Warning: spoilers for this MCU Section 6 kickoff are in play.
A number of the greatest tales see the hero’s journey changed into one thing a lot darker. As The Improbable 4: First Steps brings the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 2025 films to an in depth, it additionally units the stage for the upcoming Marvel films of Section 6 – and past. Which implies Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars are on the horizon, with Robert Downey Jr’s return as Physician Doom promising a giant unhealthy for the ages.
Some individuals aren’t precisely thrilled with this casting, however I’m open to seeing how the previous Iron Man star makes his massive four-panel heel flip in 2026. You may not count on that, however a part of my happiness comes from the parallels between Marvel Studios’ 2008 origin story and The Improbable 4’s cinematic return. Let’s speak about why:
Reed Richards Completely Embodies Tony Stark’s Responsible Genius
It figures that Pedro Pascal’s Improbable patriarch can be the lighter mirror picture to Robert Downey Jr’s Physician Doom. As we see all through First Steps’ narrative, Reed Richards is conflicted about the truth that the house mission he and his household went on mutated them into their metahuman state. That’s the type of guilt that Tony Stark has shouldered all through the MCU, as each males count on themselves to suppose their manner out of any situation safely.
What actually snapped this comparability collectively was the second in The Improbable 4: First Steps the place the hero, also referred to as Mr. Improbable, is named out by Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) for “child proofing the world.” Listening to these phrases triggered reminiscences of Avengers: Age of Ultron’s “swimsuit of armor world wide” remarks that Tony Stark threw out.
Reed Tech Is The Stark Industries Of Earth 828
Fast query for you: who has a lavish New York tower that acts as a lab, headquarters, and dwelling house to die for? For those who answered, “the man with the indispensable robotic assistant,” you then’ve confirmed my level.
Reed Richards additionally lives like Tony Stark, inventing loads of the types of gadgets his Earth-616 counterpart (and his departed dad) would have dabbled in by way of a long time of historical past. Whereas it lacks the problematic arms dealing, ReedTech has the identical type of maintain on Earth-828’s financial system as Stark Industries does in its relative dimension.
Child screens, flying police automobiles, a ‘60s equal to hyperspace journey, and naturally, teleportation are all a part of the achievements The Improbable 4’s alternate 1965 advantages from. Reed Richards and Tony Stark are virtually company cousins at this level.
Johnny Storm Represents The Extra Informal Facet Of Tony
Turning again to the extra personality-based evaluation of The Improbable 4: First Steps, one other robust parallel comes from Joseph Quinn’s Johnny Storm. The younger heartthrob of the group, Johnny’s resemblance to Tony Stark’s mixture of bravado, knowledge, and woman chasing is one thing we noticed even earlier than getting eyes on the total film. You may thank the “Sunday Dinner” promo clip for that, which is proven under:
Watch On
Your entire household likes to “work the issue,” virtually adopting the phrases “we’ll determine it out” as a motto. Nonetheless, what pushes Johnny Storm over the road and into Tony territory is the truth that he tries to sacrifice himself to ship Galactus (Ralph Ineson) right into a wormhole meant to strand him.
These of you with a Disney+ subscription who need to examine my math, you possibly can skip to the top of The Avengers, and examine that point Tony Stark tried to tug an Armageddon fashion sacrifice – however fell again to Earth within the nick of time.
The Improbable 4 Are Seemingly The First Superheroes Of Their Dimension
Whereas the historic timeline within the MCU noticed heroes such because the Eternals and Captain America pre-dating Iron Man’s massive reveal, the discharge order noticed Tony Stark constructing the inspiration of this long-term juggernaut. In the meantime, in Earth-828, The Improbable 4: First Steps appears to put these heroes as the primary meta-humans of their dwelling base.
How else would you count on repeated primetime TV specials on The Ted Gilbert Present, celebrating their arrival? Moreover, after all, a simple supply of exposition that allowed The Improbable 4: First Steps to make some difficult cuts.
Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark might not have been the primary hero in his timeline, however he did encourage Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to revive The Avengers Initiative. After sitting in a desk drawer for at the least 13 years (per Captain Marvel’s chain of occasions), Tony did assist provoke the primary incarnation of Earth’s mightiest heroes.
As The Improbable 4: First Steps Opens MCU Section 6, It Units Up Huge Hype For An Evil Robert Downey Jr.
There very effectively could also be extra parallels I’ve missed on this comparability, however I believe I’ve confirmed my level. Tony Stark and Marvel Studios’ legacy have been renewed by way of the primary image in MCU Section 6. Over the course of the thrice I’ve seen the movie (thus far), the purpose that drove this whole dialog revealed itself to me: Robert Downey Jr. is one hell of a selection for Physician Doom.
As a James Bond fan, I can respect the “darkish mirror” plot system, through which a hero is confronted by their reverse quantity. Audiences used to seeing Downey because the heroically flawed and in-control Tony Stark are going to be in for a shock when seeing him play the Latverian determine that rejects every thing Reed Richards stands for.
To carry all of it dwelling, contemplate this: Robert Downey Jr. goes to be enjoying a Marvel Comics character that might carry his Academy Award-winning flip in Oppenheimer into the MCU. J. Robert Oppenheimer had Lewis Strauss, and now Reed Richards has his Physician Doom.
Consider what a person like that will be able to with sources and superhuman powers. With that situation in thoughts, be happy to revisit The Improbable 4: First Steps in theaters now, paying shut consideration to what clues could also be current in that Doom’d mid-credits scene.