How Tony Stark Became Doctor Doom in the Original Comics (EVERYTHING You Could Possibly Need to Know)

Summary As the Iron Monarch and Iron Maniac, alternate versions of Tony became Doctor Doom in all but name, turning to evil and adopting elements of Doom's design.

Tony Stark fully became Doctor Doom in What If? Iron Man: Demon in an Armor #1, after Doom swapped their bodies. Tony decides to live as Victor von Doom, since the villain destroyed his life as a Stark.

However, the most likely story to be adapted is the ongoing Ultimates series. That story's Doctor Doom is a former hero who was captured and tortured by a time traveler, losing his heroic legacy and instead becoming Doom.

Marvel recently blew the roof off SDCC, announcing that Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. is returning for Avengers: Doomsday as the movie canon's Doctor Doom. It's a move with a lot of precedent in the comics, even though diehard Marvel fans are understandably disappointed that the 'real' Victor von Doom seemingly won't exist in MCU continuity. But what stories could Marvel be adapting with its new Doctor Doom? Not only do we have an exhaustive overview, but we're pretty sure we know how Tony's transformation into Doctor Doom will happen.

There have been multiple times when Tony Stark has become Doctor Doom, although there are a lot of gray areas. Doom's appearance and persona are iconic, so there are many stories where Tony became very similar to Doctor Doom - and was clearly meant to be filling the same role - but didn't quite go all the way with the codename and look. However, there is at least one story where Tony Stark literally becomes "Doctor Doom," armor and all.

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Here are the major stories where Tony Stark became Doctor Doom, showing just how far back this seemingly 'out of thin air' idea actually goes.

The Iron Monarch was Doctor Doom in all but name, and showed Tony Stark's shocking fall to the dark side.

Tony Stark Becomes Doctor Doom In 2003's Exiles

This Tony Variant Killed Doom and Took His Place

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The Iron Man of Exiles #23 (created by Judd Winick and Kev Walker) shows why it's somewhat difficult to name the first story where Tony becomes Doctor Doom. In this story, readers meet an alternate version of Tony Stark with no empathy. Still a genius, Tony hides his psychopathic nature until adulthood, when a war breaks out between mutantkind and humanity. Tony masterfully plays both sides, ending by arranging an attack on New York by Victor von Voom, aka Doctor Doom, the leader of Latveria.

Tony uses Doom's attack to justify his ascension to planetary rule, betraying and killing Doom as part of his plan. While Tony is successful, Doom manages to grievously injure Tony, leaving him (like Doom) to never again remove his mask in public. Tony also claims Doctor Doom's iconic green cloak, wearing it over his Iron Man armor to complete his rise from supposed hero to unquestioned conqueror. However, Tony does stop short of actually calling himself 'Doctor Doom.' Instead, he goes by the nickname Iron Monarch, right up until the moment when Invisible Woman assassinates him, setting the world free.

The Iron Maniac is celebrated by some as the first time Tony Stark became Doctor Doom.

Tony Stark's Iron Maniac Was Doom in All But Name

This Alt-Timeline Iron Man Had a Suit Made of Steve Rogers' Ex-Girlfriend

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Named by many (including Deadpool co-creator Rob Liefeld) as Tony Stark's official first 'Doctor Doom' transformation, the Iron Maniac first appeared in Marvel Team-Up #2 (by Robert Kirkman and Scott Kolins.) This version of Tony is from a world where the Skrull supervillain Titannus kidnapped the Avengers to the planet Trellion, slaughtering many of them. Under such harsh conditions, Tony's moral compass eventually broke, and he became a far more extremist figure, battling Reed Richards (who he viewed as a major threat to what remained of humanity.) He eventually traveled from his home dimension to the mainstream Earth-616, where he fought a variety of heroes while also warning them of the coming of Titannus.

The Iron Maniac's armor looks very similar to Doctor Doom's - to the extent that the mainstream Reed mistakes him for Doom when he arrives - however he doesn't claim that identity, still seeing himself as Iron Man. Once the case of mistaken identity was resolved, Iron Maniac switched to a purple and gray Iron Man suit which he created out of a robotic Life Model Decoy of the supervillain Diamondback (a former love interest of Steve Rogers.) He was eventually defeated using a fragment of cosmic cube.

Also like Doctor Doom, the Iron Maniac has severe burns on his face, eventually revealing that they came from a battle in which he killed Johnny Storm's Human Torch.

In this story, Tony Stark fully, officially becomes Doctor Doom, taking on the codename and armor.

Related 17 Evil Versions of Iron Man Who Put an Awesome Twist on Tony Stark's Armor Many villains (including alternate version of himself) have donned Iron Man's armor, & the twists they add are awesome. Here are the 17 coolest ones!

Iron Man Becomes the One and Only Doctor Doom

What If... Gives Tony Stark the Official Doctor Doom Codename

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Finally, a case where Tony fully, definitively becomes Doctor Doom. In 2010's What If? Iron Man: Demon in an Armor #1 (from David Michelinie, Bob Layton and Graham Nolan), Marvel fans get to see an alternate version of the story where Iron Man was forced to confront his alcoholism. The story sees the original Victor von Doom force Tony into a mind swap, stealing his life of privilege while Tony (in Doom's body) is kicked out of school.

However, Tony's genius allows him to rise in Latverian society, becoming the country's ruler and turning it into a major power in the world. When Doom decides to stamp out Tony's success, the two clash, wearing alternate versions of their armor - Tony having developed a gold and red Doctor Doom costume, and Doom wearing a silver and gray Iron Man armor. Tony wins out, but because Doom has utterly destroyed his reputation, he refuses to switch back, officially taking the name Victor von Doom (and Doctor Doom) as a force for good.

Related Marvel's Mission To Make Doctor Doom An A-Lister is Getting Ridiculous Doctor Doom has used the same strategy in Marvel Comics ever since the 80s - and it's getting old.

This story sees Tony fully, truly become Doctor Doom, with the official codename and familiar armor (albeit now with a different color scheme.) However, like the Iron Monarch origin, it also hinges on the existence of a pre-existing Doctor Doom whose identity and appearance Tony takes as his own. It's unlikely the MCU will opt for this kind of needless complexity, which makes a recent claim about the story the movies will use seem even more likely...

Tony Stark also became a villain as the Superior Iron Man, when his moral alignment was magically flipped during the AXIS event. While this version of Tony was a terrible person, he had no real similarities to Doctor Doom, and was more obsessed with making money and gaining acclaim than conquering the world.

The Ultimate version of Doctor Doom is the most likely to see an MCU adaptation.

Ultimate Doctor Doom Has a Twisted Origin (But He's NOT Tony Stark)

If 1 Marvel Writer Is to Be Believed, We Know How Tony Becomes Doctor Doom

In a recent post on X, Marvel writer Deniz Camp promised that "to understand Robert Downey Jr. as Doom, you MUST read Ultimates 4." This upcoming comic is set in the alternate Ultimate Universe, where Marvel history has been mangled and warped by a villain known as the Maker.

It's incredibly unlikely that Camp's claim should be taken literally - the Ultimate Universe already has its own Doctor Doom, with Ultimates #4 teased as his origin story. In this world, Doctor Doom is a heroic but deeply traumatized version of Reed Richards who was captured by the Maker and forced to help him mutilate the timeline. Doom has recently joined the Ultimates alongside this universe's teenage Tony Stark, hoping to defeat the regime that the Maker was able to create by changing the timeline.

Ultimates #4 Release Date: September 4, 2024 Writer: Deniz Camp Artists: Phil Noto Cover Artist: Dike Ruan The fate of the Ultimate Fantastic Four! Doom’s years of torture at the hands of the Maker finally catch up to him in this secret history of the real Reed Richards! And tensions rise among the Ultimates when Doom might be more fixated on recreating the life he should have had than the life he’s got… Featuring art by guest artist Phil Noto!

However, while it's Reed in the costume rather than Tony, it's possible that this is actually the narrative the MCU will use. In this world, Reed was captured by an unbeatable, time-traveling villain and tortured, having his destiny as a superhero destroyed and his family the Fantastic Four killed by his captor. Swap 'Reed' for 'Tony' and 'Maker' for 'Kang,' and it's easy to see how the movies could use this blueprint to introduce a Tony variant who was twisted and broken by terrible experiences, turning him into a multiverse-spanning villain (plus, connecting him to Kang would help to justify the time already spent on the time-traveling villain before Marvel's pivot to Doctor Doom.) This seems like the best bet for an MCU adaptation, but there's also the possibility of a curveball...

While Tony has become Doctor Doom before, Victor von Doom becoming the Infamous Iron Man is by far the more famous story...

Related The Fantastic Four's New Origin Is a Groundbreaking Rewrite of Marvel Lore Marvel is officially rebooting the Fantastic Four's origin, with a dark beginning that totally transforms their most iconic nemesis.

Doctor Doom Becomes the Infamous Iron Man

The MCU Is Getting a Tony-Doom, But Sadly Not a Victor Von Iron Man

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While there are many stories where Tony Stark becomes Doctor Doom, the more famous story is Doctor Doom becoming Iron Man. This happened most famously in Infamous Iron Man by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. Spinning out of Civil War II, this story saw a semi-redeemed Doctor Doom replace Tony Stark after his death, wearing a green and gray Iron Man suit with his iconic cloak, now in black. Marvel used Doom's time as a hero to show that even when he's trying to do good, his characteristic arrogance still dictates his actions, and he spent most of his time butting heads with other heroes before eventually returning to villainy.

Less famously, 2007's Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #25 - from Fred Van Lente and Cory Hamscher - also debuted a heroic Doctor Doom in "Doc Iron." A straightforwardly heroic character, Doc Iron fights an evil Reed Richards codenamed "Mr Devious." This Doom isn't Tony, but he does wear armor similar to the large, gun-metal gray Iron Man Mark I.

It's highly likely that Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom will be Doom Supreme in nature, even if not by name

Related Doctor Doom Only Has 1 Actual Superpower, But It Makes Him Scarier Than Thanos Doctor Doom is one of the most intelligent and formidable opponents in the Marvel Universe, but his chosen power makes him truly impossible to stop.

Doom Supreme Is THE Doctor Doom

A Multiversal Doom Opens Up One Final Possibility

While Marvel's 'Doom Above All' has nothing to do with Tony Stark, he is worth discussing given the direction the MCU is taking with its multiverse. Created by Jason Aaron and Iban Coello, the Doom Above All - aka Doom Supreme - is a version of Doctor Doom who beat his world's heroes and transcended his home reality, becoming a supreme force of multiversal evil. This version of Doctor Doom has defeated countless other variants and came as close as any villain before him to conquering the entire multiverse.

While this Doom is relatively new (debuting in 2021), the idea of one Doom being the biggest, baddest version in the multiverse is also likely to appear in the MCU. Having set up the idea of an infinite war between Kang variants in Loki, Marvel switching to Doctor Doom as its supreme villain will likely necessitate a version of the character who likewise operates on the multiversal level, rather than being just another supervillain. It's highly likely that Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom will be a Doom Supreme in nature, even if not by name.

Related Doctor Doom Rules the Marvel Universe Once Again in ONE WORLD UNDER DOOM Following the conclusion of Blood Hunt, Marvel Universe will submit to the will of the new Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Doom, in One World Under Doom.

The MCU's prior focus on Kang set him up as the perfect evil-doer who turned Iron Man into a monster.

Which Story Will the MCU Adapt?

It's Likely the MCU's Doctor Doom Is a Corrupted Tony Stark

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Ultimately, we can't know which comic story (if any) the MCU will adapt, however it certainly seems that the example set by Ultimates and Iron Maniac are more likely, at least in the broad strokes. The other stories on this list hinge on a pre-existing Victor von Doom; an element that is needlessly complicated for the movies to introduce. The idea of Tony Stark being corrupted by another villain seems most likely, especially because the MCU's prior focus on Kang could set him up as the perfect evil-doer who turned Iron Man into a monster.

Avengers: Doomsday isn't releasing until 2026, so there's a lot of time for the movies to lay the groundwork for a Robert Downey Jr. Doctor Doom. However, if they follow the comics then one blueprint jumps out as the most likely - a variant of Tony Stark is beaten and corrupted by a major villain, preventing him becoming the heroic Iron Man and instead transforming him into the villainous Doctor Doom.

Source: Deniz Camp, Rob Liefeld