"I’m the problem.": Robert Downey Jr.'s dark "Falling Down" moment in Doomsday that changes everything about Doctor Doom

In Avengers: Doomsday, the superheroes are going to face a common enemy, Doctor Doom, as they try to stop the multiverse from collapsing. This is the first time Doom is the main antagonist against four teams of superheroes. Moreover, since the trailers of the film have heavily teased that he's going to be the biggest threat we've ever seen in the MCU, there's quite the curiosity around his powers.

In a recent interview with Empire, Robert Downey Jr., who plays Doctor Doom, has revealed what exactly helped him understand his character. He also talked about the moment that changed everything about what Doctor Doom is going to be like in Doomsday.

Robert Downey Jr. says that Doomsday's Doom is much darker than we can anticipate

For Robert Downey Jr. to play Doctor Doom well in Doomsday, the actor had to understand and embrace who the character really was. One cannot simply categorize Doom as a villain or antagonist since there's more to him than that. As Joe Russo revealed in his interview with Empire, Doom is someone who has lost his son, and his grief plays a huge role in who he becomes.

Moreover, dark magic also plays a big role in his life and the character is ready to do anything to get what he wants. But irrespective of that, he is still the bad guy of the story, and there is one moment during filming when Robert Downey Jr. truly understood that. Downey recalled experiencing a moment of self-realization a few days into filming, which is similar to the realization of Michael Douglas' character, William Foster, in the climax of "Falling Down".

Downey said that in that moment, he realized that he was playing the antagonist/bad guy of Doomsday because all the heroes were on one side and he was on the opposite one. Downey said that he realized:

"I’m the problem."

He added:

"And then I leaned in, and it was just this glorious time."

He also teased what we can expect Doctor Doom to be like. Downey said:

"I like a bit of scorched earth..."

He then said that whatever people are imagining Doom might be considering, the actual extent would be ten times greater.

Thus, it is perhaps an understatement to say that Doom is going to be an extremely dark and twisted character. VisionQuest's finale revealed that he resurrected the Scarlet Witch and intends to use her power for his benefit.

Doctor Doom is himself a master sorcerer, and if he uses the Scarlet Witch's powers as well, one can only imagine how dangerous he will become. While Wanda/Scarlet Witch has been heavily suggested to be one of the Latverian witches we'll see in Doomsday, Marvel is yet to confirm the identities of all 3 Latverian witches.

Even if Wanda becomes one of them, there are two more Latverian witches whose power we can expect Doom to use as well. Thus, Doom is already extremely powerful and will become more so once he assembles his team.

Avengers: Doomsday will be released in theaters on December 18, 2026.