Doctor Doom (Marvel)

"I am Doom, destroyer of worlds! What Gods dare stand against me?"

- Doctor Doom

Doctor Doom (real name: Victor Von Doom) is a supervillain in the Fantastic Four metaseries and is the arch-nemesis of Reed Richards.

He is Stan Lee's personal favorite Marvel supervillain and is considered the most intelligent, out of all the villains in the Marvel Universe.

History
Victor Von Doom is the arch enemy of the Fantastic Four, and is the self-proclaimed unquestioned smartest man on Earth. Doom was born in a Romani family in the nation of Latveria, as the son of a witch and a herbalist. When his mother Cynthia was killed by demons (which she herself summoned to fight Latverian soldiers), he promised revenge, and the death of his father because of a Latverian tyrant only fueled his desire.

Doom began to master both magic and technology, and when his fame reached the United States, he gained the opportunity to study in America. There he met Reed Richards, one of the few men on the planet whose intelligence can even approach his own (and then not by much). Wishing to resurrect his dead mother, he attempted to construct a portal to hell; however, due to miscalculations, the device exploded and damaged his face. Though Doom was responsible for the incident, he still blamed Richards for the accident and withdrew from society for some time.

He then joined a mysterious order which taught him secret knowledge, including metallurgy. He used it to create a suit of power armor that he has been using (with some modifications) since that day. From that moment, and forever more, he has been known as Doctor Doom. He overthrew the previous ruler of Latveria and claimed it as his own, becoming the new ruler of his country. Quickly his path crossed with the Fantastic Four, who became his sworn enemies. However, he has also fought with almost every mega-hero in the Marvel Universe, and even some heroes outside of the Marvel Universe (example: Superman).

On that account, he has had more than a few serious setbacks such as when Reed Richards caused him to be deposed in favor of Prince Zorba. However, he eventually regained the throne with the help of Richards and his compatriots when he showed them that Zorba was laying waste to Latveria in his murderous madness. True, in their eyes they were participating in his retaking of the throne entirely for the sake of the oppressed people of Latveria, and that was good enough for him.

Unlike many other villains, Doom does not want to rule the world out of greed or hunger for power. Doom genuinely believes he should rule the world in order to shield it from the various possible futures he has seen thanks to his ability to travel through time. Thanks to these motives, Doom has, on several occasions, joined forces with heroes, even becoming part of the Fantastic Four's Future Foundation despite them being his archenemies.

Powers and Abilities
Doom's power is well known to be far greater than any other so-called "superhuman" on earth, and is only surpassed in power by those such as Galactus and Dormammu. But even they have not worked half as much as he in achieving that power. Doom's power is so great, that he has actually stolen and stored the powers of those "cosmic" beings, namely, the Beyonder.

His armor is extremely durable, and well-equipped with many weapons of all types, because Doom is always prepared for a battle. Besides just protecting him from physical harm, the armor also removes its wearer from reality, making him completely immune to any kind of mind control or matter manipulation. Doctor Dooms armor provides him with superhuman levels of strength and durability, allowing him to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Iron Man, Spider-Man, Captain America, the Hulk and the Thing. His armors energy manipulation capabilities allow Doom to create impenetrable force fields, project energy from his gauntlets and mask (Only when his mask is off does this feature work), generate a lethal electric shock, etc. Dooms armor also grants him the power of flight, technopathic abilities, and a molecular expander to turn pebbles into rocks.

Doom's mastery of science enabled him to create a massive army of Servoguards and other robotic weapons. His greatest creations are the Doombots; cybernetic copies of himself, which have also been infused with small portions of his own magical powers. A single Doombot poses more of a threat than many other supervillains would on their own, while posing no risk of personal harm to Doom himself.

His mastery of magic allows him to emit powerful blasts, create mystical force fields, cast curses and summon demons. It also allows him to travel through time and grants him the power of teleportation. It also allows him to manipulate matter itself to some extent, such as increasing the size of small objects to turn harmless pebbles into weapons. Doom acquired his vast magical powers by travelling back in time to learn about magic in its earliest stages and then returning to the present simply by waiting. This effectively makes Doom thousands of years old and strongly implies that he is immortal (though not invincible).

In other media
Doom appears in several video games where he's the main villain.

Doom is also the primary antagonist of Marvel Ultimate Alliance. In this game, he leads the Masters of Evil to take the power of the God of Gods, Odin. He succeeds and take control of the world, but at the same time the unrestrained power threatens to destroy the universe. In the end, the heroes, with the help of Odin, manage to defeat and destroy Doom.

Rumor even has it that the film-maker, George Lucas, took inspiration from Doctor Doom to create the cultural icon, Darth Vader.

Doom is also featured as the main villain in the first season of the children's television show, The Super Hero Squad Show. In the second season, he is reduced to the secondary antagonist.

Doom has appeared in several other such television shows, mainly ones centered around those infernal Fantastic Four.

Doom appears as one of the two main antagonists in Marvel vs. Capcom 3, alongside Albert Wesker. He joins forces with Wesker to combine their universes in an effort to conquer both, but unbeknownst to them, this awakens Galactus, who threatens to destroy both universes.

He is an exclusive character for the PSP game Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects.

In the films
Doom is portrayed by Julian McMahon in the film version of Fantastic Four and the primary antagonist in both films. He is the CEO and founder of Von Doom Industries, and is convinced by Reed Richards to let him, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm access his space station to test the exposure of the cosmic cloud. However, the cloud came quicker than expected when the shields were open, exposing all five and giving them their own powers. Also, an exploding control console that he was close to gave him a scar.

Due to the publicity from the space mission, Doom was told by his lead banker, Ned Cecil, that his company was lost, and he would no longer participate in any transactions. When Doom discovered his powers, his arm began to turn into metal and he can create electricity - he used them to kill Ned, and then tricked Ben, who was mutated into a rock-like creature, that Reed does not intend to change him back to the way he was. He completed the machine Reed was working on and as Ben entered it to return to his original form, he absorbed power from it, increasing his power, and began calling himself Doctor Doom.

Doom attacked Reed next, using his electricity to defeat him before he began freezing him with a supercooling unit. He shot a heat-seeking missile at Johnny, but Johnny was able to fly away and destroy it by setting a garbage barge on fire. Sue fought against Doom but was at a disadvantage until Ben returned, having used the machine to turn back into The Thing, and fought Doom. Eventually all of the Fantastic Four fought him at once, ending with Johnny superheating Doom by turning supernova, and Ben spraying him with a fire hydrant to harden him. He returns to his country soon thereafter.

In Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, it's revealed that Doom survived, and was soon able to move again. When the Silver Surfer arrived, Doom confronted him, but the Silver Surfer blasted him with an energy wave, healing his body (but not taking away his powers). Doom made a deal with General Hager of the American military to join forces with the Fantastic Four to defeat the Silver Surfer by taking away his board, which was his source of power. Once they got the board, Hager allowed Doom to run tests on it only in his presence. However, Doom attacked them and took the board for himself, killing Hager in the process.

Doom attacked the Fantastic Four afterwards, ignoring them when they said the board would bring Galactus, who would destroy the world, and that they had to give the board to the Silver Surfer, who could stop him. As Doom threw a metal spike at the Silver Surfer, Sue jumped in front of him and took the hit, killing her (though she was later revived by the Silver Surfer). Johnny, who due to an encounter with the Silver Surfer had the ability to switch powers with anyone he touches, absorbed the powers of Reed, Sue, and Ben, and fought against Doom, beating him up and breaking his control over the board. Ben hit Doom with a crane, sending him flying into the harbor where he sank into the blackness of the water to his presumed death.

The Fantastic Four (2015)
Victor von Doom is the main antagonist in the movie.

Earth's Mightiest Heroes
Doctor Doom appears in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, voiced by Lex Lang. He was first mentioned in the episode "The Breakout" (Part 1) during a trade with A.I.M. was made on his behalf.

Doctor Doom made his first physical appearance in the second season premiere "The Private War of Doctor Doom" where he sends Lucia von Bardas and an army of Doombots to attack the Avengers Mansion and the Baxter Building which ended with the capture of Invisible Woman and Wasp. Doom had both heroes placed in a special machine as the Avenger and the Fantastic Four make their way towards Latveria.

Initially not wanting an international incident with Doctor Doom being the head of a sovereign nation on foreign soil, the Avengers try a stealth attack which Doctor Doom anticipates. Doctor Doom effortlessly defeats both the Avengers and the three remaining Fantastic Four members. Invisible Woman and Wasp are freed only by Doctor Doom's mercy and the machine is destroyed enabling the Avengers and the Fantastic Four to retreat.

In the final scene, Doctor Doom was going over the data he had received from the machine where he learns that "Invisible Woman" was actually a Skrull impostor the whole time.

In the episode "Infiltration", Doctor Doom returns and hands Iron Man a chip with the ability to scan human beings to see if they are Skrulls or not. He then leaves opting not to take part in the eventual rebellion against the full-scale invasion. In the episode "Emperor Stark", where Doctor Doom was seen battling Thor and Iron Man drones under the Purple Man's control. The outcome of the battle is never stated or shown.

Avengers Assemble
Maurice LaMarche reprises his role as Doctor Doom in Avengers Assemble. In the episode "The Avengers Protocol", Doctor Doom is briefly seen receiving a holographic message from Red Skull to join his Cabal. In the episode "The Serpent of Doom", Doctor Doom manages to obtain Ulik's weapon Codgel (following Ulik's fight against Thor) after intercepting it from some HYDRA agents with the help of his Doom-Dogs. Red Skull was not pleased with Doctor Doom obtaining the Codgel upon contacting him. Doctor Doom states that he is the only one capable of handling the Codgel and does not want to take up Red Skull's offer to join the Cabal. The Avengers tracked the Codgel's energy signature to the Latverian Embassy in order to retrieve it.

Battling his Doombots, Doctor Doom enters the fight standing toe to toe against Thor. Doctor Doom used the modified Codgel to fulfill the supposed legends release the Midgard Serpent with hopes of enslaving it to conquer the globe. After a battle with the Avengers, he and the Midgard Serpent were banished to the Realm Below using the extra-dimensional portal that was used by Ulik. In the episode "The Doomstroyer", Doctor Doom takes control of the Destroyer which he uses to attack the HYDRA Agents and the A.I.M. Agents that are in Latveria.

During his fight with the Avengers, Doctor Doom mentioned that he has seen all of the Asgardian worlds which explained how he was able to gain control of the Destroyer. The effects of Doctor Doom controlling the Destroyer has even caused him to attack his own people. With help from Loki, Thor, Captain America and Falcon were able to trace Doctor Doom to Helheim where he is using the Helhorn to control the Destroyer and is being guarded by the Midgard Serpent. Iron Man was able to get through to Doctor Doom as he deactivates the Destroyer.

Captain America then removes the Helhorn from Doctor Doom as he is evacuated from Helheim and returned to Latveria. Doctor Doom then turns down Iron Man's charity offer to help with the relief in Latveria and orders the Avengers to leave as they have more pressing matters to attend to.

In the episode "Planet Doom", Doctor Doom uses his Time Platform to go back in time to prevent the Avengers from forming, such as leaving Captain America in ice, saving Tony Stark's life after a bomb was used on him, saving Bruce Banner before he can be transformed into the Hulk (while constructing a special gamma-proof suit), ending all conflict, eliminating all diseases, and solving world hunger.

Doctor Doom then takes over the world to save it from the corruption of humanity where he is served by Black Bride (this reality's version of Black Widow), Bruce Banner, and Tony Stark (operating under the name Brain Trust). When Thor returned to Earth- having been on Asgard and hence unaffected by the changes in history when Doom used the Time Platform- he learns of what happened when he meets the Defenders (consisting of Clint "Bullseye" Barton, Peter "Slinger" Parker, and Sam "Snap" Wilson). After the group is captured by Black Bride and the Doombots, Doctor Doom tries to get Thor to divulge the secrets of Mjolnir.

Upon not getting any info from Thor, Doctor Doom arranges for their public termination. Before the termination can commence, Black Bride takes the opportunity to turn on Doctor Doom as Punisher (who was disguised as an executioner) destroys the Doombots that held the Defenders. Upon taking down Thor, Doctor Doom tries to lift Mjolnir as Black Bride resuscitates him. The battle was enough to free Captain America from ice as Brain Trust and Bruce Banner help to defeat Doctor Doom.

Upon using the Time Platform, Thor goes back in time to the moment that Doctor Doom was about to use his Time Platform at one of his bases and secretly destroys it with lightning. When a Doombot asks if they should commence with the project, Doctor Doom blasts it stating that he will not commence it and leaves, undoing his changes to history.

In the episode "The Ambassador," Nick Fury is ordered by his superiors to have S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers protect Doctor Doom while he is speaking at the United Nations, due to the cabal wanting to attack him when he did not join them. During a fight with Attuma, Dracula and the Red skull, but it was actually a ploy to get him to Avenger's tower to improve his tech using the Avenger's. After making it back to Latveria, he discovers that the information he downloaded was a Trojan Horse program as a transmission from the Avengers state that they knew Doctor Doom would try something like this.

Captain America then states to Doctor Doom that if he ever leaves Latveria again, he will be arrested. The Trojan Horse program then shuts down Doctor Doom's power grid for weeks.

Lego Marvel Superheroes
Dr. Doom also appears in the 2013 Lego Video Game Lego Marvel Superheroes as one of the three main antagonists alongside Loki and Galactus. Galactus sent the Silver Surfer to herald his arrival before the Surfer was shot down by Doom's jet. Iron Man witnessed the event and then caught Sandman and Abomination trying to steal the cosmic bricks found in the Silver Surfer's surfboard.

After a long war between the heroes and the villains, Nick Fury revealed to all the heroes of what he realized about the threat: Dr. Doom and Loki were gathering the cosmic bricks to invent a weapon out of them. Fury sent a strike team to their space station to stop them. Ben, Captain America, Storm and Spider Man arrived at the bridge, where they found Doom and Loki, destroyed his defenses and eventually defeated Doom. Ben quotes his famous catchphrase "It's finally clobberin' time!" before delivering a giant punch to Doom and hurling him out into space.

After Doom's defeat, Loki revealed that the weapon was actually being used to aid Galactus in his quest to consume Earth and the heroes formed an alliance with all the villains to stop him.

In the final battle, the villains and heroes managed to destroy the weapon and receive the cosmic bricks back and managed to defeat Loki and Galactus, sending them both through a portal that cast them both out into space again and away from Earth.

After that, the villains left and the heroes reconstructed the Surfer's board from the cosmic bricks and the Surfer said that he would use it to find Galactus and drive him away from Earth and set out to do this.

Superhero Squad Show
Dr. Doom appeared as the main antagonist of the first season of the Superhero Squad Show. He had the Abomination and MODOK working with him.

He once tried to rule the world by using the Infinity Sword. Iron Man, however, interfered by grabbing onto the Infinity Sword that made it shatter to a million pieces. These pieces had a different variant of the Infinity Sword's power. However, these pieces had strange effects on what they first had in contact with. Other villains wanted these powers to rule the world. So the entire first season had conflict with these pieces between Doom and the Superhero Squad. At the end of the season, all of the pieces were found and reassembled as the sword. The sword's power attracted the attention of Galactus to devour the Earth.

Trivia

 * In many incarnations, Doom is directly defeated by Ben Grimm.