Doctor Doom (2000s Films)


 *  NOTE: This article is about the incarnation of Doctor Doom from the Tim Story film series. The mainstream version can be found here: Doctor Doom. 

"Susan, you're FIRED!"

- Dr. Doom before shocking Sue Storm.

"This is gonna be fun!"

- Doom confronts the Four during their battle

Victor Von Doom, aka Doctor Doom is the main antagonist of the Fantastic Four film directed by Tim Story and the secondary antagonist of its sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. He is the owner of Von Doom Industries and is the archenemy of the Fantastic Four.

He was portrayed by Julian McMahon, who is perhaps best known as Cole Turner from Charmed  and Jonah  in Marvel's Runaways.

Fantastic Four
In the first film, Dr Doom is the main antagonist. Victor Von Doom was the CEO of Von Doom Industries. Although initially reluctant, he was convinced by Reed Richards to allow him access to his space station to test the effects of exposure of a cosmic cloud. However, due to Reed miscalculating, the clouds materialized ahead of time causing Victor, Reed, Johnny Storm, Sue Storm, and Ben Grimm to be exposed to them, giving each their own type of power. Victor gained the ability to shoot bolts of electricity, and transforming into organic metal (along with a scar on his face from an exploding control console).

Victor lost his company as a result, and the other four, who came to be known as the Fantastic Four, became famous for heroic actions and overshadowed the news of his company's downfall. He killed stockholder Ned Cecil and decided to get revenge on Reed, whom he blamed for everything.

Victor learns that Reed created a machine that used the cosmic waves, and, in an attempt to get Reed's companion out of the way, he convinces Ben (who was transformed into a rock-like creature) that Reed wasn't going to turn him back to normal as he said he would, thus driving them apart.

Reed then becomes forced to test the machine on himself, and after a result of failure, he realizes that he doesn't have a large enough energy source to control the storm.

He then used his device to turn Ben to normal, while simultaneously absorbing power from it, and applying his own power into it. When Ben becomes normal, Victor, now having more power of his own, knocks Ben unconscious, and Reed, apparently having been healed of his condition, goes to the Baxter building and learns of what Victor has done, and is kidnapped by Doom. Victor later became known as Doctor Doom, putting on a metal mask to hide his disfigured face.

Doom then strapped Reed to a chair hooked to a supercooling unit, as Reed's power was to stretch like rubber. He tries to kill Johnny with a heat-seeking missile, as Johnny could start on fire, but Johnny avoided this by tricking the missile. Ben used the machine to turn back into "The Thing", and the Fantastic Four fought Doom, ending with Johnny burning him with supernova temperature (contained by Susan with a force field) and frozen in place when Ben sprayed him with water. He was sent back to New Latveria, presumed dead but electromagnetic interference suggested that he was still alive.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
In the second film, Dr Doom returns as the secondary antagonist.

Doom was released from his frozen imprisonment due to the cosmic energy of the Silver Surfer. Doom tracked him down and asked him to join forces with him. The Silver Surfer refused, and Doom attacked him, but the Silver Surfer blasted him with a cosmic energy wave, healing Doom's body in the process (but not taking away his powers).

Doom later makes a deal with the American Military, who had the Fantastic Four work with him to capture the Silver Surfer. However, Doom's part in this was a setup so he could obtain the Silver Surfer's board. He dons a set of armor, a cape with a hood, and a new metal mask, more resembling his comic book appearance. He takes the board and kills many US military personnel, and escapes the military facility. T

The Fantastic Four eventually track him down in the Fantasticar, and try to convince him to return the board to the surfer, given it's the only way to lead Galactus away from Earth, but Doom refuses to listen, and instead, crashes the Four in China. He sends a spear, made from the board, flying towards the now powerless Silver Surfer, but Sue jumps in the way, mortally wounded.

When the Four realize that Galactus has finally arrived, Reed realizes that Victor must have created a device connecting him to the board, and that destroying it is the only way to get the board back. Realizing that they can't all go against him and that Johnny has the ability to exchange powers with any of the for he touches, the rest of the four transfer their powers to Johnny. Using the combined powers of the Fantastic Four, Johnny fights Doom, destroys the device, causing him to be disconnected of the board, and Ben tops it off knocking him with a crane in midair, sending him falling into the water at the harbor where he sank to watery depths to his presumed death.

Personality
Victor Von Doom is an extremely intelligent, smart and sophisticated individual, considered to be the 2nd smartest person on Earth right behind Reed Richards. In addition to his incredible intelligence, Victor is later revealed to be a terrifyingly ruthless, egotistical, sadistic, psychotic, selfish, manipulative and extremely megalomaniacal individual.

He enjoys antagonizing and attempting to kill the Four, gloating about his vast power and also to wreak havoc, but most of all he loves to gain more and more power, thus, he is also a greedy individual.

His heinousness goes above and beyond in the novelization of Rise of the Silver Surfer where he refuses to stop Galactus from destroying the world when given the opportunity and takes joy in the thought of its destruction-laughing as innocent civilians die-and intends to fly into space to become a god over other planets.

Powers and Abilities

 * High-Level Intellect: He is highly intelligent and considerably smarter than most of humanity.
 * Electric Blasts: After his transformation, in the first film, we saw in the final fight scene that Doom can shoot electric blasts from his hands.
 * Superhuman Strength: He's got superhuman strength, and he is stronger than any of the Fantastic Four.
 * Durability: Because of his metal-steel like skin he has great durability and he is bulletproof.
 * Flight: In the sequel, he has the flight ability with the help of The Silver Surfer's board, together with it and it's cosmic power, Doom could fly with the board and access to its cosmic power.

Trivia

 * Doom is more of a homage to his Ultimate Marvel counterpart.
 * Despite being the secondary antagonist of Rise of the Silver Surfer, Doom served as The Heavy because even though Galactus was the bigger threat, his plan to harness the Surfer's board and gain the Surfer's powers drove the plot of the story.