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Iron Man and Doctor Doom will both be played by Robert Downey Jr. in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the two Avengers characters have different power levels. After leading some of the MCU's biggest movies, it seemed like Downey was truly done with the franchise. However, he is set to lead Avengers: Doomsday's cast as Doctor Doom, adding another MCU role to his legacy. Given that Downey is the MCU's most prominent actor, several theories connecting Iron Man and Doctor Doom have emerged since his return in the upcoming Marvel movie was announced. A few of those include Downey reprising his role as Iron Man, be it through the multiverse or time travel, to defeat Doctor Doom. If that were to happen, here is how their powers compare: Iron Man's MCU Powers Explained Iron Man is the first main hero introduced in the MCU, joining the franchise all the way back in 2008. Throughout his journey in the MCU, Tony Stark went a long way from building his Iron Man armor in a cave with just a box of scraps. With every new MCU appearance, Iron Man's suits become increasingly more advanced. By the time of his tenure in the MCU, Iron Man's armors became famous for using nanotechnology. That not only allowed for quick suit-ups, but gave Iron Man a power boost and offered many creative combat maneuvers in the field. With his most advanced Iron Man armors, the hero was able to fight one-on-one against Thanos and surprise the villain. While that was not enough to beat him in their first encounter, Iron Man eventually managed to use the nanotechnology to steal the Infinity Stones from Thanos' Infinity Gauntlet without the villain noticing it. When Tony Stark wielded the power of the Infinity Stones, he briefly became the most powerful character in the franchise. However, his body could not take it, with Tony dying. As far as his abilities beyond the suit go, Stark is one of the smartest people in the MCU, if not the smartest. His feats range from creating Ultron and Vision to building several Iron Man suits to unlocking the key to time travel, and many more. As such, Iron Man is a dual threat, able to fight using his repulsors and weapons, as well as outsmart anyone. Doctor Doom's Marvel Comics Powers Explained So far, the only appearance we have seen of Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom in the MCU was in The Fantastic Four: First Steps' post-credits scene. However, he never used his powers, with Downey's face not even shown. Given that the MCU only teased the villain, we do not know how powerful he will be in the franchise. However, Marvel Comics shows the way. In the source material, Doctor Doom is also one of the smartest men alive, also serving as the leader of the nation of Latveria, which the MCU teased might be the case in the Fantastic Four movie. Doctor Doom is a genius inventor, creating Doombots, which are robotic copies of himself to serve him. Each of them fully believes they are Doctor Doom himself, making life harder for Marvel heroes. Aside from his genius-level intellect and highly durable armor, Marvel Comics' Doctor Doom is extremely powerful due to how the character is well-versed in magic. Victor von Doom's knowledge of the mystical arts recently got a boost, with Marvel making him the Sorcerer Supreme. It seems like Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom will also fuse technology and magic in Avengers: Doomsday and future MCU appearances, being faithful to the comics. That was revealed at the Disney 2026 Merchandise Expo that took place in China last September. The event described Downey's Doctor Doom as "a master of cutting-edge science and powerful magic" (via MovieWeb). Marvel Comics' Doctor Doom Is More Powerful Based on what we know about both characters, Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man is not more powerful than Marvel Comics' Doctor Doom. Given that Victor von Doom is also a master of technology and a genius like Tony Stark, the fact that only one of them is skilled in magic ends up giving Doctor Doom the advantage. Given that the description of the MCU's Doctor Doom revealed that he is also a master of technology and magic in the MCU, it stands to reason that Downey's Doctor Doom will be more powerful than Iron Man, though we can only know for certain when Avengers: Doomsday releases in theaters in December 2026. How Powerful Is Marvel Comics' Doctor Doom Compared To Other MCU Characters? If we expand the list of MCU characters who could go up against Marvel Comics' Doctor Doom, then the Scarlet Witch would be the biggest threat to him. As a reality-bending being who has the power to leave a path of destruction throughout the multiverse, Wanda Maximoff might be just more powerful than Doctor Doom, despite not being smarter.
