Doctor Doom in “Avengers: Doomsday” Could Change the MCU Forever
Marvel welcomed Robert Downey Jr. in the Avengers titled Avengers: Doomsday to portray Victor Von Doom, aka Doctor Doom after changing its title from Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. But everyone got confused about Robert Downey Jr., the man who had defined the MCU since its very beginning in 2008, was coming back to the franchise. He was, however, not returning as Tony Stark. That wasn’t the last time he suited up as Iron Man. When this news came out live raised many questions:
How does the Doctor Doom mask go from Tony Stark’s face? Is this a multiverse variant? What happened to the original Kang story in Marvel? Why did Marvel so suddenly change its creative tune?
We will investigate the convergence of events that led to this one-in-a-trillion casting, discuss a few theories as to Downey Jr.’s portrayal of Doom, and what this means for the Marvel Cinematic Universe moving forward.
How Kang The Conqueror Was Canceled
Majors has indeed risen to a leader in the MCU now, as the complex antagonist Kang the Conqueror. Kang in Loki Season 1, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, with his wonderful performance as the most villainious character. Kang is pushing the multiverse saga while entering in the Phase 5 & 6 that will lead to huge movies in the form of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars.
The Kang Dynasty Ends in Legal Troubles
In mid 2023 Majors was taken into custody accused of assault and harassment.
The trial and conviction that followed put Marvel Studios in an untenable position. The company was now tied to a flagship villain played by an actor who was now facing serious legal trouble. The removal of Majors was not only necessary for the studio’s image—it was the right move for the core of the franchise. Marvel wasn’t about to let the seeds of a multi-billion-dollar saga lie fallow with an actor in the middle of a scandal.
So now even more of a dilemma for the studio. They’d built two whole Avengers flicks around a villain who no longer played a role. They’d made complex plans across several Disney+ series and movies. They had release dates, directors (Russo Brothers were already attached), and they promised fans the end of the multiverse saga. Starting over again wasn’t just unthinkable, it was potentially disastrous.
The Pivot to Perfection
Marvel’s solution was as audacious as it was genius. Instead of just recasting Kang—a decision that would have been empty and disorienting as they opted to pivot entirely. So they are just swapping one big bad for another, and perhaps an even bigger one at that. For all that he’s a Fantastic Four foe, Doom is the greatest villain in Marvel, a Shakespearean figure who has battled Spider-Man, Black Panther, and the Avengers.
Bringing in Doom was a solve-all issue. And it gave the Russo Brothers a villain worthy of their return to the franchise. It also created a handy in for the Fantastic Four, who are at long last coming to the MCU in 2025. And more importantly, it provided an opportunity for a casting announcement of the kind that create genuine cultural moments — the kind of announcement that makes people who haven’t watched a Marvel movie in years suddenly take notice.
But Marvel didn’t just tap any actor to play Doom. They cast the actor. They cast the man who had been the face of the franchise for more than a decade. They cast Robert Downey Jr.
The Russo Brothers’ Vision
Joe and Anthony Russo say Doomsday and Secret Wars are their chance to tell “big multiverse” stories that they have loved telling since they were young comic book readers. They’ve also made nods to the 1984-85 original Secret Wars comic event, in which Doctor Doom figured prominently — becoming a god after stealing the power of the Beyonder.
The Russos get scale. They can juggle dozens of characters and still keep the camera emotionally intimate with each one. They also know Robert Downey Jr. from work — the veteran of three (and counting) Marvel outings: Endgame, Infinity War and Civil War. Whether it’s a variant of it or the real thing, the Russos are the guys who can get Downey Jr. to play Doom.
They are also involved, so you can expect Doom, in whatever form he takes, to be given the importance the character deserves. This is not going to be a one-note antagonist regurgitating the usual threats. This will be an actual character, with motives and weaknesses, and maybe even some kind of twisted honor. Downey Jr. refuses to play roles that don’t challenge him and the Russos don’t make films that don’t reach for emotional truth
The Variant Theory: Is This Tony Stark?
The most immediate and pervasive theory surrounding Downey Jr.’s casting is that this isn’t simply Doctor Doom—it’s a Tony Stark variant who became Victor Von Doom. In the all-encompassing multiverse of Marvel Comics, the idea that alternate takes on familiar characters walking different paths is nothing new.
The “What If…?” series has given us Peggy Carter as Captain Britain, T’Challa as Star-Lord and a zombie apocalypse engulfing the Avengers. The notion that a Tony Stark looked further into the dark in some alternate multiverse isn’t just possible, it’s narratively irresistible.
Both Have Same Experiences
Consider some similarities between comic book villain Victor Von Doom and Tony Stark: both are brilliant inventors. Each had a terrible childhood. They each made armor to survive and rule. It’s their choices that separate them as Tony chooses heroism and atonement, Doom chooses domination and revenge. Tony Stark could have become the thing he so valiantly tried to stop in an alternate dimension.
Why Choosing Tony Stark as Doctor Doom?
This theory became very popular immediately after the SDCC reveal because it explains the casting on a meta-textual level. So why bring Robert Downey Jr. back if not to surprise with audience expectations and emotions? Fans have been associating Downey Jr. with good because of heroism, sacrifice, and redemption for more than a decade. To see him as a villain — especially a villain who stands for what Tony might have turned into, instantly gives you dramatic tension that no other actor can bring.
The Armor Wars Connection
The similarities between Iron Man’s suit and Doctor Doom’s classic armor are purely visual, but only add fuel to the fire. The two are designed around technological superiority and being encased in metal suits. In the comics, Doom’s armor has a medieval/futuristic tech look and feel, usually shown as a blend of magic and science.
Should Marvel opt to highlight the technological facet of Doom’s persona — presumably this variant Tony Stark created similar armor, but for very different ends then the visual comparison is stunning.
The Emotional Warfare
Just look at the Avengers and especially Spider-Man (Tom Holland), who saw Tony as a father figure, or Rhodey (Don Cheadle), who was his best companion, to find a dark iteration of Tony Stark if rumors hold true that Doom is a Dark version of Stark. There are many possibilities for psychological warfare.
Marvel profits, too, as it allows for the return of Downey Jr. But Tony’s death matters because this isn’t our Tony.
It’s a twisted mirror, a warning tale about what happens when genius is dedicated to ego rather than altruism. The Russo Brothers, who helmed both Infinity War and Endgame, know the import of Tony’s legacy better than anyone. They wouldn’t bring Downey Jr. back unless they had a story that lived up to the importance of the character and a variant villain may well be just that story.
The Secret Wars Connection to the Doctor Doom
The exact connection will be revealed after the release of Avengers: Secret Wars on 7 May, 2027. In that movie Jonathan Hichman wrote Doctor Doom as God Emperor Doom to represent the most powerful antagonist. After the destruction of the multiverse, Doom, with his immense power takes different fragments of realities and forms Battleworld, an amalgamated planet. As a god-tier character, he possesses the power to alter reality using only his will.
This is explained as the ultimate development of Doom’s character. It is not enough for him to rule Latveria, or to vanquish the Fantastic Four, or even to take over the Earth. Doom’s ambitions are cosmic and have been for some time. He really thinks he’s the only one who can make a perfect universe. His arrogance is rivaled only by his competence, and in Secret Wars he finally becomes his dream.
The God Emperor Awaits
If the MCU is going to this story arc, and everything points to Doomsday being the lead-in to Doom’s apotheosis. The movie will probably make Doom into a menace on a scale where he can end (or save) reality itself, laying the groundwork for Secret Wars to deal with the ramifications of his godhood. Downey Jr. portraying this version of Doom would be incredible – an opportunity to see an actor we connect with as human portray a character who is beyond human.
The Beyonders and the Multiverse
Doom’s ascent to godhood in the comics involves the Beyonders, a race of cosmic beings of great power who reside outside the multiverse. Doom with Doctor Strange and Molecule Man battles the Beyonders and takes their power. This forces Doom to take opt for unimaginable things and unspeakable acts, and all is in the name of salvaging what is left of reality.
There have already been some ideas introduced by the MCU that could make this possible. The TVA and the Sacred Timeline, as well as the various multiversal incursions depicted in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are just some of the elements that’s setting up for the multiversal collapse. He Who Remains (a Kang variant), predicted that a multiversal war would wipe out all existence. Maybe Doom is the one to start that war, or maybe he’s the one to end it, as its god.
The casting of Downey Jr brings all sorts of ironic layers to this story. One of Tony Stark’s greatest terrors, as we’ve gleaned from the MCU, is that he’s not working hard enough to protect the planet. He created Ultron from that fear. He signed the Sokovia Accords from that fear. He gave his life out of that fear. A variant Tony who becomes Doom is the ultimate manifestation of that fear — a man so afraid of failure, he determines that only he can be trusted with absolute power.
Reed Richards vs. Victor Von Doom
Doctor Doom never gets a mention without also talking about his feud with Reed Richards leader of the Fantastic Four. In fact their rivalry is one of the most personal, intellectual, and philosophical rivalries in comics. Doom considers himself superior to Reed in all facets of life, yet Reed continually proves him wrong – not through force, but through cooperation, through family, through hope. Doom’s unwillingness to accept that Reed’s might be the better way is his defining tragedy.
The MCU’s Fantastic Four, starring Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm, and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, will premiere in 2025. Their movie has to establish this dynamic if Doom is the baddie for the next two Avengers pictures. We have to believe the history between Reed and Victor, a friendship that turned sour, an intellectual rivalry that pushes both men to greater heights and darker places.
With Downey Jr. as Doom, the contrast with Pascal’s Reed is pretty compelling. Both are known for their charisma and intensity. They can both fire off technical dialogue at breakneck speed. Both can express the weight of genius. Their skirmishes could become the heart of Doomsday, minds as much as muscles, going head to head.
The Fantastic Four Family Matters For Doom
The Fantastic Four really are Marvel’s First Family. There’s a difference between the Avengers, who are coworkers, or with the X-Men, who run a school, and the Fantastic Four, who are an actual family—Sue and Reed are married, Johnny is Sue’s brother, and Ben is their longtime best friend. This dynamic is central to their appeal and their conflict with Doom.
Although Doom is powerful, he is truly alone. He’s a man without friends, family, or anyone he can trust. Only his mother, whose soul he truly goes to Hell to rescue (this is a plot point that would make for a really great movie) is the only close connection he has. Their confrontations are given significance by the juxtaposition of Doom’s isolation and the Fantastic Four’s united strength.
In Doomsday, we could very well see Doctor Doom take aim at the Fantastic Four not just as foes, but as symbols of all he lacks. If this is a variant Tony Stark, the dynamic gets even more heartbreaking —Tony’s messed up relationship with his father, his creation of Ultron as a “son,” his mentorship of Peter Parker, all refracted through the lens of villainy. A Tony Stark who never realized it was okay to open his heart, who never found the Avengers, who never had a Pepper Potts to ground him — that man might find the Fantastic Four’s family closeness to be something to be broken up rather than treasured.
Conclusion
The Doctor Doom reveal is more than just a twist — it’s a reset for Marvel. With Robert Downey Jr. now cast as Doom in Avengers: Doomsday, Marvel has inverted its entire legacy. The face of heroism is now the face of fear and control, just that emotional gut punch alters everything.
This turn provides a new strong path for the MCU, and a villain with depth, meaning, and gravity. With Avengers: Secret Wars coming, Doomsday isn’t the end — it’s the beginning.
Stay connected with Funsterworld to get all the answered questions from your favorite superhero, supervillains, movies and series.
About the Author
