RDJ is Doom, Part Deux

It hasn’t been 48 hours since the big Marvel Hall H panel at this year’s San Diego Comic Con and I am already tired of the discourse surrounding the massive announcement that Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the MCU, but not as Tony Stark, the Invincible Iron Man, but as Victor Von Doom, aka Doctor Doom.

While the announcement was an incredible, all-time SDCC moment, there have been so many negative comments from the internet about it, and I do not see it decreasing any time soon. Even the online sources that I trust to be fair and balanced like John Rocha, Kristian Harloff and John Campea, can’t help but address the issue. While I trust them to be fair and balanced, there are so many online sources on YouTube and elsewhere that will spend constant chatter telling everyone how the MCU is dead or how this reeks of desperation. I am afraid that this is going to be a non-stop bitch-fest for the next two years. That’s not good for anyone.

When I first heard the rumor of RDJ as Doom, I dismissed it as silliness. I was not sure how that would work out and there are plenty of unsubstantiated rumors on the internet abut the MCU. I understand that things are not confirmed until I hear it from the mouth of Kevin Feige himself.

However, with the reveal at SDCC, things are different. I found myself very excited to see what Marvel Studios plan on doing and how they intend to make this work. I am a Marvel fan and I am willing to give them leeway. I have liked most of the things they have put out and a mistake or two can be permitted.

However, I am already irritated by the clickbaits on YouTube that say things like “Marvel has Gone too Far” or “MCU is Dead.” It is ridiculous. You have no idea what they are going to do with Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars and they are two years + away. Can’t we just believe in Kevin Feige, RDJ, The Russo Brothers and the machine at Marvel Studios? Do we have to spend all our time complaining about it and creating toxicity in the fandom? This is not Star Wars, for goodness sake.

Don’t misunderstand me. If you go and see Avengers: Doomsday and you do not like it and you think Marvel ruined Doom and that RDJ was a terrible choice, then that is your right. But to spread the vitriol two years before the film is released is just silly. I understand that negative stories create more clicks on their videos, but that does not make it okay.

I just needed to vent a bit about this. I wish we could have a fandom that was more positive than it has been. I do believe that most of the negativity comes from the internet where as the typical movie goers do not have the same kind of anger.

I am excited to see what Oscar winner Robert Downey Jr. can bring to the role of Doctor Doom and I am also excited about what the MCU team of Kevin Feige and the Russo Brothers can bring to these Avengers movies, since they last collaborated with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. That is four of the best MCU movies of all time and I choose to trust in this team that was able to create them.

2023 Joker/Hannibal Lecter/Mister Miyagi Award for Best Supporting Actor

The Joker/Hannibal Lecter/Mister Miyagi Award for Best  Supporting Actor

Previous Winners:  Patrick Stewart (Logan), Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals), Sylvester Stallone (Creed), Edward Norton (Birdman), Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club), Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained), Andy Serkis (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), Richard Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?), Robert Downey Jr (Avengers: Endgame), Sasha Baron Cohen (Trial of the Chicago 7), Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man: No Way Home), Ke Huy Quen (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

Best Supporting Actor. This is an important figure in the movie world since day one. I mean, you can’t have just one character in your film… it would get too dull.

We have a top 10 list of the best performances in a supporting role, according EYG.

#10. Joaquim de Almeida (Missing).

#9. Holt McCallany (The Iron Claw)

#8. Dominic Sessa (The Holdovers)

#7. Willem Dafoe (Poor Things)

#6. Jeremy Allen White (The Iron Claw)

#5. Harris Dickinson (The Iron Claw)

#4. Colman Domingo (The Color Purple)

#3. Ryan Gosling (Barbie)

#2. Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things)

And the winner…

#1. Robert Downey Jr. (Oppenheimer)

Robert Downey Jr. makes EYG history becoming the first actor to receive the Best Supporting Actor twice. He received this award in 2019 for his role as Tony Stark in Avengers: Endgame and now he is awarded the Joker/Hannibal Lecter/Mister Miyagi Award for his role as Lewis Strauss. Many believe that RDJ is the front runner for the Oscar, and, if he wins it, he would deserve it. His performance was some of the best work of his career.