Fact Check: Did Black Sabbath Just Tease Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom Ahead of Avengers: Doomsday?
Robert Downey Jr. is heading back to the MCU not as its fallen savior, but as its next big bad — Dr. Doom — in a twist that makes Black Sabbath’s Iron Man feel like a chilling omen.
Marvel has a new curveball: the word in 2024 was that Robert Downey Jr. is heading back to the MCU, but not as the guy who snapped the universe back together. This time, the rumor mill says he is the guy in the metal mask: Doctor Doom. And because fandom cannot resist a good rabbit hole, people are pointing to Black Sabbath's 'Iron Man' lyrics as eerie foreshadowing of Tony Stark morphing into Victor von Doom. Yes, it is wild. No, it is not without receipts.
RDJ back... as Doom?
The claim is simple and spicy: Downey returns, but not as the fallen Avenger. Instead, he steps into Doom, one of Marvel's great capital-V Villains. Add to that a recent tease of Doom in a post-credits stinger for 'Fantastic Four: First Steps' and you can see why theories are multiplying.
The Black Sabbath thing (that maybe should not work, but kind of does)
Quick context: 'Iron Man' the song was written by Geezer Butler and sung by Ozzy Osbourne back in 1970. It came after Marvel's Iron Man was already a thing, and it is not literally about Tony Stark. Still, the MCU rewires source material all the time, so fans are mapping the song's imagery onto a Stark-turned-Doom arc. The lyrics do some heavy lifting:
"I am Iron Man."
"Is he alive or dead? Has he thoughts within his head?"
"When he travelled time, for the future of mankind."
"Now the time is here, for Iron Man to spread fear... Vengeance from the grave, kills the people he once saved