Paul Bettany has jokingly accused Robert Downey Jr. of stealing his legacy after the Oscar winner returned to the MCU as Doctor Doom. The jab came while Bettany promoted VisionQuest on Disney+, a series that keeps his Vision story alive. Bettany has been around Marvel since 2008, so he knows a thing or two about staying power. Downey, meanwhile, returned wearing a villain’s cape instead of Tony Stark’s armor.

While Downey settles into Doom’s throne, Bettany is busy filing a very polite complaint about missing titles, and the VisionQuest press tour is where the paperwork landed.

Paul Bettany says he briefly held the title of longest-running person in the MCU until Robert Downey Jr. returned as Doctor Doom. The comment came during a BBC Radio 1 interview with film critic Ali Plumb. Bettany first appeared as the voice of J.A.R.V.I.S. in 2008, then became Vision in 2015.

“He stole my legacy, as he has stolen so many other things from me," Bettany joked.

He then added, “Maybe I still outlasted him. We’ll see.”

The BBC Radio 1 chat took place while Bettany promoted VisionQuest, which also stars James Spader, Ruaridh Mollica and Emily Hampshire, with Terry Matalas as showrunner. Bettany is not on the announced cast list for Avengers: Doomsday, which reaches theaters on December 18, 2026. In a separate interview, he joked that confirming any role would get him fired, since those calls belong to Kevin Feige and Louis D’Esposito.

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While Bettany jokes about lost titles, Downey is discovering that playing the villain offers the best view in the house.

Robert Downey Jr., for his part, has made it clear that Doom currently wins the contest. Speaking to Good Morning America at D23, he named Doom as his favorite Marvel role for now. The villain seat finally let him step back and watch the entire ensemble, something he missed while carrying the franchise as Tony Stark. That is a rare admission from an actor who spent eleven years at the center of the MCU.

Downey also credited the people around him as a highlight. He credited getting to know Hayley Atwell better and his shared history with Chris Evans, and he teased that one key relationship in Avengers: Doomsday turns out to be exciting and unexpected. Atwell had already publicly backed Downey’s casting as Doom before these comments surfaced. For now, Downey has found what he was missing, and it comes with a villain’s cloak. Paul Bettany, meanwhile, is still waiting to see who outlasts whom.

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What are your thoughts on Paul Bettany’s playful jab and Robert Downey Jr.’s love for Doom? Let us know in the comments.