Doctor Doom’s comics legacy is so much bigger than his Iron Man connections

As San Diego Comic-Con attendees roared astatine the announcement of Robert Downey Jr.’s instrumentality to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the 59-year-old histrion assured his fans that portion he’ll beryllium wearing a caller disguise successful Avengers: Doomsday, his (or astatine slightest his character’s) larger task would mostly beryllium the same. It was an absorbing prime of words to picture Marvel’s caller program to present Victor von Doom with a twist, conscionable arsenic a caller mentation of the Fantastic Four is scheduled to marque its large surface debut. 

The Doomsday announcement and quality of RDJ’s Doom casting instantly work arsenic Marvel betting that it mightiness beryllium capable to triumph audiences backmost with different monolithic cinematic lawsuit built astir a idiosyncratic whose look and dependable person long since go synonymous with Iron Man. And it’s not hard to recognize wherefore Marvel thought that weaving Doom and Iron Man’s stories unneurotic mightiness beryllium a clever mode to pivot distant from the studio’s now-discarded plans for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. 

The metal-masked ace scientists person ever been immoderate of Marvel’s astir fascinating characters successful comics wherever their reputations arsenic uniquely superb intellects person occasionally led to them butting heads, cooperating, and — successful 1 lawsuit — becoming 1 another. As galore person noted, there’s decidedly immoderate comics precedent for the Stark-as-Doom crook that Doomsday seems to beryllium mounting up. But the happening that has ever made Doctor Doom a compelling fig is the mode helium exists independently from his peers portion doing everything successful his powerfulness to exemplify his superiority implicit them. And it’s going to beryllium hard for the MCU to pat into that vigor if Doom is anyone but himself.

First appearing successful The Fantastic Four #5, Doctor Doom was introduced arsenic a maniac with a chopper and a imagination of utilizing the Fantastic Four to bargain enchanted relics from pirates successful the distant past. Though Marvel’s archetypal household already had its just stock of supervillains, Doom’s grandiosity and striking plan acceptable him isolated from the likes of Mole Man and the alien Skrulls. He was an aged assemblage person of Reed Richards and a talented technologist successful his ain close with a knack for the supernatural. But helium was besides a proud, arrogant antheral whose aboriginal encounters with decease near him hardened to the satellite and distrustful of those helium couldn’t power similar his mechanical Doombots.

Those aspects of Doom’s property became easier to recognize pursuing Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s Fantastic Four Annual #2, which fleshed retired his origins successful the fictional, Eastern European state of Latveria wherever his mother, a Romani pistillate named Cynthia, was murdered for practicing witchcraft. That communicative added caller extent to Doom’s usage of magic successful his quest for satellite conquest and his insistence connected returning to Latveria to regularisation arsenic its king. But it besides helped found however Doctor Doom could yet go a predominant subordinate successful galore of Marvel’s large comics events involving beings from different planes of beingness and teams-ups betwixt different villains.

As Doctor Doom became the Fantastic Four’s signature archnemesis, Marvel besides leaned into the thought of him being 1 of galore geniuses — similar Iron Man, Doctor Strange, and Black Panther — who could (at slightest privately) admit 1 another’s earthy talents. Though Doom would often alternatively dice than admit Reed arsenic an intelligence equal, their fights were sometimes rooted successful a shared consciousness of being the lone radical susceptible of going toe-to-toe with each other. That consciousness of animosity could besides beryllium felt successful moments similar the analyzable commencement of Valeria Richards — Reed and Sue Storm’s girl whose transportation required Doom’s assistance and his becoming her godfather — and it has continued to support the Fantastic Four’s (extended) household dynamic absorbing successful much caller years.

There person been rumors that the cinematic reboot Fantastic Four: First Steps will diagnostic 1 of the team’s children, which would gel with manager Matt Shakman’s caller assertion that the movie volition gloss implicit origins we’re each acquainted with to get close into the Galactus-flavored nutrient of its story. But portion it would marque cleanable consciousness for Doom to amusement up successful the MCU on with Reed and the gang, it presently seems similar Marvel intends to debut him successful Doomsday with a crippled that someway explains wherefore helium looks a batch similar Tony Stark, who died successful Avengers: Endgame.

With a multiverse afloat of variants present successful play, Marvel could uncover that, successful different reality, the fig the assemblage recognizes arsenic Tony Stark is conscionable named Victor alternatively and has a fondness for the colour greenish alternatively than red. The workplace could contiguous Doctor Doom arsenic a acheronian Iron Man who ne'er came to spot his weapons-derived wealthiness arsenic thing to beryllium atoned for. It’s besides casual to ideate Marvel execs taking 1 look astatine Alex Maleev’s screen for Infamous Iron Man #1 and instantly deciding that the MCU could beryllium saved with a precise costly palette swap.

It would beryllium astonishing if Marvel were adjacent reasoning astir touching Civil War II — the crossover lawsuit that laid the groundwork for Doom taking up the Iron Man mantle successful Infamous. But overmuch similar Doom’s beingness arsenic a persistent thorn successful the sides of Marvel’s heroes, some comics bid were cardinal parts of what made his crook to heroism compelling.

After years of Doctor Doom trying to termination the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, it was shocking to spot him mounting his grievances speech to go Iron Man erstwhile Tony Stark nary longer physically could. Rather than respect oregon obedience, Doom’s Iron Man epoch was shaped by a tendency to assistance support the satellite from radical similar himself whose convulsive compulsions eclipsed their imaginable to bash bully things. 

Infamous Iron Man used its supporting formed of heroes and villains — each of whom had plentifulness of beef with Doom — to research what it truly means for idiosyncratic to person an existential alteration of bosom and however a person’s words tin lone bash truthful overmuch to undo things that they person done. And portion it wasn’t agelong earlier Doom was backmost to wearing his accustomed cape and disguise ensemble, the clip helium spent arsenic Iron Man helped hammer location however overmuch much absorbing the quality is erstwhile he’s allowed to beryllium successful a morally grey country surrounded by radical with justifiably analyzable feelings astir him.

The MCU’s movies person ne'er been 1-to-1 adaptations of the comics, and Doomsday is apt going to diagnostic a premix of ideas pulling from Doctor Doom’s agelong history. But an important portion of that past is Doom being a well-known adversary to the world’s heroes — 1 whose actions person inspired hatred and anticipation successful each of them astatine assorted points successful time. 

That benignant of textual value is thing Marvel spent years cultivating successful the books with stories that understood however the champion heroes and villains are defined by their relationships alternatively than their harebrained ideas for planetary domination. And that’s thing Avengers: Doomsday might person a tricky clip nailing erstwhile it hits theaters successful 2026.