10 Shockingly Dark Origins Of Comic Villains

Victor Von Doom was born to a Romani family in the small Baltic country of Latveria. His mother, Cynthia, was killed by Mephisto when their deal went wrong. His father, Werner was a healer, who was called on to save a noblewoman. When he failed, her husband swore vengeance. Werner took Victor and fled to the snowy mountains. The father succumbed to the elements but the boy survived and was found by his dad’s friend Boris, who became Doom’s most trusted lackey.

The brilliant immigrant won a scholarship to State University in New York. There, he met Reed Richards and Ben Grimm and took an immediate dislike to them. Doom became obsessed with creating a machine to free his mother’s soul from Mephisto’s realm. Reading Von Doom’s notes, Reed noticed a mistake in his mathematical calculations. He ignored Richards' warnings and the machine literally blew up in his face, slightly scaring him. Victor was also expelled for conducting unethical experiments, and Doom blamed Richards for all of this.

Victor traveled the world and located a small village of monks in Tibet. They assisted him in creating powerful armor, and he donned the face plate before it had cooled and truly scarred his face. Doom returned to Latveria, overthrew the government, and declared himself ruler. He also gave himself a doctorate from Latverian University so he could be called Doctor Doom.