We thought we saw the last of Robert Downey Jr. in the MCU after Iron Man’s heroic, yet tragic, sacrifice to save the universe from Thanos. However, last year at San Diego Comic-Con, the legendary actor made an announcement that would shake the very foundations of the Marvel community: his return as the new big bad of the current saga, Dr. Doom. Whether it’s a desperate or genius move on Marvel’s part, there’s a huge problem with this casting choice: how is Marvel going to justify Doom’s resemblance to Tony Stark? Unfortunately, the answers to this question are kept tightly under wraps, but we can still theorize why this is the case.
Theory #1: Tony Stark Variant
The most obvious theory out there, and undoubtedly the first thought to pop into your head. After all, it’s the easiest explanation. Why else would the actor literally known and famous for his role as one of the MCU’s most popular and iconic characters, return to be a different character but with the same face? In-universe, though, it wouldn’t be too hard to believe that an evil version of Tony exists out there. The multiverse, both in the MCU and the comics, is full of infinite versions of the characters we know and love. In this case, we’ve seen versions of Dr. Doom where he became 100% good and forgave Reed Richards, one where he became a zombie, and even in the main timeline, where he became Iron Man for a time. Therefore, for one reason or another, there could’ve been a Tony Stark who never had the hero’s journey that ours did. Instead, he concluded that the only way to save the world was to take a darker meaning to “a suit of armor around the world.” This wouldn’t be out of character for Doom—or a variant of Doom, for that matter—either. In the comics, Doom may have been a dictator, but most of his actions boil down to protecting and saving the world. The most recent line of comics, “One World Under Doom,” displays this by showing Doom as the new Sorcerer Supreme and taking over the Earth, but also making healthcare and housing much more affordable. Of course, with Doom, there was a catch to this (i.e., he was harvesting the life force of his subjects), but the point is that his evil deeds are usually tied to saving the world in some capacity. Tony/Doom could be the same way, here.
Theory #2: Tony From A Splintered Timeline
This theory slightly expands on the previous one, but comes with a key difference. In other words, this version of Doom might be the result of the Avengers’ time-travel shenanigans during “Avengers: Endgame.” According to a post on Reddit, the uploader suggests that, because Tony and Steve stole extra Pym particles for their suits, Tony’s parents could’ve been labeled as criminals and driven away from America. Afterwards, they would change their names to Doom, and they would actually name their son Victor instead of Tony. Finally, SHIELD would eventually kill the parents, leading “Victor” on his quest for power and revenge. Now, this may seem a bit far-fetched, but it makes a lot of sense in the lore. For instance, when Bruce tried to get the Time Stone from the Ancient One, she broke down the potential consequences of their actions: whatever they do in the past could cause a new reality to splinter off the main timeline. We’ve already seen this in the “Loki” spin-off show, where a branching timeline created Sylvie and how she pretty much tore down the whole TVA with Loki’s help. Who’s to say the same thing couldn’t happen with Tony here? If not the same scenario, then at least something similar could happen that would keep the flow of the story steady.
Theory #3: Tony Resurrected
This may seem like a lazy direction, even lazier if Marvel actually does this, but it would be foolish to put this past Marvel. Whether it’s the movies or the comics, we’ve seen many heroes and villains come back from the dead in one way or another. The greatest example of this is Loki. We’ve seen him die at least three times, and even though he faked his death two of those times, his third death was supposed to be the last one. However, his spinoff show managed to pull him out of time without any consequences, and now he’s the God of Stories. From there, the list goes on with characters like Red Skull, Gamora, Vision, Groot, among many more. Therefore, if Marvel actually brings Tony back to life as this villain, it would be somewhat acceptable.
But if that’s the case, then why would he be a multiversal threat? Well, after he’d been brought back by some (currently) unknown method, one of two things is possible. The first being that he had somehow lost his memories or got brainwashed, perhaps the result of the Council of Kangs’ antics as an attempt to mold a weapon that could destroy the Avengers. The other thing is much darker: Tony is brought back with his memories fully intact, but the traumatic events would mold him into “protecting” the multiverse. We’ve already seen his PTSD from the first Avengers film drive him into making Ultron, and he’s smart enough to figure out time travel. So it wouldn’t be implausible to assume that Tony’s mental state would further fracture and become a villain, and especially one that could figure out the multiverse exists.
Theory #4: Dr. Doom With Tony Stark’s Face
Now, there are two ways to approach this particular theory. The first approach involves entertaining the possibility that this is the real, actual Victor Von Doom, but coincidentally looks like Tony Stark. I know how stupid that sounds, but consider the Fantastic Four as an example. Chris Evans once played Johnny Storm/the Human Torch for the first movie and the sequel, “Rise of the Silver Surfer.” And, of course, Evans served the MCU for the past decade as Captain America. By that logic, if the Human Torch can look like Captain America but still be entirely different individuals, then why shouldn’t Doom look like Tony? However, if that’s not a good enough reason, perhaps this second approach to the theory will suffice. Again, this could still be the actual Doom, but this time, he could’ve used advanced genetics and sorcery to make himself look like Tony Stark. This wouldn’t be the first time we’d see something like this, as Eobard Thawne accomplished a similar feat in CW’s “The Flash.” After getting stranded in the present, Eobard found Dr. Wells and killed him, but used his DNA to make himself look like Wells to take advantage of Barry and the team. For the MCU, it’s possible that Doom, after discovering the multiverse, found and studied the main timeline. After observing recent events and how much of a cornerstone Tony has been for the superhero community, he could’ve done the same thing Thawne did, so he could take advantage of the loss and mess with all the heroes. Whether it’s deception or emotional manipulation, Doom could further fracture the various teams of heroes in catastrophic ways.
Theory #5: Tony Stark’s Long-Lost Brother
I know I’ve said this numerous times already, but I recognize how completely bizarre and also overused this theory is. In most shows and movies, the bad guy is usually revealed as a secret brother or sister or otherwise family member of the protagonist. However, there is an EXTREMELY solid piece of evidence that this could be plausible. My main source comes from “The Secret Origin of Tony Stark” line of comics, where Tony makes a shocking discovery. Throughout the story, Tony learns that he was never the biological son of his parents, but he was actually adopted. The Starks did have a child, though, but the story gets a bit complicated from there. What happened was that the Starks tried to get pregnant but couldn’t, so they tried literally everything they could think of, until a strange alien robot (Recorder 451) claimed he could help them. While Maria Stark would be able to conceive, 451 modified the child’s DNA so that he could pilot a dangerous weapon known as the Godkiller Armor, but die when he turns 30. Howard Stark found out and further modified the DNA to remove that programming, but this would leave poor Arno (the baby) severely unhealthy and reliant on an iron lung to stay alive. To cover this up and hide Arno from 451, the Starks adopted Tony, and the rest is history. Obviously, for the MCU, the directors would have to take some serious artistic license with this if they use it, since “Arno” would look exactly like Tony. Regardless, if Marvel writes it right, then this could work! Arno could’ve been hidden away from the world, and not even Tony would have known until his death in “Endgame.” During that whole time, being strapped to machines and watching Tony become the beloved son and cherished superhero celebrity, this could leave Arno bitter with jealousy and hatred. With Arno’s intelligence being just as high as Tony’s, he could’ve made a life-supporting armor, maybe picked up some magic from Kamar-Taj, and ventured out into the multiverse to gain more power and take over the whole MCU. Along this journey, Arno possibly decided to settle down in the Fantastic Four’s universe (with Pedro Pascal) and established his identity as Dr. Doom. Maybe he did it because he found the precise universe he needed to sit and accumulate his resources for his conquest, or perhaps he stayed because he found his intense rivalry with Reed Richards. Either way, it’s still unknown, but this is my personal favorite theory.
Conclusion
Of course, I must remind y’all that all five theories are pure speculation and have no true basis or evidence except for the comics and movies I used. But with the plot of “Avengers: Doomsday” completely buried under thick layers of secrecy, that’s all we can do at this point. Regardless, it’s fun to guess, but it would also be pretty awesome if one of these theories, or one I never thought of, would unfold on the big screen! Unfortunately, though, we won’t find out until late next year, when the movie releases in theaters.
