Doctor Doom

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Doctor Doom
Cover to Fantastic Four (vol. 1) #247. Art by John Byrne.
Publisher Marvel Comics First appearance Fantastic Four #5 (July 1962) Created by Stan Lee (writer) Jack Kirby (artist)
Characteristics Alter ego Victor von Doom Notable aliases The Master (among Latverian subjects), Reed Richards, Daredevil, Vincent Vaughn, Norman McArthur, Invincible Man Abilities Genius-level intellect Command of magic Diplomatic immunity Ability to exchange consciousness with another humanoid Powered armor grants: Superhuman strength Physical Resistance and Endurance Energy Projection Flight

Doctor Doom (Victor von Doom) is a fictional Marvel Comics supervillain created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. He debuted in Fantastic Four #5 (July 1962), and his full origin was told in Fantastic Four Annual #2 (1964). Lee had previously used the name for a villain in a humor comic for Marvel's 1950s predecessor company, Atlas Comics. A brilliant scientist, Doom was once a classmate of the Fantastic Four's Reed Richards. However, he became embittered by facial scars received from an experiment gone wrong, a failure which he attributed to Richards, beginning Doom's rivalry and obsession with the Fantastic Four leader. His ruling of the small Balkan nation of Latveria provides him with diplomatic immunity.

Doom is considered the archenemy of the Fantastic Four, but has also been added to the rogue galleries of the Avengers, Silver Surfer, the Hulk, Captain America, X-Men, Nick Fury, Iron Man, and Spider-Man, among many others. Doom has also faced villains like Magneto and Venom. S.H.I.E.L.D. ranks him as one of the the greatest threats to humanity, alongside Magneto, Red Skull and Venom symbiote. He even confronted Superman in a Marvel/DC crossover in 1981. He is one of the comic book industry's most recognizable and archetypal supervillains. Wizard Magazine rated him the 4th greatest villain of all time.^[1]

Contents 1 Fictional character biography 1.1 Origin 1.2 Supervillain 2 Goals 3 Personality 4 Powers and abilities 4.1 Armor 4.2 Political power 5 Other versions 6 In other media 7 References 8 External links

Fictional character biography

Origin

Victor Von Doom was born to noted healer Werner Von Doom and his wife Cynthia Von Doom, a witch. The Von Dooms were members of a gypsy tribe, traveling by caravan through various countries in Eastern Europe, including the fictional country of Latveria, where Victor was born in a gypsy camp outside the town which was called Haasenstadt at the time. As gypsies, they were often harassed by the locals, accused of thievery and witchcraft, and were constantly on the move. Cynthia Von Doom grew tired of their status and longed for a homeland for her people. She made a pact with Mephisto for the power to protect her people, but Mephisto tricked her; when she couldn't control the power, she was murdered by the Baron's soldiers and Mephisto trapped her soul in his hellish dimension. Cynthia was buried in an unmarked grave, and Werner and his young son escaped with the tribe.^[2] Werner Von Doom raised his son on his own for some years and avoided undue detection, but was forced to comply when called upon to heal the ailing wife of the Baron of Latveria. Knowing that the Baron's wife would soon die despite his best efforts, he returned to the gypsy camp and was forced to flee into the mountains to save his life, taking his young son with him. Werner and Victor evaded capture by the Baron's men, but were forced ever higher into the snowy range. Shielding young Victor in his own meager clothing, Werner Von Doom collapsed but was found by his tribe some time later. Werner Von Doom would not survive, and entrusted his friend Boris to protect his son^[3]. Victor Von Doom was left embittered by this experience, swearing he'd make the whole human race pay someday for killing off his father, as they did with his mother when he was still a child. After his father died, Victor discovered his mother's magical artifacts and began his studies into the occult as well as developing his innate scientific abilities. Either due to tales of his sheer brilliance or due to the technical sophistication of an insurgency campaign against the Baron led by Doom, his astounding reputation came to the attention of the dean of science at Empire State University in America, and Von Doom was offered a full scholarship. At Empire State, Von Doom first met both Reed Richards and Ben Grimm, two men who would go on to become his enemies in later years as Mister Fantastic and the Thing, respectively. Richards, in particular, represented a substantial threat to Von Doom's self-perceived superiority. Von Doom began conducting hazardous extra-dimensional experiments. The focus of Von Doom's research was to construct a trans-dimensional projection device with which he could communicate with his dead mother. There was a flaw in the design which Richards pointed out to him, but Von Doom's pride prevented him from accepting Richards' advice and fixing the device before testing it. The machine worked perfectly for two minutes and 37 seconds, in which time Von Doom discovered that his mother was trapped in Mephisto's Hell. Then the device exploded, temporarily damaging Von Doom's face; the most recent retelling of Doom's origin attests that this was the work of Mephisto striking at him, and by some accounts, the facial damage amounted only to one cheek being marked with a small scar, magnified by Von Doom's incredible vanity into a hideous disfigurement. Refusing to acknowledge his own fault in the matter, Von Doom blamed Richards for the accident, finding it easier to believe that Richards had sabotaged his work out of jealousy than to admit to his own imperfection.^[4] Von Doom was expelled from school afterward, and traveled the world searching for a cure for his scarred face, which he viewed as a symbol of his failure. Eventually, Von Doom discovered a village of Tibetan monks amongst whom he lived for a number of years. Mastering their sorcerous disciplines, he soon took control of the monastery and had the monks assist him in crafting a suit of body armor. In his eagerness to finish donning the suit and begin his new life as "Doctor Doom," however, he donned the armor's freshly-cast mask before it had been properly cooled, ensuring that if his face had not been seriously damaged before, it now most certainly was. This suit would become his trademark, and thanks to his technological enhancements, it puts him on par in terms of personal power with most superheroes in the Marvel Universe. After this, Doom returned to his homeland, overthrew the standing government, and crowned himself king. Ruling with an iron fist and an equally strong will, Doom began to redirect the small nation's resources to help him realize his goals. He also brought to the country of Latveria a renewed vigor and prosperity, unlike any of their neighboring countries.^[5]

Supervillain

Before long, he encountered the Fantastic Four for the first time, soon cementing his role as the team's archenemy.^[6] He formed a temporary alliance with Namor the Sub-Mariner against the Fantastic Four.^[7] He exchanged consciousnesses with Mr. Fantastic, displaying this power for the first time.^[8] Doom trapped the Fantastic Four and Ant-Man in a micro-world.^[9] He abducted Alicia Masters, and battled the Fantastic Four again.^[10] He soon battled Spider-Man for the first time.^[11] Doom, aided by the Terrible Trio, capture the Fantastic Four.^[12] Doom then encountered Rama-Tut, and Doom was revealed as the ruler of Latveria to the Fantastic Four before battling them once again.^[13] Doom later took over the Baxter Building, and battled the then-powerless Fantastic Four and Daredevil before being defeated by the Thing.^[14] Doom next assembled a host of superhuman criminals to attack the wedding of Reed Richards and Susan Storm.^[15] Doom then battled the Avengers in Latveria.^[16] He stole the Silver Surfer's cosmic power, and with it battled the Fantastic Four, until he was defeated by a barrier of Galactus and the power was returned to the Surfer.^[17] Doom next exchanged consciousness with Daredevil, and fomented a battle between the Fantastic Four and Daredevil, Spider-Man, and Thor.^[18] Doom later set robots of the Yellow Claw and his followers against the forces of S.H.I.E.L.D..^[19] Doom next battled Diablo.^[20] Doom's next plot involved holding the Fantastic Four captive in Latveria.^[21] Doom then battled his former ally, Namor.^[22] Doom created the Doomsman android, and battled Prince Rudolfo and the Faceless One.^[23] He then battles Thor for the first time.^[24] Doom halted the Red Skull's attempted takeover of Latveria.^[25] Doom then invaded Wakanda and battled the Black Panther.^[26] Doom then battled the Hulk.^[27] Doom next made his first attempt to rescue his mother's soul from Hades.^[28] He aided the Fantastic Four against the Overmind.^[29] Alongside an amnesiac Namor, Doom contended against MODOK and Advanced Idea Mechanics for control of the Cosmic Cube.^[30] Doom then hired Luke Cage to defeat his renegade robots, and again battled the Faceless One.^[31] Doom later transformed Air Force test pilot Desmond Pitt into Darkoth, and with him battled the Fantastic Four.^[32] He later formed another new alliance with Namor of Atlantis.^[33] Doom forced the Silver Surfer to aid him against the Fantastic Four, and created a new Doomsman.^[34] Doom then helped Namor battle his enemies Dr. Dorcas, Tiger Shark, and Attuma.^[35] Doom time-traveled to 17th century Salem, and there alongside Spider-Man, Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Moondragon, battled Cotton Mather and Dark Rider.^[36] Doom proceeded to enslave Namor, and signed a non-aggression treaty with the United States.^[37] He next battled the Shroud.^[38] Alongside Namor and the Avengers, Doom then battled Attuma.^[39] Alongside Namor, Captain America and the Shroud, Doom battled the Red Skull.^[40] Doom awakened the Atlanteans from their coma, and alongside Namor battled Krang.^[41] Doom then used a neuro-gas to control the minds of everyone on Earth; however, he was defeated by Mangeto, Beast, and Ghost Rider.^[42] Doom later set robots against Shang-Chi and Clive Reston.^[43] He even encounters KISS.^[44]

Doom later captured the Fantastic Four, who had disbanded at the time. He created a clone of himself, but was driven insane. Doom was briefly deposed by Zorba, a prince from the royal family Doom had previously overthrown.^[45] He is rescued by his followers, and regained his sanity.^[46] Doom then conferred mystic powers on Lucius Dilby.^[47] Doom abducted the villain Arcade and encountered the X-Men.^[48] Doom then battled the Dazzler.^[49] Alongside Iron Man, Doom traveled to ancient Camelot.^[50] After months in exile, Doom attempted to take back Latveria, and to keep the Fantastic Four from getting involved he trapped them in a miniature community he called Liddleville, with the help of the Puppet Master. However, they escaped and Doom became trapped in Liddleville himself.^[51] Doom even battled the Micronauts while trapped in Liddleville.^[52] Doom eventually escaped Liddleville, and managed to convince the Fantastic Four to aid him in taking back Latveria by showing them that under Zorba's corrupt rule, the nation had fallen into crime and poverty. When Zorba learned that Doom had returned, he ordered his robot forces to massacre his own people to prevent a coup led by Doom. Realizing that Zorba was a greater threat to the Latverian people than Doom, the team reluctantly agreed to assist their enemy. Doom soon killed Zorba and reclaimed his throne, but in the process, one of his loyal Latverian subjects was killed before his eyes. Doom adopted the fallen woman's son, Kristoff Vernard, and promised to raise the boy as his heir.^[53] In addition, as Doom considers his genius and leadership to be priceless assets to the Earth, he used Kristoff as a fallback plan to be used in the unlikely event of his premature death. Doom later conferred cosmic powers on Tyros, also known as Terrax the Tamer, whose powers had been withdrawn by Galactus. Doom sent Terrax against the Fantastic Four, but Doom's body was destroyed in a battle between Terrax and the Silver Surfer^[54] (however, as revealed later, Doom had actually transferred his consciousness into an onlooker named Norman McArthur). When Doom was indeed seemingly killed in the fight with Terrax, his robots enacted this plan and copied Doom's knowledge and memories into young Kristoff's brain. For a time, Kristoff even believed himself to be Doom, but eventually realized the truth and submitted to the true Doom's rule. Kristoff seems to be the half-brother of Doom's hated rival Reed Richards, though none of the three seem to be aware of this fact. Meanwhile, Doom's future self was transported alongside various superhuman heroes and criminals to the Beyonder's Battleworld. While there, Doom was responsible for giving superhuman powers to Volcana and Titania. Doom was even bold enough to attempt to steal the Beyonder's powers.^[55] Soon after that, the Beyonder restored Doom's consciousness to his recreated original body.^[56] Doom fomented a conflict between the Fantastic Four and X-Men. However, Doom helped Reed Richards restore Shadowcat from her phase form (from injuries she had suffered during the Mutant Massacre), which would have led to her death if she had remained in that form.^[57] Perhaps a bit uncharacteristically, Doom later sent flowers to Johnny Storm's wedding.^[58] Eventually, Doom rationalized that he was unnecessarily limiting himself by focusing on technology, and only occasionally using his magical heritage. He sold his childhood sweetheart's soul to the Hazareth Three in exchange for vastly increased magical ability and new leather armor made of her skin, and tormented the Fantastic Four and their children with hellish tortures. After Doctor Strange showed him how his massive ego still limited his understanding and reach beyond a mediocre sorcerer's, Doom was confined to Hell by the demons he had contracted with, but was later recovered by Reed, who intended to trap him in a small Möbius strip dimension forever to ascertain that he never escaped. To counter, Doom's consciousness possessed Ben Grimm, forcing Richards to kill them both. Ben Grimm was later brought back from the dead, while Doom's consciousness returned to his imprisoned body. When the hibernating Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, fell to Earth, it passed through time and space, momentarily breaching the gateway to Hell itself and providing Doom with a way to escape. Upon his return to Earth, Doom regained control of Latveria, and used its forces to locate the crash-landing site of Mjolnir and attempt to seize its power for himself. Later, a Doombot was taken down by Reed Richards, Henry Pym, Iron Man, She-Hulk, and others in New York City; whether or not it was sent by Doom himself remains to be seen, as does his role in the overall conflict.^[59] When his attempt to claim Mjolnir failed, Doom returned to Latveria. He was not invited to the wedding of Storm and the Black Panther; however, he did send a present: an invitation to form an alliance with Latveria, using the Civil War currently going on among the hero community as a reason to quite possibly forge an alliance between their two countries. When Black Panther, on a diplomatic mission to other countries with Storm, did show up in Latveria, he presented them with a real present, and extended another invitation to form an alliance with Black Panther. Panther spurned the invitation, detonating an EMP that blacked out a local portion of Latveria before Doom's robots could destroy his ship. Commensurate with his status as one of the Marvel Universe's preeminent minds, heroes and villains alike have sought his advice and aid, in most cases grudgingly. Since his return from Hell, Doom has collaborated with the Red Skull on a weapon which will only "be the beginning" of Captain America's suffering.^[60] Doom gave the Skull the weapon--which, if Arnim Zola is to be believed, may be a kind of time travel platform--because the Skull gave Doom pieces of technology from an old German castle. The castle was owned by a "Baron of Iron" centuries prior, who had used his technological genius to protect himself and his people -- and on a map owned by ex-Soviet General Aleksander Lukin an image bearing uncanny resemblance to Doom implies that the Lord of Latveria himself is the Baron of Iron. At the end of the first chapter of Endangered Species, Beast consults some of the Marvel Universe's greatest minds on a solution to the stagnant mutant population; among them is Doom, who spurns Beast and notes that genetics do not number among his talents. Future solicits and interviews have revealed that Doctor Doom will be making appearances in Mighty Avengers and Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch's Fantastic Four. Dr. Doom has also made a brief appearance in the Spider-Man story One More Day, along with Richards and the High Evolutionary, again as an intellectual giant apparently capable of helping Spider-Man save Aunt May. After sending his people to live as sleeper agents on the surface world to search for Nitro, Namor entered into a pact with the Lord of Latveria. Since then, he has also been seen in the pages of Thor having apparently struck a pact with the returned Loki. Little is known about this deal other than that it involved tricking Thor into reviving all former Asgardians at once, rather than selectively, thus bringing the villains back as well. What Doom hopes to gain from this has yet to be revealed.

Goals

Doctor Doom is driven by three principal objectives:

• The destruction of Reed Richards.
• World domination.
• The liberation of his mother's soul from the demon Mephisto's realm.

He has so far achieved two of these aims. With the help of Doctor Strange, Earth's Sorcerer Supreme, he wrested his mother's spirit from Mephisto; a vital step in this process was tricking his mother into renouncing her love for Victor. He has also achieved world domination more than once, though various reasons always end his reign. In the graphic novel Emperor Doom, he achieved control of the world by using and amplifying the mind control power of the Purple Man. However, Wonder Man escaped the mind-control effect, and managed to break Doom's hold over several selected Avenger colleagues. An enraged Sub-Mariner smashed the device, ending Doom's control over Earth (although it should be noted that Doom, bored with the fruits of his success and the world peace that resulted, decided not to activate a special nerve gas of his own design that would have killed almost every Avenger in the hangar where they were assembled). Doom again takes over the world in issue number 14 of Super Villain Team-Up where he released a gas that made everyone on earth his slave, but again growing bored with his achievement of world domination, challenged Magneto to defeat him. Doom is later defeated that issue after his mask is knocked off and he breathes the gas himself, leading him to lose his world domination.

Later, when the Fantastic Four returned from the alternate Earth to which they had been shunted following their confrontation with the sentient psionic being Onslaught, Doctor Doom remained behind and conquered that planet, which he dubbed "Planet Doom". He led the world into an unparalleled prosperity and eventually abdicated, returning to the original Earth as he missed his homeland Latveria. In an alternate future, Doctor Doom was transported to the year 2099 from some point in our present and upon seeing the decrepit state of Latveria, he becomes the President of the United States in order to curb the power of the mega corporations based there that were oppressing his people. As a side effect, he began improving the quality of life in the U.S. as well, employing his scientific genius to repair the environmental damage decades of corporate rule had inflicted and dismantling the mercenary "Public Eye" police service in favor of an effective police force entrusted with protecting the public free of charge. Despite repeated attempts through the years, Doom has been unable to completely defeat Mister Fantastic, although several of their encounters have resulted in temporary victories for Doom. The authors of the collection "What If", knowing this fact, have given to Doom on the last thirty years a great number of comic-books where he succeeds in killing Richards. Arguably, on the real Marvel Universe, the closest of these to an absolute victory was when Reed Richards had found himself teleported inside Doom's armor, and wound up assuming his identity. A facet of the armor's programming ensured that if anyone other than Doom were to wear it, they would over time become more and more like Doom himself. As Richards' behavior grew more and more despotic, the rest of the Fantastic Four found themselves having to turn to an armorless, yet extremely smug, Victor von Doom. Doom, with the help of the other members of the Fantastic Four, was able to overcome Richards in combat and strip him of the armor, leaving him humiliated over the lengths he had gone to under its influence. However, as Reed Richards was not in his right mind at the time, and his defeat would not have occurred without his team assisting Doom, Doom may not consider this incident defeat enough. In hand-to-hand battle, he has also been physically beaten by the Thing, and Doom has vowed to take revenge on both men. He has come close on several occasions but has failed to permanently defeat either, despite quite a number of partial victories. Doom has, on many occasions, captured the Fantastic Four. Doctor Doom's plans are fueled by his ego and his conviction that he is not only capable of world domination, but also worthy and deserving of it. While he places little value on the lives of others, he also follows a code of honor. Several times, he has struck bargains with various characters in the Marvel Universe, and has upheld those bargains. He is a cruel and ruthless dictator, willing to deliver swift and cruel punishments (he once atomized a personal orchestra that failed to complete the Minute Waltz, a song reasonably played in three minutes, in exactly one minute^[]). He also has a secret, hidden guillotine used to kill dissidents, yet he also treats his subjects fairly and at times has even put himself at risk to protect his kingdom and subjects. He even was seriously wounded and nearly killed saving a Latverian child ten years ago when an alien attacked his land, but he eventually destroyed the monster.

Personality

When Stan Lee talks about Doom and introduces the character to someone, he explains that Doom is a villain, but is also a man of his word, who has a great sense of honor. Doom contains a sense of unique morality for a villain, setting him apart from most others. An example would be in Iron Man #150 when he convinces the titular hero they must help each other get back to their own timeline. When Iron Man questions why he should trust Doom not to kill him as soon as they return after he had just swore vengeance upon him, Doom simply said "Because, Avenger... you have my word." This was sufficient enough for Iron Man. Another example of Doom's honor was shown years ago, when he wanted to steal the cosmic cube from MODOK. When he realized that he would need Namor's help, he kidnapped his girlfriend. While she was held prisoner, one of Doom's soldiers attempted to rape her, but Doom prevented it and killed the soldier. He also risked his own life to save Namor when MODOK captured his pawn, because Doom respected the Sub-Mariner. Doom even destroyed all of MODOK's droid army to save the king of Atlantis. In the 2003 storyline Unthinkable, Doom had imprisoned Franklin in Hell and captured Valeria. When the Fantastic Four confronted him and were caught in a stalemate, Doom agreed to set the child free on the condition that Richards surrender. Richards agreed and Doom, in his skewed manner, set Valeria free and left Franklin in Hell, claiming the "bargain upheld." Another example appears in an old episode from his first collection. Doom captured a soldier from Wakanda because he wanted information about Black Panther's vibranium. He tortured the soldier terribly, but when the soldier talked at last, Doom gave him food and money, and paid for his travel back to Wakanda. He even killed one of his own henchmen that suggested killing the captive, saying that "Doom doesn't kill innocent people." As a practitioner of enlightened despotism, that is to say "Everything for the people, nothing by the people," Doom does not seek world domination for selfish reasons. Rather, he sincerely believes that the world would be a better place in his hands. In "Emperor Doom" or "Doom 2099," he proved that he had the reasons to do it. Many times, the perceived problem is that heroes don't want to trade the freedom of everyone for safety under Doom, so if he wants to rule the planet, he must first conquer it, and it is often believed that he would do anything to achieve this goal. Doom also will put himself at risk to save innocent people and often accompanies heroes on missions that threaten the entire planet, even sacrificing himself during the battle with Onslaught. It is clear Doom simply wishes to rule the planet, not see it destroyed and will do anything to protect the earth should he feel the need. Doom's honor has been forgotten sometimes, especially in the movies that want to expose a very simple image of Doom. A critic of the comic-books described the image of Doom when he is correctly presented as "a mix between General Erwin Rommel; Captain Nemo; and Erik, the Phantom of the Opera".

Powers and abilities

Doom's most dangerous weapon is his intellect, which has allowed him to make significant progress in virtually all branches of science, making him one of the greatest minds in the Marvel Universe. Though he has taken college studies in the sciences, he was expelled before completion of his degree. He is instead self-educated to graduate level and beyond in most sciences. He has extensive knowledge of all sciences, and is an expert in robotics, trans-Einsteinian physics, genetic engineering, weapons technology, time travel, bio-chemistry, and other fields. In addition, Doom is also an able statesman and diplomat. Doom has constructed hundreds of devices, including a working time machine (the first of its kind on Earth), devices which can imbue people with superpowers, and many types of robots. His most frequently-used robots are his "Doombots," exact mechanical replicas of the real Doctor Doom. They look like him, talk like him, and even act like him. Individually, Doombots have an advanced A.I. program that causes them to believe themselves to be the real Doctor Doom. In order to prevent his duplicates from harming or out-performing him, Doctor Doom installs each Doombot with a dampener program that reduces all of its abilities when activated. This program is triggered whenever a Doombot enters Von Doom's presence or the presence of other Doombots. These imitation Dooms have been created to impersonate Doctor Doom when he either cannot be present or is unwilling to risk his own life (such as when confronting powerful foes). They are also, in a way, a deus ex machina: often, if Doom is apparently defeated, acts out of character in a story, or even seems to die, "it was only a robot". Another common sight around Latveria are the purple-and-grey Servo-Guards, who resemble hulking humans in metallic armor and enforce Doom's laws. Doom also possesses a limited amount of magic ability, thanks to his self-taught knowledge of the mystic arts which he learned from his time with a secret order of monks in Tibet, as well as knowledge passed on from his magically-inclined mother. By collaborating with Doctor Strange, he managed to come in second place during the Aged Genghis trials for sorcerers, indebting the latter for one favor, to free his mother's soul, and possibly putting him next in line for sorcerer supreme, although many other earthly sorcerers, such as Kaluu, Baron Mordo, Margali Szardos, and Mister Jip among others, nonetheless vastly exceed him. Here he may have shown certain magical abilities previously never displayed elsewhere, such as energy-blasts, ensnaring of foes, and protective shields, but given that the armor possesses similar attributes it is uncertain how much it contributed. Through preparations he can create portals to other planes of existence, such as Mephisto's hellish realm or the Dreamtime of the Australian Aborigines. However, it has been repeatedly stated that his ordinary ability is quite limited, and even a temporary massive outward infusion of demonic power from the Haazareth Three couldn't make him reach the range of Doctor Strange, since his massive ego prevented him from attaining the necessary humility of his limited standing in the greater magic scheme of things, required to reach greater heights of talent. The alien Ovoids also taught him the process of psionically transferring his consciousness into another nearby human being with whom he's made eye contact. However, Doom prefers his own body and only uses this transference power as a last resort. Doom is also a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, with long experience in a personal fighting style which takes advantage of his armor's capabilities.

Armor

Dr. Doom's iconic iron-clad face is a part of the high-tech, nuclear powered, micro-computer assisted battle suit which he designed for himself. Doom's first (and truly "original") set of armor was magically forged at a hidden monastery in the high mountains of Tibet; since then, his dark plated armor has been enhanced and repaired by normal technological means. Although a skilled practitioner of the mystic arts, Victor von Doom more often relies upon his armor for most of his powers. The armor is fashioned of a high-strength titanium alloy. Built into the right wrist is a video communicator, which he can use to stay in contact with all his bases from any point on Earth. As a defensive measure, his armor is built to generate a massive electric shock up to 1 million kilovolts disabling anyone who might come in contact with Doom. The armor is equipped with twin jetpacks mounted at the waist which permit flight, though some suits contain a back-mounted single jetpack. Concussive bolts of force can be fired from the gauntlets and faceplate of the armor, though the mask only generates force blasts when it is not being worn. The suit's best defense is the force field generated by the armor, which has a maximum radius of eight feet (and so can encompass others); Doom's force field has been shown to provide protection even from Magneto's mutant ability to affect metal. This force field has also protected Doom from a direct attack of the Beyonder, and then a laser blast with the force of a nuclear warhead, as seen in the Secret Wars. Doom cannot attack without lowering his force field. Infrared scanners in the helmet allow the wearer to detect heat sources, permitting night vision and the ability to see invisible people (unless they do not give off or can somehow mask their heat signature). The armor is self-supporting, equipped with internal stores and recycling systems for air, food, water, and energy, allowing the wearer to survive lengthy periods of exposure underwater or in outer space. Optical scanners in the helmet allow the helmet's eyepieces to be used as high-powered telescopes, and parabolic ear amplifiers fitted inside the helmet allow Doom to detect extremely faint sounds and unusual frequencies within the audible range for humans. A thermo-energizer allows the armor to absorb and store solar and heat energy, and use it to power the armor's other systems; this system can only be used while the force field is deactivated. The computers inside his armor have been used to analyze magical invocations during a battle, noting which ones were effective and which were not. In addition, Doom often carries a pistol (a C96 "Broomhandle" Mauser, at least in older stories) to dispose of weaker enemies whom he considers unworthy to kill with his armor's weaponry. His armor is also equipped with a Molecular Densifier pistol in a belt holster, allowing him to enlarge Dust Particles suspended in the air to boulder size, and then propel them at adversaries at high speeds.

Political power

Being the leader of a sovereign nation, Doctor Doom enjoys the grace of diplomatic immunity while in America during the few times he is there for non-pernicious, political actions and diplomacy. He has even been accompanied and escorted by Captain America himself. It should be noted that despite his scientific genius, Doctor Doom, having been expelled from college before completion of his scientific degree, does not have a Doctorate or any university degree (at least not one he earned; he may have granted himself an honorary doctorate from a Latverian institution). His naming may be in the early trend for scientist supervillains to have Doctor in their name (such as Doctor Octopus). However, in recent years, the trend has been to drop the "Doctor" from his name. In conclusion, it can be deducted that perhaps, Doom possesses a Latverian title of "Doctor Honoris Causa", something that real dictators (Salazar, Franco) used to give themselves. It should also be noted that many stories portray Doom as extremely egomaniacal, and he often refers to himself in the third person.

Other versions

Main article: Alternate versions of Doctor Doom

In other media

Main article: Doctor Doom in other media

References

External links

• http://marvel.com/universe/Doctor_Doom_%28Victor_von_Doom%29