Doctor Doom's many schemes and plans across the history of the Marvel Universe have pushed him to endanger the entire universe at times. But while he's almost always defeated by the various heroes who populate his world, there are a handful of realities across the multiverse where Doom was more successful -- and we're not talking about Secret Wars.
Here's what happens in What If? when Doctor Doom actually wins -- and the new terrors those victories lead to.
WHAT IF DOCTOR DOOM WAS A HERO?
Introduced in What If? Vol. 1 #22, by Don Glut and Fred Kida, this version of Victor Von Doom showcased some slight humility when his college roommate, Reed Richards, spotted a flaw in his design for a device that could allow him to visit the afterlife. He agreed to Reed's offer to become Doom's lab assistant and helped complete Doom's machine -- proving to the, in this case, not a villain he needed to find a way to rescue his mother from Mephisto. Doom travels the world -- not driven by hate and fury, but by noble intentions to save his mother and protect the world.
Doom accomplished many of his goals - saving his mother, liberating Latveria and being named king and even marrying Valeria. Mephisto eventually attacked all of Latveria in a bid to claim a soul back from Doom. In the end, Doom can't give up his nation or even own life (out of the belief that the world still needs him), and is forced to sacrifice Valeria to Mephisto. Doom then entered self-imposed exile within his castle, only venturing out of his isolation to try and rescue Valeria from Mephisto as he saved his mother years earlier.
WHAT IF DOCTOR DOOM CONQUERED CAMELOT?
In What If? Vol. 2 #97, by James Felder and Leonardo Manco, Camelot has become a far darker place. Arthur and his loyal Black Knight both fell against Doom, who remained in the past and began a campaign to conquer the world. Years later, a mysterious woman appeared before Eirik Garrettson, the nephew of the slain Black Knight. Alongside Merlin -- aka Nathaniel Richards -- the woman explains Doom's intentions to conquer the world and spur Eirik and his people to battle.
Eventually revealed to be Valeria, daughter of Doom and the now-dead Morgan le Fay, the young woman sleeps with Eirik on the eve of battle and ends up pregnant with his child. While Eirik embraces the Ebony Blade and ends up being the only survivor of the actual battle, Valeria and Nathaniel end up confronting Doom inside his castle. Doom briefly fatally wounds Nathaniel, but Eirik arrives and kills Doom. Nathaniel then uses Doom's time machine to send Eirik and Valeria back in time so they can kill Doom before he killed Arthur -- changing the fate of their reality for the better.
WHAT IF DOCTOR DOOM WAS SORCERER SUPREME?
In the reality introduced in What If? Vol. 2 #52, by Dan Slott and Manny Galan, it was Doctor Doom who first sought out the Ancient One, not Doctor Strange. Doom quickly learned magic from the Ancient One but never lost connection with his inventive side -- even using a Doom-Bot to trick Mordo and plant a bomb in his skull to prevent his betrayal. When Stephen Strange arrived seeking help for his broken hands, Doom merely cut them off and replaced them with robotic prosthetics. Eventually, the Ancient One joined Doom on his quest to free his mother's soul from the grasp of Mephisto. Although they were successful, the Ancient One died in the battle. Doom took over for his fallen master, becoming the new Sorcerer Supreme.
But with the death of the Ancient One, Dormammu was able to attack the Earth. Doom sends the Fantastic Four to the past to find a valuable supernatural weapon to use against Dormammu. Finding it, the Fantastic Four work with other superheroes to get the weapon to Doom. Reed is able to make it to his former roommate, who in turn uses it to banish Dormammu to a fiery realm. The effort drains Doom's body of almost all life -- and earning the respect Captain America, Iron Man, Mister Fantastic and Cyclops. But as his body dies, a desperate Doom uses his androids to capture and overwrite the mind of another potential sorcerer with a copy of Doom's mind so he may yet live -- ultimately choosing Stephen Strange.
WHAT IF DOCTOR DOOM HAD KEPT THE BEYONDERS POWER?
One of the most powerful moments in the history of Doctor Doom was when he stole the reality-altering power of the Beyonder during the original Secret War. While the core version of Doctor Doom ended up losing that power not long after he took it, the version of Doom from What If? Secret Wars, by Karl Bollers and Jorge Molina, never lost that power. This quickly allowed Doom to return to Earth from Battle-World as the only survivor of Secret War. No one is able to stop Doom when he lays claim to the Earth -- and quickly lays waste to Black Panther and Wakanda, Namor and Atlantis, the Inhumans at Attilan and the Eternals. Invisible Woman (the only member of the Fantastic Four not taken to Battle-World) rallies the remaining heroes against Doom, but they fail to stop him. However, Doom spares each of their lives.
Soon, all the empires of the galaxy -- the Kree, the Skrulls, the Shi'Ar, the Technarchy, the Badoon and the Brood -- unite and attack the Earth to stop the threat that is a cosmically empowered Doctor Doom. But Doom's power allows him to casually defeat the Cosmic Elders and take the Infinity Gems. He even murders Mephisto, despite recognizing the demon lord will eventually return to life. Doom's greatest battle comes with the arrival of the Celestials. Doom battles them all and in the end, defeats every last one of them. Still, the fight results in the overall end of the Earth. Using his powers, Doom restores the planet with the last of the Beyonder's power. Ultimately, Doom even makes himself human again and ends up living among the remnants of humanity.
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