Robert Downey Jr’s Doctor Doom origin story mirrors the start of the original Iron Man movie according to one MCU film theory. As the first film in the MCU timeline – and one that continues to be held up as an example of how strong the franchise can be – Iron Man‘s importance to Marvel and the superhero movie landscape is immense.

With Robert Downey Jr’s role as Iron Man having ended in Avengers: Endgame – and the actor now playing Doctor Doom – there are many theories about how upcoming MCU movies will tie Downey Jr’s two roles together. One particularly interesting one posits that Doom’s technological know-how may have given him his own version of Iron Man‘s Stark origin story.

Iron Man’s Opening Monologue Could Easily Be The Start Of A Villain Origin Story In Another World

Iron Man quickly delves into the character development of its тιтular hero, with Tony Stark’s experience of being held captive and having to make his first Iron Man suit alongside fellow scientist Ho Yinsen – who then sacrificed himself to buy Tony time to finish the armor – totally changing his perspective on Stark Industries and the world at large.

However, in order to show the growth Tony undertakes as a result of this, the movie first has to show where he starts out at. This goes some way to explain Stark’s speech to the military personnel who gather to see his new missile in action. During this speech, Tony proclaims a perhaps complicated message, stating:

“Is it better to be feared or respected? I say: is it too much to ask for both? …They say the best weapon is one you never have to fire. I respectfully disagree. I prefer the weapon you only have to fire once.”

While the trajectory of Tony’s arc suggests this speech was a mix of Iron Man’s early stage presence and unawareness of some of the ways that Stark Industries weaponry was being utilized, this is interesting in the sense that it’s the polar opposite of the hero’s later thoughts on how his tech could be best used.

Given Iron Man sees the Stark heir immediately look at ceasing operations of the Stark Industries’ weapons manufacturing division after returning from being held hostage – and develop a more refined Iron Man suit to try and protect others – his early hyping of the Jericho missile as his weapon of choice seems to very much not be his perspective later on.

However, it’s easy to see how different MCU universes with only small tweaks could see a version of Tony Stark enter the fray who doubles down on this speech and some of the more concerning ideas it puts forward about the characters’ perspective. This is particularly interesting given Robert Downey Jr’s Doctor Doom is already set for a central role in Avengers: Doomsday.

Avengers: Doomsday’s Doom Mirroring Iron Man’s Story Would Make The Film Even More Fascinating

While it’s entirely possible Avengers: Doomsday will delve into Doctor Doom’s story without referencing Iron Man or the obvious ties Robert Downey Jr has to Tony Stark, it seems decidedly challenging to pull this route off. Even Chris Evans’ brief appearance as the Human Torch in ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine made reference to his MCU role of Captain America, for example.

However, leaning too far into Doctor Doom having Iron Man ties would risk his story feeling overly like an attempt to utilize Iron Man’s popularity long after Tony Stark’s Avengers: Endgame death. As such, taking the route of having Doom’s MCU story mirror Iron Man’s while still being its own distinct thing seems like perhaps the best road forward.

Iron Man contained some early signs that Tony could have become a different and arguably worse person if things had gone differently, and showing how true this is by letting a Victor Von Doom variant travel a similar path to more catastrophic results would be a good way to underline just how heroic Stark and his journey really were.

Similarly, with less time to develop Doom before he becomes the central antagonist of Avengers: Doomsday, it would stand to reason to tie his MCU story into what came before in this sense. Suggesting Doom had a warped version of Iron Man’s Earth-616 story would give audiences a better idea of his arc without having to see much of it.

Doctor Doom Wouldn’t Have To Be Tony Stark To Mirror The Iron Man Opening

Given that we’ve already seen how alternate universes can take similar roads to the main MCU timeline, it’s easy to see why so many people have theorized that Robert Downey Jr’s Doctor Doom will be a Tony Stark variant. However, releases like The Marvels and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness have suggested this isn’t necessary.

Much in the same way we see a villainous variant of Doctor Strange – or a variant of Maria Rambeau who became a superhero – it’s easy to imagine a world wherein a different person ended up in Tony Stark’s position in Iron Man, or simply ended up essentially being that universe’s stand-in for Tony Stark himself.

This would explain why Robert Downey Jr. is playing Doctor Doom, and simultaneously why he’s rejected suggestions Doom will be Tony Stark. Putting Victor Von Doom in Stark’s stead would clarify a lot of things about the franchise at once, especially for audiences who may not be fully up to speed with the Multiverse Saga.

Giving Doom a perfect reversal of Iron Man – with a protagonist whose bombastic beliefs in science and advanced technology are driven to further extremes by trauma or torture – could work on many different levels. In this way, the MCU’s 39th movie can also efficiently and effectively tie into the franchise’s first release in more than one way.