Doctor Doom is one of the biggest, baddest villains in Marvel, and that’s not up for debate. Not only is he headlining the biggest Marvel event this season as the Sorcerer Supreme in One World Under Doom, but he’s gearing up to change the Marvel Cinematic Universe forever in Avengers: Doomsday. Victor Von Doom was first introduced all the way back in Fantastic Four (1961) #5, and has made it his personal mission to rip Marvel’s First Family, and anyone else who gets in his way, by any means necessary. Yet, despite how many atrocities this man causes out of nothing but spite, fans don’t hate Doom. They love him, and so do I.
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Doom is one of the most popular villains of all time, and that’s in no small part because his fanbase is convinced he’s the coolest character ever put to page. After all, Doom consistently shows off against the biggest threats in the multiverse, has stolen cosmic power to rival the gods innumerable times, and has the hardest panels in all of existence. Even heroes like Storm respect Doom’s game, so how could he not be incredible? In actuality, Doom isn’t cool at all, no matter how hard he tries to be, and that is what makes him the best villain in Marvel.
A Villain, Or a Tortured Soul?
Doom portrays himself as the smartest, most capable man to ever exist. Make no mistake, Doom is scarily intelligent and undeniably powerful. He’s an undisputed master of both science and the mystic arts, and has combined the seemingly opposing forces in a way that nobody else ever has, and possibly never could. His armor lets him stand up to practically anything that Iron Man has ever built, he’s created Big Bang Cannons that weaponize the building blocks of the universe to hurt Galactus, and he’s created the most overused and reliable method of time travel out there with the Time Platform. And let’s not forget his army of Doom Bots, all of which are nearly as powerful as the original.
Doom also presents himself as a noble, tortured man who is doing what he believes to be right for the world and his people. Doom personally led the uprising to dethrone Latveria’s previous dictator, and now presides over his kingdom as undisputed ruler. The people of Latveria love Doom, and every time a hero offers to help depose him, they actively fight against them. Doctor Doom is recognized as one of the noblest leaders out there, and when crap hits the fan, even the most righteous heroes might turn to Doom for help. His own archenemies in the Fantastic Four have done it more than their fair share of times, after all. All of this leads people to believe that Doom is as awesome as he claims.
Marvel’s Glorious Number One Fraud
If you really think that Doom is or believes everything he says, however, then you’re falling for Doom’s trap. Doctor Doom is nowhere near noble or benevolent, and every action he takes is to fulfill his own immeasurable ego. Doom is undeniably smart and powerful, but the entire point of his character is that he is always just one step behind Mister Fantastic. Reed has always been smarter than Doom, and the FF routinely save Doom just as often as he’s helped them. One of Doom’s most famous panels is him claiming godhood is beneath him, which happened immediately after Reed saved Doom from a pocket dimension he ruled over like a god until he got overthrown and imprisoned by his own creations.
Then there’s Doom’s supposed nobility, which is, of course, all an act. Doom is noble in the same way that Count Dooku is; he acts like a lordly gentleman to make himself seem more important and powerful while covering how he’s governed by his basest instincts. The entire crux of Doom’s character revolves around his ego. He wears his power armor specifically to cover his scarred face, and if his mask is ever ripped off, he will immediately flee because he cannot bear the thought of anyone seeing him with an imperfection. Despite how much you’ll hear Doom drone on about putting his people first, he’ll sacrifice Latveria without a second thought to advance his goals, as shown in One World Under Doom and plenty of other stories.
But above everything else, Doom is petty beyond belief. The entire reason he hates the Fantastic Four is that he blames Reed for a mistake he made himself. Reed told his college roommate Doom that his portal to Hell wouldn’t work because his numbers were off, and when Doom refused to listen and did it anyway, the machine blew up in his face. Going against all evidence and reason, Doom immediately convinced himself that Reed had sabotaged it and dedicated his life to ruining Reed’s for the crime of, openly, scarring Doom and, privately, being a better man. Doom has built his life around being the pettiest man in existence, all because his ego is so fragile that he cannot abide anyone being smarter than him.
The most damning evidence of all is that, should Doom ever put his grudge against Reed behind him and just focus on doing all the good things he said he could, he would be exactly as amazing as he claimed. Doom has met alternate versions of himself who forgave Reed, and they were the happiest and most successful people imaginable, literally having saved the world. If Doom wants to save the world, all he needs to do is humble himself, but he never will, and that’s what makes him so darn entertaining. His abject refusal to live with his own inadequacies and his delusional quest to prove to everyone else that he’s cool is pathetic, and the most interesting character study around.
Doom is a tragic character, but only because he is his own worst enemy. Doom can overcome a torturous past and scars, but he can never overcome his own insecurities. His refusal to be in second place drives him to literally rewrite the universe and steal the power of cosmic beings numerous times in an attempt to show the world how cool he is, all because he both does and can’t believe it himself. Doom is a massive fraud, and that makes him the absolutely perfect villain. He’s so, so close to true greatness, but he always sabotages himself at the last minute because of his own stupid actions and feelings.
Doom is a perfect villain because he is a deeply imperfect man who is fantastic, but in a pathetic kind of way. After all, villains are made to be intimidating and powerful, but missing one crucial thing that could make them heroes. For Doom, that’s self-confidence. He has arrogance in spades, but absolutely zero belief in himself.
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Image courtesy of Focus Features.
