Doctor Doom, easily the most recognizable Marvel villain of all time. Since his creation by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Doom‘s defining trait was his envy. While being the benevolent leader of his own country, there are things always out of his grasp. It’s what drives his hate for the Fantastic Four, especially Mr. Fantastic. But after 2015’s Secret Wars Doom goes through a period of development. Starting as a supporting character before becoming the Infamous Iron Man, he gets everything he has ever wanted. But by the time the FF return, Doom seems to revert back to his old self. That is until readers notice that Doom has changed.
Doctor Doom: According To Jack Kirby
As the video above states, neither Kirby or Lee consider Doom to only be a supervillain. Doom considers himself the smartest and most capable person in the room. But flaws as little as a scar on his face is why he wears a mask. Doom envies everyone else around him for having everything he could ever want: loving families, respect in the scientific community, and no scars. It’s why Doom tries his hardest to be the best at everything, from class to politics. His home of Latveria has become a haven under Doom’s rule, after taking it over.
But this envy is also what makes him so terrifyingly dangerous. Doom loathes Reed Richards because he has everything Doom could ever want, despite critical miscalculations. The origin of the Four for example, it was because Reed didn’t account for cosmic ray radiation shielding. Yet the ones who got the worst out of it like the Thing manage to live with these slip-ups and Reed. To Doctor Doom who had to push himself to the very limit to make up for his shortcomings, this is a grave insult. All because Doom believes he can do better.
Witness The (Stolen) Power of Doom!
There are times when Doom just isn’t satisfied with his own power and skills. Doom has a reputation of stealing great power from others and empowering himself to god-like levels. What does he do with that power? Usually he wastes it on ego trips or discards it all; in Doom’s own words:
Doom’s reasons are his own. Do not question them.
Doctor Doom
The ones that manage to stick around are more personal and mundane. The biggest example is his relationship with Valeria Richards, Reed’s daughter. In some ways Doom is closer to her than Reed ever could. This relationship and Doom’s tendency to throw power away is put to the test in Jonathan Hickman’s Fantastic Four run and Secret Wars. In the end, Doom finds that ultimate power is unfulfilling. So Valeria encourages him to try something new.
The Infamous Iron Man
For a while Doom was ready to turn over a new leaf as a hero. He gives up his throne on Latveria while trying to allow it to become a free state. Then he works with people he secretly admires like Iron Man. But when Iron Man ends up losing his cool, Doom takes it upon himself to take up the mantle. The Infamous Iron Man allows Doom to make peace with some people. Not least of which is the mother he saved by sacrificing her respect for him. That is until an old trauma of Doom’s is triggered, the burning of his face.
Is An Old Shame
In Doom’s shame, he finds that his attempts to be a hero and belief in others backfired. Latveria is in a civil war and Doom doesn’t have it in him to lead by example anymore. So Doom returns to being a conqueror after one of his followers inspire him. But what does Doom really want as he goes back to trying to one-up the Fantastic Four?
Doctor Doom Redefined
In Christopher Cantwell’s Doctor Doom, Victor Von Doom is pushed to his very limits. His rule of Latveria gets compromised by a political affair and he finds the life he always wanted. In that other universe, Doom is happy ruling the world with his family and working with Reed as equals. But the other Doom also reveals a few hard truths. Doom always had the means to restore his face with or without god-like power. The other Doom considers the doctor’s armor a shell. Insulted, Doom kills his other self and destroys this other universe in retaliation.
Now on first glance this looks like Doom living in denial. But on a closer look, it shows what drives Doctor Doom more than anything. At first Doom’s envy looks like it’s on the way to giving him fulfillment. Because who better to aspire to other than your best self? But Doom bows to no one, not even himself! Despite his slip-ups, Doom takes pride in his faults as they allowed him to push him beyond his limits.
The Mask Is The Real Face of Doctor Doom!
Doctor Doom’s legacy as a supervillain may have been built on envy, but it’s grown beyond that. Doom values his merits more than his image; that’s why he considers his mask his real face. There’s no point in erasing Doom’s scars as much as wishing things were different. Doom values his flaws as much as his perfections. It’s a neurotic duality of self-acceptance that makes him a compelling villain.
For Doom it’s no longer about having it all, that’s just a means to an end. Neither does Doom want to take the mundane if healthier way to get a utopia through compromise. Doom accepts what he lost, what he will lose, and what he will be judged for. Because he will defy it every moment of his life.
But the ink’s not dry yet so keep your attention on Doom! Thanks for coming to the end and as always remember to look between the panels.