The Marvel fandom was clearly divided when Robert Downey Jr. was unmasked as the next Doctor Doom at the San Diego Comic-Con.
Half the fandom felt disappointed, as this clearly besmirched the reputation of Iron Man, a character who was killed off in heroic fashion at the conclusion of Avengers: End Game.
The other half, though, continued to stick by the casting decision, having faith not only in Robert Downey Jr. as a shrewd and talented actor but also in the vision of Anthony and Joe Russo, who have never steered Marvel wrong.
Many have speculated that the recasting is nothing more than a money move since Marvel universe projects have faltered since 2020.
There’s also that little scandal about Kang, played underwhelmingly by Jonathan Majors, which undoubtedly contributed to Marvel’s rescheduling of some climactic plots.
But who’s that picky when it comes to comic book plots? MCU fans are far more interested in the story.
We can forgive almost anything that happens as long as a story explains the logic and covers all or at least most of the loopholes.
Because, you know, George Lucas rules. Nothing matters if you’re god-level popular because then the fandom makes excuses for you.
All real-life conspiracy theories aside, there are only about five plausible fictional scenarios in which Robert Downey Jr. can play Doctor Doom after knocking it out of the park as Iron Man.
That said, I still cast my vote for #6.
Robert Downey Jr. Will Play Multiple MCU Characters, As He Did In
The most despised theory is that Robert Downey Jr. will simply play as many different MCU characters as he wants to and as many as he himself can tolerate.
No explanation. No complicated sci-fi logic. Just RDJ playing Doctor Doom because he can.
And let’s face it, it’s highly unlikely fans will complain too much.
Lending credence to this theory is the fact that Marvel/Disney has, in fact, recast multiple characters with different actors by now.
Chris Evans was The Human Torch before he became Captain America.
Both Don Cheadle and Terrence Howard played James “Rhodey” Rhodes/War Machine. Eric Bana, Edward Norton, and Mark Ruffalo all did the “Don’t make me angry” line.
Thanos wasn’t even the same actor from his first cameo appearance in The Avengers end credits to Josh Brolin’s compunctious portrayal in Infinity War and End Game.
Why, then, shouldn’t Robert Downey Jr. go full Norbit and just play every character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
With CGI so dirt cheap nowadays, it certainly wouldn’t be difficult to have RJD’s face on ten characters on the screen simultaneously. He also played many characters quite effectively in The Sympathizer.
It might feel a bit creepy, like Being John Malkovich, though. Let’s hope the Russos are smarter than this — which I have full confidence they are.
The Multi-Verse Storyline Will Continue With an Alternative Timeline
Granted, exploring yet another multiverse is not the same as conducting an alternative “What If” experiment.
We’re talking about a cheap What If… scenario versus a very elaborate plot concerning timelines, “anchor beings” (as explored in Deadpool and Wolverine), and a final convoluted plot that brings together all the multiple universes for one climactic showdown that concludes in our universe.
But they do FEEL the same, don’t they?
The most common idea I’ve heard is that Tony Stark will be reimagined as an 1800s version of himself, competing against Victor Von Doom, who may even be the hero in this alternate reality.
This theory might coincide with the strange decision to set Fantastic Four: First Steps in the 1960s.
Either Stark will become the villain, or perhaps he will reveal himself as some kind of doppelganger and will actually exist in several universes at once.
The whole thing makes sense to Marvel fans but really taxes the general audience.
The reception to other multi-verse storylines has been tepid, and Marvel even referenced this in the Deadpool and Wolverine film when it went broke the fourth wall and discussed how the multi-verse stuff sucked.
Part of me thinks Marvel has heard fans’ criticism of multiple universe storylines and is trying something different. Just look at how they handled the nostalgic and energized X-Men 97.
Then again, the Russos did say at the SDCC press conference, “As proof of the unlimited possibilities of the Marvel Multiverse…
(Pause…as in, oops, I think I said too much)
“We give you the one person who could play Victor Von Doom…”
He’s already thrown the term “multiverse” around, so we definitely can’t rule another multiverse/What If scenario happening again.
Iron Man and Doctor Doom Will Trade Bodies
A non-timeline scenario is that Doctor Doom will figure out how to trade bodies with Tony Stark and will wreak havoc on various Marvel superheroes.
Perhaps Doom will resurrect Stark’s body or rent a multiverse version of it to fulfill his diabolical schemes.
It’s not exactly an untested formula. It worked for the 2010 Marvel storyline Iron Man: Demon in an Armor, although in that story arc, both characters traded minds.
It also worked in the 1997 film Face/Off, which was a critical darling for its madcap humor and action sequences and featured the high concept of a hero and villain trading faces.
This would have potential in the MCU, as it would give us the opportunity to see Marvel superheroes get touched in the feels as they are forced to battle with the stolen face of Iron Man—a hero, brother, and mentor they all loved deeply.
That said, while the concept is interesting, I feel as if this would agitate MCU fans in a way beyond even the multiverse storyline.
Since we’ve already predicted and imagined it, it seems somehow less satisfying to think Robert Downey Jr.’s $80 million encore is nothing more than just a face.
It cheapens the storyline because it doesn’t actually give us Tony Stark, just his image, which isn’t enough for the MCU fandom, which demands some level of authenticity.
Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man Will Fight Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom
This is the most ridiculous scenario, yet a number of MCU fans have mentioned it, and they obviously love the implications of the double casting.
Is this another clone war, and haven’t we had enough of Attack of the Clones movies for a while? Just because something could easily be done with CGI and AI doesn’t mean it should be.
The big climax of a faux Doctor Doom fighting a returning Iron Man — all played by the same character — is sinking down to a level of self-parody that’s not even Deadpool-level entertaining.
The biggest problem with this scenario, and really all these hypothetical scenarios, is that none of them actually explore Doctor Doom’s fascinating origin story.
Previous interpretations of Von Doom were shallow, including a performance by Toby Kebbell in the Fantastic Four (2015).
None of them actually explored the character, his Romani background, or the gravitas of the character, who was so much fun to read in the comics.
None of MCU’s newer films even bothered building up Doctor Doom or created any sense of multi-film conflict.
It seems strange that one of Marvel’s most captivating and theatrical villains still hasn’t had a proper introduction.
Marvel Will Rewrite Iron Man’s History Keyser Soze Style
Here’s another bizarre theory, and yet it wouldn’t be that farfetched in hindsight. Maybe a Loki-induced hallucination?
What if we have been watching Victor Von Doom (Robert Downey Jr.) impersonate Tony Stark all along — who is actually just this other guy we’ve never seen before?
Maybe Von Doom conducted a mind experiment, a massive Mandela Effect magic trick, that caused everyone to remember Iron Man as the heroic Victor Von Doom.
It would be the Keyser Soze trope, in which the writer invalidates the entire story we’ve heard so far in favor of a brand-new narrative that came out of nowhere, with just a drop of foreshadowing.
Literary gaslighting!
Of course, what a lot of people don’t remember is how dumb Bryan Singer’s The Usual Suspects really was – and how “sus” Bryan Singer was, for that matter.
If the entire story is all a lie in favor of a ludicrous plot twist that was completely hidden from us, what’s the point of it all?
There is no point…except that you’re watching.
The Russo’s Have Got to Shock the Marvel Universe to Keep Our Attention
That’s the part that concerns me because when it comes to storytelling, the Russo Brothers are creatively gifted and yet very often reckless in execution.
In the sitcom Arrested Development, which was a turning point for the brothers’ career, the characters’ reality was always second to the unreliable narrator’s storytelling.
Suddenly, George Bluth Sr. was an identical twin who often posed as his brother Oscar. For little other reason except that it was funny.
Sort of. (The first five times…)
Suddenly, the entire plot you thought you were watching disintegrated because you missed all the writer’s clues that revealed something very different was happening in the background.
(I still can’t believe how much Charlize Theron sucker-punched me with a deceptively shallow performance)
True, you can blame showrunner and writer Mitchell Hurwitz for self-destructing his own baby with all sorts of nonsensical and mind-bending plot twists.
But who can forget that the Russo Brothers started here in an irreverent sitcom with no rules except a narrator’s hypnotically reassuring voice?
One More Scenario: It’s NOTHING Like What You’re Thinking
My prediction is that the Russo Brothers will try to one-up themselves, as usual, and do something so out of the box that it will catch everyone off guard.
It has to.
Because we’ve already figured out most of the most likely scenarios over the past month, Marvel can’t afford to simply recreate ideas that have already been done or that we’ve already discussed.
They have to think bigger, like 100 billion dollars bigger.
Now it’s time to sit back and let Disney shock us with an original storyline so subversive that it redefines comic book movies for a new era.
I think the Russos realize Marvel movies need an injection of creativity, and it will show in the next Avengers movie.
What do you think? Any other theories as to what RDJ will bring to the Doctor Von Doom character?
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