo introduced him from the stage.
Will Doom be connected to The Fantastic Four?
This seems incredibly likely, as Matt Shakman’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps is due in theaters in July 25, and will go a long way toward establishing Marvel’s first family in the MCU. But if Marvel were smart (and we know that they are), they’ll use some valuable real estate in that blockbuster to establish Doctor Doom before plunging right into Avengers: Doomsday.
While Doom has tussled with almost every hero in the Marvel universe, his chief nemesis is the equally brilliant Reed Richards, and I’m all for the casting of Robert Downey Jr. just to see him devour scenery with Pedro Pascal. I expect the Fantastic Four to carry the MCU for years to come, so establishing Downey as a formidable foe for the team is a tremendous First Step.
(Insert Deadpool joke about Disney making an actor play a pivotal role until they are 90!)
Is it too soon to bring Robert Downey Jr. back?
Probably. There was a sense in Hall H that Marvel needed to hit an uncontested home run to distract from the Jonathan Majors debacle, and the pure sensation of the Russos returning with RDJ made the necessary splash.
But those wanting to criticize the MCU got fuel for their fire, as the move could be interpreted as desperate. The company needs some guaranteed good press. Bring back the actor on whom you built your empire. However, it begs the question, “Does this undercut Tony Stark’s sacrifice at the end of Avengers: Endgame?” It might, but it all depends on how Downey Jr. chooses to play Victor Von Doom. I think the character needs to be a complete 180-degree spin from the cocky arrogance of Tony Stark. Doom is confident in a calculated and evil way. Downey’s a terrific actor, and is fully capable of finding new shades to play in Doom so as not to reflect on or recall Tony Stark. But I don’t want anything in Doom to be reminiscent of Tony Stark. As Downey said from the Hall H stage:
New mask. Same task.
He’s getting a new character. But the task remains the same: Entertain the MCU faithful with something they are going to love.
How will this affect other MCU members?
It’s definitely going to be weird, and devastating. As we saw in Spider-Man: Far From Home, Tony Stark was embraced as a global savior for his sacrifice to stop Thanos (Josh Brolin). I can’t imagine how Peter Parker is going to react when he sees his one-time mentor – or, someone who looks exactly like his former mentor – not trying to control and destroy the MCU Multiverse.
Can you imagine the impact it’s going to have on Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), or Morgan Stark? What if Marvel did Young Avengers after Secret Wars, and the team was led by a teenaged Morgan, creating her own suit of armor to fight a villain who looks like her father? Chills.
We’ll start to see how all of this unfolds when The Fantastic Four: First Steps reaches theaters on July 25, 2025.
