Doctor Doom facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Doctor Doom |
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A cosplayer dressed up as Doctor Doom
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Fantastic Four #5 (July 1962) |
| Created by | Stan Lee (writer-editor) Jack Kirby (artist/co-plotter) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Victor Von Doom |
| Species | Human |
| Place of origin | Romani camp outside Hassenstadt, Latveria |
| Team affiliations | Sorcerers Supreme The Cabal Intelligencia Future Foundation Astonishing Avengers Avengers Lethal Legion Guardians of the Galaxy |
| Notable aliases | King Boss Doombot Infamous Iron Man God Emperor Doom Rabum Alal |
| Abilities |
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Doctor Doom (Doctor Victor Von Doom) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Fantastic Four #5 (July 1962). The monarch of the fictional nation of Latveria, Doom primarily serves as the archenemy of Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four. He has also come into conflict with other superheroes in the Marvel Universe, including Spider-Man, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, the X-Men, and the Avengers. He has also been portrayed as an antihero at times, working with the heroes if their goals align and only if it benefits him.
Doctor Doom was ranked #4 by Wizard on its list of the 101 Greatest Villains of All Time and #3 on IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time. In a later article, IGN would declare Doom as Marvel's greatest villain.
The character has been substantially adapted from the comics into several forms of media, including television series, video games, and merchandise such as action figures and trading cards. Most notably, Doctor Doom has been portrayed in licensed Fantastic Four live-action feature films by Joseph Culp in Roger Corman's unreleased 1994 film; Julian McMahon in the 2005 film and its 2007 sequel; and Toby Kebbell in the 2015 film.
Contents
Publication history
Creation and development
Like many of Marvel's Silver Age characters, Doom was conceived by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. With the Fantastic Four title performing well, Lee and Kirby were trying to dream up a "soul-stirring…super sensational new villain" for the series. Looking for a name, Lee latched onto "Doctor Doom" as "eloquent in its simplicity — magnificent in its implied menace."
Due to the rush to publish, the character was not given a full origin story until Fantastic Four Annual #2, two years after his debut.
While the Fantastic Four had fought various villains such as the Mole Man, Skrulls, the Miracle Man, and Namor the Sub-Mariner, Doom managed to overshadow them all and became the Fantastic Four's archnemesis. During the 1970s, Doom branched out to more Marvel titles such as Astonishing Tales, The Incredible Hulk, and Super-Villain Team-Up (1975). Beginning with issue #42, he also had appearances in Marvel Team-Up (February 1976). Doom's origin was also a feature in Astonishing Tales when his ties to the villain Mephisto were revealed.
In the book Superhero: The Secret Origin of a Genre, Peter Coogan writes that Doom's original appearance was representative of a change in the portrayal of "mad scientists" to full-fledged villains, often with upgraded powers.
Powers and abilities
Possessing vast amounts of wealth, knowledge, technology and power, Dr. Victor Von Doom is often considered to be one of the most dangerous villains on Earth and throughout the Marvel Universe.
Doom is a polymath, scientist, and inventor who possesses genius-level intellect. Doom has invented several doomsday machines and robots during his career as a supervillain, among them being his Doombots. Doctor Doom can exert technopathic control over certain machines, most notably his Doombots. Throughout most of his publication history he has been depicted as one of the most intelligent humans in the Marvel Universe, famously restoring the Thing's human form (a feat Reed Richards also accomplished but had difficulty in maintaining). On the other hand, Richards managed to process all the computer calculations necessary to save the life of a disintegrating Kitty Pryde by himself, a feat that Doom professed to be unable to do. Doom has used his scientific talents to steal or replicate the power of other beings such as the Silver Surfer, the Beyonder and in one case the entity Galactus's world-ship.
Along with being a genius scientist and inventor, Doom is also a very powerful sorcerer. He was primarily taught by Tibetan monks, his power later increased to a considerable extent due to tutoring from his lover at the time, Morgan le Fay. He is capable of energy absorption and projection, manipulating electricity, creating protective shields, dimensional travel, healing, creating blizzards and summoning hordes of demonic creatures. Doom managed to come in second in a magic tournament held by the ancient sorcerer the Aged Genghis. After Strange relinquished the title of Sorcerer Supreme he admitted that Doom wielded enough magical power and abilities to become the new Sorcerer Supreme. Doom's skill and knowledge of magic also provides him a unique advantage over his intellectual rival Reed Richards who despite also being a scientific genius has little to no knowledge about the nature of sorcery and magic. Doom says that unlike Richards, he is familiar with both magic and science because of his parents.
The alien Ovoids inadvertently taught Doctor Doom the process of psionically transferring his consciousness into another nearby being through simple eye contact, as well as showing him other forms of technology which Doom uses to escape from incarcerations and to avoid being killed. However, if his concentration is broken, his mind can transfer back, and he rarely uses this power unless absolutely necessary due to his ego about his own appearance.
In addition, Doom has a remarkably strong and indomitable will, as demonstrated in the graphic novel Emperor Doom when he dared his prisoner, the mind-controlling Purple Man, to attempt to control him and he successfully resisted.
Doom's armor augments his natural physical strength and durability to superhuman levels, to the point where he is able to hold his own against and even overpower superhuman foes like Spider-Man, the Hulk and the Thing in combat, although he tends to rely on long-range tactics when engaging physically stronger opponents. It is also nigh-indestructible, being able to take hits from most superhuman adversaries to some cosmic-level beings, and protects Doom from matter manipulation, reality warping and psychic assaults. The armor has an arsenal of high-tech weaponry and gadgets integrated within it, including gauntlets that can discharge lasers and force blasts, a defensive force field generator, and a lethal electric shock that can stun or kill anyone who comes into contact with Doom. The armor is self-supporting, equipped with internal stores and recycling systems for air, food, water, and energy, allowing Doom to survive lengthy periods of exposure underwater or in outer space.
Even without his armor, Doom has proven himself to be a highly skilled hand-to-hand combatant. He has also displayed knowledge of pressure points and has been shown proficient with the use of shields and swords.
As the absolute monarch of Latveria, Doctor Doom rules the country with an iron fist and has frequently used his political power for his own personal benefit. Despite his infamous reputation as a supervillain, Doom has diplomatic immunity – allowing him to escape legal prosecution for most of his crimes. Doom also has total control of the nation's natural and technological resources, along with its manpower, economy, and military. Doom frequently monitors the citizens of Latveria from his castle and uses his Doombots to maintain order within his nation. Though from the outside it seems tyrannical, it seems the Latverian people really do adore Doom, as shown with two of his apprentices, Zora Vukovic, (aka, Victorious) and Kristoff Vernard. He is also known to harbor fugitive supervillains within Latveria as means of protecting them from prosecution, although he only does this for villains who play a part in his schemes. After renouncing his rulership, it is likely he lost this status.
Doom is known for the frequent plot device where in it is revealed that his actions were actually those of a "Doombot", one of Victor Von Doom's many robot doubles, either working on his behalf or as a result of rogue artificial intelligence. The plot element of Doombots is often used to retroactively erase events from Doom's history. This plot device was also used to explain that Kristoff Vernard was actually Doom for a brief time in the comics, believing himself to be the real Doom.
Psychology
On many occasions, Doom's only real weakness has been his arrogance. Layla Miller once reflected that Doom is incapable of accepting that he himself might be the reason for his failures. This is most keenly reflected in Doom's continued refusal to accept responsibility for the accident that fully scarred his face, instead preferring to blame Reed Richards for sabotaging his experiment. While his high opinion of himself is generally accurate, he is unable to accept when others may have a better understanding of a situation than he does, with the occasional exception of hearing the recommendations of heroes such as Mister Fantastic or the Thing when it is to his advantage. Even when teaming up with others against a greater threat, Doom will often try to subvert the alliance for personal gain.
Von Doom adheres to a strict code of honor at all times. However, Von Doom will keep his exact word, which may or may not be beneficial to the person to whom he has given his promise. For example, Doom may swear that he will not harm an individual, but that only means he will not personally harm that person; it does not mean he will prevent others from harming that person.
Doom's honor code means that he will not attack a respected opponent who is weakened or at a severe disadvantage, as he regards any victory resulting from such circumstances as hollow and meaningless.
Inventions
Doctor Victor Von Doom's genius in science and technology has allowed him to build numerous devices to handle enemies or acquire greater power. The most notable among them include:
- Doombots - Doombots have the face of the real Doctor Doom but with no hood and have guns. They are used for many missions, typically those where he fears defeat, thus functioning as his version of a Life Model Decoy. The Doombots are programmed to believe themselves to be the real Doctor Doom unless they are in his presence.
- Servo-Guards - Robots that are programmed to attack the enemies of Doom.
- Time Platform - One of Doctor Doom's most ingenious creations is this functioning time machine. It consists of a platform 10 by 10 feet (3.0 by 3.0 m) by 6 inches (150 mm) and a separate control console. Subjects stand upon the platform, while an operator works the controls. The device can transport characters to virtually any time and place in Earth's timestream, and the operator can instantly return the travelers by manipulating the control console. Doctor Doom does not require the console to return to his own time—he can use the time-circuitry built into his own armor, allowing him to venture into time and return on his own without relying on someone to bring him back. At least one of these platforms was captured by the Fantastic Four, and later used to transport Godzilla to the time period in which the series Moon Boy and Devil Dinosaur took place, though the creature's radiation eventually flung him back to the modern day.
- A device to imbue people with superpowers.
Accolades
- In 2006, Wizard Magazine ranked Doctor Doom 4th in their "100 Greatest Villains Ever" list.
- In 2008, CBR.com ranked Doctor Doom 4th in their "Top 50 Marvel Characters" list.
- In 2014, IGN ranked Doctor Doom 3rd in their "Top 100 Comic Book Villains" list.
- In 2018, Comicbook.com included Doctor Doom in their "7 Great Villains for Black Panther 2" list.
- In 2019, IGN ranked Doctor Doom 1st in their "Top 25 Marvel Villains" list.
- In 2022, Newsarama ranked Doctor Doom 2nd in their "Best Marvel supervillains" list.
- In 2022, Screen Rant included Doctor Doom in their "MCU: 10 Most Desired Fan Favorite Debuts Expected In The Multiverse Saga" list, in their "15 Most Powerful Black Panther Villains" list, and in their "10 Best Black Panther Comics Characters Not In The MCU" list.
- In 2022, CBR.com ranked Doctor Doom 1st in their "10 Coolest Avengers Villains" list, 3rd in their "13 Most Important Marvel Villains" list, and 5th in their "10 Most Iconic Black Panther Villains" list.
Portrayals
Victor Von Doom has been portrayed in movies by Joseph Culp, Julian McMahon and Toby Kebbell.
Images for kids
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Doctor Victor von Doom's Earth 1610 doppelgänger, Victor van Damme. Artwork for the cover of Ultimate Fantastic Four vol. 1, 12 (October 2004 Marvel Comics)
Art by Stuart Immonen
See also
In Spanish: Doctor Doom para niños
