The COMPLETE DOOM Timeline Explained
The Complete DOOM Timeline Explained
Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’ll be going over the entirety of the “DOOM” timeline from start to finish and determining where exactly “DOOM: The Dark Ages” is most likely going to take place.
Whereas many franchises may begin with a game that was released much, much later after the first game, the story of “DOOM” begins with the 1993 original game. It’s about as simple as “DOOM” can get, really. Here, we learn about how Hell itself managed to invade Mars. The Union Aerospace Corporation had been running volatile experiments involving the process of teleportation. In conducting these experiments, the UAC’s scientists accidentally open a gateway that allows demons to invade, tearing the facility and its staff apart. Deimos, one of Mars’s moons, is completely taken off the grid, causing the UAC’s base on Phobos, Mars’s other moon, to sound the alarm and request assistance. Enter the man we know as Doom Guy, a disgraced marine who is forced to accept the task after refusing to follow his commanding officer’s orders. Unfortunately, by the time Doom Guy arrives, it is too late. Much of the UAC’s staff have been slaughtered or become possessed to fight on Hell’s behalf. Doom Guy is now a one-man army. Not only does he manage to storm through Phobos by the skin of his teeth, he even manages to reach the missing Deimos where the invasion began. Soon after, Doom Guy breaks into Hell itself and discovers the source of the invasion, the head honcho that led the invasion: the Spider Mastermind. A few BFG shots and some assaults with the plasma rifle bring an end to the fleshy cybernetic spider, and the galaxy is at peace once again…or so we had hoped.
Upon entering a portal to return to Earth, Doom Guy finds that his home is not what it was when he left. While he was away, Hell had managed to invade and conquer almost all of Earth. Yes, this is where “DOOM II: Hell on Earth” begins as Doom Guy looks for survivors and helps propel them into space while he tries to eradicate all of Hell’s forces. Sure enough, a massive war between the one-man army and the demons ensues with the colossal Icon of Sin leading the charge. A few rockets to the Icon of Sin’s exposed brain brings an end to the conflict, allowing the humans to return home and begin rebuilding society.
Shockingly, this cataclysmic series of events does not hinder the UAC in any way, shape, or form. The corporation is allowed to resume their activities so long as they can mitigate things from escalating like this again. Their solution? Coat all areas where UAC staff are not operating with obscene levels of nuclear radiation. Like…”nothing can possibly survive this, not even a cockroach” levels of radiation. Yet somehow, something did, and this is where “DOOM 64” comes in. The UAC receives a ping from one of their satellites, signaling that something has survived and broken through the barrier. But by the time they can react, it is too late - the Mother Demon had resurrected dead demons and soldiers to conquer UAC’s facility, and it is up to Doom Guy once again to drive Hell back to where it came from. While venturing through the UAC and Hell, he learns of a secret weapon called the Unmaker, a laser rifle that, when powered by three Demon Keys, can eradicate almost anything in its path. However, even after the Mother Demon’s death at the hands of Doom Guy, Hell’s forces are still advancing with their plans. Turns out the Mother Demon had a twin sister known as the “Resurrector”, who then banishes Doom Guy all the way back to the UAC for another round of demon-slaying. Of course, this takes almost no effort for our tormented hero. Sadly, Doom Guy comes to accept that if he was to return home, there is no telling when this might happen again. The best way to save humanity is to remain in Hell to keep the demons busy. So long as he is alive, Hell knows it cannot fully execute an invasion again. And so, Doom Guy remains and is soon to be known as “the Doom Slayer”.
Now, normally, this is where we jump into the third game (technically, the fourth game) in the franchise, but here’s the weird thing about “DOOM 3” - it’s kind of its own thing. Folks have their own thoughts and theories about how it ties into everything, though. For instance, the manual for the SNES port of “DOOM” does state that the original game takes place in 2022. And with “DOOM 3” taking place in 2145, it’s safe to say that “DOOM 3” was a separate event that occurred while the Doom Slayer remained in Hell. Besides, “DOOM’s” 2016 reboot takes place four years after the events of “DOOM 3”, meaning much of what happened in “DOOM 3” is more or less isolated. Regardless, it is worth mentioning that the UAC grew substantially over this period of time. Operations expanded tenfold with bigger bases, more advanced technology, more staff, everything. And of course, more problems occur. Staff become deeply disturbed with the possession of mysterious artifacts and certain staff members becoming corrupt with power given by their positions on the UAC totem pole. Turns out one Doctor Malcom Betruger has been trying to revisit the idea of teleportation experiments, and just when one panicked scientist tries to warn the UAC back on Earth, all hell breaks loose. Literally. A teleportation experiment goes haywire, allowing Hell to invade and practically repeat the events of the first game. Luckily, an unnamed marine was on site this time and manages to repeat the Doom Slayer’s success while taking down all of the corrupt authority figures within this sector of the UAC.
As the events of “Doom 3” occurred, the Doom Slayer was suffering through a life of endless fighting, endless rage, and endless bloodshed. Though his fury would come to a moment of respite in a mysterious land known as Argent D’Nur where he would be captured by an ancient race of beings dubbed “the Sentinels”. The Sentinels see the Slayer’s potential. Despite his broken mental state, the Slayer could be refitted into a formidable soldier for the Night Sentinels and help them bring an end to Hell once and for all. The plan was to assault a city vital to Hell, the city of Teras Nabad. To assist in their fight, a group of alien beings called the Maykrs bestowed significant power unto the Slayer as well as a deadly weapon to smite his foes: the Crucible. With this aid, the Night Sentinels could carry out their attack. This massive war is likely where “DOOM: The Dark Ages” will take place, or, at the very least, lead up to. Developer id Software has already confirmed that “The Dark Ages” will serve as a prequel to “DOOM 2016” and that we will be facing a notorious target that appeared in this war: the Dreadnought Titan.
Not to possibly spoil the ending to “DOOM: The Dark Ages” (though this could be the start to a series leading up to “DOOM 2016”), but the Slayer and the Night Sentinels gained the upper hand and were about to finally end the war. That was until a third faction joined the fray and tipped the scales: the Maykrs. Yes, the seemingly noble assistants to the Sentinels had plans to turn the tide of battle and give Hell the advantage. The Maykrs lived off of a source of energy provided by their higher being, the Father. But one of their own, the Maykr known as Seraphim, betrayed them and had stolen the essence of the Father. The essence was never fully recovered and placed the entire Maykr race in a compromising position: let their kind slowly wither and die, or seek a new source of energy. While the war between the Night Sentinels and Hell had raged on, the Maykrs learned that they could live off a power source called Argent Energy. This material was created from the souls of the damned, which could then be purified by Maykr technology to become a renewable source of energy. The husk of said soul is then turned into a demon. The Maykrs live another day while Hell gains a new soldier.
This sudden betrayal put the Slayer and the Night Sentinels at a severe disadvantage, and it didn’t take long for Hell and the Maykrs to plot a trap that would imprison the Slayer. Allies of the Maykrs known as the Blood Priests sacrificed their own temple in Kadingir Sanctum to trap and encase the Slayer within a massive sarcophagus. Hell was finally free to attempt yet another invasion on Earth, starting where they did the first time.
This is where “DOOM 2016” begins and where our stories between the events of Hell and the Maykrs’ traitor cross paths. The one known as Seraphim received a message from the Father following their disappearance. According to the Father, the human race was bound to discover the power of Argent Energy as they continued operations on Mars, and if Hell was to be eradicated, the Maykrs and the Sentinels would need their help. Transferring his consciousness into a cloned human named Samuel Hayden, Seraphim, now Hayden, would help the UAC’s mining and scavenging operations on Mars while also accelerating the humans’ eventual discovery of Argent Energy. Unfortunately, Hayden would discover that things had taken a turn for the worse. While on one of the UAC’s many expeditions, Hayden and his team came across a mysterious sarcophagus.
Shortly after extracting the sarcophagus, Hayden grew suspicious of one UAC member, a Doctor Olivia Pierce. Pierce was put in charge of researching and solving Earth’s own ongoing energy crisis, and when she came into contact with Argent Energy, it soon caused damage to her spine. She was not bound to a wheelchair for long until she underwent a surgery that transplanted her body into an exoskeleton made of titanium. But what truly changed Pierce was when she established contact with Hell and was promised not just a cure for her illness, but to wield the powers of a god. But first, she would have to aid in the Slayer’s capture and make sure his sarcophagus was never found. The mission failed, however. Pierce sabotaged Hayden and the UAC’s entire operations by opening the portal between Mars and Hell, causing the deaths of hundreds of her fellow staff members. Hayden was able to isolate himself and open the Slayer’s sarcophagus remotely. Once again, it was time…to rip and tear…until it was done.
The Slayer ripped through every demon in his path, tore every limb that dared to impede him, all until he had finally cornered Pierce in Argent D’Nur. Pierce had been mortally wounded and was quickly sacrificed and transformed into the Spider Mastermind. Hell promised her godhood, and they delivered. However, it was still not enough to stop the Slayer.
With the Spider Mastermind defeated, Hayden manages to teleport the Slayer back to the UAC, though this time, their meeting is brief. Hayden acknowledges that the Slayer could pose a threat to his own plans in saving the Maykrs and stopping Hell. And so, he sends the Slayer to an unknown location.
Hayden returns to Earth and informs mankind about the impending war with Hell. Despite all of their efforts, all of their time planning, and the acceleration of the human race discovering Argent Energy, it was not enough. Hell invades Earth once more and succeeds in conquering the entire planet, thus setting forth the events of “DOOM: Eternal”. Some humans manage to survive, though they know their doom is imminent. Unbeknownst to them, one is hearing their cries for help from a nearby space station.
Just outside of Earth’s orbit lies an ancient space station called the Fortress of Doom. At some point between the events on Mars and the second invasion of Hell, the Slayer had discovered this mystical base made of Maykr technology. It was here that the Slayer would be able to teleport to Earth and back as he hunted down the Blood Priests, the Maykrs, and of course, the forces of Hell. And as expected, he brought down every one of them regardless of how much they threw at him. Both the Khan Maykr and the newly resurrected Icon of Sin were defeated by the Slayer, saving Earth once more and allowing them to enter a second era of rebuilding.
While Earth begins another period of recovery, the Slayer sets out to tie up loose ends in the DLC for “DOOM: Eternal”, “The Ancient Gods - Part One”. It is here that Hayden reveals all to the Slayer. He tells him his true identity as the Seraphim, he tells the Slayer about the Maykrs, their biology, and soon, his true intentions to turn the Slayer and all of humanity into servants of the Gods. Seraphim orders the Slayer to locate the Father’s essence at the Luminarium, but as soon as he does, the Slayer turns on him and destroys the Father’s essence instead. Seraphim fights the Slayer as a last resort, but succumbs to his injuries. Only one last target for the Slayer to hunt: the Dark Lord himself.
“The Ancient Gods - Part Two” depicts one massive war between the Slayer and the Dark Lord. To no one’s surprise, the Dark Lord is defeated, but because of their shared connection, the Slayer falls unconscious before being imprisoned in his sarcophagus by the Maykrs.
Could unknown agents be at play here? Could there possibly be more traitors within the Maykrs’ own, or maybe even one within the Sentinels? Whatever lies ahead in “DOOM: The Dark Ages”, perhaps this step backward is necessary to propel the story forward, and hopefully, towards a much more conclusive end.
Tell us, what are you looking forward to the most in “DOOM: The Dark Ages”? Let us know down in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great videos everyday!
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