ScreenCrush: The Podcast! - Ironheart’s AI is a Big Dr Doom Clue

Episode Date: July 8, 2025

Ironheart may have just revealed exactly how Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom will be created in Avengers Doomsday. We just got a clue that perfectly ties Doom and Riri Williams into the entireMultiverse Saga, and makes everything connect going all the way back to Tony's demise in Avengers Endgame.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Previous projects like Avengers Age of Ultron, Captain America Civil War, Spider-Man far from home, Wanda Vision, Dr. Strange, in the Multiverse of Madness, and Agatha all along, all provided us with crucial pieces of evidence and clues that now with this final piece to the puzzle in Ironheart, we can perfectly explain how Tony Stark survived the snap and how he's been lurking in the shadows plotting his return. And hey guys, by the way, we've got some great merch up on our merch store right now, Screencrushmerch.com. We've got the I Hate You 3000 featuring this parody of Iron Man and Dr. Doom. We've also got this great shirt featuring Tony Stark giving life to Ultron,

as well as many other great Marvel-inspired parody shirts, such as our new Fantastic Four Line. We are also running a 20% off summer sale, so be sure to get your merch now. So in the comics, Riri Williams has a strong connection to Tony Stark and Iron Man, a far greater connection than the one that we are seeing in this series. despite them having said Tony Stark about 73 times in that first episode. Stark, Tony Stark, Tony Stark, Mr. Stark, Stark, Stark, Tony Stark, Tony, Tony Stark.

Oh, and I get it! I mean, they even have a completely unrelated character who is named Tony. I got Tony on line one. Anyway, in the comics, Ruby has a holographic artificial intelligence of Tony Stark that mentors her. In this series, however, they have swapped the Tony AI for the AI of her late friend, Natalie, who is also from the comics. Now, despite this series skipping over Riri having a Stark AI, we do think that this mysterious creation of Natalie will explain how the Tony AI will still come into play,

as well as a connection to Mephisto. So in the comics, it isn't Riri who actually created the artificial intelligence of Tony. It was Stark himself. Now, Tony in the comics, as well as in the MCU, is notorious for creating advanced AIs. We've seen Jarvis, Friday, Edith, and of course, Ultron. Don't compare me with Stark. Now, in the comics after the events of Civil War, Tony is in a coma, but before falling

into that coma, he uploaded a carbon copy of his consciousness to the cloud and created an AI of himself. And I mean, that is such a Tony Stark thing to do, and it's likely that he did the exact same thing in Ingame. Let me explain. In Avengers Endgame, after Tony snaps his fingers to stop Thanos and he dies, at his funeral, see a holographic message projected from his helmet that he pre-recorded in the event of his untimely death.

Then again, that's the hero gig. Part of the journey is the end. This holographic projection of Stark is identical to his AI from the Iron Heart Comics. An AI that I should mention had the exact same flaws as Stark himself by taking this freedom's-be-dammed approach to saving the world. Now some fans have even speculated on the possibility of this hologram from in-game not actually being a recording of Tony, but they theorized that it could actually be an AI of Tony that he left behind to watch over his family and to eventually mentor his daughter in his

place. And that little direct eye contact wink that he gives Morgan after saying, I love you 3000, could have been our first clue to this being the case. I mean, think about it. If Tony anticipated that he might die during the time he made a farewell message, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if he also uploaded his consciousness and all of his knowledge and memories to the cloud. Maybe even using Mysterio's barf tech that we saw in Civil War. An extremely costly method of hijacking the hippocampus to clear traumatic memories. So we all know that Tony is a little full of himself and if he saw a way to cheat death he would probably take it. I mean he says as much here.

You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you I think I would just cut the wire. Tony would have his big-headed selfish reasons of not wanting to deprive the world of his genius, but I think he also fears leaving his daughter behind and him not being there to protect her. And we have to remember that Tony had a really complicated relationship with his own absent father. So he could feel guilty that here he is risking his life and potentially leaving his daughter behind with no father. And this could be what pushes him to create this copy of his mind. Now, while the snap and Tony's self-sacrifice,

was meant to represent him finally doing things Capp's way and laying down on that wire, it would be kind of ironically poetic that if in typical Tony fashion, he just had to find a way out. And in doing so, with noble intentions, he inadvertently created an AI that would go on to become Dr. Doom. So that's the theory? I mean, Dr. Doom is just a rogue AI, Attorney Stark? That's the plot of transcendence. You saw transcendence? I am a Morgan Freeman completionist.

I did not think much of Andy Guffrey the first time I was. I respect that, but no, that's not the theory. Well, at least not in its entirety. Doom being a rogue AI of Tony is a fun idea, but it's a little bland and predictable. However, Wanda Vision, Multiverse of Madness, and Mysterious Tech that we saw in Civil War, and in far from home, tease a way cooler connection between magic and science that is way more eerie and has an actual connection to the multiverse and the dark magic realm that we've been introduced to in shows like Agatha all along. And this is all connected to how Riri created Natalie and it is the reason that this series has a dark magic villain like

the hood. So we know that Riri set out to recreate an advanced AI like that of Shuri's from Wakanda Forever. Rio, what's the confidence rate? 98.7% Princess, would you like me to print the heart-shaped herb? Now to create this advanced AI, Riri connected her computer to her mind hoping to provide the software the necessary information for constructing a mind more similar to that of the human brain than a standard artificial intelligence. Kind of like how Tony used the Mindstone to create an AI as advanced as Ultron, and then eventually vision. The Mindstone, by

the way, which we know has a connection to the multiverse, the same way that the human mind has a connection to the multiverse, which was confirmed in WandaVision and in Multiverse of Madness. I'll give you a quick refresher on that here in a sec. So I think that Riri is likely using tech similar to Tony's NeuroTech that we saw him develop in Iron main three. Essentially, you're hacking the genetic operating system of the organism. As well as Mysterio's barf tech that I mentioned a second ago. The holographic system I designed, a revolutionary breakthrough with limitless applications that Tony turned into a cell therapy machine and renamed barf.

Now, that barf tech was specifically designed to quote, hijack the hippocampus and access your memories. We know that Rearie's memories were certainly a huge part of the creation of the Natalie AI. I just want to be happy. But Natalie is far more detailed than mere memories, and we have to remember that Riri was not awake for this brain scan. She wasn't simply reminiscing. She was dreaming.

And what do we know about dreams in the MCU? They are a direct connection from your mind to the multiverse. Dreams are windows into the lives of our multiversal cells. In episode two of Ironheart, we see that Riri is very perplexed by the detail and accuracy of this Natalie AI. She knows that, yes, the brain scan can access her memories, but what she doesn't know is that while she was dreaming of her dead friend She was actually opening a door to the multiverse. We know that when you dream you see the multiverse You see your variant selves and the world around them just like dr. Strange He saw his variant self and America Chavez

Last night you were in my dream That wasn't a dream. It was another universe Or an even better example is like how Wanda saw her children in her dreams and her dreams and And then when she created her hex, her children looked and acted exactly like her real children from other universes. Wanda, you have no children. They don't exist. Oh, but they do in every other universe. Wanda didn't just create these kids like you would create a character for a piece of fiction. No, she saw and experienced her children in her dreams.

And their souls were created as a result of peering into the multiverse while dreaming. And in doing so, she created carving copies of these exact same kids within her hex, which was essentially a virtual reality of sorts. And we think that the same is most certainly true for Riri and Natalie. Natalie is not just once in zeros. She is something else. We think Riri, like Wanda, has created a soul or perhaps even pulled a soul from the multiverse. Remember, the Billy and Tommy that Wanda created have souls, and that is well established in Agatha all along. Am I killing this voice and my brother can live. And what other Ironheart connection did we get in Agatha all along?

Mephisto. Now, it has been widely reported by very reliable sources that Sasha Barron Cohen will be appearing in Ironheart as Mephisto, essentially Marvel's devil, a villain notorious for taking ownership of souls. Now, with this series bringing together the science realm and the magic realm, something that the multiverse saga, I have to admit, has really thrived at. The Loki series especially did a brilliant job at combining actual quantum physics and multiverse theory, with more magical things like Loki giving life to the multiverse via his magic. So just to recap, Multiverse of Madness confirms that the mind has a direct doorway connection to the multiverse.

WandaVision proves that souls can be created by borrowing from the multiverse via that same mind's door. And Mysterio's Barthag proves that there is technology that can access this same door. So how does this tie into Doom? Well, we know that Riri Williams respects the hell out of Tony's Stark and his legacy. We know that she has also been expelled from his alma mater, MIT, and we know that Pepper Potts, the CEO of Stark Industries and Tony's wife, is still actively running the company. If Pepper were to become aware of this young woman who pulled herself up by her bootstraps

and made a fully functioning Iron Man suit, I think that she would take interest in Rearri's career. Especially if come the end of this series, we see Rearie like make the news after, I don't know, she saves the city from a second Ironmonger or Mephisto or, I don't know, Whatever the final battle ends up being, it's Marvel, I'm sure we'll have a big CGI battle at the end. Anyway, when Pepper finds out that Riri was expelled from MIT and had to commit crimes to get the money, to make the suit in the first place, I think that she will step in, and maybe she'll reach out and offer Riri a position at Stark Industries and fully fund her future in vengeance, viewing Riri as an important piece of continuing that Stark legacy.

Or maybe Pepper will pull a few strings at MIT and get Riri back in by making a generous donation to the school on the condition that a portion of the funding go to Riri's projects. So anyway, when Pepper and Riri meet, I think we would hear them talk about Tony. Pepper would reminisce about all the times she found Tony in compromising positions, tinkering around in his lab, and Riri would probably say that her mom has done the same thing with her. I think Riri would then ask Pepper questions about Mr. Stark, and as Pepper shares stories about Tony, we will see a tear come to her eye. And this is when Riri will show Pepper one of her greatest inventions that she's still not quite sure how she pulled off, Natalie.

Pepper will be impressed and talk about how Tony had some AIs of his own, and she may even caution Riri about tampering with AI. But Riri will then explain how Natalie is more than AI and that she's still not quite sure what she is. Riri will then offer Pepper the opportunity to try and create an AI of Tony by connecting Pepper's mind to the computer the same way that Riri did when creating Natalie. Pepper, however, will decline and say that she is at peace with her loss of Tony and wants to let him rest. You can rest now.

And then that could tie back into how Pepper is there to let Tony rest while simultaneously finding other inventors like Rere to continue that legacy. I think Pepper would also emphasize the fact that they have never had much luck with tampering with AIs, and this is when she could make a reference to Ultron and the currently MIA vision from the end of Wanda Vision, which would give us a nice little tease for what's to come next InVision Quest, which also features the Return of Ultron and other Stark AIs, and takes place in Phase 6 alongside Avengers Doomsday. And I think that show being in Phase 6 is another piece of evidence suggesting that

AIs will have a big role to play in this final phase of the saga. Anyway, Pepper will decline, but a nearby eavesdropper will be intrigued by Rearie's proposal, Morgan Stark. I love you 3000. Morgan Stark, who we met in Avengers In Game as a child and then all grown up in this deleted scene from English, from in-game when Tony has his Soulstone vision. I'm happy we had the time that we did. I could see Morgan being a lot like her father,

a super genius and compulsive tinker who wants to fix everything. And when she thinks that she has discovered a way to bring back her father, she'll do it. And remember, Tony had dreams about Morgan, meaning that he saw her in the multiverse. I dreamt. We had a kid. So real. We named him after your extensurate uncle.

What was his name? Morgan. Frames and windows into the lives of our multiversals. And I think it's safe to say that the vision that he had with the Soulstone was him seeing her again as an adult in the multiverse and now I think they are going to tie that all back together and have this grown-up Morgan Stark have the same vision. She will see her father and little does she know this vision of her father is a peak into the multiverse. In that deleted scene he even says, I love you 3000. Which is also what he says as the hologram. I love you 3000. I think that Morgan will be filled with a lot of lot of grief and rage for the loss of her father. And with her goal of bringing him back, we could see those emotions bleed into creating a very different version of Tony. Perhaps this variant soul that Morgan will pull from the multiverse was never actually Tony Stark.

Remember, variants don't have to share a name, a similar life. Hell, they don't even have to look alike. They're a shit ton of different kings with different names and different backstories. And the same could be true for this guy that we know as Tony Stark. I've talked before here as well as on my personal channel about the possibilities of Tony Stark not actually being Tony Stark. And Ryan recently did a great theory video on this as well. That theory being that the guy that we know as Tony was actually born as Victor von Doom, but was then adopted by the Stark's. And this theory stems from this scene in Avengers Endgame where Tony seems super perplexed that his mother is pregnant with him at this time.

My wife's expecting and too much time at the office. How far long is she? I don't know. We think that following the Stark's having a miscarriage in losing their baby, they decided to then adopt or perhaps even steal a newborn Victor von Doom from his mother and name him Tony Stark. And perhaps they even try to hide the fact from the world that they miscarried and they try to pass off this adopted baby as their genuine biological child. And perhaps to make that cover up work, they even killed Doom's mother.

And if you're an avid comic reader and fan of Dr. Doom, you know that one of Doom's main goals is saving his mother's soul from the clutches of Mufisto, yet another connection to the Iron Heart series. So anyway, Morgan would go through the same process as Riri when she created Natalie. And we would then see Morgan be woken up from her dreams by a holographic recreation of her late father. But little does she know that she has pulled a dark variant soul from the multiverse, perhaps even from hell itself. And she has given this soul a new body in the form of an AI, making him essentially the very thing our Tony always wanted, a suit of armor around the world. And him being an artificial intelligence would give Tony, or Doom, rather, the ability to be

everywhere at once. He could command his Iron Legion, or his Doom bots, I should say, by being all of them at once and having no physical form, and no one truly being behind any of these iron masks. Can you imagine a scene where they like defeat Doom and then they realize no one's in the armor? Or they take off his mask and there's no face in there? Coward. That would be insane. And we could see this AI of Tony Doom view this as his opportunity to truly save the world and that he was the missing piece to this equation all along.

Now, this idea of souls pulled from the multiverse by tampering with dark magic and then getting new bodies, that was all set up in Agatha all along when Billy's soul takes over a formerly deceased body. Tommy! And we've also seen Doctor Strange inhabit a corpse of his variant self and multiverse of madness. I think that we could see this Tony Doom AI-Soul hybrid thing do the same thing by inhabiting or dream-walking into the dead corpse of 616 Tony Stark.

Spider-Man far from home did already tease this in Mysterio's allusions to Peter when we see a zombie Iron Man. Imagine this Tony Doom AI feeling that he lacks a connection to his daughter because he's just ones and zeros and doesn't have an actual flesh body. In an attempt to persuade Morgan and Pepper and the others to follow him, he could inhabit this rotting and mangled corpse of 616 Stark, his variant self, hoping that he will come off more human. And hey, I mean, this wouldn't be the first time that the MCU dug up a dead hero. But you seem incredibly passed away. Now, this monstrous face-scarred and decaying Tony Doom will be repulsively terrifying and have the exact opposite effect that he hoped for, leading to Morgan to completely shut down the AI, but the soul would survive because it would now be trapped in this resurrected corpse.

And him being a corpse and having that scarred face from when he snapped, that could explain why this MCU version of Doom always wears his mask and remains in his armor because he is disgusted by his inner self, just like in the comics. And we could even see him go the path of learning sorcery to bring life back into this corpse, kind of like they did with Palpatine and Rise of Skywalker. I think this would perfectly all tie together the science and magic realms that the multiverse saga and this series, Ironheart especially, have been setting up as well as the upcoming Vision quest that is a bit of a quasi sequel to Wanda Vision and Agatha all along, finally giving us the connection that we've been looking for between all of these projects and giving us a clearer picture of what's to come.

But hey, that's just my theory. Let me know yours down in the comments below. And if you're new here, please feel free to subscribe, hit that bell so you get notified every time we upload a new video. For Screen Crush, I'm Colton Ogburn.