Stan Lee's 20 Greatest Marvel Comics Creations
7. Doctor Doom
With The Thing in seventh, the entire Fantastic Four have all been accounted for, but their main villain Doctor Doom manages to beat them all here.
It’s tiresome and a disservice to Lee’s work to keep returning to the Fantastic Four film flops, so in brief: Julian McMahon’s was decent if a little hammy, and Toby Kebbell got nowhere near enough screen time to shine.
In the comic books though, Doctor Doom’s stories are so much better than just ‘decent’. He’s a genuine contender for the greatest villain of all time. It’s how personal a villain he is that gives him an advantage over so many others. His rivalry with Reed Richards began when they disliked each other as roommates. This supremely grounded origin makes it easier for us to believe in the combinations of sorcery and technology Doctor Doom is capable of.
His inventions too can sink their hooks into readers; the Doombots especially work for Fantastic Four’s fast paced action. With him and Reed, their intelligence manifests so physically as they build equipment to outdo each other. It’s the literal version of brains meets brawn, and not for the first time, Doctor Doom just gets the edge here.