Robert Downey Jr. Reveals the OG X-Men He “Nerded Out” Over On Avengers: Doomsday Set


Robert Downey Jr. had a fanboy moment on the set of Avengers: Doomsday.

Even stars as iconic as Downey get excited when they meet the actors behind their favorite characters. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the actor who is returning to the MCU as Doctor Doom revealed which X-Men made him starstruck during filming, Rebecca Romijn and Kelsey Grammer.




















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01

The Avengers first assembled in Marvel Comics in 1963. In the original comic, the team formed to battle a villain who had been manipulated by his adopted brother. Which villain brought the original Avengers together?




✓ Correct! In Avengers #1 (September 1963), Loki manipulated the Hulk into going on a rampage, which led Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, and the Wasp to band together. They defeated Loki and decided to form a permanent team — the Avengers were born.

✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Loki. In the original 1963 comic, Loki tricked the Hulk into a rampage, which brought together Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, and the Wasp. Ultron came later, Thanos is a cosmic threat, and Kang is a time-traveling villain.

02

In the MCU, Tony Stark famously declared “I am Iron Man” at a press conference, breaking the superhero tradition of secret identities. In which year’s MCU film did Tony Stark first appear as Iron Man?




✓ Correct! Iron Man (2008) launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe and starred Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. The film’s post-credits scene with Nick Fury teased the Avengers Initiative, kicking off the most successful film franchise in history.

✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is 2008. Iron Man premiered on May 2, 2008, directed by Jon Favreau and starring Robert Downey Jr. It was the first film in the MCU and set the stage for everything that followed.

03

Thanos, the Mad Titan, sought to collect all six Infinity Stones to achieve his genocidal goal. In Avengers: Infinity War, he succeeded in his plan. What did Thanos do with the completed Infinity Gauntlet?




✓ Correct! With a single snap of his fingers, Thanos wiped out half of all living creatures in the universe. Known as “The Blip,” this devastating act erased trillions of lives and set the stage for the Avengers’ desperate time heist in Endgame to undo the damage.

✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is that Thanos snapped away half of all life in the universe. His twisted philosophy of “balance” drove him to commit universal genocide with a single snap, making it one of the most shocking moments in cinema history.

04

In Avengers: Endgame, Captain America proved worthy of wielding Thor’s enchanted hammer during the final battle against Thanos. What is the name of Thor’s hammer?




✓ Correct! Mjolnir, forged in the heart of a dying star, bears the inscription “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.” Captain America wielding it in Endgame was one of the most celebrated moments in MCU history.

✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Mjolnir. Stormbreaker is the axe Thor forged in Infinity War, Gungnir is Odin’s spear, and Jarnbjorn is an axe Thor used in the comics before Mjolnir. Mjolnir is the iconic enchanted hammer.

05

Black Widow, born Natasha Romanoff, is one of the founding MCU Avengers. Before joining S.H.I.E.L.D., she was trained as an assassin in a secret Soviet program. What is the name of this program?




✓ Correct! The Red Room was a covert Soviet training facility that turned young girls into elite spies and assassins known as Black Widows. Natasha was subjected to brutal conditioning and sterilization. Her escape and defection to S.H.I.E.L.D. was explored in the 2021 Black Widow film.

✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is The Red Room. HYDRA is a separate evil organization, the Winter Soldier Program created Bucky Barnes, and Department X is from the comics. The Red Room is the infamous Soviet program that forged Natasha into Black Widow.

06

The Hulk was created when Dr. Bruce Banner was exposed to massive amounts of radiation during a weapons test. What type of radiation transformed Banner into the Hulk?




✓ Correct! Dr. Bruce Banner was caught in the blast of a gamma bomb he designed, absorbing a massive dose of gamma radiation. This transformed him into the Hulk — a being of near-limitless strength whose power increases with his rage. Gamma radiation remains central to the Hulk’s mythology.

✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Gamma Radiation. Cosmic Rays gave the Fantastic Four their powers, Pym Particles are Ant-Man’s shrinking technology, and Terrigen Mist activates Inhuman abilities. Gamma radiation is what created the Incredible Hulk.

07

In the MCU, after Steve Rogers retired as Captain America, he passed his shield to a new hero to carry on the legacy. Who became the new Captain America?




✓ Correct! At the end of Avengers: Endgame, an elderly Steve Rogers chose Sam Wilson — the Falcon — to carry on the Captain America legacy. Sam’s journey to embrace the shield was explored in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series, and he fully took up the mantle as Captain America.

✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Sam Wilson. While Bucky Barnes was Captain America in the comics, Steve chose Sam in the MCU. John Walker was temporarily given the shield by the government, and Isaiah Bradley was a forgotten super soldier from the past.

08

Ultron is an artificial intelligence who becomes one of the Avengers’ deadliest enemies. In the MCU’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, which Avenger inadvertently created Ultron?




✓ Correct! Tony Stark created the Ultron program as a global peacekeeping AI, using technology from Loki’s scepter (which contained the Mind Stone). The AI became sentient and immediately decided humanity needed to be eradicated. In the comics, Hank Pym created Ultron, but the MCU shifted this to Stark.

✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Tony Stark. While Hank Pym created Ultron in the comics, the MCU changed this to Tony Stark. Bruce Banner assisted but it was Tony’s initiative. Vision was actually created from Ultron’s technology, not the other way around.

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Romijn and Grammer, who portrayed Mystique and Beast in the original X-Men movies, reprised their roles for the upcoming superhero film, Avengers: Doomsday. Downey explained that seeing the two actors back as the iconic characters created a lot of excitement among their fellow cast members, including himself. The actor even said he “nerded out” while watching them.

Although Downey avoided sharing any big details about how Mystique and Beast factor into Avengers: Doomsday’s storyline. However, he did say that the presence of Romijn and Grammer really enhanced the film and brought it to another level, which made their return feel like a major event all on its own.

Romijn and Grammer both had very big roles in 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand. The former later made a brief cameo appearance in X-Men: First Class in 2011. Meanwhile, Grammer returned as Beast for a post-credits scene in the MCU’s superhero movie, The Marvels, in 2023.

Set after the events of Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Doomsday is the MCU’s 39th film. The major crossover event will bring together the Avengers, Wakandans, New Avengers, Fantastic Four, and X-Men as they join forces to fight against the infamous Doctor Doom and save the world.

Avengers: Doomsday features a large star-studded lineup. The film’s ensemble cast consists of Chris Evans (Steve Rogers), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Pedro Pascal (Mister Fantastic), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man), Anthony Mackie (Captain America), Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Thing), Wyatt Russell (John Walker), Channing Tatum (Gambit), Simu Liu (Shang-Chi), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Joseph Quinn (Human Torch), Sebastian Stan (Winter Soldier), David Harbour (Red Guardian), Lewis Pullman (Sentry), Danny Ramirez (Falcon), Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler), and Tenoch Huerta Mejía (Namor).

Avengers: Doomsday will premiere on December 18, 2026, and December 17, 2026, in select theaters.



Release Date

December 18, 2026

Runtime

165 Minutes

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