Robert Downey Jr. As Iron Man
One casting choice that fanboys were extremely opposed to, but actually had some decent reasoning for, was Robert Downey Jr. being cast as Iron Man. While these cries of anger weren’t quite as passionate as those for the Batman characters on this list, people were still pretty peeved that the guy with a rap sheet filled with drug charges was going to be Tony Stark. Aside from his drug problems, he simply didn’t have the sort of career that would get people excited about his role as Iron Man.
It wasn’t as if he had taken time off or been in a lot of horrible movies. Downey Jr. had a lot of decent roles in a lot of decent movies, but nothing at all, at least since his younger days, that would indicate he had the talent to eventually become the cornerstone of the new Marvel cinematic universe. Yet again, the haters who didn’t give him a chance at succeeding were wrong. Very wrong. Downey Jr. embodied the character to such a point that Iron Man, who was never one of the bigger Marvel characters, now has a popularity that rivals that of the Hulk, Captain America, and even Spider-Man.
Now, five years after the first Iron Man released, most fans can’t even dream of seeing anyone else in the role. Any actor who is brought up to fill Downey Jr.’s iron boots is greeted with a greater fury than that which was directed at the current Tony Stark once upon a time (see: Mark Wahlberg). Downey Jr. won’t continue with the role forever, he’s made that clear, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a fanboy who will be glad to see him go.