The comic book world went nuts as Kevin Feige announced who would be playing Dr. Doom in the MCU at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday, July 27 – none other than Robert Downey, Jr. Let’s take a look to see how the market reacted to this surprising news.

What is Going On with Dr. Doom?

Give the MCU credit for throwing a twist into preconceived notions of their movies. Besides bringing back the Russo brothers to direct Avengers 4 & 5, Kevin Feige revealed that Dr. Doom will be played by Iron Man himself, Robert Downey, Jr. And, while the fifth Avengers film will still be called Avengers: Secret Wars, the fourth film has changed to Avengers: Doomsday. So, with Downey playing Doom, will it be a Tony Stark version of the character or the traditional Victor von Doom version?

Infamous Iron Man

Clearly a chunk of the collecting universe is speculating on Dr. Doom being a Tony Stark from another timeline. Sales of Infamous Iron Man #1 from 2016 absolutely exploded in the back issue market. The issue, which marks von Doom donning the Iron Man armor, saw a tremendous spike in sales volume with 43 graded copies selling within less than 24 hours after the announcement. Keep in mind that it had been almost a full month since any graded copy had sold, a 9.8 going for $71 on June 29.

With a fairly recent book like this, the focus is clearly on 9.8 graded copies, although multiple grades sold. There are 758 graded copies in the CGC census overall with 558 in the 9.8 grade, and 24 of the 43 sales were of 9.8 graded copies. While the average price paid on the first day was $150 for a 9.8, the first four sales were in the $75 to $100 range. The most recent sales were in the $250 to $300 range with $300 being the record price so far. There may be room for Infamous Iron Man #1 to climb a little higher but past market reactions to MCU news show that the peak is likely soon and will be followed by a dip. Your best bet if you really want a copy is to wait a week or two and then see how prices have adjusted.

Exiles

Another fairly recent book that garnered attention from collectors was Exiles #23 from 2003, sporting a cover depicting Iron Man wearing Dr. Doom’s cape. It’s an interesting case due to the fact that there are no graded copies in either the CGC or CBCS census. Activity on eBay shows 14 raw copies moving in 24 hours and multiple sets containing the issue selling quickly as well. There are likely a fair number of copies sitting in dollar boxes in comic shops and at shows, so if you act fast, you should be able to find a cheap one. Expect census counts of graded copies to rise quickly for this book.

Doom's First Appearance

No Dr. Doom news is complete without some movement in Fantastic Four #5. One of the biggest Silver Age risers during the COVID comic boom, Doom’s first appearance has taken a bit of a hit like many Silver Age keys over the past couple years. Since the Doom announcement, however, we’re starting to see some movement once more. There were five sales in the first 24 hours of graded copies ranging from 2.0 to 6.0. The 2.0 sold for $3,799, higher than any price since July 2023, but far below the 2022 peak price of $7,200. Meanwhile, the 6.0 sold for $11,700, it’s highest price in more than five months but still less than half of the $28,800 paid at the market’s peak in April 2022. While it’s doubtful this new MCU news will be enough to drive Fantastic Four #5 to previous highs, we will likely see an increase in sales volume and prices paid over the next month or so.

What are your thoughts on Dr. Doom in the MCU? Do you think Downey will play Stark or von Doom? Let us know below.