00:00Victor was always the smartest guy in every room.
00:06He used to be different.
00:08Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most essential details you need to know about
00:13Doctor Doom to prepare for Avengers Doomsday.
00:16We'll be getting into spoilers for various comic book storylines, so consider this your warning.
00:21All of you have lived stolen lives.
00:32Number 10. Latveria is his kingdom.
00:35Doctor Doom's not just a supervillain, he's also the ruler of a country called Latveria.
00:40Doom's relationship to Latveria is an interesting one.
00:43Many characters in comics have ruled their own kingdoms, but Doom didn't inherit the throne.
00:48He took it by force.
00:49Originally, Latveria was governed by a tyrant named Vladimir Fortunov.
00:53He made life challenging for Victor growing up, and eventually he left to pursue his studies abroad.
00:58However, after Victor became Doctor Doom, he returned and killed Fortunov.
01:03Doom cemented himself as Latveria's new king, and interestingly, the people love him.
01:09That's right, Doctor Doom has turned Latveria into an incredibly peaceful nation.
01:13He might be a supervillain, but he's also a benevolent ruler.
01:17And that contradiction makes him super compelling.
01:20Number 9. Reed Richards is his greatest rival.
01:24Victor Von Doom and Reed Richards go way back.
01:27What did you do?
01:28Exactly what I said I would.
01:29I built a better, stronger being.
01:33And outsmarted the great Reed Richards.
01:36In fact, they were roommates together at Empire State University.
01:39But their friendship went out the window when Reed warned Victor of a grave mathematical mistake he made when working
01:45on a very important project.
01:46The project was a machine to contact other realms.
01:50Sure enough, Reed was right, and the machine blew up in Victor's face, which led him on the path to
01:55become Doctor Doom.
01:56Reed and the rest of the Fantastic Four would also get powers of their own on a space expedition.
02:01Consequently, the rivalry between Mr. Fantastic and Doctor Doom was cemented.
02:06In another world, Victor and Reed could have stayed friends.
02:09But instead, they have become each other's greatest enemies.
02:13We'll never fear.
02:15We shall meet again.
02:18And when we do, we'll be ready.
02:22Number 8. He's sort of scarred.
02:25The accident that fractured Victor and Reed's relationship was the gift that kept on giving.
02:29That's because when Doom's machine went kablooey, it injured his face.
02:33The damage inflicted onto Victor not only humiliated him, but also spurred the villain to create his iconic metal mask.
02:40However, Doom was so impatient trying to cover himself that he actually made things worse.
02:45While the mask was being forged, he sped things up by placing the scorching hot metal onto his face, which
02:51further scarred him.
02:52Yeah, Doom wasn't the brightest at first.
02:55Interestingly, many stories have shown that Doom's face is actually barely scarred at all.
03:00Instead, he just considers himself disfigured despite that not being true.
03:04Scars or no scars, Doctor Doom's got serious issues.
03:08Number 7. He's a master of magic and science.
03:11Magic and science are often considered opposites.
03:14And mastering just one of these disciplines is incredibly challenging.
03:17So being able to master both is extremely rare.
03:21You are trespassing on Latverian soil.
03:25Leave.
03:27Now.
03:28But this is Doctor Doom we're talking about.
03:30And if anyone can strike a balance between science and magic, it's him.
03:34Magic has always been super important for Victor.
03:37And he has an extensive knowledge of spells, energy manipulation, and teleportation, among other skills.
03:43This world is mine to rule.
03:45And mine alone.
03:47He knows a lot about the dark arts, and has had his fair share of battles with the mystical side
03:52of Marvel.
03:53He's actually so good at magic that he once became the Sorcerer Supreme.
03:56When you combine all that expertise on the arcane with Doom's high-end tech,
04:00then you've got one truly well-equipped bad guy.
04:03This isn't over.
04:05I agree.
04:07Number 6. The Doombots are one of his greatest creations.
04:10Speaking of high-end tech, Victor has his own personal army of lifelike duplicates
04:15known as Doombots at his every beck and call.
04:17He's got his own country and army of robots to back up his threats.
04:22They look like Doom, talk like Doom, and act like Doom.
04:26These robots are so realistic that they've even fooled superheroes on more than one occasion.
04:30There's been so many times in comics when it looked like Dr. Doom was defeated
04:34just for it to be revealed that it was a Doombot.
04:36They're so commonly used that they've essentially turned into Marvel's greatest plot device.
04:42Doombots, scatter and destroy!
04:47Think about it.
04:48Dr. Doom can use the Doombots to basically carry out any and all of his plans.
04:52Could you imagine having an army of other yous at your service?
04:56Now that's the dream.
05:04Number 5. Victor believes he's the hero.
05:07One of the big rules about good writing is to make your antagonist feel complex.
05:12I conquered nothing.
05:14I saved the Earth from humanity.
05:17As such, like many other evildoers, Dr. Doom thinks he's doing the right thing.
05:22What sets him apart, though, is that in many ways he actually is doing the right thing.
05:27Earlier, we mentioned that he took over Latveria.
05:29And since then, the place has essentially become a paradise for its citizens.
05:33All for the simple price of abject devotion.
05:37Plus, when Victor met Bast, the panther god of Wakanda,
05:40long story, the two discovered that out of countless timelines,
05:43the only one which truly achieved peace was the one run by Dr. Doom.
05:48Sure, that definition of peace could be argued a little,
05:51but hey, if this isn't high praise, then we don't know what is.
06:03Let's face it.
06:04Supervillains can be pretty freaking cool.
06:06And if you can't get enough of the morally wicked,
06:08don't worry, because there's plenty more evildoer entertainment where that came from.
06:12We cover all sorts of monstrous villains on WatchMojo's 24-7 live stream.
06:16Scan the QR code on screen to join us for the best bad guy breakdowns and more.
06:21You want it back? Come and get it.
06:25Number 4.
06:26Dr. Doom has mommy issues.
06:28The loss of a parent is a common staple for superheroes,
06:31as well as the occasional villain.
06:33And sure enough, this trope applies to Victor as well.
06:36He lost his mother, Cynthia, when she made a deal with Mephisto
06:39to try freeing her oppressed people and got sent to hell in the process.
06:43Hey, it happens to everyone.
06:44Jokes aside, the loss of his mother deeply rattled Victor
06:47and motivated him to study magic.
06:50Rescuing his mom has been one of his most important missions,
06:53and he actually pulled it off with Dr. Strange's help.
06:56Ironically, though, Cynthia doesn't have the best view of her son
06:59considering the ruthless lengths he went to in order to free her.
07:02Wow, there's just no pleasing some people.
07:04Number 3.
07:05He's more powerful than Thanos.
07:08Admittedly, power scaling in comics is kind of tricky.
07:10We could tell you that Dr. Doom is more powerful than Thanos,
07:13and we'd definitely get some pushback.
07:15That being said, it is still true.
07:17In the comic book storyline Secret Wars,
07:19Thanos threw shade at Victor.
07:21And in retaliation, he ripped out Thanos' spine.
07:24Besides comics, the MCU is also making sure to show
07:28that Dr. Doom is more powerful than Thanos.
07:29I swear, you will beg for hell long before I grant it.
07:39Through trailers, we've already seen him brush Thor off like nothing,
07:43whereas in the past, Thor was a major problem for Thanos.
07:47Sure, Thanos might have the edge over Victor
07:49in some areas like brute strength.
07:51However, when it comes to everything else,
07:53he simply doesn't come close to rivaling Dr. Doom.
07:58Thor, I.
07:59I am Doom.
08:03Number 2.
08:04Avengers Endgame might have ruined Dr. Doom's life.
08:07The MCU was at an all-time high
08:10when Avengers Endgame hit theaters.
08:12If you need perspective,
08:13watching the film was so intense
08:15that some fans were even hospitalized during it.
08:18Now, this may benefit your reality,
08:20but my new one,
08:22not so much.
08:23In this new branch reality,
08:25without our chief weapon against the forces of darkness,
08:28our world would be overrun.
08:31Millions will suffer.
08:32But while the Avengers' time travel antics stopped Thanos and saved the day,
08:36they might have created a worse threat.
08:38While we don't know all the details yet,
08:40it's widely believed that their messing with the timeline
08:43was the cause for the incursions,
08:44and that this ruined Victor's life.
08:46Everything he loved was taken from him.
08:50Heck, the trailers even suggest that much.
08:52And now, there's heavy speculation that Victor lost his family because of Endgame.
08:56Regardless of whatever the real story is,
08:59what we know for certain is that Dr. Doom and the Avengers
09:01are going to have some major beef going on.
09:04We're going to need a miracle.
09:10Before we continue,
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09:1624-7.
09:17Always on, always live.
09:19Are you not entertained?
09:21Number 1.
09:23Victor's been a god-emperor.
09:25Okay, when we mentioned that Victor ripped out Thanos' spine,
09:28the fact that he was currently god-emperor-doom
09:31definitely helped him out there.
09:32You see, during Jonathan Hickman's Secret Wars comic event,
09:35Dr. Doom gained a major level up.
09:37He destroyed omniversal villains called the Beyonders
09:40and absorbed their power,
09:41becoming god-emperor-doom as a result.
09:43From there,
09:44Doom stitched the splintered parts of the multiverse
09:46into a planet called Battleworld.
09:48One world under Doom.
09:50God-emperor-doom is Victor's most powerful incarnation,
09:53and he rewrote reality in his own image.
09:56Pretty sweet, right?
09:57We probably won't get god-emperor-doom
09:59in Avengers Doomsday,
10:00but hey,
10:01it could be fair game for the MCU's Secret Wars.
10:04Are there any essential Dr. Doom facts
10:06you think we left out?
10:07School everyone in the comments.
10:09Also, be sure to let us know
10:10if you are as excited for Avengers Doomsday as we are.
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