by L.A. Mood Comics and Games

By Dan Brown

Some thoughts about two pieces of news emerging out of San Diego at Comic-Con International last week:

*Actor Robert Downey Jr. is returning to Marvel movies.

This time, however, he will be playing a villain – Doctor Doom – in a pair of Avengers sequels set for release in 2026 and 2027.

RDJ is well-known in a comics context for playing Iron Man from 2008 until 2019, when his character died – a battlefield casualty in the effort to defeat Thanos.

How, or even if, Marvel will explain why the same person who played Tony Stark is now the vaguely Eastern European Doom is anybody’s guess, although the multiverse concept gives the producers any number of plot devices to employ.

The question that popped into my head when the news broke was: Why would they hire Downey when Doom – as depicted in comics like The Fantastic Four – has a mask welded to his face? Unlike in the Iron Man movies, they won’t be able to show Downey’s head inside the new metal suit, yet presumably they want maximum screen time for the mountain of cash they’re about to pay him.

Fan reaction has been mixed. No surprise there. The naysayers complain that bringing Downey in at this point is a sign of a studio in retreat, going back to a talent associated with the glory days of its superhero movies. (I was surprised to learn Cillian Murphy, recently seen in Oppenheimer, is the Doom of choice for a large segment of Marvel fandom.)

Fans of RDJ just want more of the magnetic performer, any way they can get him.
“New mask, same task,” Downey said when he strode the stage in San Diego.

I thought he was a brilliant choice to play Stark, but that was because I had hoped Marvel would adapt the Demon in a Bottle storyline faithfully: Get an addict to play an addict. Then they glossed over that part of Iron Man’s backstory in 2010’s Iron Man 2.

Downey has a major acting challenge ahead of him, including making moviegoers forget how recent motion pictures and shows from Marvel were setting up Kang the Conqueror to be the next big baddie on the scene, until actor Jonathan Majors ran into legal trouble.

Meanwhile, at the distinguished competition . . .

*DC’s new logo is a familiar one.

The comic company known for such superheroes as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman announced in San Diego it will be returning to the same logo it used from 1977 to 2005 on its products.

Called the “bullet,” it features a circular design with four stars similar to a compass. It was originally designed by Milton Glaser, who also originated the “I Love NY” logo.

“Definitely for me, and many generations of fans, that particular logo defined DC in its heyday,” DC boss Jim Lee said, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
“I remember during the renaissance of DC in the 1980s, with Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns, The Shadow coming out, that was the DC logo. In the minds of many fans, that is the mark that defined the DC brand. It’s exciting to bring it back.”

The old logo is also associated with such high points from DC’s history as the George Perez/Marv Wolfman years on The New Teen Titans, Alan Moore’s tenure on Swamp Thing, and the 1989 Batman film.

It’s also linked to Crisis on Infinite Earths, the miniseries that relaunched the DC Universe. The company is now about to attempt the same feat with its stable of movies, wiping the slate clean again.

Not to overstate it, but a logo is an important part of branding, as demonstrated by the fact DC has had three different ones since 2005, none of which really stuck. DC is hoping to reconnect with a certain vintage of fan: people like me who were devotees of their characters in the 1980s

And how are these two bits of news connected? Both comic companies, in their own way, are going back to the future.

Are they smart moves?

That’s up to comic fans like you to decide.

Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 31 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel group.