"Why would you just make him an Iron Man variant?": Fans react to Feige calling Doctor Doom 'the most iconic Marvel villain'

Doctor Doom is one of the antagonists in the Marvel comics who will be seen in the forthcoming superhero film Avengers: Doomsday. The film is being directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, marking their return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

It is slated to release theatrically on May 1, 2026, and has Robert Downer Jr. portraying the villain, Victor von Doom aka Doctor Doom. Ahead of its release, Marvel chief Kevin Feige has declared Doom as the most iconic villain. This has led to several reactions on the internet and one of them reads,

"Why would you just make him an Iron Man variant?"

Netizens react to Kevin Feige calling Doctor Doom Marvel's most iconic villain

At the recently held CinemaCon 2025, a video was released from the sets of Avengers: Doomsday where Marvel chief Kevin Feige called Doctor Doom the most iconic villain of Marvel. He said:

"In 'Doomsday,' we've got the Avengers, Thunderbolts, Wakandans, Fantastic Four, and even the original X-Men. And they will all face off against Marvel's most iconic villain, Doctor Doom, played by Robert Downey Jr."

This did not sit well with some users on the internet who showed up on Reddit to express their views. One user called Doom a variant of Iron Man. They said:

"my brother in christ then why would you just make him an iron man variant."

Reddit users talking about Kevin Fiege's comment | Image via Reddit

A user reacted to this comment and said that they are praying the makers don't do this.

"I’m praying they don’t do this. Sort of like when we thought Ben Kingsley was going to be the mandarin"

Another person mentioned Magneto as a Marvel villain.

"I immediately think magneto when I think marvel villain. It's probably just because of the time period and characters I followed mostly."

More about Avengers: Doomsday

Avengers: Doomsday will be the 5th Avengers film and 39th in the overall MCU. The Russos are returning to the franchise after Avengers: Endgame. The film is being produced by the Russo brothers and Kevin Feige.

The film will have several X-Men characters among other superheroes. This includes Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm), Anthony Mackie (Captain America), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes), Rebecca Romijn (Mystique), Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man) and Robert Downey Jr. ( Doctor Doom) among others. Interestingly, RDJ portrayed Iron Man in the earlier phase of MCU.

What are your thoughts on Feige's comment?