A huge piece of news from San Diego Comic-Con 2024 came from the Marvel Hall H panel. The Russo Brothers and Kevin Feige announced thatDoctor Doomwould be the next major villain to bring chaos to theMCU, making his debut inAvengers: Doomsday. Yet the biggest announcement from this moment came when the actor playing Doom was revealed to be none other thanRobert Downey Jr., aka Iron Man himself.
This moment came with thunderous applause inside the Hall H panel. Yet, in the days after this announcement, the need to find out how Downey could possibly play one of Marvel’s most notorious villains after completing such a successful arc as one of the Avenger’s greatest heroes has never been greater. Can theMCU bring back Robert Downey Jr. as Doomwithout tampering with the noble sacrifice and completed story of Tony Stark inAvengers: Endgame? The answer may be found within the Multiverse and, in particular, theWhat…If?Series. It’s possible that Marvel Studios' next big bad, Victor Von Doom, could be introduced through the 2010What…If?story, “Demon in Armor.”
Doctor Doom’s History, Explained
Many Marvel Comics fans will know the story of Doom through his villainous actions against his nemesis,Reed Richards, and the rest of The Fantastic Four. The villain was born among the Romani people; his mother was a powerful witch slain by the devil Mephisto, and his father was a healer who died protecting Victor as they fled the local leader, The Baron. Eventually, Victor found his mother’s magical tools, and he developed the ability to fuse magic with technology. This allowed him to attend Empire State University, where he would meet his rival Reed Richards.
Victor, in his desire to speak with his mother, built a machine to communicate with the dead. Reed warned Doom about a flaw in the machine, but Victor’s arrogance led him to proceed with the experiment, resulting in an explosion that disfigured his face. After being expelled for this incident, he spent time traveling the world until he met Tibetan monks, gaining mastery of their teachings and those of the monks. Here, he forged his iconic iron armor, fusing his mask to his face to hide his disfigurement, his greatest failure in his eye.He dubbed himself Doctor Doom, leading a revolution against the Baron and becoming the sole ruler of Latveria, his homeland.
Doom would go on to fight The Fantastic Four, as well as other heroes in the Marvel Universe. He would go to war with Black Panther’s Wakanda at one point and became apivotal figure in the firstSecret Wars, where he briefly took the power of the Beyonder on Battleworld. He also helped defeat Onslaught, the psionic villain fusing Xavier and Magneto’s psychic personas. Doctor Doom has even taken it upon himself to become Iron Man after the hero’s fall inCivil War II, briefly showing stints of heroism, albeit at the behest of his own “greatness.”
Demon in Armor, Explained
In 2010, Marvel revealed an exclusive story that saw a possible reality:Tony Stark and Victor Von Doom switched bodies.In this reality, Stark is Doom’s roommate instead of Reed Richards, and Victor develops a machine that allows him to switch bodies with Stark. In the process, Stark loses his sense of self, believing him to be Doom. He returns to Latveria to build himself back up, eventually developing his own company to rival Stark Industries.
Meanwhile, Doom takes control of Stark’s wealth and company, corrupting Stark’s name and keeping it unrivaled for many years. Eventually, they bothdon early versions of their own armorfrom the comics, fighting until Doom reveals the truth behind their body switch. However, Stark refuses to return to his body, seeing how corrupt the Stark legacy has become. Instead, he uses Doom’s name and company to symbolize heroism.
Doom Versus Stark in the MCU
This random, one-off story could be the foundation on which the MCU finally unveils Victor Von Doom.Recent Marvel films likeDeadpool and Wolverineshowcase the multiverse in great detail, andThe Fantastic Fourfilm takes place in its own 60s-inspired universe. The idea that RDJ could be playing a different character in the MCU is not unfathomable. Perhaps in the universe Doom originally hails from, he and Stark were roommates, and Doom took Stark’s place through this brain switch experiment.
With some event looming that will see The Fantastic Four entering the main MCU at some point, this event could also bring RDJ’s Doom to the MCU, much like fans saw Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osbourne/Green Goblin inSpider-Man: No Way Home.WithAvengers: Doomsdaybeingfollowed up byAvengers: Secret Wars, a multiversal event seems likely. With Doom’s comic book history of combining technology with magic, it would be fascinating to see RDJ embrace this grandiose sense of villainy, a complete turn from his enigmatic heroism in theMCUas Tony Stark.
