Last week, the comic book world was shocked by the emergence of Riri Williams, the teenage girl who will become the new Iron Man this fall. However, she won’t be the only character to claim Tony Stark’s iconic role.
Via Comic Book Resources, Marvel has revealed that the star of its new Infamous Iron Man will be none other than Doctor Doom, one of the most famous villains in comics. After Doom’s stint as “God” during Secret Wars, he recently returned in the pages of Brian Michael Bendis‘ Invincible Iron Man run without his signature facial scarring. Doom has claimed to be seeking redemption, but can anyone really trust Doom to reform?
Marvels’s solicitation text for the first issue promises that “the greatest villain of the Marvel Universe will try something new. Where Tony Stark failed, Doom will succeed. What is Doom’s Master Plan?” This raise the obvious question about Stark’s fate following Civil War II. While Stark could endorse Riri as the new Iron Man, there’s no way that he would ever trust Doom to carry on his superhero identity. And how will Riri and Doom react once they know that both of them have claimed Stark’s role?
While we’ve theorized that Riri could eventually show up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we can probably safely rule out Doom’s appearance in the Iron Man armor even if 20th Century Fox and Marvel ever strike a deal about the Fantastic Four film rights. The entire concept seems similar to Marvel’s Superior Spider-Man stunt, which placed Doctor Octopus in Peter Parker’s body. And like that twist, Infamous Iron Man will likely have a limited shelf life before the status quo is restored.
Infamous Iron Man will be released this fall.
How do you feel about Victor von Doom as the new Iron Man? Let us know in the comment section below!
Image: Marvel Comics
