Kevin Feige and his Marvel Studios team temporarily short-circuited a bunch of fans’ brains at SDCC with the gonzo reveal that Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the MCU to portray the iconic comic book villain Doctor Doom. The reactions have been all over the place, with even Gwyneth Paltrow chiming in confusedly, but for the most part, the fandom is pumped for the MCU’s Doom to exist in the wake of Kang actor Jonathan Majors’ legal drama. But what about Tom Holland?
It doesn’t appear as if the actor himself has chimed in with regards to RDJ’s surprising casting news, but that’s not what MCU enthusiasts are getting misty-eyed about on social media. Rather, they’re already anticipating how this particular casting choice, regardless of how it’s explained canonically, will be a massive gut punch to the still-maturing Peter Parker in an upcoming Marvel movie once he gets wind of the new villain. Or at least what the villain looks like.
In the time since that news went wide, reactions have been pouring in, with fans speculating about exactly who Downey Jr. will be playing, as far as whether it'll be a variant of Tony Stark or some other explanation is used. But you can be sure fans are feeling every kind of way about how Tom Holland's Peter Parker will react upon seeing the face beneath the antagonist's silver mask.
Imagine his reaction when he meets Doom pic.twitter.com/mHAvFi1MQqJuly 28, 2024
The fanbase is somewhat split concerning how this will all play out. Some are inherently worried that it will send an emotionally distraught Peter over the edge, while others are hoping that the next movie ages Peter closer to Holland's real age, making him that much more capable of dealing with devatasting reveals like that.
Some fans have a different reason for dreading the moment when Spider-Man and Doctor Doom learn each other's secret identities, in that they think Marvel producers brought RDJ back into the fold specifically to set up a big emotional Peter/Sorta-Tony confrontation, and aren't excited to wade through everything else before finally making it happen.
Here's a smattering of opinions from various points in the spectrum:
- So Peter Parker is going to have a terrible time , may is dead, MJ , Ned, Happy don’t know him or that he’s Spider-Man anymore. Lost his mentor and NOW his mentor variant is DOCTOR DOOM. He’s gonna need some therapy. - @NoorAlmuzaffar
- tom holland’s spider-man is going to be in the middle of a big battle with robert downey jr’s doctor doom and then doom will remove his mask and peter parker will break when he sees tony stark 🥺 - @ShanLFTV
- My favorite news from this weekend. I can't wait for him to annihilate Tom Holland Spider-Man. Peter thinks it's Tony, but it's Victor from another universe. #SDCC - @justinrclarke
- some people forget how smart peter parker is and its driving me crazy like no he wouldn’t think doctor doom is tony stark - @yunahsunshine
- You think Doctor Doom won’t be from the multiverse? You think he isn’t gonna know EXACTLY who Peter Parker is? Who Tony Stark was to him?
Hes gonna know how to hit where it hurts without throwing a punch.
“I know, the resemble is uncanny isn’t it? You don’t feel so good, huh?” - @winterironbaby - I need RDJ as Doctor Doom to have a run in with Peter Parker and say “Who do you think I am? Some kind of man of iron” Then Peter starts crying saying “dad is that you?” And RDJ starts crying saying “this isn’t me.. I’m no doctor, i love you 3000 kiddo” and the credits roll - @SavinTheBees
I'm actually aligned with the fourth and fifth tweets shared above, since those points make the most sense for a project like this. Like, I can understand that Peter would feel like he was emotionally steamrolled by seeing someone who looks like Tony under the Doom mask, but considering he watched Tony die and was around for the funeral arrangements and whatnot, his first instinct almost definitely isn't going to be, "This is the exact same man from top to bottom."
Although to that end, if Doctor Doom really will have a lock on who Spider-Man's alter ego is from the jump, then it's possible he could manipulate things so that Peter is fully led to believe that Tony came back from the dead as an evil villain. That's probably like a Tuesday afternoon mission for someone like Doctor Doom.
Now the pressure is on to figure out who will step in and helm Spider-Man 4, with Kevin Feige saying Jon Watts is likely being replaced. Will Doom be a part of that movie, or will he only show up in the Avengers sequels?
The X user below has an idea for where things are headed, only his predictions are more for the far-distant future...
*Comic-Con 2088* Kevin Feige III at the Spider-Man: Web of Lies panel: “Some say a hero is only as good as his villain…” *Fog rises from the stage and the lighting turns green and purple* *92 year old Tom Holland in Green Goblin mask limps onto stage*
@SmallPutrk
Okay, so that's not exactly legitimate, even if it's also not necessarily that far off base, all things considered. Such is life when dealing with multiverses.
For now, Robert Downey Jr.'s arrival as Doctor Doom is a ways off, so it's possible another five reveals will come out at D23 that makes this point moot. But until then, keep wearing those speculation hats proudly, and keep twipping for the stars.
