Robert Downey Jr. surprised the world when he returned to the MCU as Doctor Victor Von Doom. Announced at this year’s Comic-Con, the Iron Man star unmasked himself as the antagonist of Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. Downey Jr. previously played Iron Man in the MCU and ended his tenure in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.
Victor Von Doom is one of the most powerful villains in the Marvel Universe. The emperor of Latveria has feuded with multiple heroes in the comics, apart from being the main foe of the Fantastic Four. While Downey Jr. gears up to fight against heroes he once fought with, here are four heroes from Avengers: Endgame, who have defeated Doom in the comics.
1. Black Panther
The late Chadwick Boseman’s King T’Challa was part of Team Iron Man in Captain America: Civil War and fought alongside Robert Downey Jr. in the film as well as in Endgame. In the comics, Black Panther once defeated Doctor Doom after the latter eyed Wakanda’s vibranium abundance.
The battle between T’Challa and Victor Von Doom occurs in the storyline of Doomwar, which sees Doom take over Wakanda through the Desturi to obtain vibranium. However, Shuri and T’Challa defeat Doom, who has powered up with vibranium, by rendering the metal to be useless.
2. Spider-Man
Ever since Robert Downey Jr. was announced as Victor Von Doom, fans seemed to be concerned about how Tom Holland’s Spider-Man would react after seeing the face of his mentor Iron Man on the other side. However, Spider-Man has defeated Victor Von Doom in the comics, which makes the eventual clash all the more emotional in the upcoming film.
Spider-Man faces off against Doom in the recent Spider-Man: Life Story, as he takes over the world and makes the other heroes fight. Peter Parker and Miles Morales destroy the satellite which enables Doom to take control of the world, with Peter sacrificing his life in the process. Adapting this storyline would make Holland’s Spider-Man have a journey that is similar to his mentor.
3. Ant-Man
While Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang hardly seems like the man who would go against Doctor Doom, in the comics, the Ant-Man has all the reason to. Doom kills his daughter Cassie Lang in the Avengers: The Children’s Crusade storyline as the rest try to stop him. In a fitting rage, Scott Lang beats Doom to a pulp and calls him barely a human in FF #16.
While Ant-Man had a terrible journey with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the scene can be a redemption for the character. However, it is doubtful whether Marvel would go for such a dark storyline, especially at the beginning of Doom’s journey in the MCU.
4. Iron Man
Cue the Spider-Men pointing at each other meme. Robert Downey Jr.’s legacy as Iron Man came under threat when he was revealed to be the face of Victor Von Doom at this year’s Comic-Con. While the exact nature of the character is yet to be revealed, it will be interesting to see how Marvel protects Downey Jr.’s legacy as Tony only to turn him into a villain.
Iron Man has defeated Doom in the past. In the story, Iron Man #150, Tony and Doom are transported to the olden era to Camelot. While Doom approaches Morgana Le Fay to take over, Tony Stark teams up with King Arthur and defeats him, thus stopping him from taking over the kingdom.
The Avengers films are available to stream on Disney Plus.
