Hello, and welcome to another great character spotlight, here in Marvel Snapshot! This week, we’ll be focusing in on none other than the Monarch of Latveria himself, Victor von Doom! Yes, it’s Dr. Doom, and he’s quite a handful between his scientific genius, and also his mystical prowess, so get ready for a blast! (Just a quick interlude here – I found out some amazing things about Doom while researching him, but I’ll save that for later.)
Alright, so, if you didn’t already know (and shame on you if you don’t), Victor von Doom was born to gypsy parents in Hungary. His mother was a witch that would invoke the demon Mephisto for aid. One day, the Baron of this country sent soldiers out to kill the gypsies, and Victor’s mother was slain. His father was a doctor that was given the task of treating the Baron’s ill wife. The woman had a terminal disease and died shortly after coming into his care. The Baron blamed him, so Victor and his father were on the run. Eventually, a harsh winter claimed the life of Victor’s father, and Victor was left all alone. He eventually found his mother’s occult artifacts and studied them. He later uses this new found power to kill some of the Baron’s soldiers. Later on, his scientific genius catches the eye of some people in America, and he’s invited to stay there on a scholarship and study at Empire State University.
While studying in college, Victor meets Reed Richards, and develops a jealous hatred for him as the two are almost equally matched in intelligence. Reed sees Victor doing an experiment and tells him that he’s going to make a mistake. Victor, being sure of himself, goes on with it anyway. The experiment backfires, and Victor is scarred for life, both physically and mentally. He leaves America and travels until he finds some monks in Tibet. He becomes a student under them and eventually becomes their master. While there, he forges a mask to cover his scarred face, and a suit of armor as well. He then returns to Latveria and conquers it, becoming its absolute Monarch. The people actually love him for the most part, though, because he treats them better than the Baron ever did.
This is the beginning of his reign and also the beginning of his career as an evil, power hungry despot. He first wants revenge against the man he deems responsible for his accident – Reed Richards. By now, though, Reed and his friends have been bombarded by cosmic rays and become the Fantastic Four. Doom’s early exploits were pretty much confined to the FF, but he did later branch out to Spider-Man, The Avengers, Dr. Strange, and so on. The most fascinating thing about Doom to me, is that he actually challenges Mephisto every year on the same date for control of his mother’s soul. They engage in a battle of power and wits to see who is going to claim her. The most recent exploit of Doom I’ve read is DoomWar, and that was a great read.
Lastly, I have a list of things I found out about Doom that were quite interesting, and I thought I would share….
1. Doom apparently is a Biz Markie fan….
2. Doom has come face to face with our own Infinite Speech….
3. Doom has an affection for Unicorns….
4. Latveria has a rodent problem….
5. Doom is a pretty good freestyle rapper….
6. Doom is Santa Claus….
That’s it for now, folks, but check my recommended reading list and cover scans below. See you next week!
Recommended Reading
Fantastic Four vs. The X-Men – Tpb
Fantastic Four: Books of Doom – Tpb
Triumph and Torment – GN
DoomWar – Tpb
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net
Doom is one of the greatest villains ever and it’s always great when he is written to his potential and beyond. Glad you finally recognized his power and gave him the spotlight Billy!
And those interesting facts about Doom are hilarious! 🙂
Billy this was awesome. Speech is right about Doom being one of the greatest villains ever! He is my second favorite after Apocalypse. Those Doom facts were hilarious too!
Great pics!!!
@Speech & Nick- I was really aiming for total seriousness with this one, but when I found those pics of Doom, I couldn’t resist. 😀
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Great one Billy, I love Doom! He’s up there with Thanos and Apocalypse for me, the greats for sure. And those little facts… I’m wondering what sort of arrangement Speech had with Doom?? No, nevermind, I don’t wanna know.
@Eli- Agreed man! Doom is one of the heavy hitters for sure!
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