‘This is the state of Marvel’: ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ faces its first big problem as Robert Downey Jr.’s replacement refuses to stand up

Doomsday is coming, but it seems the Avengers are woefully unprepared. After Kang came and went, it’s now up to Robert Downey Jr. himself to become an even greater threat to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes than Thanos as he disappears behind the metal mask of Doctor Doom. It’s going to take the assembled might of every super still active in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga to defeat him, but unfortunately the Avengers — and Marvel — might have one major problem.

That problem? Who is going to be the new Robert Downey Jr. to defeat Robert Downey Jr. — i.e. which of the MCU’s heroes will get a promotion to fill the Iron Man role as the poster boy of the team? Due to the eclectic nature of Phases Four through Five so far, it’s hard to definitively say who the real lead of the franchise is anymore, which is why fans are tying themselves in knots trying to work it out.

X account @MCUFilmNews caused all the commotion when they asked the fandom “Who should lead the Avengers in ‘AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY’?” To provide some options, the four heroes highlighted were Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, Sam Wilson’s Captain America, and Pedro Pascal as his incoming iteration of Reed Richards.

Scrolling through the replies and the quote tweets, it’s clear that fans cannot agree on a single popular choice, with all four of the options receiving multiple votes. Like Strange, for example. After all, the good doctor is a master of the mystic arts like Victor Von Doom.

You know who else is good with magic, though? Scarlet Witch. It would be a heck of a redemption arc if she managed to come back from the dead to lead the Avengers to defeat Doom.

Others feel that, despite his youth, Spider-Man would be the best choice. Peter Parker certainly isn’t usually an Avengers leader in the comics, but maybe this would be the ultimate evolution for the MCU character.

Then again, just to play Mephisto’s advocate… What about Deadpool? He did say he wanted to join the Avengers…

Others are using this as a Thor’s hammer to beat the MCU with, arguing that this is a glaring omission with Marvel’s recent (lack of) planning that is about to bite them on the behind come Doomsday. Can Captain America: Brave New World begin to put that right?

Sam Wilson didn’t nab the most votes in this thread, but as even the negative comment above notes, it rests on his shoulders to fix the big Avengers issue ahead of Doomsday. So, in many ways, it would make the most sense for Anthony Mackie’s Sentinel of Liberty to take on the job of team leader. The lack of a strong connection between Tony Stark/Doom and Sam might mean it wouldn’t have the inherent drama of either Spidey or Mr. Fantastic being number one on the callsheet, but he may be the most logical candidate when considering Marvel’s upcoming slate. The MCU has a challenge ahead, then, but maybe it’s not, y’know, doomsday.