ROBERT DOWNEY JR.'S MARVEL RETURN AS DOCTOR DOOM, EXPLAINED

(SPOT.ph) With the stellar opening Deadpool 3 and the multiverse-crossover film already being predicted to make over $1 billion at the worldwide box office (Variety), it’s clear that Marvel Studios shows no signs of pumping the breaks on more content that focuses on nostalgia and multiversal cameos. After all, the studio’s two other biggest films that have released in the post-Endgame era are 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, which featured the return of Tobey Maguire’s and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Men, and 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, fueled by the hype surrounding the appearances of the Illuminati, Sir Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, John Krasinski’s Mister Fantastic, and the heavily rumored Tom Cruise Iron Man.

This creative trend was heralded by Marvel Studios themselves at San Diego Comic Con over the weekend when studio president Kevin Feige took to the stage to announce that not only will Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo be returning to direct the upcoming sequel Avengers: Doomsday, but also that the film will be headlined by Iron Man actor Robert Downey, Jr. in the role of the titular villain, Dr. Doom.

We break down the comics' history—and even the recent events of troubled productions—that cumulatively led to this casting.

Also read: 10 Years Later: Why Iron Man 3 Is Still Top-Tier MCU

Robert Downey, Jr. as Doctor Doom and Iron Man Connections, Explained:

Who is Doctor Doom?

Doctor Doom is widely considered as one of the most infamous villains of Marvel Comics, up there with the likes of complex human villains like Magneto and the Green Goblin, as well as some galactic wide threats like Thanos and the planet-eater Galactus. He’s widely associated with the Fantastic Four, as he is also the arch-nemesis of Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards), the smartest man in the Marvel Universe. However, Doom has become a notorious foe to most Marvel superheroes like Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the Avengers for various story arcs, making him more of a general Marvel baddie.

Most audiences may be familiar with Doctor Doom through his appearances in the 2000s Fantastic Four duology, where he was portrayed by Julian McMahon as a power-hungry CEO who just wants to retain control of his company, and the 2015 Fantastic Four film, where Toby Kebbell portrays him more as a scientist who goes crazy after fusing with some weird goo on Planet Zero (don’t ask, it’s not important). Both film adaptations of the character are quite off from their comic counterpart.

In the comics, Dr. Victor von Doom (ergo, Doctor Doom) is the ruler of the fictional European country of Latveria. As the villainous monarch, Doom has only ever sought world domination due to his innate need to control everything. While his power set has varied over the years and different adaptations, his constant strength would be his supreme intellect—almost rivaling that of Reed Richards—which enabled him to become a master of disciplines, such as technology and even sorcery, that give him varied abilities.

The most recognizable aspect of Doom is definitely his iron mask and green hood. The origins of the mask have been shifted and retconned over the years. The earlier tellings of Doom’s origin depicted Doom getting seriously scarred by an explosion, while later iterations of the character downplayed the scarring to minor blemishes which he still felt the need to be hidden behind a mask—highlighting the character’s compulsive desire for control and perfection.

The importance of Doctor Doom to the plot

As mentioned by the Russo brothers on stage at San Diego Comic Con, Doom was a key player in the 2015 Marvel Comics event Secret Wars, which the 2027 Avengers film of the same name will be based on. In the comic storyline, Doom survives the final multiversal incursion and usurps the universal powers of the Beyonders to become "God Emperor Doom," who reforms the universe to his liking. However, a group of other survivors of the incursion and Doom’s reimagined universe "Battleworld," led by Mister Fantastic, are eventually able to take him down and effectively "reboot" the Marvel universe.

There’s no doubt that Doom was to play an integral part in the upcoming Secret Wars film, no matter the casting. However, with Downey, Jr. confirmed to playing Doctor Doom in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, many have speculated that this version of Doctor Doom will be a multiversal variant of Tony Stark instead of Victor Von Doom, because what other reason could there be for the casting?

Marvel definitely isn’t past retooling character backstories to be related to Tony Stark. In the MCU alone, Marvel has altered the origins of Spider-Man, the Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Ultron, the Vulture, and Mysterio to be directly intertwined with the character of Tony Stark, mostly due to him being the most prominent character of the franchise. It’s definitely within the realm of possibility for them to do so with the franchise’s next Thanos-level antagonist.

The comics are definitely not lacking for any Iron Man-Doctor Doom source material. In 2016, Doctor Doom became the lead of the Infamous Iron Man comics line, wherein a reformed Victor Von Doom attempted to take up the mantle of Iron Man in the spirit of redemption. There unsurprisingly exists a What If? one-off comic that explores "What If Tony Stark Had Become Doctor Doom?" Still, these are unlikely to be the focuses of the plot of Avengers: Doomsday given how niche they are and not really tentpole event film material.

Why bring back Robert Downey Jr.?

For the reasoning behind the casting of Robert Downey, Jr. as Doctor Doom, you need only look at the recent track record of the film studio. It’s no secret that the Marvel brand has been struggling to find the string of successes it saw during the days of the Infinity Saga, with the departure of franchise staples such as Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, and even Downey, Jr. himself, the less-than-stellar box office numbers, and the muddy integration of the Disney+ titles with the theatrical releases. Co-president of Marvel Studios Louis D’Esposito said as much when he admitted "It’s been a rough time," to Empire Magazine when talking about recent releases and production troubles. Even Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) himself was able to make a jab at the current state of the MCU, when he tells Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, "welcome to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. You’re joining at kind of a low point" in Deapdool 3.

To make matters worse, the villain Kang the Conqueror—whom the studio had bet the culmination of its Multiverse Saga on—debuted in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which was poorly received by critics and underperformed at the box office. (The Hollywood Reporter). Kang (and his multiversal variants) was portrayed by actor Jonathan Majors in the film and the streaming series Loki. Majors’ performance was relatively praised as the highlight of the film, but any hope of salvaging the Kang storyline was soon dashed when Majors was fired by Disney after being found guilty of reckless assault and harassment in a domestic violence dispute. (Deadline) All loose threads of the storyline were quickly tied up at the end of Loki’s second season.

With Kang not working on all fronts, it was clear that Marvel needed a plan-and-then-some to win back audience appeal. The clear and logical back-up plan was reorienting The Kang Dynasty to Doomsday, since Doom is overall a more popular villain and likely to be a key player in Secret Wars, either way. The "and-then-some" then comes in the form of bringing back not only Downey, Jr—fresh off a Best Supporting Actor Oscar win—but also the Russo Brothers to direct, as a signal that we’re back to the "golden era" of the cinematic universe. The studio seems to be investing a lot in this plan, as it’s been reported that they’re spending $80 million on bringing the Russo’s back for the two Avengers films, and "significantly more" on Downey, Jr. for his return. (Variety)

Still, general sentiment seems to be both a strange mix of excitement and confusion. Don’t worry, the rest of the Internet feels the same, apparently. In a social media poll conducted by IGN garnering over a hundred thousand responses, it was revealed that reactions to the casting announcement were quite mixed, with over 50% of the responses indicating Downey’s casting was the wrong move for the studio.

Only time will tell, but with the endless possibilities of the multiverse, we’re sure to get another Doctor Doom—and even Iron Man—casting in a couple decades, anyway.

Also read: Must-Watch Movies This August 2024

2024-08-03T04:04:12Z dg43tfdfdgfd