Robert Downey Jr. made a marvel when he built the cinematic version of Tony Stark/Iron Man for 2008's Iron Man. Using bits from the original comics, his own verve and swagger (there's a reason they cast him!), and inspirations for the real world, the gestalt creation that was the MCU Iron Man quickly folded back to revise how the character was portrayed in comics. 

Now, as we are here on the precipice as Robert Downey Jr. takes on his second MCU character in Victor Von Doom for Avengers: Doomsday (and presumably more), I see a possible lens RDJ could take with the character that could tie his Doom back to his Tony Stark, by going back to the man who inspired it all for him that first time around: Elon Musk.

How Elon Musk inspired Iron Man

While Elon Musk wasn't even born when Iron Man was first created, the South African-born businessman was top of mind for his futurist and anti-establishment ideals when development was underway for 2008's Iron Man movie. One of the film's screenwriters, Mark Fergus, has said that their rendition of Tony Stark was based on charismatic businesspeople of the day such as Musk, Donald Trump, and Steve Jobs.

"Elon’s name was definitely in the conversation as the guy who grabbed the torch," Fergus told Intelligencer in 2022. "Him, Trump, and maybe a little Steve Jobs. Trump was fun before he became president — he was actually kind of a goofy celebrity. Steve Jobs was always serious and angry; he never quite had that gift of the bullshit, the working the crowd that Musk has a real natural talent for. Musk took the brilliance of Jobs with the showmanship of Trump. He was the only one who had the fun factor and the celebrity vibe and actual business substance."

At the time Musk was relatively apolitical in public - not venturing into mainstream politics until 2016 when he publicly endorsed then-US Presidental candidate Hillary Clinton. Even then he largely remained above the fray, more focused on his business pursuits such as with Tesla, SpaceX, and The Boring Company. 

During the filming of 2008's Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. also gravitated towards the brash, billionaire industrialist - and even pulled director Jon Favreau into Musk's orbit.

"I met Elon through Robert Downey, who when we were doing research for the first Iron Man said there's someone I met or heard about that I want to go over and see," Favreau said in 2012. "We were filming, not very far away from [Telsa headquarters] - a few miles. He explained to me that it was a guy who's actually a rocket scientist, an internet millionaire, and we came down."

In Ashlee Vance's 2015 book Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, Vance recounted that "Downey appreciated that Musk was not a foul-smelling, fidgety, coder whack job. What Downey picked up on instead were Musk’s 'accessible eccentricities' and the feeling that he was an unpretentious sort who could work alongside the people in the factory. Both Musk and Stark were the type of men, according to Downey, who 'had seized an idea to live by and something to dedicate themselves to' and were not going to waste a moment."

Favreau filmed significant portions of 2008's Iron Man at a former base for Howard Hughes' Hughes Aircraft company, and made sure to subtly include a Tesla vehicle in Stark's on-screen workshop. So while the Iron Man movie had its roots in a brash industrialist of the past such as Hughes, while at the same time seeking out then-current brash industrialists such as Musk.

“After meeting Elon and making him real to me, I felt like having his presence in the workshop,” Downey told Vance. "They became contemporaries. Elon was someone Tony probably hung out with and partied with or more likely they went on some weird jungle trek together to drink concoctions with the shamans.”

Musk's inspiration for Iron Man grew for 2010's Iron Man 2, leading to a conspicuous on-screen cameo of Musk as himself in the film. Musk's SpaceX headquarters also doubled as the weapons factory for Iron Man 2 antagonist Justin Hammer. 

So not only did Elon Musk inspire the MCU Iron Man, but he also was involved in the building of an antagonistic version of a brash industrialist in the MCU. More on that.... well... now.

How Elon Musk could inspire Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom

Shortly after Robert Downey Jr. revealed that he had been cast as Doctor Doom for the next major MCU projects, the actor posted on social media a quippy explanation that fit perfectly in the brash vibes RDJ has become known for - but also gives a potential clue as to what's to come.

"New mask. Same task," wrote Downey. "What can I tell you, I like playing complicated characters."

"It’s dangerous to be a celebrity businessman. One scandal and it’s billions of dollars," Iron Man co-screenwriter Mark Fergus said. "People want their CEOs to shut up and be good, quiet figures who aren’t in the paper dating celebrities. Because shit can happen."

And by his definition, Doctor Doom is when shit can happen.

At his heart, Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man is someone who does what they feel is right, no matter the consequences - with a penchant for showmanship, and being unafraid of fame. At his heart, Doctor Doom is the same.

(And, that Doctor Doom suit of armor would be important for Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man given the character's reticence to touch things people hand him. Just sayin'.)

Keep up to date on Popverse's Marvel coverage, with these highlights:

• The MCU needs Anya Taylor-Joy's Magik in it (and not just for the X-Men connection)
• How Disney+'s What If...? is the moonshot for the next 50 years of Marvel Studios & the MCU
• Marvel Studios has accidentally created a new Phase that predates Phases 1 - 6: the MCU Phase Zero
• Overgrown children of the atom: Marvel's X-Men can't evolve past their '90s commercial peak
• The biggest outstanding questions of the Marvel Studios' movies & TV shows
• Donald Trump is the landlord for Marvel's House of Ideas
• Marvel Studios swapping out Doctor Doom for Kang offers the chance to jettison the Multiverse Saga
• What Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige is saying (and not saying) about the MCU X-Men franchise says a lot about the future of the Mutant Saga
• If Marvel is going to bring Loki back for Secret Wars, it's time to give him an upgrade
• In 2021, Sony's boss said people won't miss Spider-Man in its Spider-adjacent movie. Turns out, they do.