When it comes to villain portrayals, none deserve a perfect portrayal more than the Fantastic Four's greatest enemy, Victor Von Doom, aka Doctor Doom. Both incredibly intelligent and powerful, his presence demands respect and fear from anyone who encounters him. However, out of the three live-action iterations of the character, two of them didn't accurately portray his camp and egotism. To find the best portrayal of the villain in live action, the best place to look is Roger Corman's 1994 film, The Fantastic Four.
The Fantastic Four is a film that is still hard to find even today, as it was never actually released in theaters. The movie is considered an ashcan copy, a film made only to keep the rights, and for over a decade, it was lost to time. However, thanks to the internet, the film can be found online along with a documentary film called Doomed: The Untold Story of Roger Corman's The Fantastic Four, where the film's cast and crew detail the haphazard history of its making. Since it would be a long time before viewers could be treated to the campy elegance of Joseph Culp's Doom, other actors filled his metallic boots by bringing to life particular aspects of the iconic villain.
In 2005's Fantastic Four and its sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Doom is brought to life by Julian McMahon. While he isn't the hyper-intelligent ruler of Latveria for most of the series, he does embody Doom's egotism and narcissism. This is shown best in the constant monitoring of his image after their accident in space. He cares more about how he looks than anything else, and as his skin gives way to metal, his disdain for Reed Richards grows.
Culp's version of Doom in The Fantastic Four follows a similar plotline, but with a more comic-accurate origin. Rather than being scarred in the same space incident as the other four, he is injured during a failed college experiment he works on with Reed. Because of his hubris and belief that he is smarter than Reed, he resents his friend and blames him for the accident. However, his ego remains intact and fuels his twisted self-indulgent reality as he uses his capturing of the Fantastic Four to show how much better he is than Reed.
2015's Fantastic Four has its own version of Doom, played by Toby Kebbel. Unlike the version from the classic comic, this Doom plays down his egotism, albeit not by much, and instead plays up his incredible intelligence while working with Reed. Throughout the development of the project they're working on, Doom and Reed develop a rivalry through science. But that doesn't stop Victor from berating the young genius any chance he gets.
Culp's version of the character outshines this aspect of the more modern take by talking down to Reed after their capture rather than during their time working together, much like the comics. Using his character's intelligence for evil, Culp's Doom creates an elaborate trap for the Fantastic Four and begins to monologue about how much better and smarter he is than Reed and the team. But, of course, this plan ultimately fails, making him look more foolish than anything else.
The Fantastic Four is by no means a blockbuster success compared to other versions of the character or even the other films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But after almost 30 years, its version of Doctor Doom is still the most comic-accurate portrayal to date. Joseph Culp's Doom perfectly balances every aspect seen in future portrayals, from his genius to his massive ego and narcissism. It also sets a standard for how villains of his stature should be portrayed for years to come.