Top 10 Things To Know About Doctor Doom Before Doomsday
#10: Latveria Is His Kingdom
Doctor Doom’s not just a supervillain, he’s also the ruler of a country called Latveria. Doom’s relationship to Latveria is an interesting one. Many characters in comics have ruled their own kingdoms but Doom didn’t inherit the throne, he took it by force. Originally Latveria was governed by a tyrant named Vladimir Fortunov. He made life challenging for Victor growing up, and eventually he left to pursue his studies abroad. However, after Victor became Doctor Doom he returned and killed Fortunov. Doom cemented himself as Latveria’s new king, and interestingly the people love him. That’s right, Doctor Doom has turned Latveria into an incredibly peaceful nation. He might be a supervillain but he’s also a benevolent ruler, and that contradiction makes him super compelling!
#9: Reed Richards Is His Greatest Rival
Victor von Doom and Reed Richards go way back. In fact, they were roommates together in Empire State University. But their friendship went out the window when Reed warned Victor of a grave mathematical mistake he made when working on a very important project. The project was a machine to contact other realms. Sure enough, Reed was right and the machine blew up in Victor’s face, which led him on the path to become Doctor Doom. Reed and the rest of the Fantastic Four would also get powers of their own on a space expedition. Consequently, the rivalry between Mr. Fantastic and Doctor Doom was cemented. In another world Victor and Reed could have stayed friends, but instead they’ve become each other’s greatest enemies.
#8: He’s (Sort Of) Scarred
The accident that fractured Victor and Reed’s relationship was the gift that kept on giving. That’s because when Doom’s machine went kablooey, it injured his face. The damage inflicted onto Victor not only humiliated him but also spurred the villain to create his iconic metal mask. However, Doom was so impatient trying to cover himself that he actually made things worse. While the mask was being forged, he sped things up by placing the scorching hot metal onto his face which further scarred him. Yeah Doom wasn’t the brightest at first. Interestingly, many stories have shown that Doom’s face is actually barely scarred at all! Instead he just considers himself disfigured despite that not being true. Scars or no scars, Doctor Doom’s got serious issues!
#7: He’s a Master of Magic & Science
Magic and science are often considered opposites, and mastering just one of these disciplines is incredibly challenging, so being able to master both is extremely rare. But this is Doctor Doom we’re talking about, and if anyone can strike a balance between science and magic, it’s him. Magic has always been super important for Victor and he has an extensive knowledge of spells, energy-manipulation, and teleportation among other skills. He knows a lot about the dark arts and has had his fair share of battles with the mystical side of Marvel. He’s actually so good at magic that he once became the Sorcerer Supreme! When you combine all that expertise on the arcane with Doom’s high-end tech then you’ve got one truly well-equipped bad guy.
#6: The Doombots Are One of His Greatest Creations
Speaking of high-end tech, Victor has his own personal army of life-like duplicates known as Doombots at his every beck and call. They look like Doom, talk like Doom, and act like Doom. These robots are so realistic that they’ve even fooled superheroes on more than one occasion. There’s been so many times in comics when it looked like Doctor Doom was defeated just for it to be revealed that it was a Doombot. They’re so commonly used that they’ve essentially turned into Marvel’s greatest plot device. Think about it: Doctor Doom can use the Doombots to basically carry out any and all of his plans. Could you imagine having an army of other yous at your service? Now that’s the dream!
#5: Victor Believes He’s the Hero
One of the big rules about good writing is to make your antagonist feel complex. As such, like many other evildoers, Doctor Doom thinks that he’s doing the right thing. What sets him apart though is that in many ways he actually is doing the right thing. Earlier we mentioned that he took over Latveria, and since then the place has essentially become a paradise for its citizens. Plus, when Victor met Bast the Panther god of Wakanda (long story), the two discovered that out of countless timelines the only one which truly achieved peace was the one run by Doctor Doom. Sure that definition of peace could be argued a little, but hey if this isn’t high praise then we don’t know what is!
Let’s face it, supervillains can be pretty freaking cool, and if you can’t get enough of the morally wicked don’t worry because there’s plenty more evildoer entertainment where that came from! We cover all sorts of monstrous villains on WatchMojo’s 24/7 livestream! Scan the QR code on screen to join us for the best bad guy breakdowns and more!
#4: Doctor Doom Has Mommy Issues
The loss of a parent is a common staple for superheroes as well as the occasional villain, and sure enough, this trope applies to Victor as well. He lost his mother Cynthia when she made a deal with Mephisto to try freeing her oppressed people and got sent to Hell in the process. Hey it happens to everyone! Jokes aside, the loss of his mother deeply rattled Victor and motivated him to study magic. Rescuing his mom has been one of his most important missions and he actually pulled it off with Doctor Strange’s help. Ironically though, Cynthia doesn’t have the best view of her son considering the ruthless lengths he went to in order to free her. Wow, there’s just no pleasing some people!
#3: He’s More Powerful Than Thanos
Admittedly, powerscaling in comics is kind of tricky. We could tell you that Doctor Doom is more powerful than Thanos and we’d definitely get some pushback. That being said, it’s still true. In the comic book storyline “Secret Wars”, Thanos threw shade at Victor and in retaliation he ripped out Thanos’ spine! Besides comics, the MCU is also making sure to show that Doctor Doom is more powerful than Thanos. Through trailers we’ve already seen him brush Thor off like nothing, whereas in the past Thor was a major problem for Thanos. Sure, Thanos might have the edge over Victor in some areas like brute strength. However, when it comes to everything else he simply doesn’t come close to rivalling Doctor Doom.
#2: Avengers: Endgame Might Have Ruined Doctor Doom’s Life
The MCU was at an all-time high when “Avengers: Endgame” hit theaters. If you need perspective, watching the film was so intense that some fans were even hospitalized during it. But while the Avengers’ time-travel antics stopped Thanos and saved the day, they might’ve created a worse threat. While we don’t know all the details yet, it’s widely believed that their messing with the timeline was the cause for the incursions, and that this ruined Victor’s life. Heck, the trailers even suggest that much, and now there’s heavy speculation that Victor lost his family because of “Endgame”. Regardless of whatever the real story is, what we know for certain is that Doctor Doom and the Avengers are going to have some major beef going on!
#1: Victor’s Been a God Emperor
Ok, when we mentioned that Victor ripped out Thanos’ spine, the fact that he was currently God Emperor Doom definitely helped him out there. You see, during Jonathan Hickman’s “Secret Wars” comic event, Doctor Doom gained a major level-up. He destroyed omniversal villains called the Beyonders and absorbed their power, becoming God Emperor Doom as a result. From there, Doom stitched the splintered parts of the multiverse into a planet called Battleworld. One world under Doom. God Emperor Doom is Victor’s most powerful incarnation and he rewrote reality in his own image. Pretty sweet right? We probably won’t get God Emperor Doom in “Avengers: Doomsday”, but hey, it could be fair game for the MCU’s “Secret Wars”!
Are there any essential Doctor Doom facts you think we left out? School everyone down in the comments! Also, be sure to let us know if you’re as excited for “Avengers: Doomsday” as we are!
