How Can Robert Downey Jr. Be Iron Man and Dr. Doom? All About the New Marvel Villain

Robert Downey Jr. was announced as Marvel’s latest villain, Doctor Doom, in July 2024 — after playing the arguable leader of the Avengers, Iron Man

Robert Downey Jr.’s character Iron Man died a hero — and has now lived long enough to see himself become the villain.

The Oppenheimer actor was announced as Marvel’s latest massive villain, Doctor Doom, at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2024. Downey will appear in the role in the two upcoming Avengers movies, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.

Previously, the Academy Award-winning actor was most well known for portraying Tony Stark, or Iron Man, in three Iron Man movies as well as four Avengers movies and three other Marvel franchise films.

Downey, who first became Iron Man in 2008, exited the franchise after his character’s death in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, marking the end of an era for not only the actor, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole. Beloved for his snarky commentary and rich playboy ways — with a heart not of gold but vibranium — Stark was one of the pillars of the MCU.

Related: Avengers: Doomsday: All About Robert Downey Jr.'s Return and What Was Revealed at Comic-Con

Now, he’s ready to step into the villain role. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige gave fans a preview of the next film with a group of actors in masks and robes on stage while announcing the Russo brothers, Anthony and Joe Russo, as directors of the film. The two then called the next villain forward — which was when Downey proceeded to step up and remove his mask, revealing himself as Doctor Doom.

“New mask, same task," Downey said. "What did I tell ya? I like playing complicated characters."

So how will Robert Downey Jr. transition to Doctor Doom after playing Iron Man for over a decade? Here’s everything to know about the actor’s character change.

Who is Doctor Doom?

Doctor Doom’s (or Victor von Doom's) origin story roots back to his feud with the leader of the Fantastic Four, Mister Fantastic, or Reed Richards. The two were college roommates and rivals in school, where Doom was obsessed with building a machine that would let him speak to his dead mother. Richards warned him against building it, but Doom didn’t listen and the machine blew up in his face, leaving him with scars.

Though Mister Fantastic is Doom’s main nemesis, he has also fought Iron Man a number of times. While Iron Man’s power is using his genius mind and wealth to create his supersuit and give himself powers, Doom is similarly able — however, he uses his intelligence to learn magic in evil ways. Ironically, he also hides behind an iron mask.

What comic books are Doctor Doom and Iron Man both in?

Though Doctor Doom is mainly a Fantastic Four villain, he and Iron Man appear together in a number of comics. In a 1981 storyline, Doomquest, the two travel back in time to the court of King Arthur where the king and Iron Man defeat Doom.

More recently, the two appeared together in 2007’s Mighty Avengers which sees Stark as the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and leading an invasion into Latveria, Doom’s home country, after Doom is implicated in an attack on New York City.

However, Iron Man and Doom aren’t always foes. After 2015’s Secret Wars, Doom redeems himself and not only regains his normal facial features, but also becomes Stark’s ally in 2015’s Invincible Iron Man. 

How can Robert Downey Jr. be Doctor Doom after playing Iron Man?

There are a number of ways Marvel can interweave Downey into Doom despite his past as Iron Man. In the 2016 comic book Civil War II, Doom becomes Iron Man where he creates his own suit of iron while Stark is in a comatose state and defends Stark Industries.

However, this storyline is unlikely as Doom has already been introduced as the villain. To do this, Marvel might rely on a set of comics in the multiverse in which Doom actually is Tony Stark including in 2010’s ​​What If? Iron Man: Demon in an Armor where Doom swaps bodies with Stark in college.

Marvel may also go in a different direction from the comic book plots. Since Doom is always masked, it is possible that Marvel does not address the double casting, and Downey is never acknowledged to have been Tony Stark.

Alternatively, now that the multiverse has been explored in a number of Marvel projects, it is possible Avengers: Doomsday’s Doom is a variant of Stark from another universe and is actually the one who was in college with Mister Fantastic and went bad.

What has Robert Downey Jr. said about returning to the MCU?

Though Downey left the MCU in 2019 to pursue other projects, he’s been vocal about possibly returning to the franchise — even as Iron Man. As recently as June 2024, Downey said he has "become surprisingly open-minded to the idea” during a conversation with Jodie Foster for Variety's Actors on Actors series.

"It’s just crazily in my DNA," Downey said. "Probably the most like-me character, strangely, I’ve ever played, even though he’s way cooler than I am."

However, in December 2023, Feige said that Downey’s chapter as Iron Man is definitively closed after ending it on a touching note — sacrificing his life to defeat Thanos and save the universe in Endgame.

“We are going to keep that moment and not touch that moment again,” he told Vanity Fair. “We all worked very hard for many years to get to that, and we would never want to magically undo it in any way.”

Was Robert Downey Jr. always supposed to be Doctor Doom?

Before he was cast as Iron Man, Downey was originally up for the role of Doom, Iron Man director Jon Favreau said in a 2023 conversation with Feige reminiscing on the 15th anniversary of the movie.

​​“I remember that Robert had come in for a general [meeting] on [Iron Man] and you had already met with him for Doctor Doom or something,” Favreau told Feige, who was producing 2005’s Fantastic Four and 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer at a similar time. “I think he had come through on Fantastic Four. So everybody knew who he was.”

He continued, “I remember sitting down with the guy and I was like, ‘He’s got that spark in his eye and he’s ready.’ That’s when we were in your office and we were putting to his headshot and saying we’ve gotta try and figure this out [for Iron Man].”

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