Robert Downey Jr.'s Doom: 8 Things We Want to See From Him in the MCU
The former Iron Man star is set to play a major Marvel role.
A Strong Motivation
Even at their best, some of the MCU's Big Bads have faced criticism for being narratively underdeveloped. By the time we got to Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos (Josh Brolin) was revealed to be committing his universe-wide crusade to fight overpopulation — a justification that worked in context, but paled in comparison to his comic-accurate desire to impress Death. Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) was also barely beginning to be fleshed out before Marvel Studios parted ways with the actor and character, with only shades of bitterness towards the Council of Kangs and the other heroes across the multiverse.
In the right context, particularly in the comics, Doom has had motivations that are incredibly strong and easy to translate in a short amount of time — something that is especially vital in the context of the MCU, given how quickly we'll be thrown into his story in Doomsday.
Origin Story
Going off of that, unless Downey is somehow a secret cast member of 2025's The Fantastic Four: First Steps, it's safe to assume that we won't be seeing Doom play a major role in an MCU project until Doomsday. If that does end up being the case, audiences are going to need to be acquainted with his origin story — especially given the added hurdle of the franchise's recognizable former lead playing the part.
Even a single flashback sequence would work wonders to explain Doom's deal to MCU viewers, and help lay the groundwork for the carnage he is about to cause across the next two movies.
Rivalry with Reed Richards
One cornerstone of Doom's origin story — and something that absolutely can and should transfer over into the MCU's take on the character — is his storied rivalry with Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic. In 1963's Fantastic Four Annual #2, it was established that Doom and Reed attended the same college and were nearly roommates, but ultimately had a falling out due to Victor's attitude. This rivalry extended even further, and has been subverted time and time again, once the two men took on their super-powered personas.
Downey's Doom does not have to have this rivalry with Pedro Pascal's take on Reed that we will meet in First Steps — and honestly, an argument can be made that he shouldn't, given that movie's very specific aesthetic and energy. But it would be a misfire to not have Doom hold a grudge against a version of Reed from across the multiverse, whether it's one that we've already met in a previous movie adaptation, or a new one.
Valeria
There's no telling at this point if First Steps will lean into the Fantastic Four becoming a family, with the birth of superhero children Franklin Richards and Valeria Richards being a huge milestone in their comics. But one newer component of Doom's characterization is his unwavering love for Valeria, after having helped deliver her birth. While Doom still has his issues with Valeria's father, Reed, he has even become a reluctant surrogate member of the Fantastic Four's family due to their bond.
Even if Valeria isn't in the picture by the time Doomsday rolls around, a line of dialogue or some sort of acknowledgement of Doom's connection to her would definitely heighten his feelings towards the Fantastic Four.
Doombots
Ever since Doom first made his comics debut, so have the concept of Doombots, robotic duplicates of Doom who are used to trick and distract the heroes of the Marvel universe when he does not feel like being there himself. The concept has evolved massively in the years since, even appearing in the current season of Fortnite, and it feels inevitable that Doom's MCU debut will include the robots as underlings as well.
Sure, it might seem a little repetitive when compared alongside Ultron's various robots from Avengers: Age of Ultron, but the concept is too tied to his character to leave out of Doomsday and Secret Wars.
Grudges
Beyond his aforementioned hatred of Reed and the Fantastic Four, Doom has developed a reputation for being quite a negative force against other Marvel heroes. Everyone from Namor to Iron Man to Luke Cage has come into conflict with Doom over the years — and it stands to reason that his MCU debut will be equally petty.
Given the limited economy of storytelling that Doomsday and Secret Wars will have, it would make sense to hit the ground running and showcase Doom's animosity towards as many heroes as possible, even if he's only previously vanquished their multiversal counterparts.
Multiversal Casualties
On that note, one of the easiest ways to showcase Doom's power across Doomsday and Secret Wars would be for him to already be deadly across the multiverse — either through destroying alternate universes, or literally killing the variants of heroes we recognize.
Sure, Kang previously teased in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania that he has killed other Avengers before, but it's another thing entirely to see it, and it would immediately set Doom apart from previous MCU villains.
God Emperor Doom
And finally, Doom's role in Secret Wars isn't complete without God Emperor Doom, the ultra-powerful identity Doom takes in the events of 2015's Secret Wars. In that storyline, Doom's quest for power reaches an apex, as he steals the powers of the Beyonders and Molecule Man to create a Battleworld of his own. He then spends eight years manipulating the minds of the remaining heroes, and even co-opts Reed's family and company for his own, setting the stage for the conflict of the rest of the event.
Before Doom was confirmed to replace Kang in the Multiverse Saga, some fans felt that the storyline wouldn't quite be the same without God Emperor Doom — but now, there is an opportunity to remedy that. Not only would it massively raise the stakes for Doomsday and Secret Wars, but it would create a very unpredictable fight for the MCU's heroes.
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Avengers: Doomsday will be released exclusively in theaters on May 1, 2026, followed by Avengers: Secret Wars on May 7, 2027.
