Doctor Doom has long been one of the most prolific villains in the Marvel Universe for many reasons. There's something about him -- the bulky, almost medieval armor that hides some of the most technologically advanced systems ever, his grandiose way of speaking that makes him infinitely quotable, the sheer presence of him on the page. Whether it be as a villain or a hero, Doom is one of the most compelling characters in the Marvel Universe.
Doom began his time as the chief antagonist of the Fantastic Four but as years went by he would branch out, becoming a threat to the Marvel Universe in general and teaching multiple heroes a valuable lesson -- none can rival Doom.
10 Why He's The Greatest: The Armor
Doctor Doom's armor is one of his most iconic features. For starters, it's a wonderful visual -- the hooded green cloak and tunic and steel grey color give it an old world, regal feel that is perfect for someone who is a monarch. It also looks tough, like armor that someone would wear iF they were fighting a lot and is quite intimidating.
On top of all of that, it's one of the most technologically advanced suits of armor on the planet, giving any armor that Iron Man wears a run for its money. It does a lot of the same things that Iron Man's armor does and has some features that are unique to it, like the ability to drain the power of cosmic beings and allow Doom to use that power. It's the perfect weapon for Doom.
9 Why He Isn't The Greatest: He Doesn't Use His Resources Well
Doctor Doom is one of the smartest people on the planet and has created all manner of amazing technology. Add to that the fact that he has the resources of an entire country behind him and by now Doom should have at least been able to destroy the Fantastic Four. However, even with everything going for him, he still hasn't been able to do so.
Doom doesn't use his resources very well. This is a man who has a time machine; the Fantastic Four are pretty formidable but with everything that Doom can bring to bear, he should have been able to defeat them at some point.
8 Why He's The Greatest: Rules His Own Country
Most supervillains are evil criminals using their powers for personal gain or disgraced rich people of different stripes trying to regain their power and prestige through violence. Sometimes, they're Nazis or run evil organizations. Doom, though, is already a force in the world -- he runs his own country, Latveria.
The people of Latveria love Doctor Doom and have a greater standard of living than all of their neighbors and most other countries in the world. While this might not seem like a tick in the greatest villain category, it shows that Doom knows how to run things well and gives him a stable base of power from which to strike at his foes.
7 Why He Isn't The Greatest: He's A Bit Too Noble
One of the biggest problems with Doom as a villain is that he's not completely wrong about everything -- the world probably would be a better place if Doctor Doom ran it. In fact, Doom has personally saved the world and the entirety of creation on more than one occasion. When he puts his mind to it, Doom is as good a hero as any of the others.
While Doctor Doom's arrogance and his jealousy of Reed Richards definitely hold him back, there's also a core of nobility to Doom that keeps him from being pure evil. While Doom often does things for self-aggrandizing reasons, he's still a noble man, for the most part, and that makes it hard to truly hate him.
6 Why He's The Greatest: A Multi-Faceted Threat
There are few villains in the Marvel Universe who are as much of a threat as Doctor Doom. It's not just the power of his armor; Doom's genius as an inventor is augmented by magical skill. Doom is not only one of the smartest people on the planet but he's also one of the greatest sorcerers as well, able to give even Doctor Strange a run for his money in the magic department.
Doctor Doom is the kind of bad guy who can challenge just about any hero because of just how much he can do. He can out-think just about any hero he comes across, his armor allows him to fight it out with the most powerful beings around, and his magical skill is just icing on the cake, an addition that makes him even more dangerous.
5 Why He Isn't The Greatest: His Arrogance Makes Him Sloppy
One of Doom's defining characteristics is his arrogance. While it's not exactly unfounded, there are few people on Earth who have his breadth of knowledge and skill -- it is also one of his greatest weaknesses. Doom believes his own hype to the Nth degree and this has led him to commit a lot of mistakes over the years.
Doom constantly underestimates his opponents and overestimates himself. This has cost him a whole bunch of victories over the years. While he often completely outclasses his foes, his arrogance has made him sloppy and this sloppiness has hurt him a lot over the years.
4 Why He's The Greatest: Where Gods Fear To Tread
Doctor Doom's armor has allowed him to take down all manner of foes over the years and he's also been able to do things that most heroes have found impossible. Take the Beyonder, for instance. No hero was able to compete with his mighty power, yet Doom's armor was able to drain the being's power and transform Doom into a god.
The Beyonder wouldn't be the only ultra powerful being that Doom was able to drain, as he also was able to do it to the Silver Surfer on multiple occasions and drain the vast cosmic power of a Watcher. He's even been able to imprison Galactus and use him as power source before. Even the most powerful beings should fear Doom.
3 Why He Isn't The Greatest: He Has Too Much Going On
Doctor Doom is a man with a lot on his plate. He runs his own country, works on various scientific endeavors, has obligations on the international stage, and is constantly trying to upstage Reed Richards in any way he can think of. This is a lot of stuff to get done and on top of that, he decides to randomly try and take over the world.
Even to someone as intelligent as Doom, this is a lot to do and parts of it are going to suffer. Doom's plans are always complicated and his split focus is one of the factors that have made him beatable; he always misses something and that has cost him.
2 Why He's The Greatest: One Of The Most Interesting Characters In The Marvel Universe
Doom is one of the most fleshed out and three dimensional characters in the Marvel Universe. There are superheroes with their own books that don't have Doctor Doom's level of development and while there are certainly aspects of the character that make him unrealistic, he's one one of the most developed characters around.
A great villain needs to be more than a one or two dimensional caricature and there are few villains out there who are as multi-faceted as Doom, making him a treat to read about.
1 Why He Isn't The Greatest: His Obsession With Reed Richards
Doctor Doom's biggest weakness, the thing that holds him back the most, is his obsession with Reed Richards. His intense hatred and jealousy of Mister Fantastic have caused him to fail in his endeavors more than anything else.
The mere existence of Reed Richards angers Doom to an unimaginable extent. This anger has cost Doom a lot over the years; it's caused him to make all kinds of mistakes and lead to a litany of failures, ones that have kept Doom from what he would call his rightful place -- as ruler of the planet.