Robert Downey Jr.'s unexpected return to Marvel divides fans —

 Doctor Doom (Dr. Victor von Doom) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Fantastic Four #5 (July 1962). In his comic book appearances, Doctor Doom is depicted as the monarch of Latveria whose goal is to bring order to humanity through world conquest. He serves as the archenemy of Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four, though he has also come into conflict with other superheroes in the Marvel Universe, including Spider-Man, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, the Black Panther, the X-Men, and the Avengers. While usually portrayed as a villain, Doom has also been an antihero at times, working with heroes if their goals align and only if it benefits him.

Doctor Doom was ranked #4 by Wizard on its list of the 101 Greatest Villains of All Time^[8] and #3 on IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time.^[9] In a later article, IGN would declare Doom as Marvel's greatest villain.^[10]

The character has been substantially adapted from the comics into several forms of media, includingtelevision series, video games, and merchandise such as action figures and trading cards. Most notably, Doctor Doom has been portrayed in licensed Fantastic Four live-action feature films by Joseph Culp in Roger Corman's unreleased 1994 film, Julian McMahon in the 2005 film and its 2007 sequel, and Toby Kebbell in the 2015 film.^[11] Robert Downey Jr. will portray the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Avengers: Doomsday (2026), and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027).^[12][13]