Why Iron Man and Doctor Doom Look the Same in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ — New Theory Has the Answer
When Marvel Studios announced at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con that Robert Downey Jr. would be coming back to the MCU, fans were excited at first, until they heard he wouldn’t be returning as Iron Man.
Instead, he would be playing Doctor Doom. The reaction was all over the place. Some people were curious, but a lot of fans weren’t sure how to feel about it. Downey’s time as Iron Man left such a big mark that many felt his return might take away from the emotional weight of his original ending in Avengers: Endgame.
Others were just confused. Why cast RDJ as a different character when the audience already connects him so strongly with Tony Stark? And with so many talented actors out there, some thought someone else might have been a better fit to play Doom.
Since that announcement, fans have been coming up with all kinds of theories about why Iron Man and Doctor Doom would look the same. Some believe Doom is just another Tony Stark variant. Others say you just have to roll with it. But the Russo brothers made it clear that this Doom is not a variant, he’s the actual Doctor Doom in the main universe.
Now, a new theory posted by Austin Medeiros on X has gained a lot of attention. He suggests that Doctor Doom is pretending to be Tony Stark on purpose. In his post, he wrote:
“Doctor Doom is using Tony Stark’s image to manipulate everyone. He knows the heroes will trust him if he looks like Iron Man. At the end of Doomsday, his face will revert back to reality and the real Doom’s face will be revealed.”
#AvengersDoomsday Theory 🚨
— Austin Medeiros (@Austin_Medzz) July 27, 2025
Doctor Doom is using Tony Stark’s image to manipulate everyone. He knows the heroes will trust him if he looks like Iron Man
At the end of Doomsday, his face will revert back to reality and the real Doom’s face will be revealed
Robert Downey Jr.… pic.twitter.com/TMpqzaVtRJ
He also adds that Downey Jr. will still return as a true Iron Man variant later, possibly in Secret Wars, to help stop the real Doctor Doom, who tricked the world into believing he was Tony.
That’s just one theory, but it lines up with some comic book storylines that could inspire this twist. One is What If? Iron Man: Demon in an Armor. It’s a story where Tony Stark and Victor Von Doom are college students, and an experiment gone wrong causes them to swap minds. Suddenly Doom is living as Tony Stark, with all his wealth and power, while Tony finds himself stuck in Doom’s shoes, growing up poor in Latveria.
This one’s pretty out there, and probably too weird for the movies, but it still offers a wild idea of identity and power.
A more realistic option is the comic Infamous Iron Man. After the Civil War II storyline, Doctor Doom decides to take over Tony’s role as Iron Man. He talks to the A.I. version of Tony Stark and says he wants to protect the world using both his own knowledge and Stark’s technology.
It’s a redemption story, though not everyone buys into it. Reed Richards, S.H.I.E.L.D., The Thing, and others think Doom is just trying to gain power again.
This version could make a lot of sense for the MCU, especially with Tony Stark already gone and his tech possibly falling into the wrong hands. Still, Marvel may not follow any comic directly. Given how long they spent building up Kang, only to shift focus again, they might want to keep Doom’s setup short and simple.
Whether they go with a deep comic storyline or come up with something new, one thing’s clear—Robert Downey Jr. is not done with the MCU just yet. And this time, he might be the villain.
What do you think of the theory? Could Doom really be hiding behind Tony’s face?
