Doctor Doom (Marvel)

"Before this day is ended, mankind shall grovel helplessly at my feet -- and, as fate has obviously ordained -- Doctor Doom shall be Master of Earth!"

- Doctor Doom

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

History
Victor Von Doom was 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 me secret knowledge, including metallurgy. He used it to create a suit of power armor that he have used (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 superhero in the Marvel Universe, and beyond (example; Superman).

On that account, he has had more serious setbacks such as when that cursed Richards enabled 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 my retaking of the throne entirely for the sake of the oppressed people of Latveria, and that was good enough for him.

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 have 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.

In other media
Doom appears in several videogames where even he's the main villain. However Doom was greatly disappointed by Richards and his like not appearing in fighting games made by Capcom (so that Doom could best them yet again) and the indignity of being second fiddle to the deluded Titan Thanos. Even with the third game, they used the Super-Skrull (along with Doom, naturally) because Richards was too cowardly to participate. And yes, that is a Doombot in any video in which Doom loses. Doom would never put himself in that much harm on purpose.

Doom is also the primary antagonist of Marvel Ultimate Alliance. In this 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 that cultural icon, Darth Vader.

Doom is also featured as the main villain in the children's television show, The Super Hero Squad Show.

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

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

In film
Main article: Doctor Doom (Fantastic Four)

Doom is portrayed by Julian McMahon in the film version of Fantastic Four. He is the CEO 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 rocklike 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 my 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 heet-seaking 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 me 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 my presumed death.