Summary
Robert Downey Jr.’s shock casting as Doctor Doom inAvengers: Doomsdayhas resulted in manyMCUmemes - and one creator has recreated a classic Spider-Man meme with Doom and Iron Man. Thehighlight of 2024’s San Diego Comic-Conwas arguably the moment in whichRobert Downey Jr. was revealed to be returning to the MCUand portraying one of Marvel’s most anticipated upcoming villains: Doctor Doom. Since the announcement, speculation and discussion have been kicked into overdrive while also resulting in some hilarious memes.
One such meme has been imagined by Reddit user@JustRalphyyy, whotook the iconic Spider-Man pointing at Spider-Man meme and replaced both Spider-Men with Doctor Doom and Iron Man. The concept has spawned out of the pertinent question of how Marvel Studios intends to navigate the glaring fact that Robert Downey Jr.’s face is best known as Tony Stark - both outsidethe MCU timelineand within it. Several theories have emerged from the conundrum, and sparked a spirited debate over which route the MCU might take.
Avengers: Doomsday - Release Date, Cast, & Story Details
Avengers: Doomsday promises to bring an unprecedented kind of story to the forefront of the MCU, complete with one very important villain.
How The MCU Can Pull Off Robert Downey Jr. Playing Doctor Doom After Iron Man
The Multiverse Is Full Of Possibilities
The Multiverse Saga has established myriad ways in which anactor can portray multiple MCU characters.Lokiseason 1 established that variants of characters from other universes can look identical yet make wildly different choices, resulting in characters that are a marked departure from the Earth-616 variant. With that in mind,Avengers: Doomsday’s Doctor Doom might simply be a Tony Stark variant whose choices and circumstances led him down a wildly different path, being named Victor Von Doom and emerging as the ruler of Latveria instead of the heir to the Stark estate.
Lokialso established that variants can look wildly different from the Earth-616 “original,” such as is the case with Alligator Loki, but this is evidently not the route being taken with Doom.
This theory has its issues, as many Doctor Doom fans are anxious aboutDoom’s origins being too closely tiedto Iron Man, who has arguably had his time in the limelight. Alternatively,Deadpool & Wolverinerecently established thatthe same actor can portray two completely different characters from alternate universes, as Chris Evans' Johnny Storm from Fox’s originalFantastic Fourbecame MCU canon - confusing Deadpool as he expected Evans to be portraying Steve Rogers. The fact that Storm and Rogers' origins are worlds apart sets a precedent that could see RDJ simply playing a brand-new character.
Another defining feature of the villain is how reluctant he is to remove his mask. The MCU may, therefore, be intending to debut this comic-accurate rendition of the character inAvengers: Doomsdaywithout ever having to navigate the glaring fact that he looks identical to Earth-616’s Tony Stark by simply having him keep his mask on at all times. While this theory remains the least likely, simply owing to RDJ’s money-spinning star power, it remains a possibility as Kevin Feige was recently quoted as stating that they need to get Doom “right,” which makes turning him into Stark dangerous territory.
