Doctor Doom’s Enemies, from the Fantastic Four to Kang
A super-villain’s success is defined by the amount of super heroes who strive to defeat them. Just one archenemy? Amateur hour. Only the truly terrible (which is to say, the best) villains have a whole universe trying to stop them.
Few Marvel super-villains match up to the amount of enemies that Doctor Doom has amassed over the years. Science and sorcery combine to make the everlasting super-villain known as Doctor Doom. Since his debut in 1962, Victor Von Doom has of course clashed with the Fantastic Four, but also the X-Men, the Avengers, and countless other heroes. Here’s a list of Doctor Doom’s most infamous enemies.
Doctor Strange
Both use magic. Both have capes. Both wield mighty mystical forces. This rivalry was practically written in the pentagrams.
Actually, Doctor Strange has been more of a mentor to Doctor Doom. Both men had to relinquish their original goals within the medical field, instead turning to more esoteric means of influence. This similarity led to a begrudging respect, of sorts. Together they even faced Mephisto in the pits of Hell to retrieve the soul of Doom’s mother. However, Stephen Strange has also betrayed Victor by tricking Doom into a hellish trap of his own making. You know what they say about the devil you know…
Kang the Conqueror
Imitation is said to be the highest form of flattery. Maybe that’s why Nathaniel Richards decided to model his infamous purple and green suit after Doctor Doom’s notorious metallic armor. It could also be that Nathaniel Richards is rumored to be Doom’s descendant. Or was it Reed Richards? Time travel is so tricky these days…
Regardless of their blood ties, Kang and Doom have been locked in an endless string of betrayals against the other. Doom forced Kang into helping him crash Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman’s wedding, and during the first Secret Wars, Doom used Ultron to unceremoniously (but temporarily) kill Kang. Later, during the Infinity War, both super-villains planned to betray the other as they contended with The Magus. Doom once again threw Kang’s trust away, letting him die at the hands of The Magus. But you can’t keep a good time traveler down — Kang always manages to bounce right back into Doom’s plans.
The Beyonder(s)
This one is twofold for Doctor Doom since he has not only been bested by the Beyonder but also the race of omnipotent alien entities known as Beyonders.
During the first Secret Wars, the Beyonder gathered super-powered teams and individuals to compete against each other on Battleworld. Doom, of course, considered himself above such competition and instead stole the limitless power of Beyonder for himself. Not to be outdone, Beyonder outsmarted Doom by taking possession of Klaw and playing upon Doom’s deep-seated fears. While Doom’s power was unmatched by anyone in the Multiverse, he still fell victim to his self-doubt in comparison to his enemies, especially Reed Richards. In this instance, Beyonder exploited Doom’s worst enemy: himself.
A Molecule of Doom
Later, during the Secret Wars written by Jonathan Hickman, Incursions have wrought havoc upon the Multiverse. The Beyonders are Celestial creations who seek to destroy the Multiverse. Doom attempts to save his own universe from its collision course by joining forces with the Beyonders’ secret weapon: Molecule Man. Together, they use Molecule Man’s power to destroy the Beyonders and save the Multiverse — or so they think. Doom creates a Battleworld that proves to be his downfall and the surviving Beyonders continue to plot the demise of the Multiverse.
Luke Cage
We all know comics haven’t always been as progressive as they are now. Sometimes reading an old comic book can inspire a cringe (or two or three), especially when it comes to dialogue. This occurred decades ago when Luke Cage and Doctor Doom had their first interaction. As Jessica Jones later points out to Luke, the fact that he called Doom “Honey” is the real news here.
After Luke wrangled up some stray Doombots that had fled Latveria, Luke expected to be paid for his services. Doom, however, had other plans, which is to say he left without giving Luke his money. Never one to stand for being disrespected, Luke flew to Latveria in the Fantastic Four’s jet and gave Doctor Doom plenty of new dents in his armor.
Iron Man
In Iron Man, Doom meets his match when it comes to ego. Of course, both men are exceptionally brilliant and well-educated, but their conflict arises from their inflated egos trying to outdo each other. Both metallic men have empires they have built from their ground up, and both battle inner demons even when they seem put together on the outside.
The reality is that Doom actually admires Iron Man, deeming him an equal — a high compliment from someone with a severe superiority complex. For a time, Doom even dons the Iron Man persona when Tony is indisposed. Nevertheless, their moral alignments prevent these two from any permanent partnership.
Magneto
C’mon, this one is too obvious. A mutant who manipulates magnetism and a maniac made of metal? Ya knew it was gonna happen.
By nature, any confrontation between Magneto and Doctor Doom is sure to bend all expectations. Magneto has more than enough reason to distrust Doom, since he was ultimately the reason behind his daughter Wanda’s devastating break with reality. While it might seem like the odds are in Magneto’s favor, since Doom’s armor could be crushed in an instant, Doom is also a master of technology — he developed magnetic polarity controllers to counter Magneto’s abilities. Opposites do attract, after all.
Thor
Thor is feared by super-villains across the Multiverse because of his vast amounts of pure power. Few can withstand Thor’s full force when it rains down upon them in all its thundering glory. Except for Doom.
Doom’s magical energy is nearly a force of nature on its own, and up against Thor the results are earth shattering. Over the years, these two have battled each other into the recesses of space-time. Doom has even teamed up with Loki in a nefarious plot to experiment on Asgardians and unlock their gift of immortality. In the end, Thor struck the final blow against the villain’s ego when Doom was unable to lift Mjolnir.
Black Panther
Much like his rivalry with Namor, T’Challa comes into contact with another powerful ruler when he confronts Doctor Doom. And similar to his thoughts on that Atlantean nemesis, the honorable Black Panther does not agree with most of Doom’s tactics.
The name Wakanda inspires many noble connotations: a long line of Black Panthers, rich tradition, and fierce independence. It also is nearly synonymous with Vibranium, the nation’s prized metallic resource. When Doom learned that Vibranium is a natural conductor of magical energy, he stopped at nothing to gain control of the nation’s Vibranium supply.
Using nanite technology, Doom infiltrated Wakanda. Desperate to stop him, T’Challa was forced to render all the Vibranium in Wakanda inert. This devastated the country not only economically but culturally as well, all thanks to Doom.
Invisible Woman
Some comic book characters are drawn toward each other. Ha ha, get it? Drawn. Jokes aside, there really are certain characters who remain in each other’s orbit, pushing the other to their limits and challenging their development as super-powered individuals. That’s the case with Sue Storm and Victor Von Doom.
Once again, Doctor Doom only has the time of day for those whose power could rival his own. And Sue Storm is more than a match for Victor Von Doom. As Invisible Woman, Sue has gone through major power upgrades and character evolutions, leading her to become one of Marvel’s most powerfully versatile super heroes. Plus, her marriage to Reed Richards has created countless tense interactions with Doom.
Battles Seen and Unseen
On the one hand, Doom helped Sue give birth to her daughter, and she even allowed Victor to name the baby after an old love, Valeria. However, when Doom created his alternate reality known as Battleworld, he manipulated Sue into becoming his wife. These two have always clashed but, as shown above, Sue is more than capable of cutting Doom down to size, bit by metallic bit. She’s even been known to embarrass Doom by turning his armor invisible — ouch!
Mr. Fantastic
Reed Richards and Victor Von Doom share one of the bitterest, most longstanding rivalries in Marvel comics history. Both men equalled each other in many respects, but Doom’s laboratory accident compelled him to hide his humanity from the world forever. Behind his iron facade, Doom and Mr. Fantastic would never again see eye to eye.
One of their most iconic showdowns is early on in their history. Doom overpowered the Silver Surfer and stole the Power Cosmic. As Galactus’ Herald, the Silver Surfer is imbued with a cosmic power unlike anyone else on Earth. With this power, Doom’s domination was all but secured. Mr. Fantastic, however, found the flaw in Doom’s plan, tricking him into traveling beyond Earth’s boundaries. By leaving Earth, Doom went against Galactus’ limitations on the Power Cosmic, and Doom was forced to relinquish his stolen power. Doom’s grand machinations are often what lead to his crushing defeats.
The heroes detailed above are only some of Doctor Doom’s sworn enemies! The ruler of Latveria has manipulated Scarlet Witch, put the smackdown on Wonder Man and Captain America, and even proven a worthy adversary to Apocalypse and Adam Warlock.
The power of Doom is limitless. Which of Doctor Doom’s enemies and stories are your favorites? Keep the conversation going with other Marvel fans over at side.show/geekgroup, and don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!