If you thought that Robert Downey Jr. would be welcomed back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with open arms, we must sadly inform you that he’s already out of good graces as Doctor Doom.
‘Avengers: Doomsday’ and Robert Downey Jr.
It was only five years ago that Robert Downey Jr. departed the MCU in Avengers: Endgame (2019), the monumental finale of the Infinity Saga that had been building since Iron Man (2008). To many Marvel fans, the franchise has never quite been the same since RDJ walked away, and the studio itself has struggled to find a new center of its universe now that Tony Stark is gone.
The initial plan was for Thanos (Josh Brolin) to be replaced by Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) and his infinite Variants as the Big Bad of the MCU, but Majors’ 2023 arrest and conviction for assault and harassment resulted in the actor being quickly fired and those Multiversal plans in disarray.
For those keeping track, that means that that in a very short time period, Marvel Studios lost its biggest star, its most recognizable hero, its central villain, and its plan for the future.
San Diego Comic-Con 2024 revealed that Kevin Feige has a single solution for all of those problems: Robert Downey Jr.
While Deadpool & Wolverine had an incredible box office opening weekend (buoyed by the intense nostalgia for Hugh Jackman’s X-Men character), Marvel Studios needs to find a way to keep that momentum going and pivot away from the Kang storyline.
This last weekend at Hall H, it was revealed that the upcoming Avengers: The Kang Dynasty had been scrapped and replaced with Avengers: Doomsday, which would introduce Doctor Doom, portrayed by a returning Robert Downey Jr.
Although the reception at Comic-Con was overwhelmingly positive, and RDJ was typically playful about his new role (quipping, “New mask, same task. What can I say? I like playing complicated characters”), it took no time at all for the MCU fandom to turn against the casting and demand that he be kicked out as Victor Von Doom.
Related: Marvel Abandons ‘Blade’ as New MCU Slate Revealed
“Cashgrabs and Nostalgia With No Sense of Creativity”
Within hours of Robert Downey Jr. being announced as the new MCU Doctor Doom, Marvel fans were already rejecting him for a multitude of reasons. This is a far cry from the love that the actor has experienced from the fandom for nearly two decades now, but will it be enough for Kevin Feige to roll back yet another plan?
Numerous social media users see the casting of RDJ in a new villainous role as evidence that Marvel Studios has essentially run out of ideas and is coasting on past goodwill (cough, cough, Deadpool & Wolverine). @HAWKGIRLS posted, “i don’t even have words but the way the mcu has completely reduced itself to cashgrabs and nostalgia with no sense of creativity has to be studied.”
i don't even have words but the way the mcu has completely reduced itself to cashgrabs and nostalgia with no sense of creativity has to be studied https://t.co/4PoY15WwSn
— 𓆩♥︎𓆪 • #1 dc hawks expert (@HAWKGIRLS) July 28, 2024
Similarly, @amuchoc posted, “I really like Robert Downey Jr… but tbh this just seems like desperation ….”
https://twitter.com/camuchoc/status/1817744541811978609
Related: Acclaimed ‘Logan’ ‘The Wolverine’ Director Calls Marvel Multiverse “The Enemy”
From a different angle, other Marvel fans demanded that RDJ be out as Doctor Doom because the actor’s casting amounts to whitewashing the character, who is canonically Romani in Marvel Comics. @foeyeahboi posted, “doctor doom being a romani man with a background CENTERING his family’s racial persecution. with his ethnicity at the forefront of his motivations and his tragedy. and they really just brought back robert downey junior. wow. WOW.”
doctor doom being a romani man with a background CENTERING his family's racial persecution. with his ethnicity at the forefront of his motivations and his tragedy. and they really just brought back robert downey junior. wow. WOW.
— doctor victor von gloom ⛈️✨ (@foeyeahboi) July 28, 2024
Still others were infuriated that the actor was being cast as the character instead of the villainous Variant Superior Iron Man or even the Infamous Iron Man (which was Von Doom taking over the role for Stark).
@jk_tidwell posted, “I do not need a bunch of people who never read the books talking about Superior Iron Man or Infamous Iron Man. Superior Iron Man is still Tony Stark, IRON MAN. Infamous Iron Man is Victor Von Doom, a Romani Man. Neither of these justify RDJ as Doom.”
https://twitter.com/jk_tidwell/status/1817568948587802722
And finally, a sizable contingent of fans were vocal that bringing back RDJ in any capacity, whether it be Doctor Doom, a Stark Variant who becomes the villain, or some other third option, diminished Iron Man’s heroic sacrifice in Endgame.
@RokutenJi posted, “Man, RDJ return to Marvel just killed all the hype. I never understand why Disney did that. Iron man’s death is already the greatest send-off for an iconic actor. Disney just lacks creativity and very boring.”
Man, RDJ return to Marvel just killed all the hype. I never understand why Disney did that. Iron man's death is already the greatest send-off for an iconic actor.
Disney just lacks creativity and very boring.
— ت (@RokutenJi) July 29, 2024
Marvel Studios is clearly hoping that the return of the Russo Brothers to direct Doomsday and Secret Wars and RDJ would be the jolt of energy that the franchise needs to bring it back to the top of the box office and the goodwill of fans. But it turns out that fandom just wants one thing: kick out Robert Downey Jr.
Do you think RDJ being cast as Doctor Doom is a good idea?
