By now, you’ve seen the moment. Saturday night in Hall H, a parade of Doombots joined Kevin Feige, Joe Russo, and Anthony Russo on stage. Marvel had just announced that the next Avengers film would not be The Kang Dynasty as announced two years ago. Instead, it will be a different film necessary to set up the “…incredibly ambitious” Secret Wars that would follow in 2027 (for now).
“There is one very important character that is required,” said Joe Russo, before revealing the title that would replace The Kang Dynasty — Doomsday. Russo went on to say they needed “…one of the best actors in the world” to play Victor Von Doom. The Doombots stepped aside to reveal one Doombot better dressed than the rest. Removing the mask and striking a Tony Stark pose, Robert Downey, Jr. announced he was Doom. With a smirk, he uttered the perfect t-shirt slogan — “new mask, same task.”
Downey did everything he could to evoke Tony Stark in a Doctor Doom costume. And the crowd went wild.
So did the Gaslamp District, where almost every table around me at dinner was talking about it. By the time I got back to my hotel after attending a party, I had a few messages asking what I thought. After letting the dust settle, here it is:
It could be good.
No, it won’t be based on Infamous Iron Man, a series created by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev that I truly loved. In that, Victor Von Doom (and the world) believes Tony Stark dead. Having played god in Secret Wars, Doom seeks redemption and fills the Iron Man void left by Stark. He does it with marginal success.
For Doomsday, Doom will most definitely be a villain, likely introduced in the post-credit scene of Fantastic Four: First Steps. But of course, when Downey said he likes “…playing complicated characters,” Doom thinks he’s doing what he’s doing is the right thing, just as Thanos did. Pretty much as Tony Stark did, the parallels there being mostly unexplored.
What most people have speculated — but it’s unconfirmed by Marvel Studios — is that Doom will be a multiversal variant of Tony Stark gone bad. The multiverse has ruined storytelling for Marvel, some complain. They’ll always have an out! To those people, I’d like to introduce you to Marvel Comics, where only Uncle Ben has stayed dead, and even that might be debatable. Comics always have an out, and it’s been important that the Marvel Cinematic Universe doesn’t.
A Stark variant? It’s possible. It just seems too obvious. If we point to four of those very multiversal films people complain about, we can see that quite simply Robert Downey, Jr. will be playing Victor Von Doom. Doctor Doom. Foe of the Fantastic Four, though yes, occasionally portrayed as an opposite number to Iron Man.
Spider-Man: No Way Home established — just as DC Studios did — that the same man can look completely different in different universes. Peter Parker can be Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland, all recognized as Peter but not really looking alike. In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it appears that all versions of Stephen Strange look like Benedict Cumberbatch. Tough we encountered a different Professor X than the one in the Fox movies, still played by Patrick Stewart, we also got the fan-service of John Krasinski as Reed Richards.
We now know that Pedro Pascal will be Reed Richards in Fantastic Four: First Steps, set in “an alternate version of the 1960s.” With a release date of July 25, 2025, that film will officially begin Phase Six of the MCU. Presumably after defeating Galactus (Ralph Ineson), they’ll find a way to meet up with the 2026 Earth-616 characters. Once again, two faces on the same man.
And thanks to Deadpool and Wolverine, we know the opposite is true. The same face can be two different people. Though Logan looks like Hugh Jackman in most universes, it isn’t in all. But let’s forget about that since Disney will make him do this until he’s 90.
***SPOILER ALERT TO MAKE A POINT***
***REALLY. I MEAN IT****
Though it’s hard to cut through it all with the fourth-wall self-awareness of Deadpool, the Merc with a Mouth knows exactly what Captain America looks like. When he sees that face trapped in the Void, he’s filled with new hope. But it isn’t Cap, though it is Chris Evans. It’s Johnny Storm, the Human Torch from the Tim Story-directed Fantastic Four films. Same face, two very different characters — as proven in the post-credit scene. Which also means a third Reed Richards is canon — Ioann Gruffudd.
Then to where the Russos want to go — from Doomsday to Secret Wars. Though the sibling directors keep saying it was their favorite series as a child — which I can believe — it’s more likely that the Marvel Cinematic Universe will lean more heavily on the recent Jonathan Hickman-penned series that allowed Doom to ascend. (He tried in the 80s version, but it didn’t go so well.)
The multiverse is collapsing on itself — hinted at in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. Only Doom will have the genius to save everyone. This allows for a version of the X-Men to fight alongside the Avengers, though it’s likely not many of the same actors if any. Presumably at the end the multiverse would be restored, so the X-Men could spin off in their own direction again. Maybe. We’ll see how multiverses far by 2028.
All of this is, of course, just speculation. For those who think it’s a terrible cash grab to bring Downey back, well, yes, you’re right. But for those who are more casual fans, the excitement is pretty strong. After Comic-Con, anyone who has asked me how it was has brought up this announcement. They love it.
And that’s what Marvel wanted to do. We’ll see if the Russos can pull it off.
