Summary
- Doctor Doom's cunning and coviction have allowed him to acquire immense power, such as stealing the Silver Surfer's cosmic powers and defeating Marvel's heroes in the original Secret Wars.
- Doctor Doom's greatest power-up happened in Secret Wars (2015), where he amassed so much raw power that he became hailed as God-Emporer Doom.
- Despite his numerous attempts to gain ultimate power, Doctor Doom has struggled to secure said power, eventually losing all he's gained.
Doctor Doom has always been among the most imposing threats in the Marvel Universe. Few villains rival his malevolent power, and even they know to approach the ruler of Latveria with caution. Since his debut in 1962's Fantastic Four #5 (by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby), Doom has spread his plague of evil throughout the Marvel Universe.
Although Doom is generally considered a Fantastic Four villain, the despotic ruler has fought nearly every major Marvel hero, including the Avengers, the X-Men and Doctor Strange. Victor von Doom rarely faces true defeat, however, because he thinks several moves ahead of his opponents.
Updated on September 20, 2023 by Kieran Loughlin: This article has been updated to expand on Doctor Doom's comics history, as well as to meet with CBR's current formatting standards.
Doctor Doom Stole the Beyonder's Cosmic Powers in Secret Wars
Through sheer cunning and conviction, Doctor Doom has acquired immense power over the years. The first major instance was in Fantastic Four #57 (by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Joe Sinnott, and Artie Simek). Here, Doom invited the Silver Surfer into his castle, instilling the sentinel of the space ways with a false sense of trust. Doom then used this opportunity to steal the Surfer's power cosmic for himself and used his newfound abilities to go on a sinister rampage across the globe.
Years later, in the original Secret Wars (by Jim Shooter, Mike Zeck and Bob Layton), Doctor Doom was placed on the alien Battleworld alongside other villains and heroes in a competition of good vs evil. Rather than compete, Doom attacked the Beyonder, the cosmic entity who had transported him to Battleworld. Stealing the powerful being's abilities, Doom essentially became a god. When the heroes opposed him, the villain killed them all with a thought, although they eventually rose again to defeat him.
Doctor Doom's Further Attempts to Gain Power
Even after his exploits in the original Secret Wars event, Doctor Doom continued his pursuit for the ultimate power. In Fantastic Four #67 (by Mark Waid, Mike Wieringo, Karl Kesel, Paul Mounts, and Chris Eliopoulos), Doom sacrificed his great love, Valeria, to a trio of demons, gaining immense power. With his new mystical abilities, Doom took his revenge on the Fantastic Four, trapping Franklin Richards in hell and torturing most of the other members of the team.
Doctor Doom later took control Scarlet Witch's reality-altering power for himself in the Avengers: Children's Crusade storyline (by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung). Doom was transformed into a benevolent, God-like figure, who claimed he could fix all the Marvel heroes' problems. However, things soon took a dark turn when Doom claimed responsibility for the destruction which Scarlet Witch caused in Avengers: Disassembled and House of M. With the help of the Avengers and X-Men, the Young Avengers squad fought Doom, once again foiling the villain's attempt to seize power.
How God Emperor Doom Ruled Battleworld
All of this pales in comparison, however, to 2015's Secret Wars (by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic). In this epic storyline, the multiverse perished following the final collision of the Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Universe. Doctor Doom, however, stole the power of a group of alien beings called the Beyonders and created his own "Battleworld" from the remains of different worlds throughout the multiverse.
Empowered by the enslaved Molecule Man, the villain became "God Emperor Doom," ruler of Battleworld. For the next eight years, Doctor Doom twisted the memories of Battleworld's residents until they could no longer remember life before Battleworld. He ruled alongside his sheriff, Doctor Strange, and replaced Reed Richards by marrying Sue Storm and becoming the father of Franklin and Valeria (Reed's children). Johnny Storm was exiled, becoming this world's sun, and The Thing became the wall to protect Battleworld's perimeter. The Future Foundation also became Doom's science division. The God Emperor even commanded a police force comprising Thors from across the multiverse dubbed the "Thor Corps," who enforced Doom's law.
Even after the arrival of the life raft (which containing survivors from Earth 616), Doctor Doom's power didn't falter. He easily murdered a Phoenix-powered Cyclops, ripped out Thanos' skeleton, and even defeated an Infinity Gauntlet-wielding Black Panther. However, the heroes were a distraction, allowing the Molecule Man the time he needed to strip Doom of some of his power. This enabled Reed Richards to defeat his nemesis in combat and restore the multiverse, ending the reign of God Emperor Doom.
The Aftermath of 2015's Secret Wars
Infamous Iron Man (by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev) did a good job situating Doctor Doom in a post-Secret Wars landscape. Since his pursuit for power left him unfulfilled, Doctor Doom tried becoming a hero. He took on the Iron Man mantle with a special armor that allowed him to employ his expertise in science and magic. Doom's path of redemption made for an interesting read, taking the classic Marvel character in a very different direction. It was great seeing Doom fight against past associates of the villainous persuasion as he turned the criminal world upside down.
Doctor Doom's path of redemption was very much an uphill battle. Throughout the series, Doom encountered plenty of characters who refused to give him a second chance. Fantastic Four mainstay the Thing became an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. during the period, and he was determined to hold Doom accountable for his past actions. Infamous Iron Man even featured Mephisto as the overarching villain, determined to taint Doom's soul. Having Doctor Doom come face-to-face with those who didn't believe he could change gave the series a strong emotional core, proving just how much of an uphill battle he was facing.
Despite Doctor Doom's efforts to become a better person, he eventually slid back to his villainous ways in Dan Slott and Sara Pichelli's Fantastic Four relaunch. So in the end, Doom remains the Marvel Universe's ultimate villain, but it is still difficult to imagine him achieving more power than he did as God Emperor Doom during Marvel's Secret Wars.