Some people still thought he could be a Stark variant (not me though)
CT-10302025-12-02 23:00
They announced he was playing "Victor Von Doom" the moment he was announced for *Doomsday*.
Cheatercheaterbitch2025-12-02 23:00
Yeah ik, I just thought it’s silly since they literally have an Avengers movie named after Doom.
It’d be fuckin nuts for him to be a fake
maxfridsvault2025-12-02 23:01
I don’t think so either. I think this will just be a case of the same actor playing a new character and I don’t think they’ll show his face/allude to Tony much at all. I hope we get a classic Victor story that connects with the F4 and does its best to connect the dots in the multiverse saga.
but I’m not ruling out Stark returning in Secret Wars, or at least a variant of him, since RDJ is on set and signed on anyways.
eagc72025-12-02 23:01
Heck they even said back at Comic Con when the casting was announced that it is Victor Von Doom.
Now i think what some people are worried is that what they may do is say that maybe in this world the man that would became Tony Stark in our world had a different life and had a different name
inkyblinkypinkysue2025-12-02 23:00
Howard and Maria Stark give up their baby at birth and he is adopted by Werner and Cynthia Von Doom.
Glass-Economy68882025-12-02 23:07
SOLD him to them because they were poor and needed money for opium
girlsgoneoscarwilde2025-12-02 23:40
They were filthy junk traders, who sold him off for drink money
Xman124072025-12-02 23:08
Or its the other way around and our Tony was always a Doom variant
RockitDanger2025-12-02 23:13
Traded him for peace
Amon77772025-12-02 23:17
I mean, he has quite a few villainous actions like creating Ultron in the MCU that could indicate a certain destiny
BD4012025-12-03 00:25
I generally like this theory, and think it would be (for casual audience goers) a kind of clever subverting of expectations that he'll be a Stark variant.
Only problem with it is they'd have to ignore What If? to a degree (or water the angle down), since that series has shown there are plenty of Tony Starks out there.
cheezyfilms2025-12-02 23:09
Tony Stark is adopted in the comics. They're probably going to say 616 Tony was Victor adopted by the Starks as a big twist, rather than the other way round imo
LemonStains2025-12-02 23:20
As much as I love that theory, it’s likely impossible since Howard mentions his wife being pregnant with a boy in Endgame and we don’t know of Tony having any brothers
UltHamBro2025-12-02 23:23
Don't quote me on this, but didn't some people do the math and say that the dates didn't line up? Even Tony seemed a bit surprised by the comment.
GarrodRanX22025-12-02 23:48
I'm not going to split hairs about months when Marvel get things years out sometimes.
yoshinoyaandroll2025-12-02 23:24
The birth month timeline is wrong, Check out some of the videos out there where they go into the confused look from Tony finding out he was suppose to be born yet not born yet theory.
Gseph2025-12-02 23:13
I've been saying this since the reveal.
He looks the same, because he was adopted by the Von dooms, but he is nothing like tony stark, and fully a von doom, with a totally different personality to tony stark.
People still argued that with that theory, he has stark DNA, so he's not really Victor Von doom... But that doesn't really matter if his entire life is totally different from birth. He has no memory of being a stark, has no connection to being a stark, and if he was adopted, he probably doesn't even know that he was a stark.
Personally I don't think it's a big deal if he was adopted as a baby by the Von dooms, but comic purists just lose their minds at the thought, even though the MCU doesn't follow the comics exactly anyway.
xSaRgED2025-12-03 00:37
Kang is also Victor Timely. Sylvie is also Loki.
Same (similar) face, totally different person. Explained literally as a variant.
We literally have precedent for this. I’m not sure what all the confusion is about.
These_Wish_51012025-12-02 23:00
Sure..the resemblance to Stark is pure coincidence 😏
Okami06022025-12-02 23:11
"Chris Evans will be playing captain america, not a human torch variant!"
"Yeah sure, so why do they look the same??"
Princecuse132025-12-02 23:17
Totally different film series. And then when they brought him back as Johnny Storm, we got a Cap fakeout first
moonknightcrawler2025-12-02 23:20
It being a different film series doesn’t matter at all when they are both multiversal characters in the MCU.
That was a meta joke for the audience. This is in the same sequence in which he fights near the Fox logo and name drops Furiosa. There is no narrative connection between that Johnny Storm and the MCU Captain America.
PirateBeany2025-12-02 23:29
The multiverse wasn't a glint in anyone's eye when Evans was signed up as Steve Rogers several years after playing Johnny Storm in an unrelated franchise. They can make jokes about all they like in Deadpool, but that wasn't the plan. (I'd have liked it if there was a nod to the Invaders-era 1940s Human Torch android being modeled on the perfect physical specimen that was Captain America, but that didn't happen.)
It's very different to be bringing in RDJ to play a second iconic character ***after*** you've started throwing around multiverses and branched timelines.
Okami06022025-12-02 23:20
Yeah, so by that logic guess what will happen... The characters will think he is Tony when he's not, much like in Deadpool and Wolverine
JigglesTheBiggles2025-12-02 23:44
That was a 4th wall breaking comedy though.
Kingpin12322025-12-02 23:19
That was the whole point of the gag. Do you actually think they won’t make Doom looking like Stark part of the narrative? Characters would have to be pretty stupid to not see the resemblance haha.
Okami06022025-12-02 23:21
Part of the narrative? Yes, definetely. Does that mean Doom will be a Stark variant? No. Not a chance. Or are you gonna tell me captain america is a human torch variant too?
MishellyUser2025-12-02 23:19
Exactly. I'm still on the fence of what I believe, but the "same actor, same character" argument was literally refused last year.
The day AFTER RDJ was announced nonetheless if I'm correct
Okami06022025-12-02 23:22
Not even after, when he was announced it was explicitely stated to be "Victor Von Doom", not just "a Doctor Doom", not a "Stark with Doom's mantle", it was straight-forward
WreckTangle19952025-12-02 23:19
Bad example, Chris Evans was chosen to play Captain America for an entirely different company after only playing the character in 2 movies of questionable quality, there was never any doubt in anyone's mind that he was playing Captain America and not a variant of Johnny Storm, RDJ is the complete opposite situation, its the same company, the same continuity and he is the face of the entire franchise, there 0% chance his version of Doom is not going to be related to Tony Stark in some way.
Majestic_Muscle80942025-12-02 23:26
Yeah RDJ is by far the most famous person to come out of the McU, and also made Iron Man a household name, this isn’t the same.
It’s especially weird because Loki, Quantumania, and Doctor Strange 2 showed us that variants will often look identical to their MCU counterparts. But in the reverse NWH and Loki again also showed us they can look remarkably different.
The only time a variant of somebody was played in an MCU by an existing MCU actor though had been Human Torch and even then the first thing about him is that he looks like Captain America.
TheBosk2025-12-02 23:22
Checkmate atheists...wait what were we debating?
kneeco282025-12-02 23:23
So you haven't seen that movie, huh?
Drama792025-12-02 23:15
No, Marvel would spoil any identity plot twists in the pre pre pre pre hype phase, to really goose that audience. Why would you save a surprise for the actual movie? Are they *stupid?*
JigglesTheBiggles2025-12-02 23:01
“Why do you look exactly like Tony though?”
MouseRat_AD2025-12-02 23:19
Look. It's me. I'm here. Deal with it." - Dr. Doom
Commercial_Site6222025-12-02 23:01
I mean he still could be a variant. Personally? I doubt it. But he could be. Plus I still expect him to come back as Tony in some form in Doomsday/Secret Wars through the multiverse.
Rryann2025-12-02 23:23
Yeah they just decided to cast RDJ as Doom and won’t explain him looking like Stark at all.
Come on.
Redhatiscool2025-12-02 23:28
they’re gonna scarr his face so they wouldn’t even notice he looked like stark in the beginning
Rryann2025-12-02 23:34
Maybe. We’ll see.
I’d bet my house that it will be a major plot point that Doom has the same face as Stark though. If not from the get-go, then at some point.
You don’t bring RDJ back and pay whatever insane amount they had to pay him for no reason
This announcement means nothing. Cottilard wasn’t announced as Talia. Cumberbatch wasn’t announced as Kahn. Shit, the Arkham Knight “totally wasn’t Jason Todd and is a whole new character”.
He was the face of the MCU for a decade. He started it all.
Hot19112025-12-02 23:28
lol yeah they addressed the Rhodey recast in iron man 2 and somehow they won’t address RDJ as Doom?
JesterMarcus2025-12-02 23:40
One was an actor being replaced. The other is the face of the MCU coming back to the series.
Hot19112025-12-02 23:42
Yes, you are further justifying my point. RDJ coming back is too big to not acknowledge, or even poke fun at, when they did acknowledged Rhodey.
Film-Goblin2025-12-02 23:35
This.
Seriously, such a dumb casting choice.
Rryann2025-12-02 23:41
Well they had to do something to drum up excitement after wasting 6 years worth of movies and TV shows and not building up a major villain.
Even if Majors was still Kang, it would be weak as hell. The dude got introduced in Loki and Ant-Man 3. And he lost in Ant-Man 3.
Earth5132025-12-02 23:53
The thing people don't realize is it's far from a waste. I'll agree the quality dropped (even though I personally still dug everything that came out), but they exponentially grew the super world since Endgame.
Think of Civil Wars fight scene at the airport.
Now think of the character roster we have now and imagine that same scene.
We're MUCH closer to the two page splash of characters from the civil war comic then we were back then.
She Hulk alone, one of the least popular series, established that there are a bunch of low level sups about. Implying we just haven't seen them because they weren't avenger threats.
Daredevil and co being brought back in showcased that there are a bunch of street level heroes and villains out there but playing it subtle.
I personally can't wait to see the villain bar in live action.
Heck I'd love to see the Last Days scene where the last incursion is incoming and the Punisher walks into the villain bar and just goes ef it and starts blasting away
Rryann2025-12-03 00:00
I’d love to see that happen. I’m with you.
I more meant that the build up to the villain was a waste.
And I say this as someone who thinks Loki was one of the high points of the MCU since endgame.
cabbage162025-12-03 00:16
This a great way of putting it! Nice perspective:)
Earth5132025-12-03 00:22
Ahaha appreciate that! I'm just a massive fan of literally everything marvel since I was a kid.
They could give me a year of live action Power Pack aimed at toddlers and I'd still eat it all up like it was the food of the gods.
But I'm aware folks have been disappointed and I totally get it.
But look back at what we had previously to the MCU and even the "worst" film is still freaking good.
When people get good sht they just expect the same quality forever and I get it, but that's not how life works.
We'll have the same quality again, I'd argue the FF was that return. And we'll have less good ones too. That's just how life works ahaha
cabbage162025-12-03 00:26
I feel much the same way. Here's to people like us who will continue to be entertained by the MCU rather than over analyzing it and becoming jaded lmao
Burgoonius2025-12-02 23:36
Yeah I agree with you it’s weird without any explanation
Red_Zone_Broly2025-12-02 23:32
Tony will probably show up in the last 5 minutes, just to end the movie on a cliff hanger & sell tickets for the next movie, something like:
The sky is split with green fire, Doom stands at the center of a crater where times square used to be, cloak whipping in a storm he’s created. Avengers are scattered around, bruised, scorched, barely on their feet, etc
Doom raises a gauntleted hand / whatever. Energy gathers, the ground trembles, the wind stops, blah, blah, blah.
A single, familiar beep echoes through the street. Everyone freezes.
A glowing red light streaks down from the clouds and slams into the pavement with our favourite metallic clang sound. Smoke clears, classic red + gold silhouette stands tall. Avengers stare, stunned. The figure steps forward. The faceplate slides open.
RDJ Tony smirking like he never left.
Tony Stark: "Did you miss me?"
Doom raises a hand.Tony raises his. The screen cuts to black, a single repulsor blast rings out.
Tdiddy182025-12-02 23:02
Or they could just be keeping it a secret no?
No_Imagination_24902025-12-02 23:03
What you've posted doesn't confirm anything we didn't already know
kneeco282025-12-02 23:03
[deleted]
BrettGB962025-12-02 23:11
Ikr? No new information here
ReturnoftheBoat2025-12-03 00:56
who upvotes these posts!?
Own_Giraffe_69282025-12-02 23:31
Uh, yeah it does? Lots of people are convinced Doom will be a Tony Stark variant who survived the Snap. Just last week I saw a ScreenCrush video where they were confident the name "Doctor Doom" is just another insulting nickname for Tony Stark from his warmongering days just like "Merchant of Death".
There may or may not be some connection between Stark and Doom (I'm guessing it's likely there will be), but it's been confirmed time and time again that this is Victor von Doom and not evil Tony Stark.
kneeco282025-12-02 23:32
> Uh, yeah it does?
No, it doesn't.
MrShaytoon2025-12-03 00:20
Literally. Rdj is playing doom from another world (maybe the doom in Pedro's world) and all the heroes that worked with rdjs tony won't believe what's happening until they realize he's just a variant of a character that looks like someone they know.
It's the same thing we saw in multiverse of madness. Krasinski played reed from that world, yet haven't been able to connect the dots that it's another worlds character.
Playfair999992025-12-02 23:04
I genuinely think he'll show up as both. The Russos already said he has a connection to Stark's death.
samhouse092025-12-02 23:04
Victor von Doom also sounds like a nom de guerre, not a birth name.
Puzzled_Ad_62732025-12-02 23:15
First time I ever heard that phrase was X-Men TAS episode Night of the Sentinels part 2 when Beast says it about it Storm. I was 8 years old.
holycrimsonbatman2025-12-02 23:04
And water is wet.
vivianvisionsburner2025-12-02 23:16
Water is not scientifically or definitionally wet. Water makes things wet. It's science.
Truelikegiroux2025-12-02 23:05
I haven’t been paying attention to leaks, but does this mean James Marsden, Patrick Stewart, and Channing Tatum are in Doomsday?!?
si1versmith2025-12-02 23:16
They were announced back when they did the "chair stream".
krlozdac2025-12-02 23:05
They've called him Victor Von Doom from the jump. Whatever the Stark connection is they won't give it away until the movie comes out.
Own_Giraffe_69282025-12-02 23:28
[deleted]
PoorLifeChoices8112025-12-02 23:30
There has to be a connection if they’re bringing RDJ back. Zero reason to make him doom otherwise
TwoPrecisionDrivers2025-12-02 23:32
Money is a good reason. Having RDJ attached will get casual butts in seats.
PoorLifeChoices8112025-12-02 23:32
This is the MCU we’re talking about. There is a connection.
Turbulent-Agent96342025-12-02 23:38
The connection is a string of box office and critical slumps..
pedroktp2025-12-02 23:34
Yeah because he played Tony Stark in the past
ChaseballBat2025-12-02 23:50
You only need to get them in the theater once.
Middle_Cranberry_5492025-12-03 00:08
Not if you've already sunk millions into the follow up film.
JesterMarcus2025-12-02 23:38
RDJ also costs twice as much as any other actor. If he turns out to not be connected to Stark, word could get out early on and people could become no longer interested.
People like him because he's Stark, not just because he's RDJ.
o_MrBombastic_o2025-12-02 23:51
You got that backwards. People liked Stark because he was RDJ otherwise Starks an egotistical asshole. RDJs charisma made him likable not Starks charisma making RDJ likable
Slowandserious2025-12-03 00:03
I think its both ways.
- Stark got famous after played by RDJ
- But RDJ career also got a massive jump from playing Start (vs before)
I think RDJ & Stark are more intertwined than say Brolin & Thanos, or Gemman Chan & that alien character
Clemenx002025-12-03 00:13
Incredibly backwards.
Iron Man was a C - B tier character at most. His success is all RDJ. People have forgotten this now?
ChaseballBat2025-12-02 23:51
I wouldn't be interested if he is stark...
dbkenny4262025-12-02 23:34
It could just be they feel he's the best fit for the character. Simple as that.
Own_Giraffe_69282025-12-02 23:37
Well, the reason could always be something as simple as having his name front and center on the Doomsday poster. Even without his face, that's bound to attract casual audiences.
I definitely understand why people think there's some huge connection (since the Russos did say RDJ is the only guy who could play this version of Doom, which does imply they need his face), but also, I think the simplest solution for casual audiences is that there just *isn't* a literal connection.
Doomsday has a lot to juggle. As cool as some of these theories are (I LOVE the one about our Tony being Victor who was adopted by the Starks), there just won't be too much space in Doomsday to properly explain them to casual audiences on top of everything else that's happening.
o_MrBombastic_o2025-12-02 23:47
Actors can play more than one character it's called acting. Josh Brolins Cable wasn't a secret variant of Thanos
PoorLifeChoices8112025-12-02 23:48
Because he played an unrecognizable ALIEN, and then played a human character after.
RDJ is going from one human to the next, in an MCU where he shares the same face. You really think Bruce and Peter are gonna look at Doom and NOT think that’s Tony? Be so for real.
o_MrBombastic_o2025-12-02 23:53
Dooms face is a unrecognizable mess which is why he always wears a mask it's more fucked up than Deadpools or have you never read a comic?
PoorLifeChoices8112025-12-02 23:56
“Unrecognizable mess” meanwhile he’s still playing a human character, plus RDJ is expensive do you really think they’re gonna keep his face behind a mask? Even with facials scars he will still be recognizable to characters like Bruce and Peter.
If you can’t get that then idk what more to tell you. And I’m done trying to explain it
krlozdac2025-12-03 00:03
To be fair, there is already precedence with Chris Evans being Earth 616's Cap, yet he is Earth 121698's Human Torch. And there doesn't seem to be any in story reason other than different studios decided to use the same actor for different Marvel characters.
I guess they could retcon it and make it so there is a multiversal connection the same way they could retcon a Stark-Doom connection. Who knows.
Zeravor2025-12-02 23:57
I mean yeah, but RDJ was THE face for Marvel for ages. Thats different then reusing a side or even supporting cast member.
Jtwil21912025-12-03 00:01
If Doom never takes his mask off, it doesn't matter if he has the same face as Tony Stark. Casting RDJ could be a marketing ploy to put butts in seats and they never address the fact that he already played a major character because they don't have to.
That's what I'm hoping for. I don't want Doom's storyline to devolve into, "But you look just like our friend!"
PoorLifeChoices8112025-12-03 00:02
It absolutely DOES matter and I just can’t understand why nobody seems to understand that.
Jtwil21912025-12-03 00:05
Obviously, if he takes his mask off, they _have_ to address it.
But why does it matter if we never actually see his face, and he really is playing just Victor Von Doom with no connection to his previous Tony Stark character?
giraffe1112025-12-03 00:20
They don’t “obviously _have_” to address it. Makeup exists. They could make Victor look like someone else. He’s supposed to be mutilated under the mask, right? It could go either way. I’m inclined to believe there’s a connection, but it could absolutely make sense even if they take off the mask. He could be a dude playin a dude disguised as another dude.
peacepipe03512025-12-03 00:22
Didn't they allude to that being important to the movie already?
NightmareElephant2025-12-02 23:42
No need to do 5D chess when there’s already a story in the comics about Doom stealing Starks body to gain access to his resources
krlozdac2025-12-03 00:10
I think this is a very viable route. The most intriguing question to me then becomes who is the actor who'll get to play the real Doom? Whoever that person is needs to be a real heavyweight in order to live up to RDJ's portrayal. I would assume that person would also be featured at some point in either of the two movies, if only as a reveal at the very end.
I don't see a world where the MCU moves forward without Dr. Doom. He is such an iconic figure that killing him after only two outings seems like a waste.
Spiderlander2025-12-02 23:46
The Russos have already confirmed a connection
havewelost63882025-12-03 00:15
It's explicitly a multiverse story. It would be ridiculous to bring RDJ back as another character with *no* connection to Tony Stark whatsoever. The other characters will at the very least *recognize* him as Tony and mine those prior relationships for drama.
third-second-best2025-12-03 00:23
RDJ was the center of the MCU for what, over a decade? To cast him in this role without a connection would be nonsensical. It would be a total nail in the coffin for the studio imo.
hesitantly-correct2025-12-03 00:49
It doesn't take any kind of 5D chess to assume that RDJ will be playing a Tony Stank variant.
ChugDix2025-12-02 23:34
Yeah it would be real dumb if underneath his name it said “Iron Man Variant #1, Iron Man Variant #2, Cowabunga Surfer Iron Man #1, etc”
Nightmaru2025-12-03 00:00
Iron Boy #3
ImHighandCaffinated2025-12-03 00:03
Did I miss something? How is Channing Tatum in this but not Reynolds and Huge Jackedman
remerdy12025-12-03 00:14
You can watch the movie & find out!
petrowski72025-12-03 00:41
Huge Yak Man?
redpariah22025-12-03 00:20
Just like Jet Li's credits in The One
Saulgoodman1994bis2025-12-03 00:30
I mean they're so desperate. They could have done it.
High_Function_Props2025-12-03 00:32
You forgot Slumber Party Sleepytime Iron Man #4
iBlameMeToo2025-12-03 00:55
Victor Von Doom
(Tony Stark)
MikeAWBD2025-12-03 01:07
Shy/awkward/neck beard Iron Man. The Nicepool equivalent.
Parallax13062025-12-02 23:46
It’s crazy how people take fandom rumors as fact for every single event movie that comes out. And then get offended when it pointed out that what they’re taking as fact is just a rumor and nothing is confirmed.
BD4012025-12-03 00:18
Yeah people keep trotting out "He's called Victor Von Doom! So there's no relationship to Stark!" - when we've literally seen, on-screen, that variants can have different names from each other. So it's basically proof of nothing, one way or another.
Personally, I think it would be weird as all hell to have RDJ play Doom - as the final villain of the *Multiverse* Saga - and have literally no narrative connection or reference to the fact that it's the same actor that played the main hero for over a decade. Whether the whole "Stark variant or multiverse shenanigans" angle is a good one or not, a lack of in-context explanation for it being the same actor would almost be worse IMHO.
Azelrazel2025-12-03 02:13
Honestly if there was zero mention of him being like stark and it did not come up what so ever. Barely shows the face and is acting a new character the entire time with no relations, that would be better to me.
kami6892025-12-03 02:22
Thats where im at. I dont want him to be a stark varient, think it would be lame as hell.
They can easily get away with rdj playing just straight doom. Dont show his face without the mask and have him do a different voice (or alter his voice), and it would be good.
Azelrazel2025-12-03 02:23
Yea it's the only way I'd be able to get behind him as doom is if it's just another actor playing doom (playing him well) ... who also happens to have played another mcu character before haha.
Saulgoodman1994bis2025-12-03 00:31
For what it's worth, it could be simply a Stark variant who got adopted by von doom family or maybe he simply changed his name.
RED06172025-12-03 01:02
Lol im like what you think they going to say a plot detail on a power point
Fares265972025-12-02 23:06
As far as my personal rules go, saying that someone is or isn't a variant of someone else is like saying someone is or isn't a relative of someone else. Ultimately we're all related, but it takes a close enough connection for it to count.
Same for variants, you gotta weigh the similarities and the differences between them and compare that to the rest of the population and ask yourself if there's a special enough connection between the two for it to count. As far as I'm concerned, having the same face isn't something that I can brush off so easily.
Well-Teknically2025-12-02 23:06
How exactly does this prove he isn’t a variant?
Switch8152025-12-02 23:07
This doesn't confirm anything from a story perspective. He might be Victor Von Doom, but there might be some strings attached.
frogskin922025-12-03 00:38
There are no strings on me *intensifies*
InformalJello93222025-12-03 04:38
SeedMaster268012025-12-02 23:07
Stark is a doom variant
Grumpiergoat2025-12-02 23:07
This means literally nothing.
Grez942025-12-02 23:07
Dude, Kang has a variant named Victor Timely, this literally doesn't confirm anything, variants can have different names
eagc72025-12-02 23:44
I mean lets keep in mind Kang has mostly been just an alias. while his real name in the comics is Nathaniel Richards, however they never said his name was Nathaniel in the MCU as far i remember, so there is a chance Victor Timely can be the real name for his MCU variants? unless i am missing something been a while since i last saw Loki S2
But overall i do agree that this doesn't prevent them from saying this version of Doom is a Stark variant
FictionFantom2025-12-02 23:09
It’s often forgotten that RDJ auditioned to be Doom in 2005.
People should probably brace for the real possibility that this is just the ultimate “what if” meta casting, and the parallels between Doom and Stark are merely thematic.
LnStrngr2025-12-02 23:10
LOL. "CONFIRMED"
As if they would give away the answer to the most pondered question in the leadup to the movie.
Jeph2202025-12-02 23:10
Im still determined to believe this is misdirection. The way they first announced him, all of it. Very weird and un-characteristic. They even kept spiderman hidden for Civil War......
FX1142025-12-02 23:17
Spider-Man was announced well ahead of Civil War.
gobeavs12025-12-02 23:10
SPOILER AS FUCK RIGHT IN THE TITLE
BAN!
baco_wonkey2025-12-02 23:21
It would be if it was actually confirming anything.
Earthwick2025-12-02 23:10
My dad is adopted his name is not Dad variant. Come on he is obviously a stark variant. In the comics be is adopted so in doomsday he is probably just raised by Doom Sr.
Aromatic-Cupcake48022025-12-02 23:10
It was clear since he was announced at SDCC that he’s playing Victor Von Doom. He’s not the only actor to play more than one role, in universe they just so happen to look the same.
arongadark2025-12-02 23:11
Sure, Marvel has never had misleading marketing in the past /s
Notchibald_Johnson2025-12-02 23:11
Oh well that seals it. They'd definitely tell the world he's a Stark variant at this event so phew. And they go to jail if they lie so case closed.
FewWatermelonlesson02025-12-02 23:11
You mean like how Jonathan Majors also played a Kang variant named Victor Timely?
Curlaub2025-12-02 23:11
Loki and Sylvie were variants and they had different names.
Ryder77882025-12-02 23:12
I just find it funny that you can clearly see Anthony Mackie's " I know your secret" smile even on the photo with countable pixels.
AARONBURRSlR2025-12-02 23:12
they can always just lie
littlebighuman2025-12-02 23:13
Bit curious to get such an expensive actor to play doom IMHO. Why not give another up and coming actor a shot?
vivianvisionsburner2025-12-02 23:15
I mean not agreeing or disagreeing with whether he's Tony or not - this doesn't confirm anything. MoM's promo acted like Wanda was teaming up with Strange. This proves absolutely nothing and we need to just let it go until the movie's out lmaoo
TGamlock2025-12-02 23:16
Hulk was at the battle in wakanda in the infinity war trailer. I'm not saying they are lying here, but I don't think anything is fully confirmed here.
akgiant2025-12-02 23:16
That's because Doom ain't a Tony Stark variant. Tony Stark is a Doom variant.
Maria Stark gets seduced by the Baron Von Doom or they adopt a Von Doom baby and raise him as their own.
That gives us why there's no Doom in the MCU, cuz he was "Tony". It also explains why Kang could carve out a sacred timeline for himself, there was never a Doom or Tony in MCU-616 to stop him, but the tech had been discovered.
>!When Loki created the Yggdrasil Throne to sit on, he freed all the stories that could be told (a true multiverse). It linked MCU with all the other strands and timelines that Kang had shut out. Thus Fantastic Four, X-men content etc. are now flooding into the MCU; but now a Doom can see a universe where Thanos was already defeated, there is no Reed Richards or Tony Stark or Black Panther. A perfect untouched world to recreate in the image of Doom!!<
Cool_Nerd22025-12-02 23:17
You can still be a variant and have a different name.
Simple_Pianist48822025-12-02 23:18
This is so fucking stupid.
I always hated Iron Man but I was hoping when he died, I’d never have to see RDJ’s face again. I’m distraught that they didn’t pick someone else because the back and forth, “oh he might be a variant” is fucking stupid.
HeroXeroV2025-12-02 23:20
That doesn't mean what you think it means.
ColoniaCroisant2025-12-02 23:20
Background colors relate to the teams 👀 who's left of Shang-Chi and right of Hemsworth?
Emaculates2025-12-02 23:20
makes no sense
dominion10802025-12-02 23:22
I really don’t care. It’s a shit casting regardless. He could be a Kang variant for all it matters. Over 7 billion other options and they just recast the face of the whole ass MCU. My hype for these films is low asf.
Proud-Nerd002025-12-02 23:22
Just because he's Victor Von Doom doesn't mean he's not a Stark variant
jaredletosuckass92025-12-02 23:22
Kinda wish he was not cast as Doom
Mister-Lavender2025-12-02 23:23
This proves nothing. Could be a Stark variant that turned into Doom. Or Tony was a Doom variant that turned into Stark.
skyzm_2025-12-02 23:23
I don’t care one single bit whether he is or not, but this confirms nothing. Is comprehension this fried?
legomaximumfigure2025-12-02 23:24
Hoping for the best, but I don't have high expectations for this one.
DarthAsriel2025-12-02 23:24
This is dumb. Stop relying on nostalgia and do the work. Plenty of talented actors could play Doom. Making him an Iron Man derivative sucks.
jonshado2025-12-02 23:25
And the thunderbolts* were NOT the new avengers either. Confirmed, nothing is confirmed.
neogeoman1232025-12-02 23:26
My running theory is that he will graft starks face onto his own out of sheer jealousy at some point
DoTheyHaveMinerva2025-12-02 23:27
That's not remotely what is being said here, bud.
chaosenhanced2025-12-02 23:27
Tony Stark is a Victor Variant. I think we're getting the second multiversal war.
The first time Kang neutralized Doom early by having him adopted by the Starks. Now that Loki is pruning Kangs, Doom not only rises but takes Kang's place in the multiverse with a wildly different plan to secure it. No pruning individuals to create a sacred timeline. Instead he orchestrates incursions to create a survival of the fittest scenario. An Ultimate universe full of only the strongest heroes and villains in their respective universes.
Mysterious_Brush18522025-12-02 23:28
My theory is Doom will disguise himself as Tony Stark through magic to get the Avengers to trust him, since he will be a wolf in sheep's clothing-type figure who seemingly shows good intentions for repairing the rifts in the multiverse.
Pheonyx19742025-12-02 23:28
Stark was the DOOM Variant!
dppatters2025-12-02 23:29
I hope that we get some kind of RDJ Iron Man appearance. It would feel like such a wasted opportunity not to have him appear in some capacity (as a variant perhaps) as Iron Man. I want a reunion moment. Star Wars Disney failed to give people that moment and I hope (selfishly) that they don’t do that here.
lm_goat482025-12-02 23:29
Pretty sure this was confirmed awhile ago
Remote_Nature_81662025-12-02 23:29
He is indeed a variant just with a different name. There’s no other way to put it.
XingXiaoRen2025-12-02 23:30
This post will come back to haunt you because they didn't cast the same actor for no reason.
PoorLifeChoices8112025-12-02 23:31
Which means nothing lol
themikegman2025-12-02 23:32
I mean, all you have to do is read the lyrics for Iron Man:
He was turned to steel
In the great magnetic field
When he traveled time
For the future of mankind
Nobody wants him
He just stares at the world
Planning his vengeance
That he will soon unfurl
Now the time is here
For Iron Man to spread fear
Vengeance from the grave
Kills the people he once saved
Don't tell me he isn't coming to kill everyone he once helped lol.
HammurabiDion2025-12-02 23:37
Call me when they get someone Romani to play Doom
Qwandangle2025-12-03 00:20
Why would they call him a Tony stark variant lmao
ItsJardo2025-12-03 00:30
The theory isn’t that Victor is the variant; the theory is that Tony was adopted and is the variant.
Commentaires
It’d be fuckin nuts for him to be a fake
but I’m not ruling out Stark returning in Secret Wars, or at least a variant of him, since RDJ is on set and signed on anyways.
Now i think what some people are worried is that what they may do is say that maybe in this world the man that would became Tony Stark in our world had a different life and had a different name
Only problem with it is they'd have to ignore What If? to a degree (or water the angle down), since that series has shown there are plenty of Tony Starks out there.
He looks the same, because he was adopted by the Von dooms, but he is nothing like tony stark, and fully a von doom, with a totally different personality to tony stark.
People still argued that with that theory, he has stark DNA, so he's not really Victor Von doom... But that doesn't really matter if his entire life is totally different from birth. He has no memory of being a stark, has no connection to being a stark, and if he was adopted, he probably doesn't even know that he was a stark.
Personally I don't think it's a big deal if he was adopted as a baby by the Von dooms, but comic purists just lose their minds at the thought, even though the MCU doesn't follow the comics exactly anyway.
Same (similar) face, totally different person. Explained literally as a variant.
We literally have precedent for this. I’m not sure what all the confusion is about.
"Yeah sure, so why do they look the same??"
That was a meta joke for the audience. This is in the same sequence in which he fights near the Fox logo and name drops Furiosa. There is no narrative connection between that Johnny Storm and the MCU Captain America.
It's very different to be bringing in RDJ to play a second iconic character ***after*** you've started throwing around multiverses and branched timelines.
The day AFTER RDJ was announced nonetheless if I'm correct
It’s especially weird because Loki, Quantumania, and Doctor Strange 2 showed us that variants will often look identical to their MCU counterparts. But in the reverse NWH and Loki again also showed us they can look remarkably different.
The only time a variant of somebody was played in an MCU by an existing MCU actor though had been Human Torch and even then the first thing about him is that he looks like Captain America.
Come on.
I’d bet my house that it will be a major plot point that Doom has the same face as Stark though. If not from the get-go, then at some point.
You don’t bring RDJ back and pay whatever insane amount they had to pay him for no reason
This announcement means nothing. Cottilard wasn’t announced as Talia. Cumberbatch wasn’t announced as Kahn. Shit, the Arkham Knight “totally wasn’t Jason Todd and is a whole new character”.
He was the face of the MCU for a decade. He started it all.
Seriously, such a dumb casting choice.
Even if Majors was still Kang, it would be weak as hell. The dude got introduced in Loki and Ant-Man 3. And he lost in Ant-Man 3.
Think of Civil Wars fight scene at the airport.
Now think of the character roster we have now and imagine that same scene.
We're MUCH closer to the two page splash of characters from the civil war comic then we were back then.
She Hulk alone, one of the least popular series, established that there are a bunch of low level sups about. Implying we just haven't seen them because they weren't avenger threats.
Daredevil and co being brought back in showcased that there are a bunch of street level heroes and villains out there but playing it subtle.
I personally can't wait to see the villain bar in live action.
Heck I'd love to see the Last Days scene where the last incursion is incoming and the Punisher walks into the villain bar and just goes ef it and starts blasting away
I more meant that the build up to the villain was a waste.
And I say this as someone who thinks Loki was one of the high points of the MCU since endgame.
They could give me a year of live action Power Pack aimed at toddlers and I'd still eat it all up like it was the food of the gods.
But I'm aware folks have been disappointed and I totally get it.
But look back at what we had previously to the MCU and even the "worst" film is still freaking good.
When people get good sht they just expect the same quality forever and I get it, but that's not how life works.
We'll have the same quality again, I'd argue the FF was that return. And we'll have less good ones too. That's just how life works ahaha
The sky is split with green fire, Doom stands at the center of a crater where times square used to be, cloak whipping in a storm he’s created. Avengers are scattered around, bruised, scorched, barely on their feet, etc
Doom raises a gauntleted hand / whatever. Energy gathers, the ground trembles, the wind stops, blah, blah, blah.
A single, familiar beep echoes through the street. Everyone freezes.
A glowing red light streaks down from the clouds and slams into the pavement with our favourite metallic clang sound. Smoke clears, classic red + gold silhouette stands tall. Avengers stare, stunned. The figure steps forward. The faceplate slides open.
RDJ Tony smirking like he never left.
Tony Stark: "Did you miss me?"
Doom raises a hand.Tony raises his. The screen cuts to black, a single repulsor blast rings out.
There may or may not be some connection between Stark and Doom (I'm guessing it's likely there will be), but it's been confirmed time and time again that this is Victor von Doom and not evil Tony Stark.
No, it doesn't.
It's the same thing we saw in multiverse of madness. Krasinski played reed from that world, yet haven't been able to connect the dots that it's another worlds character.
People like him because he's Stark, not just because he's RDJ.
- Stark got famous after played by RDJ
- But RDJ career also got a massive jump from playing Start (vs before)
I think RDJ & Stark are more intertwined than say Brolin & Thanos, or Gemman Chan & that alien character
Iron Man was a C - B tier character at most. His success is all RDJ. People have forgotten this now?
I definitely understand why people think there's some huge connection (since the Russos did say RDJ is the only guy who could play this version of Doom, which does imply they need his face), but also, I think the simplest solution for casual audiences is that there just *isn't* a literal connection.
Doomsday has a lot to juggle. As cool as some of these theories are (I LOVE the one about our Tony being Victor who was adopted by the Starks), there just won't be too much space in Doomsday to properly explain them to casual audiences on top of everything else that's happening.
RDJ is going from one human to the next, in an MCU where he shares the same face. You really think Bruce and Peter are gonna look at Doom and NOT think that’s Tony? Be so for real.
If you can’t get that then idk what more to tell you. And I’m done trying to explain it
I guess they could retcon it and make it so there is a multiversal connection the same way they could retcon a Stark-Doom connection. Who knows.
That's what I'm hoping for. I don't want Doom's storyline to devolve into, "But you look just like our friend!"
But why does it matter if we never actually see his face, and he really is playing just Victor Von Doom with no connection to his previous Tony Stark character?
I don't see a world where the MCU moves forward without Dr. Doom. He is such an iconic figure that killing him after only two outings seems like a waste.
(Tony Stark)
Personally, I think it would be weird as all hell to have RDJ play Doom - as the final villain of the *Multiverse* Saga - and have literally no narrative connection or reference to the fact that it's the same actor that played the main hero for over a decade. Whether the whole "Stark variant or multiverse shenanigans" angle is a good one or not, a lack of in-context explanation for it being the same actor would almost be worse IMHO.
They can easily get away with rdj playing just straight doom. Dont show his face without the mask and have him do a different voice (or alter his voice), and it would be good.
Same for variants, you gotta weigh the similarities and the differences between them and compare that to the rest of the population and ask yourself if there's a special enough connection between the two for it to count. As far as I'm concerned, having the same face isn't something that I can brush off so easily.
But overall i do agree that this doesn't prevent them from saying this version of Doom is a Stark variant
People should probably brace for the real possibility that this is just the ultimate “what if” meta casting, and the parallels between Doom and Stark are merely thematic.
As if they would give away the answer to the most pondered question in the leadup to the movie.
BAN!
Maria Stark gets seduced by the Baron Von Doom or they adopt a Von Doom baby and raise him as their own.
That gives us why there's no Doom in the MCU, cuz he was "Tony". It also explains why Kang could carve out a sacred timeline for himself, there was never a Doom or Tony in MCU-616 to stop him, but the tech had been discovered.
>!When Loki created the Yggdrasil Throne to sit on, he freed all the stories that could be told (a true multiverse). It linked MCU with all the other strands and timelines that Kang had shut out. Thus Fantastic Four, X-men content etc. are now flooding into the MCU; but now a Doom can see a universe where Thanos was already defeated, there is no Reed Richards or Tony Stark or Black Panther. A perfect untouched world to recreate in the image of Doom!!<
I always hated Iron Man but I was hoping when he died, I’d never have to see RDJ’s face again. I’m distraught that they didn’t pick someone else because the back and forth, “oh he might be a variant” is fucking stupid.
The first time Kang neutralized Doom early by having him adopted by the Starks. Now that Loki is pruning Kangs, Doom not only rises but takes Kang's place in the multiverse with a wildly different plan to secure it. No pruning individuals to create a sacred timeline. Instead he orchestrates incursions to create a survival of the fittest scenario. An Ultimate universe full of only the strongest heroes and villains in their respective universes.
He was turned to steel
In the great magnetic field
When he traveled time
For the future of mankind
Nobody wants him
He just stares at the world
Planning his vengeance
That he will soon unfurl
Now the time is here
For Iron Man to spread fear
Vengeance from the grave
Kills the people he once saved
Don't tell me he isn't coming to kill everyone he once helped lol.