10 Comic Villains With The Best Motivations

2. Doctor Doom

Much like the venerable Lex Luthor and Ra's al Ghul before him, it's easy to label Doctor Doom as being a somewhat generic supervillain. He's a tyrannical dictator who commands a fictional Eastern European nation, commands a mastery over both science and magic and squares off against the Fantastic Four - Marvel's first family - while attempting to conquer the world. It's a winning, if not entirely predictable premise to get behind.

However, the magic of Doom lies in how they all come together and connect to his decision making. Ever-present is Jack Kirby's legendary design, but after he and Stan Lee departed the Fantastic Four the gauntlet was left to other creators, who responded by digging even deeper into Marvel's most iconic antagonist, and what exactly makes him tick.

By far one of the most interesting angles to have been explored in recent decades has been Doom's connection to his mother, and to his Romani heritage. Victor masters the worlds of science and magic in order to protect the Romani group under attack in his native Latveria, and ascends to a level of power that sees him take control of the country.

Unfortunately for Victor, this exact path was spurred on by a series of tragic circumstances. First his mother, a witch by the name of Cynthia Von Doom, is taken by Mephisto, and then his father passes away in the cold Latverian winter. These two tragedies specifically are what spur Doom to villainy, believing himself to be the only one capable of commanding humanity's destiny, and it's partly why the character just keeps on getting better.