Magneto. Green Goblin. The Kingpin. All are among the most iconic Marvel Comics villains. But the greatest Marvel villain of all time is easily Victor von Doom, better known as Doctor Doom. And after three middling attempts at bringing him to the big screen, none other than Robert Downey Jr. will now play him in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. (And quite possibly in The Fantastic Four: First Steps as well). In the comics, he started out as a Fantastic Four villain, but he went on to become an antagonist to the Avengers, the X-Men, Spider-Man, and just about the whole darn Marvel Universe.
Fantastic Four #5 is the First Appearance of Doctor Doom
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1962 early in their legendary run on Fantastic Four, Doctor Doom was intended to be the team’s ultimate nemesis. He first appeared in Fantastic Four #5, instantly alerting the team of his genius, thanks to the invention of a time travel platform. Although he was instantly popular with readers, it would be two years before Doctor Doom’s origin story was revealed, in Fantastic Four Annual #2.
The Origin of Doctor Doom
Victor von Doom came from a tribe of Romani people in the fictional Eastern European nation of Latveria. During his childhood, the cruel aristocrat Baron Vladimir Fortunov was Latveria’s ruler. Victor’s mother was a witch named Cynthia von Doom, who the demon lord Mephisto killed when Victor was very young. Victor’s father, tribe leader Werner von Doom, also had extensive knowledge of medicine and arcane practices. When the Baron’s wife began to suffer from an incurable form of cancer, the Baron forced Werner von Doom to come to his castle and cure her. When he couldn’t save her, the Baron declared him a murderer, sentencing him to death. Werner escaped with young Victor, but died from exposure in the forests of Latveria. Victor survived, vowing revenge on the Baron for his cruelty.
Doctor Doom’s Rivalry with Reed Richards
Eventually, young Victor returns to his Romani tribe, where he learns the truth about his mother Cynthia’s witch status. He finds some of her spell books and magical instruments, and learns how to use them. He uses this knowledge to protect his people. Already a genius, Victor combined his scientific know-how with the teachings of magic, hoping to master both. His accomplishments in creating technological devices years ahead of their time became famous. Eventually, he drew the attention of those in the United States. The dean of Empire State University recruited him to study there, hoping he would become an asset of the government. Seeing an opportunity to gain access to sophisticated equipment and state-of-the-art laboratories, Victor agreed to leave Latveria and study in America.
By the time the young Victor came to Empire State University, his ego was already unchecked. Because of this, he became rivals with the only other student at the university whose mind matched his own—Reed Richards. Even though he respected Reed, he always reminded him that his own intellect was the superior one. While at Empire State, Victor built a machine to breach the realm of the dead, so he could communicate with his beloved mother. Reed attempted to warn him the machine was faulty, and needed more work before he used it. Victor dismissed Reed, and attempted to activate it regardless. The resulting explosion scarred Victor’s face, although it was not a very large or disfiguring scar. Nevertheless, the egomaniacal Victor saw any blemish on his face as disfigurement.
How Doctor Doom Gained His Mask and Armor
After the accident, Victor von Doom was expelled. He journeyed across the globe looking to seek new insights that would allow him to perfect his machine. He eventually found himself in Tibet, and collapsed from exhaustion near the retreat of a clan of monks, who took him in. Victor soon learned all of the monks’ disciplines, gaining vast amounts of new knowledge. Victor forged a suit of armor for himself, with an intimidating iron mask, which he placed on his face before it cooled. This process truly disfigured his face, far outdoing the tiny scar he gained as a result of the lab explosion.
Doctor Doom Becomes the Ruler of Latveria
Now calling himself Doctor Doom, he began his quest for revenge in earnest. He returned to Latveria, deposing the Baron, and installing himself as dictator. He ruled from the Baron’s old castle, but he was just as much a tyrant as the Baron in every way. Doom renamed the capital city of Latveria, Hassenstadt, to Doomstadt, and Castle Sabbat to Castle Doom. Despite being a complete dictator, the people of Latveria not only fear him, but adore him with a cult like devotion. This is, perhaps, because Doom freed them from a far worse and more cruel dictator. To the Latverians, he’s practically a god.
Doctor Doom vs. the Fantastic Four
With a country at his disposal, Doom sought revenge against the man he believed was responsible for his misfortunes—Reed Richards, now Mister Fantastic of the Fantastic Four. Doctor Doom attacked Marvel’s First Family repeatedly, starting with his first appearance in Fantastic Four #5. Each defeat at the hands of his rival Reed Richards made him more bitter, and more obsessed with proving how his mind was superior upon their next encounter. Over the decades, the Fantastic Four has fought Doctor Doom and always won, yet Doom has always managed to inflict physical and psychological harm on his rivals.
The Marvel Universe vs. Doctor Doom
Doctor Doom clashed with just about every hero in the Marvel Universe, not just the FF. He tried to recruit Spider-Man, and attempted to turn the Hulk into his mindless servant. When the Avengers traveled to Latveria, this started a rivalry with that team, for daring to set foot in his homeland without permission. He saw any other genius intellect as a challenge to his superiority. Doom always had to be the best at everything. This led to making enemies with Iron Man (a master of technology), Black Panther (a master of science), and Doctor Strange (a master of the mystic arts). Doctor Doom simply couldn’t abide not being the very best at everything. Doom was even chosen as the primary villain for the DC/Marvel crossover Superman and Spider-Man.
Doctor Doom’s Powers and Abilities
Doctor Doom’s powers and abilities are vast, as he has a mastery over both science and sorcery. Doom’s armor gives him superior physical strength, enough to battle Marvel heroes like Iron Man and the Thing to a standstill. He can also fight Spider-Man and Captain America while wearing the armor and hold his own. His armor can generate concussive energy blasts, and create force fields. Like Iron Man’s armor, Doom’s suit allows him to survive underwater and in space for a limited time. Thanks to tutelage from a group of aliens called Ovoids, Doom can transfer his consciousness into other people. Doom has managed to absorb the powers of the Silver Surfer and even the godlike Beyonder, but his own hubris always leads to Doom losing those powers.
The Doombots
Doom’s scientific prowess led him to the create his Doombots, an army of robot duplicates that enforce his will. Thanks to their advanced A.I., over the years many Doombots have believed themselves to actually be Doctor Doom. The Doombots have enforced Victor’s rule in Latveria, and he often blames an errant Doombot for his own past failures. Still, an army of robots with his strength and memories has created a formidable army for him, even if they are often more trouble than they’re worth.
Doom’s Sorcery Skills
Thanks to his studying with the monks in Tibet, as well as a time learning under the sorceress Morgan le Fay, Doom is one of the most powerful magic users in the Marvel Universe. Even Doctor Strange conceded he’s as worthy of the name “Sorcerer Supreme” as he is. Among the magic abilities Doom has displayed over the years are the power of summoning demons, teleportation, dimension-hopping, and weather control rivaling (but not exceeding) the powers of the X-Man Storm. Doom eventually used his magical skills to venture into Hell itself to save the soul of his mother from Mephisto.
God Emperor Doom in Secret Wars
Doctor Doom’s crowning moment as a villain came in the 2015 version of Secret Wars. Although Doom temporarily gained the powers of the godlike Beyonder in the original 1984 Secret Wars, he wasn’t the primary villain of the series. In Jonathan Hickman’s 2015 reboot, after several incursions, every universe in the Marvel multiverse dies, including the “prime” 616 universe. Before his world falls, Doom steals the power of the omnipotent Beyonders, creating his own Battleworld from the remains of different realities.
Now cloaked in all white robes and wielding ultimate power, he declares himself God Emperor Doom. He removes the memories of Battleworld’s inhabitants so they don’t recall their old lives in the previous universes, and makes Doctor Strange his sheriff. He also replaces Reed Richards as the husband of Sue Storm, and father to his two children. Doom even commands his own Thor Corps, a police force made up of Thors from across realities, enforcing his will. After his defeat in Secret Wars at the hands of Reed Richards, Victor von Doom actually tried to redeem himself by becoming a hero. During a time when Tony Stark was presumed dead, Doom took up the mantle of Iron Man. He used a version of his armor that combined Stark tech with his own, including magical properties.
Doctor Doom’s History in Other Media
Doctor Doom has been portrayed in countless TV cartoons. These range from the 1967 Fantastic Four to the ‘90s Spider-Man and Fantastic Four shows. His live-action appearances have never been as faithful. In the 2005 Fantastic Four film, Doom (Julian McMahon) was the CEO of Von Doom Industries, and not Latverian royalty. It was in his space station that the FF gained their powers in a cosmic ray storm. Also present for the storm, he starts turning into organic metal and has the power to control electricity.
In the 2015 reboot Fantastic Four, Victor (Toby Kebbell) is a genius computer programmer who gained his powers when he journeys to a mysterious parallel dimension. On this world, he fused with his spacesuit and gained telekinetic powers. Both the 2005 and 2015 versions of Doom painted the character as almost a “fifth Beatle.” Someone who gained power at the same time as the Fantastic Four, but misused that power. This element is not in any mainstream Marvel comics.
Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom in the MCU
The only thing we know about Doctor Doom in the MCU is that he will be played by Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. As this is the Multiverse Saga, will this Doom be a variant of Tony Stark? The official Marvel announcement says he’ll play Victor von Doom, but the fact that Robert Downey Jr. is playing him suggests there’s more to it than that. Is Doom in the Fantastic Four’s alternate universe the physical doppelgänger of Stark, but not exactly the same person? The fact he’s playing Doom in an adaptation of Secret Wars suggests we may see RDJ as God Emperor Doom. It certainly would be interesting if the actor who started the MCU now ends it as another character. We’re sure to learn more in the months and years ahead.