7 years ago we published an article about Tony Stark being introduced as the MCU’s Doctor Doom

Seven years ago one of our former writers, Bryam Daley, wrote an article titled “What If Tony Stark Was Introduced as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Doctor Doom?”

With the announcement this weekend at Comic-Con that Robert Downey Jr.. has been officially cast as Doctor Doom in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the upcoming films Avengers: Judgment Day AND Avengers: Secret WarsI thought I’d repost it.

At the time it was all just fun speculation and obviously not everything is accurate, but I still thought it was cool that seven years ago we were talking about this as Marvel fans!

Here is the article:

Everyone shut up for a second. I know you probably saw this title and thought, “Boooo! This sucks! What a stupid theory!” But hear me out and then shoot me in the comments section if you want.

Robert Downey Jr.Iron Man’s days are probably numbered, and we may see less of him in the near future of the MCU. While many expect him to die a heroic death or retire to a small Italian house with Pepper Potts, what if he went in a different direction?

From the very beginning, Tony Stark has had the makings of a Supervillain. And since there is very little chance that Victor Von Doom will ever be brought into the MCU, having the genius who bears so many similarities to Doom play that role would be brilliant.

I mean, currently in the comics Doom is Iron Man, so to say the opposite could happen isn’t that far-fetched.

First, let’s look at the journey Iron Man has been on so far. He starts by building and selling weapons to anyone who buys them. He creates weapons of death. He controls death in many ways.

Of course, he learns his mistakes and starts wanting to save people. But how many people does he actually save? How many times has he declared himself above the laws of man? Tony Stark is a man with a God complex.

It’s been that way since the beginning. First he takes life, then in Age of Ultron he wants to create life, and he does, but with terrible consequences. Everything in Ultron is part of who Tony Stark is. It’s Stark to the extreme, but Stark is still on his journey.

Later on, we see Stark wanting to control all the heroes. He sees it as his duty to record them all. We see him turning into the villain in many ways by the end of Civil warI mean, he took a fifteen-year-old to fight against trained warriors and assassins.

He now sees himself as a mentor to Peter, but doesn’t do much work to train him. Spider-Man is just another project he has to leave behind in the world. Of course, after that it looks like he might be interested in marrying Pepper Potts, so maybe things will work out for him.

BUT WHAT IF NOT?

From here on out, everything I say is all hypothetical. We know that Stark will be in Avengers: Infinity Warand we know that Thanos will have a major role, as will the Infinity Stones, which essentially give the power of a God.

Now, at the moment, the only thing keeping Stark on the right path is Potts, but what if she died? Stark has lost so many people in the past. Mother, father, enemies, he’s lost his friends.

If Pepper Potts dies, it could be a devastating blow to Stark’s psyche. Just like when Doctor Doom lost his one love, Valeria. With her gone, all hope could be lost, and the power of God could be just what Tony needs to help him.

And if after the first fight in Infinity War, they defeated Thanos, but at a price. And in the end, everyone more or less agreed, to divide the gems to make sure they didn’t end up in the wrong hands. But Tony doesn’t agree.

The second film could be set up as a big battle against Stark, who believes he can be the God of the MCU. That he is smart enough and savvy enough to wield his power to help the world. To protect the world. Instead of using the Gauntlet, he builds a suit that can harness the power of the stones.

An Infinity Iron Man suit. He brings back Pepper and her parents. He creates a Utopia, but of course there are a lot of people who oppose Emperor Tony. It’s up to his friends to bring him back. He realizes that he can’t harness the power and it drives him crazy.

The old adage of living long enough to become the bad guy comes true. Eventually, he learns the error of his ways, but the power will destroy everything. He sacrifices himself to stop it, and the world and the galaxy are safe. Everyone assumes he is dead, but in reality, he lives scarred and detached, becoming the next great villain of the MCU.

Who else? Who else could pose a threat as big as Thanos? Loki is awesome, but it looks like he’s going more towards a redemption arc. Norman Osborne doesn’t look like he’s being brought into Spider-Man anytime soon.

Maybe the Kree? The most obvious threat to the MCU is Doctor Doom, but since Marvel doesn’t have his rights, Galactus or Annihilus, the best choice for a villain is a hero who becomes a villain.

And what hero would have the genius to take on all the good in the MCU if not Tony Stark? Sure, they would never call him Doctor Doom, but one could give similar reasons.

We’ve seen the dark side of Tony Stark from the beginning. Having him play a Doom-like character would be so intriguing to watch. Seeing him found his own nation, and be a world power that’s shrouded in mystery. It’s just a theory.

What do you think?