Comic book history is littered with fantastic and formidable super-villains. Some are very clever and excellent schemers, some are super-powered to the extent that they pose a physical threat on a huge scale, and some are just downright nasty. Some, however, have it all: Doctor Doom is one of those villains.
Doom has been the scourge of countless heroes and hero teams since his first appearance in The Fantastic Four #5 way back in 1962, most notably as a villain of the titular team of the aforementioned comic. But he has also faced -off with the likes of the Avengers, the X-Men, Spider-Man and the Silver Surfer.
Let’s take a look at 5 reasons why I think that Victor Von Doom is the best villain in the history of comics books…
5. Appearance
Doctor Doom’s appearance is a two-layered thing – and both layers are pretty terrifying. On the outside, Doom strikes an imposing figure. Wearing his gadget-filled metallic armour with face mask and green robes and hood makes him look very fearsome, but it is beneath the exterior that he looks truly terrifying as Doom is terribly scarred.
Depending on the source material, the cause of the scarring differs. He either put his metallic mask on when it was still boiling hot, or an explosion occurred in one of his college experiments but, either way, he’s ended up looking pretty nasty. The extent of the nastiness is, again, something that is source material dependent. But, more often than not, his appearance is depicted as being pretty monstrous – so much so that he can’t even bear to look at himself (see the above picture).
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23 Comments
Doctor Doom is great. Sadly his very Stan Lee name might lead non-comic book fans to think of him as less than great.
I like to think that Doom’s facial scars are minimal, and the reason he wears a mask is more to do with his complex than him being hideous.
couldn’t agree with you more…another i would say is Lex
Agreed! I’m a big fan of humans who ‘earn’ their status, rather than being born with a mutant gene or being involved in a lab accident that grants them powers (another reason to dislike the movie version of Doom!).
Both Lex and Doom are threats to their super-powered foes because of their minds (in Lex’s case because his brilliant business sense has earned him the money to afford Kryptonite and tech, and in Doom’s case because he has built his own tech and learnt magic). The best kind of villain.
Galactus, Apocalypse, Ultron, DarkSeid, Thanos, heck even Darth Vader, can all swat Dr. Doom like a fly no problem.
And what do you find scary about his appearance? Blackheart, Ultron, and Mr. Sinister are what one would normally call scary. Not a tin can man wearing medieval Gregorian GREEN (of all colors) robe!
Didn’t say most powerful, I said best.
There are countless villains who can swat him like a fly (Darth Vader is NOT one of them, incidentally). If you’d like me to list a hundred reasons why, I could do so quite easily.
Same way there are countless heroes who can swat Superman like a fly (Silver Surfer, Odin, Gladiator, Sentry, Supreme, Mr Majestic) but that doesn’t take away from the fact that he is, undoubtedly, the best superhero of all time.
How would you define best then? In terms of looks? power? What?
Also Darth Vader can so swat him like fly. But since you mention it, go ahead, list 100 reasons why he can’t in your opinion… I’m waiting
Best as in comparing their achievements to what they’re working with. Doom is just a guy. Everything he has and everything he’s done is down to having earned it.
And let’s look at some of the things he’s done:
- Fought evenly with Thor, a guy who would slaughter Vader.
- Taken hits from the likes of Hulk, Thing and Sentry in anger. Sentry being a guy who, without trying, is strong enough to casually block the swing of Terrax’s axe. That swing has cracked planets.
- Survived a blast from Galactus. Sure, Galactus can easily beat Doom, but to survive even a backhanded flick from an entity that can destroy galaxies ensures that Doom is way too durable for Vader to hurt.
- Tanked a blast from Thanos… WHILST THANOS WAS WIELDING THE INFINITY GAUNTLET.
- Has stolen powers from beings as powerful as the Beyonder. If you’re unfamiliar with the Beyonder, he’s a cosmic being who makes Galactus look like a bug.
- When Doom and Galactus travelled to the Beyonder’s realm, the energies were enough to knock them both out. Guess who came round first?
- Laughs off mind attacks, by virtue of his unsurpassed willpower.
- Can dimension dump opponents, so guys like Vader, who don’t have dimension-traversing abilities, could simply be vanquished with a thought.
- Has force fields that Invisible Woman admits are more powerful than hers. If you’re remotely familiar with her, you’ll know that makes them impenetrable to guys with way more power than lowly Vader.
- Has thought-activated spells like the Crimson Bands. With a single thought, Vader would be wrapped in magical restraints that Hulk has been unable to break out of.
I could go on all day with this. But hey, you did ask…
Here are some threads for reference. These threads are from a versus forum, inhabited by comic book fans and experts (including opinions from moderators). This particular forum concentrates on the *actual feats* of characters. Not ‘how cool they are’ etc:
Thread 1 – http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?329832-Dr-Doom-Vs-Darth-Vader
Quote from thread: ‘This is an hilarious curbstomp for Doom.’ That quote is by Siriel. A moderator of the forum.
Thread 2 – http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?338704-dr-doom-vs-darth-vader
Quote: ‘Doom could be asleep and Vader wouldn’t be able to win. Seriously.’ So that reiterates my point about Doom’s durability being beyond Vader’s power output. That’s just an undeniable fact.
Thread 3 – http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?186230-Doom-vs-Vader/page2
Quote: ‘The force Vader’s telekinesis exerts is not sufficient to overcome the protective capabilities of Doom’s armor, nor has Vader ever shown the capacity to cause power armor to blow up on a whim.
Vader just doesn’t have the offensive capability to do any damage to Doom, either through telekinesis or lightsaber attacks. Whereas Doom’s armor has weapons and devices more than capable of erradicating the Sith lord.’ That quote was by The Watcher. A veteran of the comic industry and long term moderator.
I counted, and it’s less than 100.
And I just read the other article about villains. Dude you just basically copied the Dr. Doom slide on that one. Also, obviously you are confused, you qualify your criteria for best, which effectively disqualifies every nonhuman villain. Moreover, your reasons are all related to power. You’re funny.
If you break it down, it’s more than one hundred. I’m just not going to list 50 people with better power output that Vader who Doom has laughed off, so I put it as one collective point. And I’m not gonna list 20 telepaths who Doom has no-sold, so I list it as ‘Doom laughs off telepaths’ – one collective point. And moreover, I didn’t need to list any more than those I listed, because they proved outright that Vader doesn’t have the feats to hurt Doom.
And if you look in those threads, I was in them. 4, 5, 6 years ago making these same points. I didn’t copy anything.
Plus, that article was published after mine.
I’ve followed Doom for years, I don’t need to copy anyone.
My reasons are related to power because this particular discussion was about you incorrectly saying that Vader beats Doom *in a fight*. ‘Like a fly’, nonetheless. What other reasons am I meant to give for that particular argument? That he looks better? That he is more intelligent? That he lives in a nicer house?
If we want to go in to every other aspect, Doom is more intelligent (by far), has better willpower (by far), has defeated more powerful opponents (by far), has a much more long-established history (by far) etc etc etc.
You’re also funny, may I add, given that your side of this argument is formed by no evidence or counter-arguments whatsoever. Nice work.
You’re the best nerd debater ever.
Dude, just stop. All youre doing to creating logical fallicies while offering little to no evidence you your so called “arguement”. Please learn how to argue, and leave Mr. Kev Stewart alone with your petty claims.
P.S. Kev, you are pretty awesome.
Wicked article dude!
Some great points and Doom is always getting undersold when it comes to his powers!! Tougher guys than Vader have hit him with everything they’ve got and there’s been no effect!!
If he could get himself some gadgets to major himself super fast he’d be beastly!
I would like Doom to be Sorcerer Supreme. He was a candidate when Brother Voodoo was chose.
lol I meant make not major but I’m typing on my phone.
Noted :) Regarding your main post, thanks! Did you know there’s been a ‘What If?’ comic released in which Doom was Sorcerer Supreme? Obviously it’s not canon, but it made for an interesting read! And I agree, I like Doom as a sorcerer/mystic just as much as a tech-bod, so to have him elevated to that level would be cool.
N.B. For your reference, it was What If #52 and was titled ‘What If… Doom Became Sorcerer Supreme’. Have a look if you haven’t already, it’s cool :)
Awesome piece. Doom doesn’t get the recognition he deserves.
Cheers :)
I was about to call you ‘Richards’, but then I got the reference. Bit slow there, so I was!
Somebody loves Doom as much as I do? This….this is amazing. Kev, can we be friends in real life? haha
Thanks! Glad you think so, Nick! And yeah sure haha.
For all his might, magic and technology he STILL got his ass kicked by Squirrel-Girl.
Haha doesn’t everyone? THANOS did, for heaven’s sake haha.
She is awesome.
Wow, now I see Doom in a whole new light. I mean, I knew he meant some business, but damn, this guy is a boss! Well written and thought out article, too. Great work.
Vader, watch out
I’d add resourcefulness to the list (though its probably quite close to willpower). But otherwise this is a great list. Doom has been one of my favourite comic book villains for the longest time. If he was’nt so greedy an arrogant, he would be pretty much unstoppable (but that what kinda makes him so awesome).
Most powerful villain….No.
But the best villain….Probably.