With Robert Downey Jr. returning to the MCU, here are a few ruthless variants of Iron Man that the actor might get to play in his turn as heel.

Robert Downey Jr. is all set to turn heel in the MCU as Doctor Doom, despite being the face of the franchise for more than a decade as Tony Stark. Starting his tenure in Iron Man, the actor became the definitive Tony Stark and one of the world’s biggest stars as he led the Avengers. His ultimate sacrifice made him a legendary hero.

While fans seem to be on the fence about his appearance as Doctor Doom messing with his legacy as Iron Man, the character seems to have many variants in the comics that might make sense in the Multiversal Saga of the MCU. Some of his variants are so evil that they put Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine variants to shame.

Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark Has Many Evil Variants In The MCU

Only Robert Downey Jr. can be a controversial casting twice in a row in the MCU. The actor’s selection as Iron Man was a huge task at the time for director Jon Favreau as he was still reeling from his legal troubles. However, his performance and the film’s box-office success cemented him as a resurrected star.

After securing his legacy as Tony Stark and winning an Oscar for Oppenheimer, the actor is back again. However, he was announced as the MCU’s Doctor Doom, sparking a rage of speculations about how the actor might return. With the Multiversal Saga in place and variants of each character being canon, fans believe a Tony Stark variant will be Doom.

In the comics, there are a few Tony Stark variants who have turned heel and gone to the dark side. The first of which is the Superior Iron Man variant, who becomes evil after the Axis event breaks the moral compass of several Marvel heroes. According to Comic Crops,

A darker, more ruthless version of Tony Stark emerges after an accident causes him to lose his moral compass, turning against even his closest friends.

Superior Iron Man reportedly turned the entire world into a drug addict after introducing a virus and its medicine, while he charged $100 a day for the ill who wanted the cure.

Robert Downey Jr. Might Become Infamous Iron Man Variant In The MCU

The concept of the multiverse lends itself to infinite possibilities. While Marvel has used it to bank on the nostalgia of previous iterations of the same character (like the Spider-Men and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine), the concept also becomes an interesting storytelling tool.

With Robert Downey Jr. set to return as Doctor Doom, fans have been speculating which version of Doom or Tony Stark the MCU might go with. Many have speculated that Downey Jr. will be playing Infamous Iron Man, a storyline from the comics that sees Doctor Doom take on the mantle of Iron Man.

However, another theory states that the actor might still be Tony Stark but be controlled by Doctor Doom. According to a Reddit user, Doctor Doom would be a main player in the upcoming Fantastic Four: First Steps film but would be played by a different actor. After Galactus takes over the Fantastic Four’s universe, Doom goes to Earth-616.

This is where details get fuzzy, but I believe Victor will be forced to find his own way out using a machine of his own creation (like he used in the comics to confront Mephisto). This machine will only partially work, and just transport his consciousness. It will seek out cosmic power as a means to host his consciousness and get pulled to the body of the late Tony Stark shortly after his death and burial. Using the stones it turns out left a significant mark on Tony, but physically and spiritually.

The user also revealed that Doctor Doom had once projected his consciousness onto a dead Wolverine variant, making this a canonically possible theory.