Avengers: Doomsday Rumor May Reveal Bonkers Alternate Origins For Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom - Spoilers

@MV081199 - yes

Or that she just looked like Sue and was actually Valeria who was a love interest of Doom’s in the comics.

@MuadDib - Well it's been 7 years since the last Avengers movie and by the time this will be released it will have been 2 and half years since this was announced at Comic Con. Its not really rushed if you're considering the time that's elapsed.

I don't think you're really hitting the issue that's plagued Marvel. The problem is they changed course from what had worked previously. After the greatest culmination in cinema storytelling like ever, they decided they could do whatever they wanted and be successful and what they wanted was stories in the vein of Captain Marvel (which was their one true stinker from Iron-man-leading all the way through Endgame). The idea was give the characters the look and powers from the comics but use them to push or endorse (subtly or not so subtly) whatever freakin socio-political message that mattered to the filmmakers at the moment (instead of trying with all their might to just capture the sense of the different comic characters and histories!). Because of this, the storytelling in Marvel suffered as did the authentic feel of the characters. Marvel has felt much more like cosplay than it did in former times.

Doomsday is honestly Marvel Studios admitting that they needed to course correct. Its unfortunate that they didn't build the movies up to Doomsday before this but it is way, way better than doubling down with the Kang story no one asked for. And turning back to the classic cast and Russos is far superior to turning to the gifted (but wrong for the genre) Chloe Zhao and cry-me-a-river-Simu-Liu for stewarding this incredible universe that's been built.

RDJ and the Russos delivered nnothing but great stuff formerly in the MCU. I expect the same to happen with Doomsday.

@Rosraf - Hi!

First, I'm not complaining about the MCU as a whole. I'm critiquing this specific creative decision.

Second, yes, I'm aware of the contradiction. However, the critique is about which changes are for the better:

a) Infinity War Thanos was not petty. He had a goal, framing himself as a logical savior. His logic was dispassionate. After achieving his goal, he didn't need validation. He retired to a lonely planet, thinking he had acted for the greater good—he wasn't looking to be proven right all along, nor was he trying to stroke his own ego.

b) Endgame Thanos was petty. This time-displaced, less mature Thanos was far less interesting. The logic behind his decision to time travel to the present-day MCU after learning of his victory and death was faulty and petty. He did so out of ego, whereas he could have simply prevented his death in his own timeline after the snap, since he knew his fate at the hands of Thor. This iteration of Thanos felt out of place; he was necessary as a physical threat for the plot, but his actions weren't justified by the character himself. It gave us a satisfying final confrontation, but he was far less interesting than Infinity War Thanos, and many people expressed that he felt plain and boring, riding on the audicence succcess of the former.

c) Ironically, Infinity War Thanos felt slightly closer to comic book Thanos to me. Though neither of these versions of Thanos was literally courting Death (as the character had not been introduced, nor was he close to doing so at that point), there was a metaphorical likeness to that idea in that he sought Death as an endgame. Endgame Thanos, however, didn't court Death at any point, except on the battlefield like a generic villain.

Third, Dr. Doom has much more nuanced and interesting roots in the comics than Thanos, and certainly more than the apparent iteration in Doomsday who goes after Steve because of his dead family. Comic book Dr. Doom is petty, for sure, as his ultimate downfall is his own ego. But his development from an F4 villain to a universe-level threat—matching powerhouses like Tony Stark and Dr. Strange in power and intelligence—as well as being the ruler of his own nation, gives him a complex layer of power dynamics (similar to Black Panther). This is what elevates him from a "generic petty villain out for revenge" to a "dangerous threat that cannot be underestimated under any circumstances."

Of course, we don't know how Doomsday's Dr. Doom will work. But I don't think Marvel Studios will take the time or put in the effort to explore all his intricate connections to the Richards family, specifically his animosity toward Reed. They won't have time to explain how Dr. Doom could have been Sorcerer Supreme, plotting against Dr. Strange when they were young, only to lose because of his ego, even though his ambition was perfectly matched by his skills. They won't put in the effort to explain how he is a diplomatic, political figure who, for better or worse, is able to rule a nation and make his citizens happy enough to defend him.

They could have. Had they started from, say, the aftermath of Sokovia in Age of Ultron, used him in a Dr. Strange movie, and watched his rivalry with Reed grow... Sure, they didn't have the rights to the F4 at that time, but since the FOX acquisition (officially in March 2019), it has been 7+ years. They could have done more. The pivot from Kang to Doom, the casting of Downey Jr., and the return of Steve Rogers speak for themselves.

So yeah. I complain.

@TheVisionary25 - He should’ve gotten an Oscar for Chaplin

@AntiDragon613 - it’s a quirk of the universe I feel

Granted Evans casting as Cap was in hindsight but why does Johnny Storm look like Steve Rogers…

No reason is given and honestly doesn’t need to be when dealing with the multiverse imo

This Doom just happens to look like Tony and if they they play into that , I could see some emotional
Impact happening on people that were close to him or knew Tony like Thor and Steve which could be effective but we’ll see.

@AntiDragon613 - fair enough I guess.

Feige has said that they came up with the idea of RDJ as Doom in early 2023 , before the Russo’s and McFeely had joined the film since RDJ was the one that tried to convince them to come back so I feel the idea definitely came before the script since there wasn’t really one for Doomsday then.