Key Takeaways
- Marvel teases Robert Downey Jr. playing Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday, keeping plot details hidden.
- Theory suggests Doom sends consciousness to possess Tony Stark’s corpse to fight the Avengers.
- Marvel could upset fans by potentially reviving Tony Stark as a villain via possession, showing Doctor Doom’s villainy.
Ever since it was announced that Robert Downey Jr. is set to play Doctor Doom in the next phase of the MCU, the biggest question has been, “How will this work?” Unsurprisingly, Marvel hasn’t explained how the man who was so beloved when he played Iron Man and made his last appearance in Avengers: End Game will now be playing a villain fighting against the good guys in Avengers: Doomsday.
The lack of explanation for how the main villain in Avengers: Doomsday is also the main hero in the first phase of the MCU means that Marvel is clearly intentionally keeping things under wraps. Keeping how this will all work under wraps also means some sort of twist is involved. Otherwise, it would be as simple as saying, “actually this isn’t Tony Stark and the audience will never see his face behind the mask.” Instead, it’s up to internet sleuths to try and figure out what’s happening here. That’s allowed all sorts of theories to pop up. Some theories have been more fleshed out than others. Some make more sense than others. And one theory that’s catching on certainly sounds like it could indeed be the answer. And if the theory isn’t 100% correct and spot on, it could certainly be close to the mark.
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How Tony Stark And Doctor Doom Could Be One And The Same
The most popular theory at the moment has been pushed by a Reddit user named JustThomas236. The user’s theory especially makes sense since Marvel fans have already seen a different version of what he believes will happen. In fact there was a variation of it done in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
The theory that’s been spun up is that when Doctor Doom first makes his appearance in Fantastic Four: First Steps, he will fight and lose to Reed Richards and company. He will then have to flee from the heroes, who coincidentally are located in another part of the multiverse. In order to flee from the good guys, he will send his consciousness, using The Darkhold out into the multiverse and it will eventually find and land on the corpse of Tony Stark.
Doom will somehow possess Stark, and presumably repair whatever damage was done to his body because he’s been dead for quite a while. As the now arisen Tony Stark body, he will wage war against the Avengers in this new universe and will, it would seem, also have to fight the Fantastic Four who have chased him from their own universe.
Marvel Has Taken This Possible Avengers: Doomsday Approach Before
Not only is this theory born from watching Doctor Strange take over his own corpse using the Darkhold in order to fight the Scarlet Witch, there are other comic stories where one character has taken over the body of another. Interestingly enough, those stories also involve Doctor Doom being the one doing it. Though the most famous time he did it was when he took over Wolverine. But the story involving an X-Man instead of an Avenger doesn’t change much else.
In Jim Valentino’s Guardians of the Galaxy #24 in 1992, Doom and most of the rest of Earth 691 did battle with an army called the Martian Masters. Doom fought alongside the Avengers and survived the battle, but was badly wounded. It was later revealed that he was able to transplant his consciousness into the skeleton of Logan, who had somehow been killed in that same war against the Martian Masters.
Whle the rest of that particular storyline was a little goofier than anyone would like to have to see on the big screen, it does show that Doctor Doom, who is conversant in both the most advanced technology available and magic, is the kind of person who could wield the Darkhold and pull off this kind of possession. And it’s something longtime Marvel fans wouldn’t be skeptical about it happening.
Would Marvel Dishonor Tony Stark’s Memory This Severely?
The biggest obstacle to this theory‘s realization is that if the MCU committed a little grave robbery, there would be some very angry Avengers: Doomsday fans. It’s not totally incorrect that bringing Tony Stark’s corpse back to life after he died in such a heroic way won’t sit well with most.
It’s hard to imagine that Marvel would intentionally hurt the reception to Avengers: Doomsday by ripping a dead body out of the ground of one of the most beloved heroes in the entire MCU. It’s worth pointing out that when they did the same kind of trick with Doctor Strange, he was taking over his own body, just a different version. For some reason, that seems to be much less offensive.
On the other hand, if Marvel wants to sell that Doctor Doom is truly one of the most evil people in the multiverse. If they want to show that there is no line he won’t cross and if they want people to truly feel sad about Tony Stark all over again while hating Doom, that would certainly be one way to do it.
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