Doctor Doom

Doctor Doom
Doctor Doom on the cover of Fantastic Four #247 (Oct. 1982). Art by John Byrne.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	The Fantastic Four #5 (July 1962)
Created by	Stan Lee Jack Kirby
In-story information
Alter ego	Dr. Victor Von Doom
Species	Human
Place of origin	Earth
Team affiliations	Terrible Trio The Cabal Intelligencia Future Foundation Astonishing Avengers[1]
Abilities	Genius-level intellect Skilled scientist and sorcerer Skilled hand to hand combatant Mind transferal Armor grants: Superhuman strength and durability Gauntlet scanners Force blasts Rocket boots for flight Force field generation

Doctor Victor Von Doom, better known as Doctor Doom, is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The son of Romani witch Cynthia Von Doom, Doctor Doom is the archenemy of the Fantastic Four, and the leader of the fictional nation of Latveria. He is both a genius inventor and a sorcerer. While his chief opponents have been the Fantastic Four, he has also come into conflict with Spider-Man, the Avengers and other superheroes in the Marvel Universe.

Doctor Doom has made many appearances in video games, television series, and merchandise such as action figures and trading cards. He was ranked as the 4th Greatest Villain by Wizard on its 100 Greatest Villains of All Time list.^[2] IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time ranked Doctor Doom as #3.^[3]

Doctor Doom has also been featured in other Marvel-endorsed feature films such as Roger Corman's unreleased 1994 The Fantastic Four played by Joseph Culp, while actor Julian McMahon played him in the 2005 film Fantastic Four and its 2007 sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer as the films' antagonist. Toby Kebbell portrays the character in the 2015 reboot.^[4]

Publication history

Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Fantastic Four #5 (July 1962) wearing his trademark metal mask and green cloak.

Creation and development

Like many of Marvel's Silver Age characters, Doctor Doom was conceived by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. With the Fantastic Four title performing well, Lee and Kirby were trying to dream up a "soul-stirring…super sensational new villain."^[5] Looking for a name, Lee latched onto "Doctor Doom" as "eloquent in its simplicity — magnificent in its implied menace."^[5]

Due to the rush to publish, the character was not given a full origin story^[5] until Fantastic Four Annual #2, two years after his debut.^[6]

Jack Kirby modeled Doctor Doom after Death, with the armor standing in for that character's skeleton; "It was the reason for the armor and the hood. Death is connected with armor and the inhuman-like steel. Death is something without mercy, and human flesh contains that mercy."^[7] Kirby further described Doctor Doom as being "paranoid", wrecked by his twisted face and wanting the whole world to be like him.^[7] Kirby went on to say that "Doctor Doom is an evil person, but he's not always been evil. He was [respected]…but through a flaw in his own character, he was a perfectionist."^[8] At one point in the 1970s, Kirby drew his interpretation of what Doctor Doom would look like under the mask, giving Doctor Doom only "a tiny scar on his cheek."^[9] Due to this slight imperfection, Doctor Doom hides his face not from the world, but from himself.^[9] To Kirby, this is the motivation for Doctor Doom's vengeance against the world; because others are superior due to this slight scar, Doom wants to elevate himself above them.^[8] Typical of Lee's writing characterization of Doctor Doom is his arrogance; his pride leads to Doctor Doom's disfigurement at the hands of his own machine, and to the failures of many of his schemes.^[10] There is also an idea that Doctor Doom placed his mask on his face before it fully cooled, burning his face. In some early stories glimpses of his face are shown, in which he appears to be bald.

While the Fantastic Four had fought various villains such as the Mole Man, Skrulls, the Miracle Man, and Namor the Sub-Mariner, Doctor Doom managed to overshadow them all and became the Fantastic Four's archnemesis.^[11]

During the 1970s, Doctor Doom branched out to more Marvel titles such as Astonishing Tales,^[12] The Incredible Hulk,^[13] and Super-Villain Team-Up, starting in 1975, as well as appearances in Marvel Team-Up, beginning with issue #42 (February 1976). Doctor Doom's origin was also a feature in Astonishing Tales when his ties to the villain Mephisto were revealed.^[14]

1980s–1990s

1981 saw Marvel and DC Comics collaborate on another project. In 1976 the two companies had published Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man, and seeking to replicate that success the two companies again teamed the characters up, in Superman and Spider-Man. Marvel editor in chief Jim Shooter co-wrote the story alongside Marv Wolfman, and recalled choosing Doctor Doom based on his iconic status: "I figured I needed the heaviest-duty bad guy we had to offer — Doctor Doom. Their greatest hero against our greatest villain."^[15]

The same year saw John Byrne begin his six-year run writing and illustrating Fantastic Four in 1981, sparking a "second golden age" for the title^[16] but also attempting to "turn the clock back [...] get back and see fresh what it was that made the book great at its inception."^[17] Doctor Doom made his first appearance under Byrne's tenure with issue #236.^[18] Whereas Kirby had intimated that Doom's disfigurement was more a figment of Victor's vain personality, Byrne expressed that Doctor Doom 's face was truly ravaged; only Doctor Doom 's own robot slaves are allowed to see the monarch without his helmet.^[19] Byrne also emphasized other aspects of Doom's personality; despite his ruthless nature, Doctor Doom is a man of honor.^[20][21] returning to Latveria after being temporarily deposed, Doctor Doom abandons a scheme to wrest mystical secrets from Doctor Strange in order to oversee his land's reconstruction.^[19] Though possessing a tempestuous temper, Doctor Doom also occasionally shows warmth and empathy to others; he tries to free his mother from Mephisto and treats Kristoff Vernard like his own son.^[19] Byrne also gave further detail regarding Doom's scarring; Byrne used the idea that the accident at Empire State University only left Doctor Doom with a small scar that was exaggerated into a more disfiguring accident by Doctor Doom's own arrogance; when Doctor Doom puts on the armor forged for him when it had yet to cool, however, he truly damages his face.^[22]

After Byrne's departure Doctor Doom continued to be a major villain in Fantastic Four, and as the 1980s continued Doom appeared in other comics such as Punisher, The Spectacular Spider-Man, and Excalibur. Under Fantastic Four writer Steven Englehart, Doctor Doom became exiled from Latveria by his heir Kristoff, who was brainwashed into thinking he was Doctor Doom. Doctor Doom would spend most of his time in exile planning his return, but Englehart left the title before he could resolve the storyline. This storyline ultimately ended with the controversial Fantastic Four #350, where writer Walt Simonson had the Doctor Doom who had been seen in the book during the Englehart run being revealed to be a Doctor Doom bot and the real Doctor Doom, in a newly redesigned armor, returning to claim his country from his usurper. Simonson's retcon stated that Doctor Doom 's last real appearance was in the famous "Battle of Baxter Building" though with occasional trips back home, though Doctor Victor Von Doom was shown to be unaware of certain major changes at the time to the Fantastic Four. An urban legend states that Simonson drew up a list of official stories which featured the real Doctor Doom and those which did not^[23] but this plotline was dropped and never mentioned again by later writers, who ignored Simonson's declaration as subterfuge Doctor Doom stated for the sake of blaming past failures on Doombots.^[24]

Modern depictions

In 2003 Doctor Doom was the villain in the Fantastic Four story arc "Unthinkable", in which Doctor Victor Von Doom viscerally skins his childhood love Valeria alive to the bone, and turns her flesh into mystic armour, imprisons Franklin Richards in Hell, captures Valeria Richards, and succeeds in de-powering and imprisoning the Fantastic Four. Writer Mark Waid sought to redefine Doctor Doom's character in a way that had not been seen before. Waid punctuated this reinterpretation of Doctor Doom during his "Unthinkable" saga (Vol 3 #66-70 & Vol 1 (restart) #500) as an absolute sadist by having Von Doom ruthlessly murder Valeria (namesake of the Richards's daughter), his first love and granddaughter to his long serving faithful retainer Boris, in order to be granted access to powerful magic by a trio of demons, Valeria being the treasured possession that they demanded in exchange. He subsequently attempted to prove his superiority to Reed by giving him the chance to find his way out of a prison that could only be escaped by mastering magic, in the belief that Reed would fail to do so, but with the aid of the astral projection of Doctor Strange, Richards learned to utilize magic on a basic level by accepting that he could not understand it and escapes. With Doom still his superior in this particular field, Richard instead tricked him into rejecting the demons, resulting in them dragging Doom to Hell. This was the case until the events of Ragnarok, when Thor's hammer Mjolnir fell through dimensions and gave Doctor Doom a way out of Hell when it was lost after Thor's apparent death.

In 2005 and 2006, Doctor Doom was featured in his own limited series, Books of Doom , a retelling of the origin story by Ed Brubaker.^[25] In an interview, Brubaker said the series was a way to elaborate on the earlier portions of Doctor Doom's life which had not been seen often in the comics. The series also set out to determine if Doctor Doom's path from troubled child to dictator was fated or Doctor Doom's own faults led to his corruption — in essence, a nature versus nurture question.^[26] Brubaker's version of Doctor Doom was heavily influenced by the original Lee/Kirby version; responding to a question if he would show Doctor Doom's face, Brubaker stated "[F]ollowing Kirby's example, I think it's better not to show it."^[25]

The Mighty Avengers invaded Latveria, Doctor Doom's nation, due to his involvement in creating a chemical bomb that would infect people with the symbiote (though it was recently revealed that this attack was actually set up by Kristoff Vernard to put Doctor Doom out of the picture prior to Kristoff's future attempt at a coup).^[27] Due to Ultron's interference, the bomb was dropped on Manhattan, but the Mighty Avengers are able to stop the effects on the people. The Mighty Avengers proceed to invade Latveria. During the invasion, the Sentry, Iron Man, and Doctor Doom are sent to the past thanks to Doctor Doom’s time platform. Eventually, the trio breaks into the Baxter Building and make use of a confiscated time machine to return to the present era, the Sentry taking advantage of the fact he will soon be forgotten by the world to easily defeat the Thing. Doctor Doom transports himself to Morgana's castle to summon up a magical army and captures the Avengers, but they free themselves and he is arrested for terrorist crimes against humanity after a brief struggle that culminated with the Sentry tearing off Doctor Doom's mask.

During Dark Reign when Norman Osborn is in charge, Doctor Doom is released and sent back to Latveria. However, Morgana le Fay engages him in a magical battle, which he is losing until the Dark Avengers rescue him. He then magically rebuilds his kingdom.^[28]

The character is also featured in Siege storyline^[29] and in the five issue mini-series Doomwar written by Jonathan Maberry.^[30]

Doctor Doom soon allies himself with the isolationist group known as the Desturi, to take control of Wakanda. He attacked and wounded T'Challa, the current Black Panther, maiming him enough to prevent him from holding the mantle again. Doctor Doom's main objective was to secure Wakanda's store of vibranium, which he could mystically enhance to make himself unstoppable.

In the Mark Millar penned Fantastic Four 566-569 Doctor Doom received a significant power upgrade. He was thrown back in time (perhaps about 50 million years) by the Marquis of Death. Doctor Doom then fought through time and space to get back to the present to seek revenge on the Marquis of Death. Doctor Doom stated, as he killed the Marquis, he had rebuilt every molecule of his being and increased his power all to destroy the Marquis. In later issues this seems to have been ignored however, with writers treating Doctor Doom the way they have always before in terms of power. Doctor Doom later joins the supervillain group known as the Intelligencia, but is betrayed when they captured him to complete their plan.^[31] With the help of Bruce Banner, he escapes and returns to Latveria. He appears to have been damaged by this experience.

At the start of the story arc Fantastic Four: Three, Doctor Doom feels that he needs to be "reborn" and makes plans to abdicate his throne and give it to Kristoff when Valeria teleports to his room unexpectedly asking for his assistance to help her father. Valeria quickly notices that Doctor Doom has suffered brain damage and makes a deal with him to restore his mental capacities if he helps Reed and the Fantastic Four. Doctor Doom agrees to her proposition.^[32] Later, Doctor Doom appears among those in attendance at Johnny Storm's funeral.^[33]

Due to the agreement, Doctor Doom is recommended by Nathaniel and Valeria Richards to be a member of the Future Foundation.^[34] Objecting, Thing attacks Doctor Doom out of anger, but the fight is stopped by Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, who welcomes Doctor Doom to their group.^[35]

Leading to the Secret Wars, Doom usurps the power of the Beyonder once more with the aid of Doctor Strange and the Molecule Man,^[36] collecting what he can of the destroyed multiverse and forming a new Battleworld consisting of different alternate realities. He also assumes the role of God and claims complete dominion of this new world and its inhabitants, controlling them into thinking he was always the almighty force of creation; he takes Sue as his wife, Franklin and Valeria as his children, condemns the Human Torch to be the sun and Ben Grimm to be the great Siege Wall. Richards and a ragtag collection of heroes and villains that survived the destruction of all universes are able to challenge him and, with the help of Molecule Man, are able to take his power and restore the multiverse. Opting to heal rather than harm, Reed finally uses the Beyonder's power to heal Doom's face, giving Victor a happy moment despite his utter defeat.^[37]

In the All-New, All-Different Marvel, Doom returns to Latveria where he saves Iron Man by incapacitating a group of Latveria rebels with a sonic attack. ^[38] Doom reveals to Tony that he is a new man and wishes to help, giving the latter one of the Wand's of Watoomb to keep safe from Madame Masque. When more rebels arrive, Doom teleports Iron Man to the Bronx Zoo. ^[39]

Doom finds Iron Man again and teleports the two to the Jackpot Club in Chicago to confront Madam Masque. ^[40] Discovering that Madame Masque is displaying symptoms of demonic possession, Doom has Tony trap her in the Iron Man Armor then proceeds exorcise the demon from her, which he succeeds. Doom disappears before Tony regains consciousness. ^[41] Doom appears once again and interrupts Tony's breakfast date with Amara. Doom is trying to prove to Tony that he's changed and trying to correct the mistakes he's made, explaining that he's arrived to check up on Tony and see if he's suffering from any side-effects from being in the presence of an exorcism. Tony still refuses to trust him after what he's done and Doom leaves once again. ^[42]

Fictional character biography

Victor Von Doom was born decades ago to a tribe of Latverian Romani people under the rule of an unnamed nobleman called the Baron. Victor's mother was witch Cynthia Von Doom who died by Mephisto's hand while Von Doom was young. His father, Werner, was the leader of the tribe and a renowned medicine man who kept his wife's sorceress life quiet in order to protect Victor from a similar fate. Soon after Cynthia's death, the Baron's wife grew incurably ill from cancer and Werner was called to the capital to heal her. When she succumbed to illness, the Baron labeled Werner a murderer and called for his death. Werner escaped with young Victor, having realized the night before the woman would die. He goes on to die of exposure on the mountainside, cradling the boy in a final embrace and giving him his garments to keep him warm. Victor survived and, on return to the Romani camp, discovered his mother's occult instruments and swore revenge on the Baron. Victor grew into a headstrong and brilliant man, combining sorcery and technology to create fantastic devices to keep the Baron's men at bay and protect the Roma people. His exploits attracted the attention of the dean of Empire State University, who sent someone to the camp.^[43] Offered the chance to study in the United States, Von Doom chooses to leave his homeland and his love, Valeria, behind.

Once in the United States, Victor met fellow student and future nemesis Reed Richards, who was intended to be his roommate, but Von Doom disliked him and asked for another roommate. After a time, Victor constructed a machine intended to communicate with the dead. Though Richards tried to warn him about a flaw in the machine, seeing his calculations were a few decimals off, Victor continued on with disastrous results. The machine violently failed and the resulting explosion seemingly severely damaged his face.^[43] It is later revealed that Ben Grimm, a friend of Richards who despised Victor for his superior attitude, tampered with the machine. He would later blame himself for Doctor Doom's eventual rise to power, but never revealed this information to anyone.^[44] Expelled after the accident, Victor traveled the world until he collapsed on a Tibetan mountainside. Rescued by a clan of monks, Victor quickly mastered the monks' disciplines as well as the monks themselves. Victor then forged himself a suit of armor, complete with a scowling mask, and took the name Doctor Doom.^[43] As Doctor Doom, he would go on to menace those he felt responsible for his accident—primarily, Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four. He succeeded in taking over Latveria, taking an interest in the welfare of the Roma.

In his first appearance, Doctor Doom captures the Invisible Girl, using her as a hostage so the Fantastic Four will travel back in time to steal the enchanted treasure of Blackbeard which will help him conquer the world, but he is fooled by Reed Richards, who swaps the treasure with worthless chains.^[45] Doctor Doom then forms an alliance with the Sub-Mariner, who places a magnetic device in the Baxter Building. However Doctor Doom uses this to pull him and the Fantastic Four into space, thinking this will rid him of those capable of preventing him conquering the world. But the Sub-Mariner gets to Doctor Doom 's ship and returns the Baxter Building to New York, while Doctor Doom is left on an asteroid. Returning to Earth after learning the secrets of an advanced alien race, the Ovids, Doctor Doom exchanges consciousnesses with Mister Fantastic; Richards, inhabiting Doctor Doom 's body, switches the two back, and Doctor Doom ends up trapped in a micro-world when he is hit with a shrinking ray he had intended to use on the rest of the Fantastic Four.^[46] Doctor Doom takes over the micro-world, but leaves after the Fantastic Four end his rule. He is then thrown into space when he attempts to do this to the Fantastic Four.^[47] Doctor Doom is saved by Rama-Tut, and he returns to Earth to destroy the Fantastic Four by turning each member against the other using a special berry juice. Richards outwits Doctor Doom by using the hallucinogenic juice against the villain. Doctor Doom, believing he has killed Richards in a test of willpower, departs certain of his victory and superior intelligence.^[48]

During the 1960s, Doctor Doom attempts to recruit Spider-Man into joining forces with him,^[49] and he also menaces the Avengers when Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch travel to Latveria to find a long-lost relative.^[50] He steals the Silver Surfer's powers in 1967, but he loses them after breaching a barrier Galactus set for the Surfer on Earth.^[51][52]

During the 1970s, Doctor Doom branched out to more Marvel titles, with a battle between Doctor Doom and Prince Rudolfo over control of Latveria being featured in Astonishing Tales.^[53] Doctor Doom also attempts to use the Hulk as his slave during two issues of The Incredible Hulk.^[54] The character also made several appearances in the story arcs of Super-Villain Team-Up, starting in 1975, as well as appearances in Marvel Team-Up, beginning with issue #42 (February 1976). In August 1981, Doctor Doom also made an appearance in Iron Man when the two travel to Camelot where Stark thwarted Doctor Doom 's attempt to solicit the aide of Morgan le Fay and Doctor Doom swore deadly vengeance for that interference, which had to be indefinitely delayed in the interest of returning to the present day.^[55] A particularly detailed plan saw Doom ally with the Puppet Master to trap the Fantastic Four within the miniature artificial city of "Liddleville", their minds trapped inside tiny cybernetic, part-organic copies of their original bodies. However, Doom perverts what had been intended by the Puppet Master as a chance to give Alicia and Ben a normal life into a trap, deliberately disrupting Reed's connection to his copy to make it hard for him to concentrate while 'Vincent Vaughn'- Doom's alias as he monitors the project- belittles him, and the Puppet Master eventually helps the FF learn the truth and escape Liddleville while trapping Doom in the android body he had used to monitor the FF.^[56]

During John Byrne's run in the 1980s, Doctor Doom attempts to steal the cosmic powers of Terrax, but Doctor Doom's body is destroyed in the resulting fight between Terrax and the Silver Surfer.^[57] Doctor Doom survives by transferring his consciousness to another human, and is returned to his original body by the Beyonder^[58] (Who had reached into the relative future to 'recruit' Doom for the conflict on Battleworld that the FF had participated in a few months ago from their perspective). While on Battleworld, Doom attempts and briefly succeeds in stealing the Beyonder's power, but it proves too vast for him to control and the disembodied Beyonder is able to take his power back.

When Franklin Richards was kidnapped by Onslaught, Doctor Doom joined the Fantastic Four, Avengers and the X-Men to battle Onslaught in Central Park. An enraged Hulk was able to crack open Onslaught's shell. However, Onslaught remained as pure psionic energy, separated Hulk and Banner, planning to spread across the planet. Thor plunged into Onslaught, trying to contain him. The Fantastic Four, the majority of Avengers, and the Hulk-Less Banner followed in short order, with Doom being forced to join the sacrifice when Iron Man tackled the villain into the energy mass. Thanks to this sacrifice, the X-Men finally managed to destroy Onslaught. Doom, the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers and Banner were believed dead, but were instead saved by Franklin, who created a pocket dimension called Counter-Earth to keep them safe. After several months away, the missing heroes returned from Counter-Earth, except for Doom, who remained there for a time. Doom uncovers the secret power at the heart of the planet, an avatar of his arch-foe Reed Richards' son, Franklin, the super-powered youth who conjured this globe and left a bit of himself behind to guide it from within. Doom manages to convince the little boy to relinquish control of this world with little more than a few errant promises of a better life.

When Susan Richards experiences problems with her second pregnancy while Reed is away, Johnny contacts Doom for help, correctly guessing that Doom will be unable to pass up a chance to succeed where Reed failed (Due to the complex events involving the recent resurrection of Galactus, this pregnancy is a 'repeat' of an earlier one where Sue miscarried). Doom not only saves Sue's daughter, but also cures Johnny of a recent problem with his powers where Johnny was unable to 'flame off' without technological support after becoming overcharged with energy from the Negative Zone by channelling Johnny's excess energy into Sue to keep her alive. After the birth, Doom's only apparent condition for his aid is that he be allowed to name Sue and Reed's daughter, calling her 'Valeria' after his long-lost love. However, this inspires a new plan where Doom makes Valeria his familiar while seeking out her namesake as part of a deal with a trio of demons; by sacrificing his old lover, Doom is granted magical powers on the level he would possess if he had spent the past years studying sorcery rather than science.^[59] With this new power, Doom traps Franklin in Hell, immobilises Doctor Strange, and then neutralises the FF's powers, torturing the other three while taunting Reed by leaving him in his magical library, comparing it to giving a dog a road-map as he concludes that it will be impossible for Reed to master sufficient magical skill to be a threat to him.^[60] However, Reed is able to release Doctor Strange's astral self from Doom's traps, allowing Strange to give Reed a sufficient crash-course in magic for Reed to free the rest of the team and trick Doom into angering his demonic benefactors, prompting them to take him to Hell.^[61] Determined to ensure that Doom cannot be a further threat, Reed takes control of Latveria to dismantle all of Doom's equipment,^[62] simultaneously subtly driving his family away so that he can trap Doom and himself in a pocket dimension so that he can make sure Doom never threatens anyone again.^[63] However, this plan backfires when the rest of the team attempt to rescue Reed, resulting in Doom transferring his spirit into Sue, Johnny and Ben respectively, forcing Reed to kill his best friend to stop his greatest enemy.^[64] Doom is returned to Hell, but Reed is later able to use the same machine Doom once tried to create to travel to Heaven and restore Ben to life.^[65] Doom remains in Hell until Mjolnir falls to Earth after the events of Ragnarok as it creates a dimensional tear during its fall that allows Doom to escape, although he decides to focus on rebuilding his power base when he proves unable to even lift the hammer.

Later, a Doombot was taken down by Reed Richards, Henry Pym, Iron Man, She-Hulk and others in New York City. Whether or not it was sent by Doctor Doom himself remains to be seen, as does his role in the overall conflict. Doctor Doom was not invited to the wedding of Storm and the Black Panther. However, he did send a present: an invitation to form an alliance with Latveria, using the Civil War currently going on among the hero community as a reason to quite possibly forge an alliance between their two countries. When Black Panther, on a diplomatic mission to other countries with Storm, did show up in Latveria, he presented them with a real present, and extended another invitation to form an alliance with Black Panther. He demonstrated behavior very uncharacteristic of him, however, which may or may not become a plot point later. Panther spurned the invitation, detonating an EMP that blacked out a local portion of Latveria before Doctor Doom 's robots could destroy his ship. Later on, Doctor Doom is then shown collaborating with the Red Skull on a weapon which will only "be the beginning" of Captain America's suffering. Doctor Doom gave the Red Skull the weapon because the Red Skull gave Victor pieces of technology from an old German castle. The castle was owned by a "Baron of Iron" centuries prior, who had used his technological genius to protect himself and his people. The map the Red Skull used to find the castle bore a picture of Doctor Doom. Doctor Doom states that the technology the Red Skull gave him is more advanced than what he currently has, and that he will become the Baron of Iron in his future. The Red Skull is currently in the process of reverse-engineering Doctor Doom 's weapon for multiple uses, rather than the single use Doctor Doom agreed to.

At the end of the first chapter of the X-Men event Endangered Species, Doctor Doom is among the supervillain geniuses that Beast contacts to help him reverse the effects of Decimation. He spurns Beast by stating that genetics do not number among his talents.

In Spider-Man: One More Day, Doctor Doom was among those that Spider-Man contacts to help save Aunt May.^[66]

Doctor Doom also makes Latveria into a refugee camp for the Atlanteans following the destruction of their underwater kingdom^[67] as well as becoming allies with Loki in his plot to manipulate Thor into unwittingly release his Asgardian enemies.^[68]

Doctor Doom later defends Latveria from the Mighty Avengers, following a revelation that it was one of Doctor Doom's satellites that carried the 'Venom Virus' released in New York City.^[69] In a battle with Iron Man and the Sentry, the time travel mechanism within his armor overloads, trapping Doctor Doom and his opponents at some point in the past. Doctor Doom continues a relationship with Morgan le Fay using his time machine.^[70] He and Iron Man managed to get back to the present, but Doctor Doom has left Iron Man in his exploding castle. Despite this, Doctor Doom ended up incarcerated at The Raft.

During the Secret Invasion storyline, Doctor Doom was among the villains who escaped the Raft when a virus was uploaded into its systems by the Skrulls.

In the aftermath of the Secret Invasion, Doctor Doom is a member of the Dark Illuminati alongside Norman Osborn, Emma Frost, Namor, Loki's female form, and Hood. At the end of this meeting, Namor and Doctor Doom are seen having a discussion of their own plans that have all ready been set in motion.^[71]

Doctor Doom soon allies himself with the isolationist group known as the Desturi, to take control of Wakanda. He attacked and wounded T'Challa, the current Black Panther, maiming him enough to prevent him from holding the mantle again. Doctor Doom 's main objective was to secure Wakanda's store of vibranium, which he could mystically enhance to make himself unstoppable. Doctor Doom was also a part of the supervillain group known as the Intelligencia, but was betrayed when they captured him to complete their plan. With the help of Bruce Banner, he escaped, and returned to Latveria. He appears to have been damaged by this experience.

At the start of the Siege storyline, Doctor Doom is with the Cabal discussing the current problems with the X-Men and both Avengers teams. Doctor Doom demands that Osborn at once reverse his course of action against his ally Namor, to which Osborn refuses, saying that he and Emma Frost had "crossed the line" with him. Doctor Doom, loathing Thor and the Asgardians all the more due to his recent defeat at their hands, claims that he will support Osborn's "madness" should Namor be returned to him, but Osborn refuses. Osborn's mysterious ally, the Void, violently attacks Doctor Doom, and an apparently amused Loki tells the Hood that he should go, as there is nothing here for either of them, which the Hood, now loyal to Loki due to his hand in the restoration of his mystical abilities, agrees. However, it is revealed that "Doctor Doom" is actually an upgraded Doctor Doom bot, which releases swarms of Doctor Doom bot nanites against the Cabal, tearing down Avengers Tower and forcing its denizens, such as the Dark Avengers, to evacuate. Osborn is rescued by the Sentry, who destroys the body. When Osborn contacts Doctor Doom, Doctor Doom tells him not to ever strike him again or he is willing to go further.^[29]

It has been revealed that the Scarlet Witch seen in Wundagore Mountain is actually a Doctor Doom bot which apparently means that the real one has been captured by Doctor Doom sometime after the House of M event.^[72] It is revealed that Wanda's enhanced powers were a result of her and Doctor Doom's combined attempt to channel the Life Force in order to resurrect her children. This proves to be too much for Wanda to contain and it overtook her. With Wiccan and Doctor Doom's help, they seek to use the entity that is possessing Wanda to restore mutantkinds' powers. This is stopped by the Young Avengers (who are concerned at the fall-out that would ensue if the powerless mutants are suddenly re-powered) only to find out Doctor Doom 's real plan: to transfer the entity into his own body and gaining Wanda's god-like powers for himself.^[73] Doctor Doom becomes omnipotent with powers surpassing those of beings as the Beyonder or the Cosmic Cube. The Young Avengers confront him, but Doctor Doom kills Cassie just before Wanda and Wiccan stole his new-found powers.^[74]

At the start of the story arc "Fantastic Four: Three", Doctor Doom felt that he needed to be "reborn" and was making plans to abdicate his throne and give it to Kristoff when Valeria teleported to his room unexpectedly asking for his assistance to help her father. Valeria quickly notices that Doctor Doom has suffered brain damage and makes a deal with him to restore his mental capacities if he helps Reed and the Fantastic Four. Doctor Doom agrees to her proposition.^[32] Later, Doctor Doom appears among those in attendance at Johnny Storm's funeral.^[33]

Due to the agreement, Doctor Doom was recommended by Nathaniel and Valeria Richards to be a member of the Future Foundation.^[34] Objecting, Thing attacks Doctor Doom out of anger, but the fight was stopped by Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, who welcomes Doctor Doom to their group. When Valeria asks Doctor Doom if he has a backup for restoring his memories, he reveals that Kristoff Vernard is his backup. Afterward, Mister Fantastic, Spider-Man, Nathaniel, Valeria, and Doctor Doom head to Latveria to meet with Kristoff and request his help. Mister Fantastic sets up a brain transfer machine in order to help restore Doctor Doom's memories and knowledge, which is successful. When Kristoff wants to return the throne to him, Doctor Doom states that it is not time yet because of a promise he made to Valeria. When Mister Fantastic asks what promise Doctor Doom made to Valeria, Doctor Doom states that he made a promise to help defeat Mister Fantastic.^[35] Doctor Doom decides to hold a symposium on how to finally defeat Reed Richards. The Thing and the evolved Moloids give an invitation to the High Evolutionary. Dragon Man and Alex Power give an invitation to Diablo. Upon receiving an invitation from Spider-Man, Mad Thinker is convinced to take part in the event. Bentley 23 even gives an invitation to his creator, the Wizard, along with two A.I.M. lieutenants. However, it is subsequently revealed that the 'Richards' they have been invited to defeat are actually members of the "Council of Reeds" (alternate versions of Reed who were trapped in this universe by Valeria a while back, possessing Reed's intellect while lacking his conscience).^[75] While Spider-Man and Invisible Woman make sandwiches for the kids, Mister Fantastic, Doctor Doom, Valeria, and Nathaniel Richards meet with the supervillain geniuses and Uatu the Watcher about what to do with the Council of Reeds.^[76]

It is later revealed that, around this time, Doom performed brain surgery on Hulk to separate him from Banner, extracting the uniquely Banner elements from Hulk's brain and cloning a new body for Banner, in return for an initially-unspecified favor from the Hulk.^[77] However, when Doctor Doom demands to keep Banner for his own purposes, the Hulk reneges on the deal and flees with Banner's body, leaving his alter ego in the desert where he was created to ensure that Doctor Doom cannot use Banner's intellect.^[78] When Banner goes insane due to his separation from the Hulk, irradiating an entire tropical island trying to recreate his transformation- something he cannot do as the cloned body lacks the genetic elements of Banner that allowed him to process the gamma radiation- the Hulk is forced to destroy his other side by letting him be disintegrated by a gamma bomb, prompting the Hulk to accuse Doom of tampering with Banner's mind, only for Doom to observe that what was witnessed was simply Banner without the Hulk to use as a scapegoat for his problems.^[79]

The child members of the Future Foundation used the panic room system to teleport themselves the top of the Baxter Building to near Latveria where they help Nathaniel Richards, Kristoff Vernard, Alpha-Reed Richards, and Doctor Doom to rebuild the Bridge, and the Alpha-Reed Richards could return home. The Mad Celestials from Earth-4280 try to enter Earth through the Bridge in order to destroy it. Doctor Doom and Alpha-Reed Richards tried to stop them although Alpha-Reed Richards was killed using the Ultimate Nullifier while Doctor Doom was apparently killed by the Mad Celestials.^[80] During his absence, his Doombots attempt to use the animals on Banner's irradiated island as the basis for a new gamma army, but they are defeated by the Hulk- Banner having been absorbed back into the Hulk and recognising that he is a better person with the Hulk than he would have been on his own^[81]- using a one-of-a-kind gamma cure he had created to turn all the animals back to normal.^[82]

With no knowledge as to how he survived the blast from the Mad Celestials, Doom woke up in the middle of the ruins of the Interdimensional Council of Reeds, where Valeria had left him a present: the full army of lobotomized Doctor Dooms from alternate realities who were previously captured by the Council, along with two Infinity Gauntlets from alternate universes. With these resources, Doom created the Parliament of Doom.^[83] He later returned to again rule Latveria, and was targeted by Lucia von Bardas and the Red Ghost, who wanted to get revenge on Doom for past discretions.^[84]

Doom later journeyed to the Universe that one of his Infinity Gauntlets had belonged to, which was now empty and desolate, and used the gauntlet to create it anew. He separated magic and science, creating the basic rules for their existence, created new life, made himself its ruler. On a world where science and magic were wed, his creations turned on him and six rulers divided Doom's infinity gems between them. Reed and Nathaniel Richards entered this Universe to save Doom after being prompted by Valeria that he was in grave danger. They managed to convince five of the rulers to pardon Doom and managed to escape the clutches of the sixth, bringing Doom back to their universe. Upon their return, Doom declared that he and Richards were again even.^[85]

When Latveria became the site of an Incursion, a collision between Earth and one of its alternate universe counterparts, this Incursion was revealed to be different however, in that it was controlled by a mysterious group known as The Mapmakers, who had rigged the other Earth to explode and wished to mark Doom's Earth for potential expansion. Doom fought off the Mapmakers with the help of his adopted son Kristoff Vernard, whilst unbeknownst to him, the Illuminati blew up the other Earth. After the Incursion ended, Doom was alerted to a rock that had fallen from the sky, which was in truth the Mapmaker's beacon. Doom contacted Reed Richards and Stephen Strange in order to confront them about the Illuminati's presence in Latveria and the incursion, but to his fury, they refused to give him answers and Reed warned him not to contact him in regard to the Incursions again.^[86]

During the AXIS storyline, Doctor Doom appears as a member of Magneto's unnamed supervillain group during the fight against Red Skull's Red Onslaught form.^[87] Doctor Doom works with Scarlet Witch in order to use a spell to awaken the dormant part of Professor X's brain within Red Onslaught. The spell also caused some inversions which made the Avengers and X-Men evil and the bad guys good.^[88] In order to combat the now-evil Avengers and X-Men, Doctor Doom forms his team of Avengers by recruiting 3D Man, Elsa Bloodstone, Stingray, Valkyrie, and U.S. Agent. Their first mission is to fight a now-evil Scarlet Witch when she invades Latveria.^[89] It is later revealed that he intends to use Scarlet's attack for his goal to atone for his sins, by absorbing her reality-altering powers during the fight and using them to undo all his crimes; being forced to choose only one act to set straight, as he obtains only a fraction of the power, and despite being tempted to use it to repair his face and resurrect his beloved mother, Doctor Doom elects to revive Cassie Lang.^[90] He subsequently makes a Faustian deal with an unspecified demon to resurrect Brother Voodoo to take control of the Scarlet Witch and undo the inversion.^[91] Having returned to normal, Doctor Doom is shown with the Red Skull in captivity, contained by various telepathy-blocking machines, although his long-term goal is unknown.^[92]

Over the following months after the Incursion in Latveria during the Time Runs Out storyline, Doctor Doom had been working with a team of scientists to reverse-engineer one of the pieces of a Mapmaker he gathered from the Incursion, and successfully mapped their entire network. Doctor Doom planned to use the Molecule Man to oppose whatever was the origin of the Incursions.^[93] When Doctor Strange and the Black Priests began searching for Rabum Alal (the man whose birth was supposedly one of the main causes for the collapse and the decay of the Multiverse) the Black Priest finds a door to the Library of Worlds. Unlike before, they now have a key to get in and Doctor Strange to guide them through the Library. Inside, they are ambushed by the Black Swans in a vacuum where their words cannot be used, but Doctor Strange uses his other magics to fight back. Nevertheless, they are defeated and taken to Rabum Alal, who is revealed to be Doctor Doom himself. He then reveals to Doctor Strange that as Rabum Alal he had gathered a number of Black Swans who revere him as a mythic figure. It was also revealed that Doctor Doom has been opposing the Beyonders with the Molecule Man, by his side.^[94]

With the final Incursion imminent during the Secret Wars storyline, Doctor Doom, Doctor Strange, and Molecule Man leave to confront the Beyonders. In the aftermath, the multiverse is destroyed, leading Doom and Strange to try to recreate some semblance of the universe for life to exist, leading to the creation of a new Battleworld.^[95] There, God Emperor Doom is undisputed ruler with Strange serving as his personal Sheriff. Mister Sinister of Bar Sinister is brought before God Emperor Doom and Sheriff Strange attended by various other Barons where Sinister has been charged by the House of Braddock (the rulers of Higher Avalon) with secretly and illegally aligning with Baron Hyperion of Utopolis in opposition to Higher Avalon. Before Sinister can deal the killing blow to Brian Braddock, God Emperor Doom intervenes. God Emperor Doom interrogates Brian, telling him that Higher Avalon is long rumored to be the most favorable conduit for reaching the Silent Chambers, a place where "heretics and thieves" work to depose God Emperor Doom. When Brian denies any knowledge of it, God Emperor Doom declares him useless and orders that his eyes, tongue, hands and feet be removed. To save his brother, Baron James Braddock confesses that he has assisted those trying to reach the Silent Chambers. Enraged at betrayal by one of his barons, God Emperor Doom orders the entire House of Braddock to be publicly executed. Susan Storm implores him to be merciful. This causes God Emperor Doom to banish James to the Shield.^[96] Sheriff Strange informs God Emperor Doom of recent events in the domains of Battleworld. When Doom grows weary, Strange reminds Doom that he is "omnipotent but not omniscient". Before a statue of the Molecule Man, they reminisce about how Doom had battled the Beyonders and managed to salvage various fragments of the Earths that were being destroyed. God Emperor Doom and Invisible Woman later discuss a song she had heard. It tells of the man in the Sun (who is actually the Human Torch who is trapped forever in the Sun by God Emperor Doom as punishment for speaking out against him). This has caused a religion worshiping Human Torch to form among the lower classes of Battleworld. God Emperor Doom worries he is a flawed deity. Invisible Woman comforts him and encourages him to reveal more of himself to his people, including his horribly scarred face.^[97] Learning that a group of heroes from the original world have survived the incursions- including Reed Richards- Doom departs to confront them directly, but although he successfully defeats and kills the Phoenix-enhanced Cyclops, he is subsequently betrayed when Strange teleports the other heroes away, informing Doom that, regardless of his power, he will always fear Reed Richards. Angered at Strange's comment that Reed will find a way to defeat him despite his power, Doom kills Strange.^[98]

God Emperor Doom enters a realm located below Molecule Man's statue and converses with the real Molecule Man, who resides there. It is explained that the Beyonders were the originators of reality but eventually became harbingers of destruction. The Molecule Man was unique across the multiverse as only one version of him existed, a single being whose presence in each unique reality represented a sliver of a single inter-dimensional entity. The Beyonders would initiate the end of a particular reality by detonating that reality's Molecule Man. Doctor Doom, Doctor Strange and the 616 Molecule Man had gathered Molecule Men from across the multiverse and combined them into a bomb, which they detonated and directed towards the unsuspecting Beyonders. The detonation killed the Beyonders and allowed the Earth-616 Molecule Man to absorb their power and channel it to Doctor Doom, who in turn created Battleworld.^[99] God Emperor later order some of his most loyal Barons (consisting of Maestro from Dystopia, Apocalypse from the Domain of Apocalypse, Mister Sinister from Bar Sinister, and Madelyne Pryor from Limbo) to deal with the threat of the Prophet.^[100] God Emperor Doom later views the rampage of a giant Thing (who made up part of the Shield that isolated The Deadlands, Perfection, and New Xandar). After Franklin uses Galactus to destroy Thing, Susan Storm asks God Emperor Doom to end it only for him to bide his time. Thanos arrives where he is ready to wipe the floor with God Emperor Doom. God Emperor Doom offers Thanos domain over the Deadlands. Thanos is insulted by the generosity claiming that God Emperor Doom is beneath him. He has experience in divinity and mocks the metal-faced monarch on his limitedness. God Emperor Doom reaches into Thanos' heart, causing Thanos to instantly become skeletal and crumble, as God Emperor Doom wants retribution. He instructs Annihilus to eradicate the opposition when suddenly the Siege Courageous materializes and spits out zombies. God Emperor Doom is taken aback as Black Panther and Namor break through, Black Panther armed with the Infinity Gauntlet and ready to strike.^[101] Although T'Challa fails to defeat Doom, he reveals that he is merely there to distract Doom while Reed Richards makes contact with the Molecule Man, with Reece rendering Reed immune to Doom's powers as the two fight. As they right, Doom accuses Reed of simply continuing their usual vendetta because he cannot accept that Doom was right, but Reed counters that Doom establishing himself as god of Battleworld was simply Doom hampering himself, as he would rather be God of a small area that ensures his own survival than take the risk that he could recreate what was lost in the Incursions. Recognising Reed's point, Reece transfers Doom's powers to Reed, with Reed, the Future Foundation and his family going on to remake existence, although Reed also restores Doom's face when he departs to reflect his desire to fix everything, regardless of their past history.^[102]

As part of the All-New, All-Different Marvel event, Iron Man encountered revolutionaries at Latveria when they are suddenly knocked out by a sonic attack fired by mysterious individual behind Iron Man. When Iron Man turns around, he sees a man in a business suit who tells Iron Man they need each other. While Iron Man doesn't recognize his face, his voice sounds familiar, and according to the bioscans performed by Friday, that man is none other than Victor von Doom.^[103] Iron Man is skeptical he's standing face-to-face with Doctor Doom. It's not until the gentleman confirms the information gathered by Iron Man's scans that Iron Man tries to blast him with a repulsor. But Victor von Doom is using a mystical spell defense to shield himself from the attack. Tony keeps questioning the legitimacy of his claims, but Victor simply states that this is the new him, and that he got better from his iconic scarred face. In order to convince Iron Man, Doom reminds him of their time-traveling adventure in Camelot. Iron Man shape-shifts his armor into a Hulk-buster like suit and tries to get past Doom's magic shielding, to no avail. Doom informs Iron Man that he's present at the moment because of Madame Masque, who had started accumulating powerful items around the world. As he guides Iron Man to the ruins of his personal laboratory, Doom explains to Iron Man how different powerful items can enter the universe through dimensional rifts. Inside one crate lies a Wand of Watoomb, which Doom tries to make Iron Man accept it as a sign of good faith, so Iron Man could start trusting him. Another group of rebels had entered the castle. As he prepares to deal with the intruders, Doom reveals to Iron Man that by following the energy signature of the castle, he could track down Madame Masque and the item she had taken, a decoy of the actual Wand of Watoomb instead of the real deal. Iron Man is unwilling to leave Doom alone with the rebels, but Victor clarifies that he has no intention of killing them or taking back Latveria, because he now knows he's meant for more. Against Iron Man's will, Doom uses a magic spell to teleport the Golden Avenger away.^[104] When Madame Masque attacks Mary Jane Watson's latest nightclub Jackpot in Chicago, Doctor Doom accompanies Iron Man into fighting Madame Masque.^[105] Doctor Doom and Iron Man's fight with Madame Masque causes damages to Jackpot. When Mary Jane Watson distracts Madame Masque by knocking off her mask with a microphone, Doctor Doom sees that Madame Masque has a demonic possession in her. As Iron Man holds Madame Masque down, Doctor Doom successfully performs an exorcism. Iron Man is knocked out in the process and Doctor Doom takes his leave from the damaged nightclub.^[106] Victor von Doom later pays an unexpected visit to Tony Stark and Amanda Pepara at a diner much to Tony's dismay. Victor states that he is here to see if the demonic possession that affected Madame Masque had affected Tony and/or Amara. Victor then takes his leave from the diner at Tony's suggestion.^[107]

Powers and abilities

Doctor Doom is a polymath and scientific genius. Throughout most of his publication history, he has been depicted as one of the most intelligent humans in the Marvel Universe. This is shown on many occasions, most famously by actually curing Ben Grimm of his Thing form, which Reed Richards has never repeated.^[108] On the other hand, Reed Richards managed to process all the computer calculations necessary to save the life of a disintegrating Kitty Pryde by himself, which is a feat that Doctor Doom at the time professed to be unable to do.^[109]

Doctor Doom also possesses originally minor mystical capabilities due to teachings from Tibetan monks, but later increased them to a considerable extent due to tutoring from his lover Morgan Le Fay. He is capable of energy projection, creating protective shields, and summoning hordes of demonic creatures.^[110] Even at a time when his abilities were consistently referred to as minor, with assistance from his technology and by tag-teaming with Doctor Strange, Doctor Doom managed to come in second in a magic tournament held by the ancient sorcerer the Aged Genghis.^[111]

Doctor Doom has also used his scientific talents to steal or replicate the power of other beings such as the Silver Surfer, or in one case the entity Galactus' world-ship.^[112]

The alien Ovoids taught Doctor Doom the process of psionically transferring his consciousness into another nearby being through simple eye contact, as well as showing him other forms of technology^[113][114] which Doctor Doom uses to escape from incarcerations and to avoid being killed.^[115][116] However, if his concentration is broken, his mind can transfer back, and he rarely uses this power unless absolutely necessary due to his own ego about his appearance.

Doctor Doom can exert technopathic control over certain machines, most notably the Doom bots. In addition, Doctor Doom has a remarkably strong will, as demonstrated in the graphic novel, Emperor Doom when he dared his prisoner, the mind controlling Purple Man, to attempt to control him and he successfully resisted.

Without his armor he proved himself to be a skilled bare-handed fighter, even capable of killing a lion with a single punch.^[117][118]

Doctor Doom’s armor augments his natural physical strength to superhuman levels, to the point where he is able to hold his own against Spider-Man in hand-to-hand combat,^[119] although he tends to rely on long-range tactics when engaging physically stronger foes. It is also highly resistant to harm, sufficient to withstand blows from Iron Man’s armor.^[120] The armor can generate a defensive force field^[121] and a lethal electric shock killing anyone who might come in contact with Doctor Doom.^[121] The armor is self-supporting, equipped with internal stores and recycling systems for air, food, water, and energy, allowing the wearer to survive lengthy periods of exposure underwater or in outer space.

As the absolute monarch of Latveria, Dr. Doom has diplomatic immunity – allowing him to escape prosecution for most of his crimes – and total control of the nation’s natural and technological resources, along with its manpower, economy, and military.

Doctor Doom is known for the frequent plot device wherein it is revealed that his actions were actually those of a "Doombot", one of Doctor Doom’s many robot doubles, either working on his behalf or as a result of rogue artificial intelligence.

On many occasions, Doctor Doom’s only real weakness has been his arrogance. Layla Miller once reflected that Doctor Doom is incapable of accepting that he himself might be the reason for his failures. This is most keenly reflected in Doctor Doom’s continued refusal to accept responsibility for the accident that scarred his face, instead preferring to blame Reed Richards for sabotaging his experiment. While his high opinion of himself is generally accurate, he is generally unable to accept when others may have a better understanding of a situation than he does – with the occasional exception of hearing the recommendations of heroes such as Mister Fantastic or the Thing when it is to his advantage. Even when teaming up with others against a greater threat, Doctor Doom will often try to subvert the alliance for personal gain. For instance, while allied with Adam Warlock and other heroes against the Titan Thanos, he attempted to steal Thanos’ Infinity Gauntlet before its owner had been defeated.

Doctor Doom adheres to a strict code of honor at all times. However, Von Doom will keep his exact word, which may or may not be beneficial to the person to whom he has given his promise. For example, Doctor Doom may swear that he will not harm an individual, but that only means he will not personally harm that person, it does not mean he will prevent others from harming that person.

Doctor Doom’s honor code led him to save Captain America from drowning because Captain America had earlier saved his life, and on another occasion he thanked Spider-Man for saving him from terrorists attacking him in an airport by allowing him to leave alive despite Spider-Man subsequently insulting him. His code of honor also means that he will not attack a respected opponent who is weakened or at a severe disadvantage, as he regards any victory resulting from such circumstances as hollow and meaningless. He has even on several occasions battled opponents who were intent on killing the Fantastic Four, for no other reason than the fact that he does not want the ultimate defeat of the Fantastic Four to come from anyone’s hands but his own.

Doctor Doom is shown to be devoted to the welfare and well being of his subjects. In fact, one future premonition that was explored explicitly stated that of all the possible futures that could exist for Earth in the Marvel Universe, the only one where Earth is truly safe and peaceful is the one where Doctor Doom rules supreme.^[122]

Inventions

Doctor Doom has constructed numerous devices in order to defeat his foes or gain more power including:

• Doombots - Doombots have the face of the real Doctor Doom but with no hood and they have guns. Used for many missions, typically those where he fears defeat. Sometimes the Doctor Doom bots even believe themselves to be Doctor Doom.^[19]
• Servo-Guards - Robots that are programmed to attack the enemies of Doctor Doom.
• Time Platform - One of Doctor Doom's most ingenious creations is this functioning time machine. It consists of a platform 10 feet (3.0 m) by 10 feet (3.0 m) by 6 inches (150 mm) and a separate control console. Subjects stand upon the platform, while an operator works the controls. The device can transport characters to virtually any time and place in Earth's timestream, and the operator can instantly return the travelers by manipulating the control console. Doctor Doom does not require the console to return to his own time—he can use the time-circuitry built into his own armor, allowing him to venture into time and return on his own without relying on someone to bring him back.
• A device to imbue people with superpowers.

Other versions

Doctor Doom's status as one of the Fantastic Four's greatest villains^[11] has led to his appearance in many of Marvel's alternate universes and spinoffs, in which the character's history, circumstances and behavior vary from the mainstream setting.

In other media

Doctor Doom has been included in almost every media adaptation of the Fantastic Four franchise, including film, television, and computer and video games.

Cultural impact

In the book Superhero: The Secret Origin of a Genre, Peter Coogan writes that Doctor Doom's appearance was representative of a change in the portrayal of "mad scientists" to full-fledged villains, often with upgraded powers.^[123] Doctor Doom is also emblematic of a specific subset of supervillain, which comic book critic Peter Sanderson describes as a "megavillain".^[123] These supervillains are genre-crossing villains who exist in adventures "in a world in which the ordinary laws of nature are slightly suspended"; characters such as Professor Moriarty, Count Dracula, Auric Goldfinger, Hannibal Lecter, Lex Luthor, and Darth Vader, also fit this description.^[123] Sanderson also found traces of William Shakespeare’s characters Richard III and Iago in Doctor Doom ; all of them "are descended from the 'vice' figure of medieval drama", who address the audience in monologues detailing their thoughts and ambitions.^[124]

Described as "iconic",^[125] Doctor Doom is one of the most well-received supervillains of the Marvel Universe, as well as one of the most recurring;^[125] in his constant battles with heroes and other villains, Doctor Doom has appeared more times than any other villain.^[11] The comics site Panels of Awesome ranked Doctor Doom as the number one villain in their listing of the top ten villains in comics;^[126] Wizard Magazine went a step further by declaring Doctor Doom the fourth greatest villain of all time.^[127]

Comic Book Resources ranks Doctor Doom as their fourth favorite Marvel character. Journalist Brent Ecenbarger cited him being able to "stand up against entities like Mephisto, the Beyonder, and Galactus and often comes out on top", as well as the tragedy of any "other number of circumstances could have led to Doctor Doom being a savior, but as it is, instead he remains Marvel’s greatest villain." Fellow journalist Jason Stanhope called his "master[ing] of sorcery and technology an unusual combination", and also felt "his inner sense of nobility sets him apart from lesser villains, in a similar manner to Magneto."^[128] Doctor Doom has also been favorably regarded by those who wrote for the character; Stan Lee declared Doctor Doom his favorite villain, saying that Doom "could come to the United States and he could do almost anything, and we could not arrest him because he has diplomatic immunity. Also, he wants to rule the world and if you think about it, wanting to rule the world is not a crime."^[129] Mark Waid echoed Lee's assessment of the character, stating that Doom "[has] got a great look, a great visual design [and] a dynamite origin."^[130]

A ride called Doctor Doom's Fearfall is located at Islands of Adventure in the Universal Orlando Resort.^[131]

Merchandise

Since Dr. Doom is one of Marvel's most prominent supervillains, he has been featured in many forms of merchandise, including various action figures and trading cards:

• The first Dr. Doom figure was part of the Toybiz Marvel Superheroes line.
• Later, a Dr. Doom figure in the Marvel Secret Wars line was released with a "Secret Shield"
• Toybiz also released a Dr. Doom figure based on the 1994 Fantastic Four television series.
• In the 21st Century, Toybiz released two Dr. Doom figures in their Marvel Legends line, one of Dr. Doom himself, and a variant Doombot.
• A few years later, Hasbro released a Dr. Doom figure in their Marvel Legends line. A repaint of this figure was released in 2013 in the Marvel Legends Epic Heroes wave. A rare variant of this figure was also released featuring Dr. Doom in his Future Foundation armor.
• In 2008, a "Slash Attack" Dr. Doom figure was released as part of the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer toy line based on the 2007 movie. This figure included the Silver Surfer's stolen surfboard and a cosmic axe.
• A Dr. Doom figure was part of series 3 of the Marvel Universe figure line. A Future Foundation variant of this figure was later released in a two pack with Spider-Man.
• Marvel Select also released a figure of Dr. Doom that included his Latverian Throne.
• In 2012, Dr. Doom was also a part of the popular trading card game "Hero Attax", where the villain was featured as one of the series most powerful cards.
• There have been several versions of Doom in the Marvel Minimates line, including, classic, First appearance and Secret Wars I.

References

External links

• Doctor Doom at the Marvel Universe wiki

• Doctor Doom on Marvel Database, a Marvel Comics wiki
• Doctor Doom at the Comic Book DB

Fantastic Four Stan Lee Jack Kirby Core members Mister Fantastic Invisible Woman Human Torch Thing Supporting cast Agatha Harkness H.E.R.B.I.E. Inhumans Crystal Medusa Willie Lumpkin Lyja Alicia Masters Namor She-Hulk Ms. Marvel/She-Thing Silver Surfer Thundra Frankie Raye Franklin Richards Valeria Richards Franklin Storm Uatu the Watcher Wyatt Wingfoot Yancy Street Gang Villains Annihilus Blastaar Diablo Doctor Doom Doombots Dragon Man Frightful Four Galactus Impossible Man Klaw Kree Ronan the Accuser Mad Thinker Maximus Mole Man Molecule Man Psycho-Man Puppet Master Red Ghost Skrulls Dorrek VII Paibok Super-Skrull Terrax Trapster Kristoff Vernard Wizard Locations Baxter Building Four Freedoms Plaza Latveria Negative Zone Publications Previous Fantastic Force Fantastic Four FF Marvel Knights 4 Marvel Two-in-One Super-Villain Team-Up The Thing Limited Before the Fantastic Four: Ben Grimm and Logan Before the Fantastic Four: Reed Richards Before the Fantastic Four: The Storms Fantastic Four: 1234 Fantastic Four: The End Fantastic Four vs. the X-Men Other continuities Doom 2099 Fantastic Five Fantastic Four: Unstable Molecules Fantastic Four 2099 Marvel 1602: Fantastick Four Superman/Fantastic Four Ultimate Fantastic Four Storylines "The Galactus Trilogy" "This Man... This Monster!" "Days of Future Present" Alternate versions Mister Fantastic Human Torch The Thing Doctor Doom Related articles Doctor Doom's Fearfall Fantastic Four Incorporated Fantastic Four in popular media Fantasticar Future Foundation Spider-Man List of Fantastic Four members List of Ultimate Fantastic Four story arcs Unstable molecules

Silver Surfer Stan Lee Jack Kirby Supporting characters Adam Warlock Air-Walker Alicia Masters Avengers Beta Ray Bill Drax the Destroyer Fantastic Four Eternals Firelord Galactus Guardians of the Galaxy Infinity Watch Mantis Nova (Richard Rider) Nova (Frankie Raye) Pip the Troll Shalla-Bal Stardust Thor Enemies Annihilus Champion of the Universe Doctor Doom Ego the Living Planet Elders of the Universe Galactus Korvac Kree Mephisto Midnight Sun Morg Nebula Possessor Reptyl Red Shift Skrulls Stranger Terrax Thanos Tyrant Group affiliations Annihilators Defenders Heralds of Galactus The Order Titles and storylines Annihilation Fantastic Four The Galactus Trilogy Heroes Reborn The Infinity Gauntlet Ultimate Fantastic Four Silver Surfer Other media Silver Surfer (1990 video game) Silver Surfer (1998 animated series) episodes Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (film) Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (video game) See also Power Cosmic Supreme Intelligence Zenn-La Surfing with the Alien The Power Cosmic

Avengers Creators: Stan Lee Jack Kirby Initial members Ant-Man Captain America Hulk Iron Man Thor Wasp Antagonists Group enemies Legion of the Unliving Lethal Legion Masters of Evil Zodiac Individual enemies Baron Zemo Collector Count Nefaria Grandmaster Graviton Grim Reaper Immortus Kang Loki Space Phantom Taskmaster Thanos Ultron Headquarters Avengers Mansion Avengers Island Avengers Tower Variations A-Force A-Next Agents of Atlas Avengers A.I. Avengers Academy Dark Avengers Force Works Great Lakes Avengers Mighty Avengers New Avengers Members Secret Avengers Ultimates Members Uncanny Avengers West Coast Avengers Members Young Avengers In other media TV The Avengers: United They Stand The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes Avengers Assemble Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers Film Marvel Animated Features Marvel's The Avengers accolades soundtrack Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher Avengers: Age of Ultron soundtrack Production of Avengers: Infinity War Video games Avengers in Galactic Storm Captain America and The Avengers Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes Marvel: Avengers Alliance Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth Lego Marvel's Avengers See also: Category Book Members Titles

Spider-Man Created by: Stan Lee Steve Ditko Spider-Man family Peter Parker Scarlet Spider Ben Reilly Kaine Spider-Woman (Mattie Franklin) Steel Spider Anya Corazon The Superior Spider-Man Silk Supporting characters Liz Allan Black Cat Betty Brant Carlie Cooper Jean DeWolff Glory Grant J. Jonah Jameson John Jameson Ashley Kafka Ned Leeds Madame Web Harry Osborn Ben Parker May Parker Richard and Mary Parker Prowler Puma Randy Robertson Robbie Robertson Rocket Racer Silver Sable George Stacy Gwen Stacy Flash Thompson Ben Urich Mary Jane Watson Debra Whitman Villains Beetle Abner Jenkins Boomerang Black Cat Burglar Carnage Chameleon Doctor Octopus Electro Enforcers Green Goblin Norman Osborn Harry Osborn Hammerhead Hobgoblin Roderick Kingsley Jason Macendale Hydro-Man Jackal Jack O' Lantern Kingpin Kraven the Hunter Lizard Molten Man Morbius Morlun Mysterio Rhino Sandman Scorpion Shocker Silvermane Sinister Six Spider-Slayer (List Spencer Smythe Alistair Smythe) Spot Swarm Tinkerer Tombstone Venom (Eddie Brock) Vulture Locations Midtown High School Daily Bugle Empire State University Oscorp Parker Industries Alchemax Alternative versions Spider-Ham Spider-Girl Spider-Gwen Spider-Man 2099 Spider-Man Noir Ultimate Spider-Man Miles Morales Related topics Powers and equipment Publications The Amazing Spider-Man Storylines In other media (Television Video games Film) Symbiote Goblin Spider-Woman See also: Alternative versions of Mary Jane Watson Alternative versions of the Green Goblin Alternative versions of Venom