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There’s nothing we love like a comeback, right? Why else would we look for them as often as we do? Sometimes, we’re jonesing for someone to make a comeback unconsciously, but when it comes to the shining stars in Hollywood, comebacks are as American as apple pie and ice cream on Independence Day. This week, even if you don’t think it’s true or merited, we may be watching a comeback happen before our eyes. To be fair, if you watched the MTV Movie Awards earlier this month (I apologize if you did, having watched the mostly terrible show myself), you saw the potential comeback of Tom Cruise being in earnest. Yes, if you see Knight and Day this weekend, you may be helping Tom Cruise’s career out.

I know what you’re thinking: isn’t Tom Cruise still kind of a big star? It’s hard to imagine, seeing as Cruise’s face is all over the tabloids, but his fall from grace came when he jumped up on Oprah Winfrey’s couch and went nuts about Katie Holmes, his future bride. No matter what your opinion is of Cruise or of his religious beliefs, it was as iconic a moment for the leading man as was his dancing in his skivvies in Risky Business. Knight and Day (and his appearance at the MTV Movie Awards as his Tropic Thunder character, Les Grossman) constitutes a major stab at being an action star again. Right now, there is a fourth Mission: Impossible in the works (directed by Pixar’s Brad Bird, of all people), but if Knight and Day flops, who can say? Maybe Tom can learn a few pointers from the people on this week’s A-List, about some great Hollywood comebacks.

Robert Downey Jr.

In some ways, Robert Downey Jr.’s recent surge to stardom is comparable to that of Johnny Depp. Both are and have always been amazing actors, always willing to do something different, never phoning in their work. Of course, Depp’s career wasn’t riddled with run-ins with the law, whereas Downey was seemingly always in and out of trouble, always coming in or out of rehab. Though he may not have seemed like the typical choice to play a iron-clad superhero, when said superhero is also a cheeky playboy who’s more than friendly with liquor, why not Downey? His starring role in the Iron Man series and his Oscar-nominated performance in Tropic Thunder helped vault the man into a potentially permanent spot as a superstar. Now, he’s not just a superhero, he’s also the world’s most famous detective.

Yes, Downey’s now an official blockbuster-creator, what with the two Iron Man films making more than $300 million domestically and the first Sherlock Holmes film with him and Jude Law (the second is slated to open in the 2011 Christmas season) earning over $200 million domestically. His future remains bright, as he’s in talks to play the Wizard in a new take on The Wizard of Oz directed by Sam Raimi. Could he relapse once again? This topic has been hashed and rehashed by so many writers, and Downey is so confident, so playful, so charming that it would be one of the worst news days to hear that he’s gotten back in trouble again. What’s more, as he’s gotten his biggest fame now that he’s sober, one would hope that he’s wise enough to know what not to do. Here’s to hoping he’s got a long career after only the one comeback.

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