Robert Downey Jr.’s return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe will come in the form of Doctor Doom, not Iron Man, and that twist could lead to major meetings between the villain and heroes in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. It seems like Marvel is fully moving on from Kang the Conqueror. After Kang actor Jonathan Majors was fired, rumors swirled that the MCU could pivot to Doctor Doom, which was recently confirmed at San Diego Comic-Con.
How exactly Downey Jr. will come back to the MCU to play Victor von Doom and not Iron Man has yet to be seen. However, he will appear in at least two upcoming MCU movies, 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday and 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars. That will lead to Downey facing Avengers: Doomsday‘s reported expansive roster of characters, with Secret Wars only getting bigger, resulting in major meetings between Doom and MCU heroes.
10. War Machine
Tony Stark’s Best Friend
Don Cheadle’s James Rhodes will be one of the most interesting characters to follow as the Avengers discover what Doctor Doom truly looks like. Given the integral role that Downey’s Iron Man played in the MCU, the reveal that Doctor Doom shares the same face as the Marvel hero — possibly being revealed as a multiverse variant of Tony Stark — should lead to plenty of emotional moments as the Avengers make that discovery.
As Tony Stark’s best friend, Rhodey would be one of the characters to take the reveal the worst. Adding to that is the fact that Secret Invasion pretty much revealed that War Machine had been swapped with a Skrull since Captain America: Civil War. That means the real Rhodey was away when Iron Man died. Rhodey would then come back to face Doctor Doom, who looks just like the friend he was not there to save, and would be heartbroken.
9. Hawkeye
Iron Man’s Avengers Teammate
There are only three of the original Avengers still active in the MCU, with Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye being one of them. Through the character’s relationship training Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop, Hawkeye would make for a good mentor for the Young Avengers team the MCU has been setting up. With Avengers: Doomsday reportedly featuring more than sixty returning characters, the Young Avengers should play a role in the movie.
Hawkeye could be part of the film as either the mentor of the MCU’s young team or as a member of the formal Avengers, with Thor and Hulk also coming back from the original team. During their time together in the MCU, Clint Barton and Tony Stark traded sarcastic remarks about each other, understanding the other’s humor. The two also fought alongside many times, and all of those experiences will be on Hawkeye’s face when Doctor Doom takes off his mask.
8. Thor
Another Original Avenger
The Avengers had a very intense experience together as a team, with a lot of tension between the characters as they had to stop world-ending threats after the other — Thor and Iron Man even fought when they first met. That led to a few friendships between team members not being as explored as they should be, with Thor and Iron Man being one of those, save for a few comedic bits over the Avengers movies.
That said, such a thing would not take away from Thor feeling sad when he realizes he is about to face a “version” of Tony Stark when he meets Doctor Doom in the upcoming Avengers movies. Thor also did not share a strong bond with Black Widow, but nevertheless, the character was distraught in Avengers: Endgame after the heroes discovered Natasha Romanoff sacrificed herself for the Soul Stone.
7. Doctor Strange
His MCU History With Iron Man Would Haunt Strange
It would be very interesting to see what kind of reaction Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange will have when he realizes that Doctor Doom looks just like Tony Stark. Doctor Strange is the first hero confirmed to return for Avengers: Doomsday, as Cumberbatch has talked about how he will start filming the movie in 2025. With his multiverse knowledge, he could even come to find other Iron Man variants to help in the fight.
Doctor Strange and Iron Man had some excellent interactions in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. As both characters have very similar personalities, Downey and Cumberbatch displayed great chemistry, with the heroes working together for most of Avengers: Infinity War, with Strange turning into dust after saying the heroes only defeated Thanos in one future. Then, in Avengers: Endgame, Tony Stark realizes Doctor Strange means he has to sacrifice himself to save everyone. Strange shared that secret with Iron Man, and that could have the hero feeling responsible for his death, which could be approached through RDJ’s return as Doctor Doom.
6. Deadpool
The Potential For Jokes Is Unlimited
Deadpool & Wolverine is filled with jokes about the MCU, Marvel characters, the Fox Marvel universe, DC, and many more. That is just the nature of Ryan Reynolds’ Merc With a Mouth, with the character being loved for his hilarious fourth-wall-breaking skills. While Reynolds and Hugh Jackman did not confirm that they would appear in Marvel’s Avengers movies as Deadpool and Wolverine, given their fan-favorite status and the box office success of Deadpool & Wolverine, that is likely.
As such, the possibilities for Deadpool to make jokes about Doctor Doom are endless. With Robert Downey Jr. leaving Iron Man behind to play Doom, Reynolds’ Deadpool could make comments regarding the recasting, the divided public opinion on RDJ playing Doom and not a new actor, and Marvel asking the actor back due to recent woes — with the MCU’s issues already turning into jokes in Deadpool & Wolverine. The utterly serious Doctor Doom fighting the wacky Deadpool would be fun to see.
5. Hulk
The Science Bros Will Fight
Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner is one of the two Avengers who were the closest to RDJ’s Iron Man. Tony and Bruce shared many moments together since first teaming up in 2012’s The Avengers, with both heroes being among the MCU’s smartest minds. They were together in good moments, like working out time travel in Avengers: Endgame at the Avengers Compound, and in bad times, like when the two created Ultron and the robot turned into a major villain.
With Ruffalo sticking around as the Hulk for more in the MCU, the character will likely appear in one or both of the next two Avengers movies alongside his cousin, She-Hulk, and son, Skaar. Seeing the Hulk fight Doctor Doom would be incredible, both due to the power on display, and also the close bond Bruce had with Tony being on his mind as he clashes with RDJ’s new villain.
4. Iron Man
RDJ Pulls Double Duty
Just because Downey is returning to the MCU in a new role as Doctor Doom, that does not mean that he will not play Iron Man again. While Avengers: Doomsday could see the actor only give life to Victor von Doom, going on a path to take over the multiverse, 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars might be the movie that sees Downey play both Doctor Doom and Iron Man.
The next two Avengers movies could follow a similar pattern to Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. Doctor Doom, like Thanos, could win at the end of Avengers: Doomsday, with the MCU’s heroes needing to recruit multiverse players to help them take down Doom — possibly as God Emperor Doom of Battleworld — in Avengers: Secret Wars. With a rumored MCU reboot after the Multiverse Saga, the movie would likely be the last chance to have RDJ back as Iron Man and the MCU would hardly pass on the opportunity.
3. Rescue
The Closest Person To Tony Stark
Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert Downey Jr. shared the screen in the MCU from 2008 to 2019 as Pepper Potts and Tony Stark, the MCU’s first romance. The Avengers movie revealed that they both have a child, Morgan, and saw Pepper don an Iron Man-like suit of her own, fighting alongside RDJ’s MCU hero against Thanos’ army in Avengers: Endgame‘s battle wearing her Rescue suit from the comics.
Paltrow bowed out of the MCU with that movie. Pepper was the last person to talk to Tony Stark right before he died, saying that it was time for him to rest, as his family would be okay. After such an emotional sendoff, the reveal that Doctor Doom has Tony Stark’s face could warrant a return from Pepper Potts, who would be completely heartbroken to find out. Paltrow commented on RDJ as Doctor Doom, showing confusion at him becoming a villain.
2. Captain America
The MCU’s Other Biggest Star
It seems like a return from Chris Evans as Captain America will eventually happen in Avengers: Secret Wars, even if the actor denies it until then. Evans is already back in the MCU, having appeared as Johnny Storm, aka the Fantastic Four’s Human Torch, in Deadpool & Wolverine. While Evans is unlikely to reprise his Fox Marvel role due to the events of Deadpool & Wolverine, the fact that he has already appeared in a new MCU movie and Downey is now announced to return is quite interesting.
Avengers: Secret Wars will be the MCU’s biggest multiverse event, with several players from the franchise and the multiverse having to be present in order to do justice to the comic book story. With Downey Jr. playing Doctor Doom, Marvel will surely try to give Evans whatever he wants to have the two on screen together again. Seeing their dynamic on opposite sides, with Evans’ Captain America coming back to help the heroes defeat Downey’s Doctor Doom, would be electrifying.
1. Spider-Man
Iron Man’s Protegee
Finally, a meeting between Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom has to happen in the next two Avengers movies. Iron Man is the most important MCU hero to Holland’s Peter Parker, as the actor entered the franchise in Captain America: Civil War, where Iron Man recruited Spider-Man for his team. After that, Tony Stark would serve as Peter’s mentor for multiple movies, establishing a loving relationship between them.
Spider-Man was there when Iron Man died, with Peter crying as Tony slowly perished from his wounds. Spider-Man: Far From Home showed just how much Iron Man’s death took a toll on him. Due to that, Spider-Man fighting Doctor Doom, only to realize that he has the same face as Tony Stark, would lead to one of the saddest moments in MCU history, and the two should fight plenty of times in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
