WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for 2099 Alpha #1 by Nick Spencer, Viktor Bogdanovic, Marte Gracia and Joe Caramagna and Amazing Spider-Man #34 by Nick Spencer, Patrick Gleason, Matthew Wilson, Dee Cunniffe, Chris O'Halloran and VC's Joe Caramagna, on sale now
2099: Alpha has introduced readers to a whole new take on the potential future of the Marvel Universe, featuring fresh takes on the various heroes of that era. Among them is the new 2099 version of Doctor Doom, who is far more openly villainous than the previous take on the character. But there are hints scattered throughout the new 2099 stories that suggest the original 2099 Doctor Doom may have survived - and is planning to take his world back. If that's the case, the comic could be setting up a war between Doctor Doom and Doctor Doom 2099.
THE DARK FUTURE
Introduced in 2099: Alpha, a new version of the future Doctor Doom seems to be closer to the present-day evil Victor Von Doom than the previous 2099 version. He's revealed to have attacked the heroes of Earth while they were engaged in a massive civil war, wiping them out and hiding the memories of the heroes from the rest of the world. He's even captured Uatu the Watcher and turned him into a tool to see across the entire world without anything getting in his way. The whole time, he prepares his machinations to target his enemies to maintain his control over the entire planet.
Fantastic Four 2099 revealed that some people -- notably the AI beings who reside in the Cortez Tower -- even seem to swear by Doom. He comes across as the ruler of this dark techno-future, seemingly controlling it and allowing the peoples of the world to fight out amongst themselves over their own fates. Uatu insults Doom, pointing out that the cruel and cold world that exists in the future is all built from his acts. He may have given the people of the world some of his impressive technology, but he has also allowed humanity to destroy itself with it. He's clearly the kind of villain that Doctor Doom has typically been over the years -- but for the 2099 version of Doom, that wasn't always the case.
REBOOT
The Doctor Doom of the original 2099 continuity was one of the most important figures of his era. After Victor Von Doom disappeared decades before, he seemingly appeared once more in the ruins of Latveria. Doom worked with others from the time period and used the technology of the future to create an advanced armor. He became a freedom fighter, helping liberate the nation of Latveria from the cruel cyborg baron Tyger Wylde. Working with the survivors of the tribe that he original hailed from, Doom reclaimed the nation and announced his intention to conquer the dark world and make it into a better place.
He fought many threats, including a traitorous lover named Margaretta and her false version of Doctor Doom, before making his way to the United States and fighting the various business tycoons and moguls who had previously controlled the nation before Doom arrived to liberate it. There, he was able to conquer the country and announce himself the new President. Working with the other heroes of the era (such as the Punisher, Spider-Man and X-Men of this era), Doom became a pragmatic but ultimately determined protector of the world, helping fight off the invading Phalanx and various threats that came. He was seemingly forced to sacrifice himself to save the world at the end of 2099: World of Tomorrow, which largely closed the book on that version of the 2099 future.
DOOM VS. DOOM
There are hints through the initial wave of the new 2099 though that the original 2099 Doctor Doom might still exist in some form. As the former 2099 future is seemingly wiped out and altered in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man, Miguel O'Hara rushes around and tries to avoid the morphing timeline around him. He eventually finds himself with the last remaining protector of the world, Doom. He's attempting to halt the changes to the world but doesn't seem to possess the ability to do so. Instead, he charges Miguel with a mission to save their timeline and seemingly is overtaken by the reality-altering blue light.
But in the 2099 future, Uatu reveals that there's something he doesn't see, but hear. He describes it as "metal on metal -- a forge and a fire. Somewhere, a war is being declared... and with it comes Doom." The scene then briefly shifts to a man hammering what appears to be a piece of armor, wearing bandages that hide his face. The future evil Doom claims this man to be an "imposter," which suggests that he could turn out to be another version of Doom. The bandages and choice of armor are indicative of Doctor Doom across almost all forms. The apparent importance of this figure are enough to suggest that this figure could actually be another version of Doom -- even the original 2099 Doom, preparing for a battle to try and restore the future he worked so hard to save.
If so, then the evil Doctor Doom might find himself in the same kind of conflict that led him to try and wipe out all the heroes of Earth in the first place, a superpowered war that threatens the world around it. There may come a day when Doom raises war against Doom -- and it might be coming sooner than anyone expects.