Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Fantastic Four: First Steps
After seeingFantastic Four: First Steps, I’m having trouble shaking a pretty wildMCUtheory about Robert Downey Jr.’s “casting” as Doctor Doom. Currently, it’s expected that RDJ’s Doom will be the primary antagonist ofAvengers: Doomsdayand likelyAvengers: Secret Warsas well. However, I’m wondering if Marvel Studios is actually in the middle of a major long con.
Confirmed last year at SDCC, Marvel Studios turned the internet upside down with the announcement thatRDJ will play Doctor Doom in the Russo Brothers’Avengers: Doomsday.However, I can’t help but wonder if there’s more to this reveal than meets the eye, especially now that Doctor Doom has made his first screen appearance in the MCU.
Doctor Doom Makes His First MCU Appearance In Fantastic Four: First Steps
Appearing Before Young Franklin Richards
As seen inFantastic Four: First Steps’initial post-credits scene, Sue Storm is shown reading to young Franklin four years after the movie’s events.Returning to the living room with a new book, Sue sees none other than Doctor Doom kneeling in front of the boy.
Positioned away from the camera, all we see is Doom covered by a green hood while holding his iconic metal mask at his side. Meanwhile, Franklin is seemingly unafraid, touching Doom’s face before the screen fades to black. As such,Franklin Richards' surprising demeanor seems like it might convey a degree of familiarity to Doom (which naturally got me thinking).
Marvel Studios May Be Using RDJ To Hide The Real Doctor Doom
An Elaborate Long Con To Preserve A Major Casting Twist
The idea that Franklin knows and is unafraid of the man beneath the mask is surprising, especially given that Doctor Doom and Franklin’s father, Reed Richards, have been rivals and enemies since college. However, that’s assuming that Doom and Reed’s history is the same in the comics, and thatRobert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom also calls Earth-828 home.
After all, we still don’t know why RDJ was cast, and if he’s playing a genuine Victor von Doom, a multiversal variant of Iron Man who became Doom, or something in between.All the Russos said in their SDCC announcement was that casting RDJ as Doctor Doom was “proof of the unimaginable possibilities of the Marvel multiverse”.
However, I’m now wondering if RDJ’s casting is just an elaborate con on Marvel Studios' part, especially after watching Doom’s debut inFantastic Four.To put it simply, I think there’s a very real possibility that Robert Downey Jr.’s “casting” was meant to obscure the truth about therealactor playing Doctor Doom inAvengers: Doomsday:Pedro Pascal.
An Evil Reed Richards Variant
There are a few different reasons why I think Pedro Pascal is playing both Mister Fantasticandperhaps an evil variant of Reed Richards that became Doctor Doom in another reality:
It’s also worth mentioning that an evil Richards as Doctor Doom would solve the MCU’s lack of an established Victor/Reed rivalry. Instead, we’d have a Good Reed clashing with a Bad Reed variant, one who perhaps does more than just “invite the terrible outcomes into his mind,”a core flaw Reed Richards admits to inFantastic Four: First Steps.
Perhaps a darker Reed Richards variant makes use of those terrible outcomes as a Doctor Doom without a family, embracing the darker side of his genius to remake the MCU multiverse as he sees fit (presumably with the power of another Reed’s son).
This is all pure conjecture, but it feels like there’s enough that we should at least be open to the possibility that RDJ may just be returning as Iron Man, while Pascal pulls double duty. Marvel may be going for a major shock-and-awe moment the first time Doom’s mask is removed, and we see Pedro rather than Downey.
Fantastic Four: First Stepsis now playing in theaters from Marvel Studios.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Cast
The Fantastic 4: First Steps features Marvel’s First Family navigating their dual roles as superheroes and family members in a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world. They defend Earth from a formidable space god, Galactus, and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer, testing their familial bonds and heroic resolve.
Avengers: Doomsday
Avengers: Doomsday is the fifth Avengers film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and will bring together heroes, new and old, to face off against Victor von Doom - played by the returning Robert Downey Jr.. Avengers 5 will also mark the beginning of phase 6 of the MCU.
