Tom Holland"s Spider-Man Fighting RDJ"s Doctor Doom Would Put A New Spin On A Classic Storyline

The MCU may be setting up a fight between Tom Holland"s Spider-Man and Robert Downey Jr"s Doctor Doom in Avengers: Secret Wars, putting a new twist on a classic Spidey storyline. Spider-Man 4 was recently confirmed with Destin Daniel Cretton set to direct and Holland expected to return. Marvel is likely reintroducing Spider-Man so he can play an important role in the next Avengers team-up. Spider-Man 4 doesn"t currently have a release date, so it"s unknown if he will return before or after Avengers: Doomsday, but he"ll likely be in 2027"s Avengers: Secret Wars.
His return means it"s possible that he could go toe-to-toe with Downey Jr"s Doctor Doom, a possible variant of Tony Stark. It will be Peter"s first time seeing Tony since his death in Avengers: Endgame, and it could be tough for Peter to fight someone who looks exactly like his old mentor. However, Spider-Man has a long history of battling villains with whom he has a personal relationship, and Downey Jr"s Doctor Doom would repeat a common storyline within this franchise.
Spider-Man Would Fight Another Mentor Figure With Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom Close One of the most unfortunate aspects of Peter Parker"s life is that many of the people he knows turn into his villains, especially his mentors. In 2002"s Spider-Man, Norman Osborn turns into the Green Goblin, forcing Peter to take down someone he saw as a father figure. The same thing happened in Spider-Man 2 when Peter had to fight Otto Octavius, whose scientific mind was corrupted after becoming Doctor Octopus. The Amazing Spider-Man repeated this theme as Andrew Garfield"s Spider-Man fought Dr. Curt Connors, who transformed into The Lizard.

Related 10 MCU Heroes Who Could Take Down RDJ’s Doctor Doom In Avengers: Secret Wars RDJ"s Doctor Doom will be the villain of the next two Avengers movies, and only a select group of heroes could defeat him in Avengers: Secret Wars.
1 Holland"s Spider-Man has been fortunate to avoid this dilemma, the closest being missing homecoming to send his date"s father to jail. Fighting Downey Jr"s Doctor Doom would force Holland"s Spider-Man to confront his old mentor, similar to what other Peter Parkers had to do. While Doctor Doom isn"t the same character as Tony Stark, seeing a character who resembles Tony will trigger a strong emotional reaction from Peter, who is still trying to move away from Tony"s shadow.
Fighting Doctor Doom Is The Perfect Way To Move Peter Parker's Story Forward

The "Home" trilogy was essentially an extended version of Spider-Man"s origin story. One of the main criticisms of this trilogy was that Peter Parker often felt like Iron Man Jr and audiences wanted to see a more independent Spider-Man. Spider-Man 4 will likely show Peter developing more autonomy as a hero, but fighting Tony, or a character resembling Tony, is a great way to develop Peter"s character. It"s a way for him to put the past behind him and show how he could outsmart his old mentor.
Additionally, Peter has faced a lot of recent tragedies, including Tony"s death, Aunt May"s death, and the loss of his relationship with MJ. It will be difficult for him to move on from recent events, but getting involved with the Avengers again to defeat Doctor Doom in Avengers: Secret Wars may be what Peter needs to move forward and show his worth as a superhero. There are plenty of storytelling avenues that Marvel can explore with Spider-Man fighting Downey Jr, and besides that, it would be awesome to see.

Avengers: Secret Wars Avengers: Secret Wars is the sixth Avengers film and takes place during phase six of Marvel's Cinematic Universe. The film will see several heroes from the prior phases return and battle against a cosmic threat to rival Thanos, and borrows elements of the Marvel Comics event of the same name.
Release Date May 7, 2027 Cast Kathryn Newton , Jonathan Majors , Mark Ruffalo , Benedict Wong , Hailee Steinfeld , Dominique Thorne , Anthony Mackie , Brie Larson , Simu Liu , Benedict Cumberbatch , Iman Vellani , Chris Hemsworth , Xochitl Gomez Franchise(s) Marvel Cinematic Universe Upcoming MCU Movies