By 
Marvel rocked up at Hall H during San Diego Comic-Con this weekend with a number of interesting reveals, including a new Ghost Rider movie starring Ryan Gosling and a new Black Panther for Ryan Coogler’s upcoming threequel. The studio also wowed the crowd with new footage from Avengers: Doomsday, featuring even more moments with Robert Downey Jr.’s villainous spin on Doctor Doom.
Additionally, Downey Jr. took questions from the press alongside his Doomsday castmates, including Chris Evans, Paul Rudd, and Pedro Pascal. After years of playing Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man in the MCU, the actor is in the midst of taking on a darker role in the franchise, and there have been a lot of questions from fans about how exactly the two characters will be linked.
Downey Jr. suggested to EW that the connection between Tony Stark and Doctor Doom seems fairly basic on on the surface, telling the outlet that they both have “the science thing” and are “considered pretty brilliant guys,” adding, “But Tony had the trauma that turned him into a hero and Doom’s got the exact opposite, to where it takes the prowess of all of these folks to go up against him, and it was a joy to behold.”
Tony Stark first started his hero’s journey during the events of 2008’s MCU-kickstarting Iron Man, when he was forced to create the first version of his superhero suit after being captured in Afghanistan. Over several Avengers films, he then became the kind of guy who would be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to save his world, whereas Doom has taken a darker path that may lead to the destruction of the entire multiverse.
The fresh SDCC footage also confirmed that Downey’s Victor von Doom hails from Earth-828, where The Fantastic Four: First Steps took place and where Doom first appeared in a post-credits scene interacting with Reed Richards and Sue Storm’s cosmically important son, Franklin Richards. In the teaser footage, Doom is seen controlling a host of Sentinels in what seems to be a key battle against him led by Thor.
Sue (Vanessa Kirby) is heard telling someone about Doom’s past, including the loss of his family. “He’s always the smartest guy in every world… he used to be different,” she says. “He used to be kind, he used to be caring… Everything he loved was taken from him… I knew he was lost, and I did not realize that he was broken.” Reed is also seen screaming, “Victor, did you do this?!” while Doom states that “All of you have lived stolen lives. You refuse to give them back,” hinting that some of our heroes’ key choices to date may be heading for a reset if Doom gets his way.
Unlike Tony Stark, whose arc was about learning humility and accepting sacrifice, Doom’s journey seems to be rooted in rejecting the idea that others should live happily ever after while he suffers, presenting him as less of a Stark variant and more like a dark reflection of the character: someone just as smart, but whose trauma and determination lead to fundamentally different moral decisions.
“It was really weird to be on the other side of the bad-guy mask because it’s such an isolated vibe,” Downey mused of his latest Marvel performance. “I’m seeing them all socializing and stuff — and I am the enemy!”
Avengers: Doomsday will be released on December 18.
The post Avengers: Doomsday – Doctor Doom’s Tony Stark Connection and Past Revealed appeared first on Den of Geek.
