It’s been two months since it was announced that Robert Downey Jr. would return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, now as Doctor Doom in both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars and likely The Fantastic Four: First Steps. While we still have some time until Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom makes his debut, speculation has already begun on what comics will influence the MCU version of the character. While he will be his own unique version, the MCU does like to pull from a wide array of comics to influence and inspire their adaptations.
Doctor Doom is considered one of the greatest villains in all of Marvel Comics, and because of that, there is no shortage of great work for the MCU to draw on. Doctor Doom is a complex character, one who inspires great fear from both enemies and allies, but also one who holds a certain level of respect. His complex relationship with the Fantastic Four has him acting as both foe and sometimes ally, being the godfather of Reed Richards and Sue Storrm’s daughter Valeria Richards and even asking Mr. Fantastic to be the best man at his wedding.
From specific runs with the classic 616 version of the character to alternate reimaginings of the character in Marvel’s multiverse, these are the 8 versions of Doctor Doom that could have a big influence on how Doctor Doom is written in the MCU and also what could inform Robert Downey Jr.’s performance as the character.
8 Demon in an Armor
As soon as Robert Downey Jr. was announced as playing Doctor Doom, many fans and sites immediately jumped to the conclusion that Doctor Doom would be a Tony Stark variant, and that drew immediate attention to the 2010 comic What If? Demon in an Armor. This one-shot comic starts with Tony Stark becoming Victor Von Doom’s roommate in college instead of Reed Richards, which led to Tony Stark and Victor Von Doom’s body swapping. Tony’s mind in Victor’s body is sent back to Latveria while Doom inhabitants Stark’s body. The comic’s infamous drawing of Tony Stark in a Doctor Doom outfit made it an easy screen grab for people.
Outlook Not So Good
The biggest factor working against this comic’s possible adaptation is that it is unlikely that Marvel Studios would make a one-shot, little-known comic the centerpiece of their major blockbuster event. Also, Deadpool & Wolverine having Chris Evans reprise his role as The Human Torch establishes that the same actor playing two different characters does not make them variants.
Yet the comic could influence Downey Jr.’s performance in how it draws a contrast between the life of privilege that Tony Stark was raised in and Doctor Doom’s origin of coming from a family who was chased out of their homeland and seen as lesser. However, this highlights the issue of Marvel not casting a Romani actor to play Doom.
7 The Infamous Iron Man
Here’s one more Iron Man/Doom crossover, this time with The Infamous Iron Man. Written by Brian Michael Bendis and drawn by Alex Maleev, this 12-issue story took place after both Secret Wars and Civil War II, when Victor Von Doom assumed the mantle of Iron Man following Tony Stark’s supposed death. The story focuses on Doctor Doom’s quest for redemption, as villains become fearful of a former ally they barely trusted now being on the heroes’ side while also facing distrust from the hero community.
When a Villain Tries to Redeem Themselves
A few elements from The Infamous Iron Man could inform Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom. The first is that if Doom does have a face similar to Tony Stark, he could use that against the heroes of the MCU, making them believe he is, in fact, Iron Man before turning on them.
More than anything, the comic could inform the complex nature of Doctor Doom as a villain who does what he does because he believes he is right. Doctor Doom’s action in Avengers: Doomsday could be influenced by his vision of what he thinks could redeem himself, putting him alongside Thanos as a villain who commits terrible acts for what they see as noble reasons.
6 Ultimate Universe Doom (Reed Richards)
The day Robert Downey Jr. was announced as playing Doctor Doom in the MCU, writer Deniz Camp posted on X that “If you want to understand Robert Downey Jr. as Doom, you MUST read Ultimates 4 on Sept 4th. (or whenever it comes out).” The comic did come out on September 4th, 2024, right on time, so how much of Ultimates is clearly influencing the MCU Doctor Doom? Was it all a bit of marketing by Camp to draw interest in the new comic, or had Marvel been planning this for months, and this comic was perfectly timed to give audiences a hint of what was to come?
Well, it turns out that it might have been some fun marketing, as the Ultimate Doom is, in fact, Reed Richards. Still, there are some elements from Ultimates #4 that might play into the MCU’s Doctor Doom.
A Doom Motivated by Tragedy
The Ultimates is part of Jonathan Hickman’s Ultimate Universe relaunch, taking place on Earth 6160. An evil alternate version of Reed Richards known as The Maker has taken a universe and reimagined it in his own image while attempting to stop most major superheroes from rising to power so they can never stop him. One of his plans is sabotaging the Fantastic Four’s rocket, which would, through a series of events, result in the death of all of the members except this universe’s Reed Richards. The Maker tortures Reed until he becomes Doom, and now Doom and a group of heroes look to stand against him.
While Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom will be Victor Von Doom instead of Reed Richards like in The Ultimates, the MCU can still draw from this version being a character who is driven by a tragic backstory, with rumors that Downey Jr.’s Doom will be from the same alternate timeline that The Fantastic Four: First Steps will take place in.
With that movie featuring Galactus, rumors have circulated that it will end with Galactus succeeding and devouring the Earth in that dimension. Doom could be motivated by that tragedy to stop Galactus and save his world, but he becomes obsessed with achieving power from the multiverse, coming into conflict with the heroes of the MCU.
5 Fortnite Doctor Doom
Just one month after it was announced that Robert Downey Jr. would be Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday, it was revealed that the popular video game Fortnite’s new Battlepass subscription would be Marvel-themed. Specifically, it was titled Fortnite Battle Royale Chapter 5, Season 4: Absolute Doom.
While this was likely in development at Fortnite for months, Marvel may have pushed for a Doctor Doom-centered event shortly after their San Diego Comic-Con announcement to generate hype and engagement for Doctor Doom in the public spotlight. Clues in the game might hint at Doctor Doom’s role in the MCU.
Doctor Doom Becomes the New Kang by Killing Avengers Across the Multiverse
Fortnite players noted that Castle Doom, the base of Doctor Doom, features many trophies that appear to be the remains of dead heroes. These include a throne made out of The Thing, the Human Torch’s flaming heart displayed, Mr. Fantastic warped into a ball, an empty chair implying the Invisible Woman is stuck there, Magneto’s cracked helmet, and the Silver Surfer’s shattered board.
This is a ruthless Doom who has killed many powerful heroes and villains. With Doctor Doom becoming the replacement for Kang the Conqueror following Marvel Studios’ firing of Jonathan Majors, Doom could also fit the role initially intended for him.
As teased in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania when Kang asks ” You’re an Avenger? Have I killed you before?” Marvel might not only have Doctor Doom replace Kang as the lead villain for a fifth Avengers movie but also as a multiversal killer who would be a threat to the Avengers.
4 Mark Waid and Mike Weirigo’s Doctor Doom
Mark Waid and Mike Weirigo’s run on Fantastic Four is one of the best, and their storyline involving Doctor Doom has been one of the most defining for the character. In Fantastic Four vol. 3 #67, The Doom-centric storyline “Unthinkable” reintroduces Doctor Doom for a new age, digging deep into his backstory, including his relationship with the woman he loved and left, Valeria.
While it seemed Doom was looking to reconnect with the love of his life, he actually sacrifices the one woman who loved him to a pair of demons to gain a vast array of mystic powers, with a new magical armor enhanced by the remains of his former love. He then attacks the Fantastic Four using a newfound emphasis on magic and damages the team greatly before being banished to hell.
Doctor Doom’s Magic vs the Science of the Fantastic Four
For most of Doctor Doom’s history, he has primarily focused on science to make him a foil for Reed Richards, but other storylines had delved into his history with magic, tying him as a foe for Doctor Strange as well. Waid and Weirigo’s run emphasized Doom’s magic uses, specifically dark magic, to make him the ultimate opposite of the scientifically-inclined Fantastic Four.
Waid wanted to peel back the notion of Doom being a “noble” villain. In The Fantastic Four Manifesto, his proposal to Marvel for his Fantastic Four run, he said:
“By the way, the truism that Victor von Doom is, despite his villainy, a noble man is absolute crap and I can point to about a thousand moments in Stan and Jack’s run that bear this out. A man whose entire motivating force is jealousy is ridiculously petty, not grandly noble.
Yes, Doom is REGAL, and yes, whenever possible, Doom likes to ACT as if he possesses great moral character, because to him that’s what great men HAVE, and yes, we HAVE seen Doom exhibit a sense of honor from time to time—but when I hear Doom say ‘it does not SUIT him to’ do this-and-such, what I hear is, “it has nothing to do with my hatred for Reed Richards, so it’s not worth my time.”
Remember, most of the reportage we’ve heard about what Doom will or won’t do COMES. FROM. DOOM. I think ‘Doom the Noble’ would tear the head off a newborn baby and eat it like an apple while his mother watched if it would somehow prove he were smarter than Reed.”
Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom could draw a lot of influence from this version. He is a character defined by magic who is going about his quest to save/destroy the Multiverse not out of a noble intention but to prove that he can do what Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic cannot.
3 Marvel Ultimate Alliance Doctor Doom
In 2006’s Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Doctor Doom is the game’s primary villain. He assembles a team of supervillains called The Masters of Evil to lay out a massive attack across the Marvel Universe to achieve Odin’s power and reshape the universe in his image. This forces a team of Marvel superheroes to unite to stop him and save the universe.
It’s simple and straightforward, and if you swap Odin’s power for Loki’s spot at the end of time, it would make for a solid outline for Avengers: Doomsday. So much so that we’ve already outlined how Marvel Ultimate Alliance might be the template for the upcoming Avengers movie.
Proto-Doctor Doom
The third game, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, also has Doctor Doom absorbing the energy of a Celestial to achieve his God Emperor power from Secret Wars. With Celestials being introduced in Eternals and playing a role in Captain America: Brave New World, that storyline could also come into play for the MCU’s Doctor Doom and would be an excellent way to pay off threads introduced in Eternals, given that a sequel for that has been scrapped.
The Marvel Ultimate Alliance version of Doctor Doom tends to be a very classical interpretation, pulling from years of stories to distill Doctor Doom down into what fans perceive him as, which is an easy jumping-on point for Downey Jr. to pull from.
2 Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s Original Doctor Doom
The best place to start also might be the source, as Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s incredible 102-issue run on Fantastic Four created the team, Doctor Doom himself, and laid out critical foundational elements of the Marvel Universe. Introduced in Fantastic Four #5 in July 1962, Doctor Doom has been the greatest foe of the Fantastic Four.
This run also established Doom as the greatest foe in the Marvel Universe, bringing him into conflict with The Avengers, the X-Men, and Spider-Man. At some point, every hero in the Marvel Universe has crossed paths with Doctor Doom.
Doctor Doom Is Motivated to Rule at Any Cost
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby laid out much of Doctor Doom’s origin, but also one of his greatest motivating factors. While he certainly seeks revenge on Reed Richards, he is also motivated by a desire to conquer the world, but only because he believes he is the only one who can save it. Doom is, as Loki called himself in The Avengers, “burdened with glorious purpose.”
This might tie into the one tease that Robert Downey Jr. gave as Doctor Doom during San Diego Comic-Con when he said, “New mask, same task.” The MCU Tony Stark was motivated to protect people, from destroying his own weapons in Iron Man to wanting to “build a suit of armor around the world,” creating Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron to signing the Sokovia Accords in Captain America: Civil War.
Using Doctor Doom from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s original run as the template allows the MCU’s Doctor Doom to be like Tony Stark, someone who wants to save the world (or multiverse) at any cost and will do so by force since he believes his hands are the only ones that can.
1 Jonathan Hickman’s Doctor Doom
The biggest influence for Robert Downey Jr.’s version of Doctor Doom likely will come from the storyline that unfolded in “Time Runs Out” and Secret Wars, overseen by Jonathan Hickman. This version of Doctor Doom travels across the multiverse in the hopes of saving his universe, with the only solution being to take the power of the ancient all-power cosmic beings known as the Beyonders and smash the various universes together into a composite universe known as Battleworld, which Doom creates and oversees as God Emperor Doom.
Marvel Already Seems to Be Going in This Direction
The title of Avengers: Secret Wars seems to be a fairly conclusive nod to this run. This characterization also combines many of the elements of Doctor Doom that have already been listed, from the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby version of the character that feels like only he can save the universe to Mark Waid/Mike Weirigo’s version that is so bitter towards Reed Richards. Jonathan Hickman’s work on Doctor Doom was the defining arc for the character in the 2010s, so expect Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom to have a lot in common with these comics.
