A shockingMCUtheory could provide the perfect origin story for Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom inAvengers: Doomsday, and it all comes back to one huge storyline from 20th Century Fox’sX-Menfranchise. Robert Downey Jr. was confirmed to be returning to the MCU in 2024, set to appear asVictor Von Doom inAvengers: DoomsdayandSecret Wars. However, given Downey Jr.’s former career as the MCU’s Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, his Doctor Doom is expected to be from an alternate reality, which has spurred many origin story theories.
Robert Downey Jr. once again stressed his importance tothe MCU’s Phase 6 during a lengthy livestream that announced the first27 confirmed members ofAvengers: Doomsday’scast. This presentation revealed thatDoctor Doom will be opposed by members of the Avengers, the Thunderbolts and the Fantastic Four, but they’ll also be joined by several X-Men membersfrom Fox’s two-decade-long franchise. A new theory suggests that the X-Men’s return could explainDoctor Doom’s own origin story, which could be game-changing for the MCU.
Avengers: Doomsday Will Bring Back Fox’s Classic X-Men Team
Fox’s Classic X-Men Team Hasn’t Been Seen Since 2014
Introduced back in 2000’sX-Menand featured as the focus of 20th Century Fox’s originalX-Mentrilogy, many members of the classic X-Men team have now been confirmed to be reprising their roles inAvengers: Doomsday. Most notably,Doomsdaywill mark the return ofPatrick Stewart’s Professor X and Ian McKellen’s Magneto, but they’ll also be joined by some exciting and surprising additions.James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn, Alan Cumming, Kelsey Grammer and Channing Tatum have all also been revealed to be coming back, which is incredibly exciting for the MCU.
Deadpool & Wolverine(2024)
There are several members of the original X-Men team and other versions of the group from 20th Century Fox’s franchise that we’re still waiting to get confirmed. This includes some Marvel legends such as Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, Shawn Ashmore and even Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds, who recently joined the MCU in 2024’sDeadpool & Wolverine. These may not be the onlyX-Men-related characters appearing inAvengers: Doomsday, however, as a new theory suggests Doctor Doom could even be linked to the mutant superhero team.
Tony Stark Warned Of The Dangers Of Messing With Time In Avengers: Endgame
Tony Stark Discovered Time Travel In Avengers: Endgame 4 Years After The X-Men
Back inAvengers: Endgame, Scott Lang’s return from the Quantum Realm kick-started the Avengers planning the Time Heist to collect the Infinity Stones from the MCU’s history and reverse the devastation caused by Thanos inInfinity War. While Lang provided the idea, it was Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark who put his genius to work discovering how to safely travel through time. This came with a warning, however, asStark suggested that"when you mess with time, it tends to mess back,“but this quote has never actually been explained in the MCU.
As far as we know, Tony Stark had no knowledge of time travel prior toAvengers: Endgame, so he had no way to know that time messes back when it’s messed with. A new theory suggests that this line could explain Robert Downey Jr.’s return to the MCU.Four years beforeEndgame, 2023’s X-Men learned how to travel through time using Kitty Pryde’s power, and Wolverine’s consciousness was sent back to 1973 to stop the Sentinel war. It’s possible Tony Stark’s quote might have formed a link toX-Men: Days of Future Past’sdramatic storyline.
Doctor Doom Comes From Fox’s Changed X-Men Timeline In Doomsday: MCU Theory Explained
Victor Von Doom Could Have Emerged Because Of The X-Men Meddling In Time
A new theory shared onInstagramsuggests that Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom could have emerged following the X-Men changing the timeline of Fox’sX-Menfranchise inDays of Future Past.The 2014 movie saw the timelines of the original trilogy and the prequel series converge, with Wolverine heading back to 1973 and changing history. This altered many huge events in the subsequent years, transforming villains such as Mystique and Magneto into heroes and antiheroes, and even bringing dead heroes, such as Beast, Jean Grey, Cyclops and Storm, back to life.
Changing the entire world on this scale would have surely caught the attention of some multiversal forces. The Time Variance Authority were apathetic towardsEarth-10005 inDeadpool & Wolverinebecause of its deterioration, but now it’s been saved, this could change.The theory suggests that Doctor Doom wouldn’t have emerged in Fox’s original timeline, but was created because of Wolverine’s meddling in time, twisting Robert Downey Jr. into a formidable villain instead of one of Marvel’s most powerful and world-renowned heroes.
Doctor Doom Is The Fantastic Four’s Archenemy, But Has Opposed Many Other Heroes
While Doctor Doom is typically depicted as the archenemy to Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four, he has faced almost every other hero in the Marvel Universe in the six decades after his debut in 1962’sThe Fantastic Four #5, and this includes the X-Men. This means it would make sense for Doctor Doom to be connected to the X-Men inAvengers: Doomsday.Setting his origin story on Earth-10005 would provide the perfect excuse to remove him in lieu of a new Victor Von Doom afterDoomsdayandSecret Wars, as this will likely be the case for the X-Men, too.
Every Actor Who Has Played Doctor Doom In Live-Action
Robert Downey Jr. has been confirmed to be bringing Doctor Doom to the MCU, joining a select club of actors who’ve played the villain in live-action.
It will be great to see the classic X-Men team return inAvengers: Doomsday, and connectingRobert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doomto them will give him more credibility and create an easy backstory for him. There have been concerns that Doctor Doom would be rushed into the MCU, butif he’s from Fox’sX-Menfranchise, we’ve already been introduced to his world and gotten to know many of his related characters. This would allow Marvel Studios to quickly and easily fill in some gaps to explain Doctor Doom’s debut inAvengers: Doomsday, and explain the X-Men’s dramatic and highly-anticipated return.
