Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom role could temporarily bring back his original Iron Man variant inAvengers: Doomsday. Throughout elevenMCUmovies,Robert Downey Jr. built a comprehensive Iron Man arcthat brought Tony Stark from a selfish warmonger to a universe-saving hero respected by the TVA itself.Avengers: Endgamegave Iron Man a well-deserved and definitive farewell, but Robert Downey Jr. will return six years afterward as Doctor Doom,Avengers: Doomsday’s main villain. Doctor Doom’s origin, backstory, and the reason why he’s played by the same actor are unknown.
AsAvengers: Doomsday’s cast announcementsuggests,Avengers: Doomsdaywill introduce a new set ofX-Menvariants played by Fox’s originalX-Mencast. Due to the Phase 6 movie’s multiversal nature, it’s technically possible for any Marvel character to return. However,characters such as Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man and Chris Evans' Captain America are unlikely to return, as it would undo theirAvengers: Endgameending. Instead, a couple dozen other heroes will team up to fight Doctor Doom.
Avengers: Doomsday Makes It Possible For Robert Downey Jr. To Return As Iron Man Through Flashbacks
Marvel Studios Might Make The Most Out Of Robert Downey Jr.’s MCU Return
Iron Man’s ultimate sacrifice inAvengers: Endgamemarked the definitive ending of his MCU arc and the final appearance of Robert Downey Jr. in his career-defining Marvel role. While the MCU has had plenty of opportunities to bring back Downey as Iron Man, either through the multiverse or through flashbacks, any cameo or guest appearance risks diminishing the dramatic impact of Tony Stark’s death.Loki,What If…?,Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, andDeadpool & Wolverineskipped Iron Man cameos for this reason.
Iron Man flashbacks could cover moments that tie intoAvengers: Doomsday’s plot in some way or flashbacks that show important interactions between Tony Stark and other characters
Watching new Iron Man footage on the big screen may sound like an impossible scenario at this point, but Robert Downey Jr.’s return opens up the opportunity to film more scenes with Downey in his original MCU role. While most of Downey’sAvengers: Doomsdayscreentime will go to his Doctor Doom scenes,Avengers: Doomsdaycould also feature brand-new Iron Man scenes from beforeTony Stark’sAvengers: Endgamedeath. Iron Man flashbacks could cover moments that tie intoAvengers: Doomsday’s plot in some way or flashbacks that show important interactions between Tony Stark and other characters.
What Iron Man Moments The MCU Can Revisit In Avengers: Doomsday
The Infinity Saga Skipped Long Periods Of Tony Stark’s Life
Iron Man may have been the Infinity Saga’s protagonist, but the MCU didn’t cover the entirety of his Iron Man journey, let alone his pre-Iron Man days. Tony Stark’s hard days coping withThe Avengers' Battle of New York were acknowledged but not shown byIron Man 3,Avengers: Age of Ultronglossed over the Avengers' few battles together, andAvengers: Infinity Wardidn’t address how Iron Man dealt with the Avengers' disbandment. The five years betweenAvengers: Infinity WarandAvengers: Endgamealso remain completely unexplored to this day.
Thanos Returns For Avengers: Doomsday’s Opening Scene In Brutal Doctor Doom Theory That Kills The Mad Titan
An Avengers: Doomsday theory pits Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom against Josh Brolin’s Thanos in a battle that ends badly for the Mad Titan.
Robert Downey Jr.’s hypothetical return as Iron Man inAvengers: Doomsdayflashbacks could tie directly intoAvengers: Doosmday’s main conflict.WandaVisionshowed how a Stark Industries missile killed Wanda and Pietro Maximoff’s parents through flashbacks, andCaptain America: Civil Warestablished that Baron Zemo wanted to avenge Sokovia’s destruction after Iron Man and the Avengers' catastrophic battle with Ultron inAvengers: Age of Ultron. Likewise,Avengers: Doomsdaycould reveal that Tony Stark was onto something related to Doctor Doom at some point beforeAvengers: Endgame.
Iron Man’s Brief Return In Doomsday Could Explain Why Doctor Doom Looks Like Tony Stark
Iron Man Might Still Be Relevant To The MCU In Phase 6
Naturally,the reason why Robert Downey Jr. was cast as Doctor Doomonly a few years after retiring his Iron Man portrayal is a big question surroundingAvengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Wars, leading to creative speculation about possible in-universe explanations. IfAvengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Warsshow Doctor Doom’s unmasked face, the villain’s familiar appearance could be explained with the help of Tony Stark flashbacks.Avengers: Doomsdaycould reveal that Tony Stark’s discovery of time travel linked him to an alternate-universe Doctor Doom in some way, or that Stark had a connection to Earth-616’s Latveria and its ruler prior to his death.
Robert Downey Jr.’s Missed Pre-Iron Man Marvel Role Returns With A Twist In Avengers: Doomsday Theory
Robert Downey Jr. was considered for another Marvel role before Iron Man, and it finally happens in the MCU thanks to a new Avengers: Doomsday theory.
The explanation for Doctor Doom’s resemblance to Tony Stark might require new Iron Man footage. If Robert Downey Jr.’s original Iron Man wasn’t aware of Doctor Doom before his death, then Doctor Doom could have a connection to an alternate-universe variant of Tony Stark. In that case,Avengers: Doomsdaycould introduce a new Iron Man variant played by Robert Downey Jr. — one who becomes Doctor Doom or whose appearance gets stolen by Doom.
