Robert Downey Jr. Continues to Reveal Doctor Doom Story Teases

Newsweek

15-05-2025

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Robert Downey Jr. continues to have fun teasing fans from the set of "Avengers: Doomsday". On Thursday, the Marvel icon posted an image to his Instagram account which he captioned "Doom workstation essentials." You can see the image below.
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Far be it from us to minimize the need for Kleenex while playing Victor von Doom, but the most potentially revealing addition to the workstation is the copy of "Doom" #1 by Sanford Greene and Jonathan Hickman. This giant-sized one-shot was released in 2024, and it's a very interesting comic for someone to be reading in preparation for "Avengers: Doomsday".
Robert Downey Jr. speaks onstage during the Marvel Studios Panel in Hall H at SDCC in San Diego, California on July 27, 2024.
Robert Downey Jr. speaks onstage during the Marvel Studios Panel in Hall H at SDCC in San Diego, California on July 27, 2024.for Disney
The plot of "Doom" #1 revolves around an alternate version of the Marvel Universe in which the world-eating Galactus - the villain of the upcoming "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" - kills all the superheroes and supervillains, leaving only Doctor Doom to defeat him.
On one hand, considering "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" will be the last Marvel film to release before "Avengers: Doomsday", Downey's showcasing of "Doom" #1 makes it tempting to theorize that this means Galactus will have something to do with "Doomsday".
This could actually make a bit of sense. In the comics, Galactus is the last survivor of a dying universe before he arrives in the prime Marvel universe. So it would potentially track for Galactus to somehow travel from the Fantastic Four's home universe to Earth-616.
On the other hand, it could just be pointing to something that has been said about Downey's version of Doctor Doom ever since his casting was announced; that every villain is the hero of his own story. Doctor Doom is certainly not only the hero of "Doom" #1, but quite literally the only hero left. So it could be that Downey is reading the comic not for plot points, but for the feel of Doctor Doom as a hero.
"Avengers: Doomsday" is scheduled to hit theaters May 1, 2026. It is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo. The film stars Chris Hemsworth, Vanessa Kirby, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, Wyatt Russell, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Simu Liu, Florence Pugh, Kelsey Grammer, Lewis Pullman, Danny Ramirez, Joseph Quinn, David Harbour, Winston Duke, Hannah John-Kamen, Tom Hiddleston, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, Channing Tatum, Pedro Pascal, and Robert Downey Jr.
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