In a Marvel universe full of superheroes and villains, Doctor Doom stands out as an outlier. Doctor Doom is often considered an ordinary tyrant who transformed himself into one of the most dangerous and tragic villains in the Marvel Universe. Victor Von Doom is a man who has faced multiple challenges since birth, his sole resolve being to become the world’s savior by any means necessary. Despite his best efforts, however, he is always viewed as a villain.

Victor’s journey through the Marvel Universe has led him to face innumerable threats and cosmic entities, but none can match his unparalleled intelligence, ego, or willpower. Doctor Doom is the arch enemy Fantastic Four, primarily the team's leader, Reed Richards. He is arguably the greatest villain in Marvel Comics. While Kang the Conqueror was initially planned as the main villain for the Multiverse Saga, recent troubles behind the scenes regarding star Jonathan Majors and the disappointing reaction to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania suggests the studio might be pivoting to Doctor Doom as the new overarching villain of the next Marvel Cinematic Universe Saga.

With that in mind, here's to the legacy of Doctor Doom and why he is the next logical option for the lead antagonist in the Multiverse Saga currently taking place in the MCU.

Update November 3, 2023: This article has been updated following recent developments at Marvel Studios and the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The Origin of Doctor Doom

Doctor Doom, also known as Victor Von Doom, was born into an impoverished family in the European kingdom of Latveria and lost both of his parents as a child to rage and vengeance. After discovering his mother's mystical artifacts and learning that her soul is in the grasp of Mephisto, an extradimensional demon, he sets out on a dark path at a young age. Soon after, he receives a scholarship to attend State University in New York, where he meets Reed Richards, his lifelong rival and scientific prodigy.

Richards points out a flaw in Victor's secretly designed device that can bridge a gap between two dimensions, but he becomes stubborn and activates it anyway. The machine explodes, scarring his face, and he is shortly expelled from the university for conducting unethical experiments. His journey hasn't come to an end yet, as he wanders the world with a bitter heart and disgraceful memories, eventually ending up in a small Tibetan village of monks who later help him make a magical suit of armor and an Iron mask to hide his face from the world.

Taking on the new guise of Doctor Doom, he returns to his homeland of Latveria, dethrones the monarch, and renames the capital Doomstadt while expanding the city into numerous scientific divisions. With a renewed sense of purpose, he sets out on an adventure to save his mother's soul from the evil demon and to prove himself superior to Reed Richards, whom he regards as the most remarkable scientific genius he has ever met.

Doctor Doom's Powers and Abilities

Doctor Doom's reputation as one of the MCU's most powerful villains is well-deserved, given the arsenal of devastating powers at his disposal. One of the elements that makes Doctor Doom so dangerous of his embrace of both technology and magic. He is essentially Doctor Strange and Iron Man rolled into one.

After his mother initiated him into the mystical arts, he traveled through time and learned some unparalleled, lost Dark Arts from one of the universe's greatest sorceresses, Morgan Fe Ley. His mystical skills allow him to perform incredible feats such as summoning a horde of demonic creatures, traveling to other dimensions, and even accessing dreamtime and self-healing. However, is his keen scientific mind the one to grant him an even larger array of abilities, such as Power Absorption, Mind Transference, Hypnotism, Telekinesis, Elemental Manipulation, and even Power Nullification, with which he repeatedly uses to nullify the Fantastic Four's superpowers.

Although Doctor Doom appears to be fairly destructive with his capabilities, his most lethal weapon remains his unequaled intellect. He built hundreds of deadly devices, robots, Doombots that can impersonate him, and a time machine that actually works. He learned numerous martial arts while in Tibet's monk village, giving him fighting prowess to beat Black Panther in hand-to-hand combat. Furthermore, he honed his physique and mind to the level of a superhuman, becoming one of the most charismatic and influential people in the universe, all through sheer willpower.

Hollywood Hasn’t Been Kind to Doctor Doom

Doctor Doom is one of, if not the greatest, villain in Marvel Comics. Yet while other major Marvel villains have been given proper depictions on screen, from Magneto to Green Goblin to Thanos, Hollywood has not been kind to Doctor Doom.

The first actor to ever portray Doom in a movie wasn't even for a proper release. The Fantastic Four is a 1994 adventure produced by Constantin Films, a company owned by the king of B-movies, Roger Corman. The project was made to retain the rights to the characters. Joseph Culp played the surface in a movie that had the production quality of a 1990s daytime soap opera. In 2005, the team finally had a chance to shine on the big screen. Victor would be played by Julian McMahon, a commodity in those days thanks to the show Nip/Tuck.

McMahon had two turns at the role, yet fans were not happy with his depiction. The poor creative choice of making Dr. Doom gain powers in the same vein as The Fantastic Four goes against everything the character stands for. Unlike Reed Richards, Doom is a self-made character. Another version of Victor in 2015's Fantastic 4 with Toby Kebbell playing a nearly zombified version of the character who looked and behaved nothing like the Doom we know in the comic books. Now that Marvel Studios has the rights of The Fantastic Four back in the fold, fans can't wait to see who will be cast as the new Victor Von Doom.

Doctor Doom's Role in the Future MCU

Avengers: Secret Wars will be the culmination of the Multiverse Saga for the MCU. The story draws its title from two iconic comic book storylines, and at the center of both is Doctor Doom. While nothing has been confirmed, ever since the title announcement and the fact that Fantastic Four is set for release before Avengers: Secret Wars, many are suspecting Doctor Doom to play a key role. Now, with rumors that Marvel Studios wants to pivot away from Kang the Conqueror, Doctor Doom might be fast-tracked.

While this speculation appears promising in the short term, Doctor Doom has connections to many major plays in the MCU that fit perfectly with the direction Marvel is taking with the Multiverse Saga. Namor and Doom have had numerous supervillain team-ups in the comics, and as we've seen Namor interact with Wakanda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, it's only fair that he'd do the same to the ruler of Latveria. There were rumors that Doctor Doom would appear in the mid-credit scene of Wakanda Forever, but those were false, and producer Nate Moore confirmed there were never talks to include Doctor Doom.

In addition to Namor, Doom had an interesting relationship with Doctor Strange in the comics, as both sought to become the Supreme Sorcerer, with Strange ultimately winning. With Strange off exploring the Multiverse, Doctor Doom could cross paths with the sorcerer as someone also aware of the Multiverse collapsing.

Dr. Doom and The Kang Paradox

The relationship between Victor Von Doom and Kang The Conqueror is a tumultuous one, and it has been explored multiple times across decades in the Marvel lore. In the first Secret Wars fought in 1984, Dr. Doom was one of the villains summoned to Battleworld by The Beyonder, yet he refused to play his part in the supreme being’s machinations. He teamed up with Kang to seek the power source of The Beyonder and obtain his powers to himself.

As they both go deeper into The Beyonder’s complex, Doom doubles cross Kang, attains ultimate power, and kills him. After The Beyonder prevails, Kang is revived and sent to his timeline. Doom would keep his interactions with Kang to a minimum as the time travel shenanigans of the conqueror are below his scope. This sounds like a great storyline for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to adapt if they wanted to pivot from Kang the Conqueror to Doctor Doom.

More recently, a time-displaced Kang frequently visited Doom, letting him know there was a better version of himself out there. These visions challenged Doom beyond his own beliefs. He sought this alternate vision of himself, only to realize Kang was telling the truth. When his counterpart highlighted Doom’s shortcomings, Victor didn’t hesitate to kill him and wipe out his universe. Kang had succeeded in manipulating Doom into thinking there could be no better version of himself. Only he could achieve utopia by his own means in any reality.

Doctor Doom Is An Easy Sell

One of the most obvious and cynical reasons to bring Doctor Doom into the MCU is that he is an iconic character audiences already know. The recent slew of Marvel releases has been a mixed bag, and with behind-the-scenes issues plaguing the studio, it is no longer the titan it once was. Switching major villains like Kang the Conqueror out might make for bad press, regardless of the reason.

However, shifting the focus to Doctor Doom immediately makes for good press, as he is a fan-favorite character audiences already know. Even an average moviegoer who might not know much about Marvel Comics or even care about the issues behind the scenes at Marvel Studios will immediately recognize Doctor Doom if he shows up in a mid-credit scene for another movie. It generates hype and excitement, which could help the MCU move forward.