When the First Family of Marvel Comics arrived on the scene, the Fantastic Four introduced the Heroic Age while also bringing with them Doctor Doom, who is the brilliant ruler of Latveria, Doctor Strange's mystical competition, Reed Richards' scientific rival, and one of the greatest comic book villains ever.
Doom has grown to become one of the Marvel Universe's greatest threats, which has led to a number of live-action and animated appearances that have extended the character's reach outside of the comics, though not all of the adaptations have managed to capture the true menace of Doctor Doom.
12 Roger Corman's Fantastic Four (1994)
While it was never officially released, there was a live-action Fantastic Four film back in 1994 that was produced by Roger Corman in order to hold on to the characters' licenses acquired during Marvel's bankruptcy and sale of a number of their most popular characters film rights.
The film had an incredibly low budget and the cast and crew worked under the impression that it would be released, though it was never actually meant to be seen. Joseph Culp starred as Doom in a comic-accurate but poor quality costume that was not the best live-action debut for the character.
11 Fant4stic (2015)
Toby Kebbell starred as Victor von Doom in 2015's Fant4stic adaptation from director Josh Trank, though his version of the character was quite a bit different than previous comic versions, despite sharing a similar origin with the Ultimate Fantastic Four version of the character.
After being lost on Planet Zero in the Negative Zone, Doom was powerfully transformed by unknown energy as his environment suit was bonded to his body, creating a unique but lackluster take on the costume and his origin that abandoned his royal heritage and history with Reed Richards.
10 The Super Hero Squad Show (2009-2011)
Doctor Doom was the leader of most of the villains that appeared on The Super Hero Squad Show, which was based on the popular line of toys and was aimed towards a much younger audience than previous Marvel animated series.
Doctor Doom (voiced by Charlie Adler) formed his Lethal Legion of villains to acquire the power of the Infinity Sword, though he was consistently opposed by the Super Hero Squad of Marvel heroes. Doom's appearance was extremely accurate, though his dimensions were altered along with the rest of the characters to fit with the established toy line.
9 The New Fantastic Four (1978) And Earlier
The first animated appearance of Doctor Doom (voiced by Henry Ramer) was oddly alongside the original X-Men in a Namor the Sub-Mariner segment of 1966's The Marvel Super Heroes animated series called "Dr. Doom's Day," which featured classic animation ripped straight off the pages as Doom attempted to steal the mutant heroes headquarters.
Doctor Doom (voiced by Joseph Sirola) then appeared a few times in 1967's Fantastic Four series, though his mask was given a lighter cartoonish look. 1978's The New Fantastic Four may have altered the Fantastic Four too much with H.E.R.B.I.E.'s replacement of the Human Torch, but Doctor Doom (voiced by John Stephenson) was fixed with a more menacing look.
8 Spider-Man In The 80s
Doctor Doom (voiced by Ralph James) featured quite heavily in the 80s Spider-Man series that debuted in 1981, as the character frequently attempted to take over the world only to be stopped by the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
Doom's various episodes even featured an ongoing plot threat as rebels attempted to take over Latveria to become one of the series's most comic-accurate characters, though the coloring of his tunic was odd compared to previous versions. Doom (voiced by Shepard Menken) would return in Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends with a final scheme to gain mystical power that backfired.
7 Fantastic Four (1994-1996)
Marvel Animation released a new wave of animated series in the 90s starring popular characters like Spider-Man, Iron Man, and the Fantastic Four, which modernized the characters for tie-in toy lines while attempting to adapt a number of classic comic storylines.
Doctor Doom was voiced by John Vernon, Neil Ross, and Simon Templeman over the course of the series as it experienced a change in animation studios that greatly improved the series for the second season. Doom (voiced by Templeman) also appeared on The Incredible Hulk animated series that debuted in the 90s.
6 Iron Man: Armored Adventures (2008-2012)
Doctor Doom (voiced by Christopher Britton) was given a huge rewrite for Iron Man: Armored Adventures that altered his origins to remove any connection to Reed Richards or the Fantastic Four by focusing on his Latverian upbringing, where he was a married member of the royal family when one of his experiments both scarred him and killed his family.
Doom's armor was then tied into the alien dragon Makluan race that created the Mandarin's powerful rings. Doom's scientific genius was displayed as prominently as his magical expertise in the series, which stands out among the rest of the character's non-comic appearances.
5 Fantastic Four (2005)/Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
Director Tim Story brought the First Family to the big screen for the first time with 2005's Fantastic Four that introduced a new take on the origin that included Victor Von Doom (played by Julian McMahon) on the team that was bombarded by cosmic rays while in space. While the rest of the team banded together to become the Fantastic Four, Doom hid his own transformation.
His skin transformed into a durable metallic armor that could absorb and rechannel energy to explain his unique costume, though it never quite captured the royalty or terror of the comic Doom. Doom for 2007' Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer as he attempted to steal the Power Cosmic from the Silver Surfer, which was a better outing for Doom but more disappointing for the FF.
4 Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes (2006-2010)
2006 saw the debut of Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes, which became an unknown hidden gem for fans of the team after a sporadic release schedule led to a delayed release of the first season that was then prematurely canceled, leaving unaired episodes. World's Greatest Heroes featured anime-inspired adaptations of the characters in mostly original stories.
Doctor Doom (voiced by Paul Dobson) shared a similar origin as 2005's movie, though his costume was given a sharper look that more resembled his later Invincible Iron Man armor. Doom's rivalry with Reed took center stage and he used both his brilliance and his diplomatic immunity to great effect throughout the series.
3 The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (2010-2013)
One of the best adaptations of Marvel's premiere superhero team was The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes which aired on DisneyXD for two seasons as the modernized but extremely comics-accurate team formed together and began adding members to deal with adapted comic storylines like Secret Invasion.
The Skrull infiltration briefly brought Doctor Doom (voiced by Lex Lang) into the mix as he kidnapped members from the Avengers and Fantastic Four on the hunt for Skrull imposters. Doom appeared a few more times to share information, though he never gravitated to the same level of villainy as his other animated counterparts.
2 Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994-1998)
Doctor Doom (voiced by Tom Kane) only appeared in one of Spider-Man: The Animated Series' storylines in the final season of the hit 90s show, though it was a very memorable adaptation of the iconic Secret Wars storyline from the 80s that was slightly altered to focus more on Spider-Man and his chosen allies, which included the Fantastic Four.
They were locked in a war of good versus evil on an alien planet against powerful villains that included Doom, though he had managed to use his intelligence and advanced technology to take over a portion of the planet as New Latveria. The storyline concisely developed the rivalry between Doom and the FF and adapted his role in the comic crossover series with only three episodes.
1 Avengers Assemble (2013-2019) & Connected Series
Various connected continuities existed among the different waves of animated series that appeared over the years, which can be best seen with the version of Doctor Doom voiced by Maurice LaMarche, who first appeared on the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series.
LaMarche would also reprise his role as Doctor Doom for the connected Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. series, though the best of Doom featured on the long-running MCU-inspired Avengers Assemble where he frequently opposed the Avengers, and sometimes other villains in Red Skull's Cabal in an upgraded version of his classic comic armor that he improved over the series.