Like every year, there were plenty of big announcements made at San Diego Comic Con 2024. One of the most talked about announcements was Marvel announcing that Doctor Doom will serve as the next big bad for the Avengers in the MCU, and that Robert Downey Jr. will be playing him.

This should be something especially exciting. Doctor Doom is one of the coolest, interesting, and most beloved supervillains in Marvel’s arsenal, and Robert Downey Jr. is a fantastic actor. However, I’m having some trouble feeling that excitement. In fact, I’m really not loving this choice at all.

With Downey playing Tony Stark/Iron Man previously in the cinematic universe, this leads to a few issues. For one, this likely means that Doctor Doom will just be a Tony Stark variant from another timeline rather than being the standalone character of Victor Von Doom. The idea of an evil Iron Man is certainly a cool one, but Doctor Doom is much more than that. Making him evil Iron Man is a let down, a disservice to the character. I’m fully aware there have been a couple of short instances in the comics in which that was technically the case, but that’s far from what the character truly is and what fans have been wanting to see from him. Reducing a fan-favorite baddie to just an evil version of a character we’ve already seen is a massive letdown.

Downey’s career saw new life when he was cast as Iron Man. Other actors, like Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, and Tom Hiddleston, have become household names heavily due to their roles in Marvel movies. A role like Doctor Doom could have skyrocketed an up-and-comer’s career and made them a brand new iconic actor/performance pairing like Hugh Jackman and Wolverine, but now that spotlight is back on someone who held it for over a decade already.

On top of that, it lessens the impact of Downey’s MCU exit. His departure in Avengers: Endgame was extremely emotional and felt deserved. It was a grand exit that affected the rest of the rest of the franchise. Having him return, even as a different character, takes away from that level of emotion that audiences felt.

There’s also the issue that, in the comic books, Doctor Doom is Romani, and it’s served as a big part of his character. Yes, this Robert Downey Jr. version will likely just be a time variant, but having a white actor portray a character that could have led to some much-needed representation will probably lead to a lot of justified complaints.

Let’s not forget that this means that Doctor Doom is replacing Kang the Conqueror as the new main villain of the Marvel Cinematic Universe before Kang’s intended exit. Sure, the Kang arc is being left in a reasonable place that does have some closure, but he was being built up to being something the Avengers needed to take on together. Now, fans of the character won’t be getting that in favor of Doctor Doom. It feels a tad random and anticlimactic.

I say all of this as someone who has enjoyed and defended the recent Marvel projects that seem to regularly draw hate. This decision just seems like a massive mistake. It feels lazy and desperate. If you’re someone who’s excited by this choice, then that’s great. It’s just not one that I find any excitement in.

Read Next: How Star-Lord Can Return in the MCU