Downey revealed his new role in costume to an ecstatic audience during Marvel’s presentation in Hall H. He is set to trade in his Iron Man suit for Doctor Doom‘s cape and mask in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, slated for release in May 2026, and its subsequent sequel titled ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’.
The actor, best known for his portrayal of Tony Stark, was pivotal in establishing the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as the highest-grossing film franchise to date with over $30 billion in box office earnings. His departure from the role left a significant void, which Marvel has struggled to fill, making this casting announcement particularly significant.While the crowd’s reaction was explosive, the excitement quickly gave way to confusion with fans expressing their confusion over Downey’s return in a villainous role. However, comic book fans were quick to come to the actor’s defence and chalk out the shared complex history between Iron Man and Doctor Doom in Marvel’s comic book universe.
Doom becomes Iron Man
Doctor Doom, often seen as a sinister scientist with magical abilities and a signature metal mask, has often clashed with Iron Man over the years. Their relationship, however, isn’t always adversarial. In the ‘Civil War II’ storyline from 2016, Doom takes on the mantle of Iron Man after Tony Stark was left in a comatose.
Body Swapping
Marvel Comics’ extensive 75-year history includes numerous body-swap and alternate reality plotlines. Some versions of Doctor Doom in the multiverse are actually Tony Stark, considering that they are both brilliant scientists and share similar world views. In fact, the comic books even suggest that Doom attempts to atone for his past mistakes by adopting Iron Man’s goals of world protection.
Evil Variant
One way to address the double casting is that Doctor Doom’s face might remain hidden behind his mask, as suggested by several fans on social media. However, another popular theory suggests that Downey would be portraying Doom as an evil variant of Tony Stark somewhere in the multiverse. In Ultimate Universe, Tony and Doom even collaborate to utilize their combined brilliance for greater purposes.
In the 2015 “Secret Wars” series, Doom’s face is healed, and he decides to use his scientific knowledge to improve the world, eventually taking on the Iron Man role after Stark’s disappearance.
Mind Swap
A notable ‘What If’ story, explores a scenario where Tony Stark and Victor von Doom switch minds, leading Stark to become Doom and vice versa.
Given the MCU’s recent focus on multiverse plotlines, introducing an alternate reality Doctor Doom or even an Iron-Man varient is not that far-fetched.
Going up against the Avengers
Viral fan theories also claim that the actor, who will be wearing the mask for most of the time, will likely be unmasked by the new Avengers like Doctor Strange, Captain America, Spider-Man and others. This time around, the heroes, who are still grappling with their dear friend, Tony’s demise, will now have to fight against a villain who looks just like him. ‘Has Peter not suffered enough?’ a fan asked in a post.
Ultimately, casting Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom allows the MCU’s most pivotal actor to explore a completely different character, one with the potential to have a profound impact on the future of the Marvel universe.
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