Amid the madness and majesty of the pop culture explosion that is San Diego Comic-Con, a piece of unbelievable news was revealed. In a crowded Hall H, Kevin Feige announced that Robert Downey Jr. would return to the MCU as the villain Dr. Doom. Here’s why that is a bigger deal than you think, and why it could be the biggest mistake Marvel has made in a very long time.

Who is Dr. Doom?

Historically, Dr. Victor von Doom is one of the more iconic villains in Marvel. He has appeared as almost every level of villain, from international troublemaker to reality-manipulating god, but at his core, Dr. Doom is a counterpart to Reed Richards (Mr Fantastic) and The Fantastic Four. He is a mega genius and a rare expert in both science AND magic. His will, intelligence, and ability are unmatched in the majority of the Marvel comics universe.

Stark Variant, or New Character?

There are only two ways for Marvel to bring Robert Downey Jr. back into the MCU. They can either claim that he is some multiversal variant of Tony Stark who turned full villain for some reason, or they can introduce Victor Von Doom as a brand new character and hope that we somehow forget that the same actor also played Iron Man. Both options are full of frustrating problems, and neither comes with a satisfying reason outside of stunt casting.

Why is it So Bad?

There are a lot of problems with this casting, but for the sake of this article, I will attempt to limit myself to what I believe are the biggest reasons to dislike this decision.

• First, there are few humans with the amount of brains and bravado as Tony Stark, but if Stark’s intelligence and arrogance are on another level, then Victor von Doom’s should be on another planet. Anything less would feel like a dumbing down of the character.
• This may not be a universal hangup, but I know a lot of people who feel the same way. The sacrifice of Tony Stark at the end of the battle with Thanos was one of the most impactful moments in the entire MCU. It’s true that with the introduction of the multiverse and “variants,” there was always the possibility that they could bring a different version of Stark back, but actually doing so feels like it cheapens that sacrifice.
• The last reason I’ll mention here is that Dr. Victor von Doom, according to the official Marvel comics canon, was born in a Romani camp. The Romani are a marginalized ethnic group, mostly spread out over Eastern and Western Europe. Casting RDJ as Dr. Doom, ESPECIALLY if he is a Stark variant, is effectively whitewashing a traditionally ethnic character, which hasn’t been a good look for Marvel in the past.

Chasing Endgame

Not too long ago, Marvel announced that the next two Avengers movies would be directed by none other than the Russo brothers. At the time, I didn’t think much of the news, but with this new revelation, it has me concerned that they are simply trying to recapture the magic of Avengers Endgame. By bringing back the same directors and the same actor, possibly to play a different version of the same character, I worry that they assume it will lead to the same fantastic result. However, other franchises have attempted to retread old ground, and it never really works.

By the end of the SDCC panel, we were left with more questions than answers. Robert Downey Jr. provided an intriguing quote about his new (maybe) character, saying “New mask, same task.” While this leaves plenty to the imagination, one thing is for sure. Marvel has a lot of work to convince some fans that this was the right move.