Victor Von Doom, also known by his villainous moniker,Doctor Doom, is one of the most iconicvillains in MarvelComics history. He has seen many different incarnations across many different mediums. This includescomics, animated series, live-action films, and more. Some of these adaptations have portrayed him accurately to his roots, while others have taken rather steep liberties.
Different actors have taken up the mantle ofportraying Doomon the big screen, with theMarvel Cinematic Universegiving the role to none other thanRoberty Downey Jr— who previously portrayedIron Manin the very same continuity. Out of all the different Doctor Doom adaptations and portrayals, some of them are clearly superior to others.
6Fantastic Four (1994 Animated Series)
A True Homage To Doom’s Original Design
There were various animated Marvel series created throughout the 90s —some less memorable than others. One of which stars the team members of the Fantastic Four, and many of their iconic villains such as Doctor Doom. This incarnation is very true to the comics, depicting Doom’s origins as a resident of Latveria that came to America. There, he would study and become friends with Reed Richards. Both of them were heralded as geniuses and excelled in their studies, but Victor was far more arrogant, and pressed on with an experiment that Reed warned against.
This would result in the accident that would disfigure him. Afterward, he would travel to Tibet where he met the monks that would teach him to forge his armor and mask. He would take over his homeland of Latveria. This is the perfect adaptation for those looking for something that closely follows the original comic book portrayal of Doctor Doom. He is someone who believes everything is within his reach and his for the taking.
5Fantastic Four (2015 Film)
Based On The Ultimate Marvel Origin Story
Universe-1610, more casually known as the Ultimate Universe, introduced a lot of elements to make the stories of well-known Marvel characters more grounded in reality. The X-Men no longer wore colorful spandex, and instead wore black leather. Spider-Man’s radioactive spider was changed to a genetically modified one. This universe also dramatically changed the origin story of the Fantastic Four, which serves as the basis for the 2015 film adaptation.
While named Victor Van Damme in theEarth-1610comics, this adaptation keeps his original name of Victor Von Doom. After passing through the Quantum Gate to Planet Zero while wearing a protective suit, Victor would become stranded. The planet’s strange energy had seeped deep within his body and fused him to the suit that kept him alive. This version of Doom has no dominion over Latveria, and attempts to destroy planet Earth rather than conquer it. It portrays Doom as a daunting threat to humanity, rather than the villain he is known to be. While Universe-1610 has its very bleak moments, there areothers that are far worse off.
4Fantastic Four (2005 Film)
A Realistic Modern Villain
Creating a great villain is no easy task, and most are created simply because heroes need something to overcome. The established Doctor Doom from comics at the time, might have been too hard to digest for the casual movie-going audience. As such, the 2005 film,Fantastic Fourwould change a lot about the character. Doom would join Reed Richards on the failed expedition into space that would lead to the Fantastic Four getting their powers — due to exposure to cosmic radiation.
This version of Doom is a rich and powerful figure, with a company worth a massive fortune. This version also actually possesses superpowers thanks to the aforementioned cosmic radiation, unlike his comic book counterpart, which uses a combination of technology and knowledge of magic. His own skin is his metallic armor, capable of absorbing electric energy. His most dangerous power is that he can also fire blasts of this electric energy. After losing everything from the failure of the mission, he would become enraged and seek out vengeance. This version of Doom is also featured in the sequel film, and a video game adaptation that is among some ofthe bestFantastic Fourvideo games.
3Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes
Obsessed With Killing Reed Richards
Doom is every bit as threatening and powerful as his original design. He is the ruler of Latveria with complete diplomatic immunity, with his driving force being revenge. He has near limitless resources, which he uses to fund his attempts at destroying Reed Richards, and commands a legion of Doombots. While the real world logistics of such a thing may be sketchy, this allows for an amazing villain that can keep bringing new ideas for episodes indefinitely.
The origins of this version of Doom are adapted from the 2005 film, with Doom having been part of the mission that saw the Fantastic Four get their powers. He is a genius who is able to foresee many potential events and plan for various contingencies, but his arrogance tends to cause him to be overconfident in his own calculations. Doom is not the only villain in this series, and it exploresmany iconicFantastic Fourvillainsthat deserve more screen time.
2Avengers Assemble
The Hero Of His Own Story
TheAvengers Assembleseriesuses the Marvel Cinematic Universe as its baserather than the comics. Many moments and lore elements in the show expect viewers to know what they are from how they appear in the MCU — with the show itself, not set in the MCU. Doom’s portrayal in this series is very similar to the previous entry, but he is not solely dedicated to enacting revenge on Reed Richards.
He is still the ruler of Latveria, and has a legion of Doombots at his command, but he is a far more capable villain, with him traversing the universe and moving between realms to enact his various plans. His motivation for being a villain is because he deems nobody else worthy of being able to truly lead humanity, making him the hero of his own story and his actions being in the name of the greater good.
1The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes
Always Looking At The Bigger Picture
The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroesdoes an amazing job with the character of Victor Von Doom, and is also one ofthe best Marvel Animated seriesaround. While theAvengers Assemblehas Doom as a man that loves his country and will do anything to protect it, this version is a tyrant driven by power and ambition. He associates with many other villainous organizations to achieve his own ambitions, and is not above associating with heroic factions either.
When met with a common enemy, he will side with whomever he needs to, willing to put his own pride aside to overcome the threats at hand so that he can be victorious another day. This Doom is very calculating and in a whole other league compared to the one shown inFantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes.
