The one Avengers: Doomsday twist Marvel fans are dreading has nothing to do with who dies
Two months out from the biggest Marvel movie in seven years, the loudest fan request isn't about deaths, cameos or the ending. It's about an explanation they don't want to hear.
With Avengers: Doomsday opening December 18, r/marvelstudios ran the classic pre-release exercise: a thread asking what's the one thing you don't want to see in the movie. The runaway answer isn't a character death or a botched cameo. It's Marvel explaining Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom as a variant of Tony Stark.
"I don't want him to be in any way related to Stark, tbh."
— a commenter on r/marvelstudios
The fear has been baked in since San Diego Comic-Con in July 2024, when Downey took off Doom's mask and the entire discourse split into two camps: "it's evil Tony from another universe" versus "it's Victor Von Doom who happens to have that face." Two years later, the second camp is pleading its case in advance:
"I'm hoping that the filmmakers trust that audiences understand that actors act, that RDJ delivers a performance so specific and different from Tony that we all forget it's the same actor. Give us movie magic."
— a commenter on r/marvelstudios
What the Russos have actually said
The filmmakers' statements cut both ways, which is exactly why the thread is nervous. In an interview with Soundsphere magazine, reported by Filmstarts in July 2026, Anthony Russo called Doom a completely new character whose background audiences can't yet guess — and the brothers confirmed the film will not simply ignore the resemblance to a certain dead Avenger. An explanation is coming. The thread's entire anxiety is about what's in it.
Joe Russo, for his part, has been describing the character strictly on his own terms, with no Stark in sight:
"Doom's magic is ancient. He is a very powerful character, as you can see in the trailer, and he's a genius. He studies his foes."
— Joe Russo, to GamesRadar
Ancient magic, genius, tactician: that's a Victor Von Doom description, start to finish. Which leaves the two camps reading the same interviews and hearing different movies.
The Russos have confirmed Doomsday will address why Doom wears Downey's face. The thread's top request is that the answer contain no Stark.
Why the variant answer would sting
My position matches the thread's. The Downey casting works only if Marvel trusts the actor: a Doom who is secretly Tony Stark turns the saga's next great villain into a nostalgia callback, and the MCU already ran the "beloved actor, different character" play with precedent — nobody needed an in-universe reason for Gemma Chan to play both Minn-Erva and Sersi.
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The counterargument exists, and it's commercial: Downey's face is the most expensive asset in the movie, and tying it to Stark is the easiest way to make the casting "pay off" for casual viewers. On December 18 we find out which instinct won — and whether the main villain of the next two Avengers films is a person or a reference.
Previously we wrote: Daredevil: Born Again season 3 hits Disney+ in March 2027; Marvel is spending the finale on a full Defenders reunion