If your only exposure to Doctor Doom was the Marvel movie movies, you've done yourself a disservice. This is especially true as the disappointment with the recent casting of the cool-hearted genius in the live-action version seems to have intensified. This disadvantage must be corrected immediately!
So what's the best way? It draws you in and intrigues you with the varying levels of complexity regarding his constantly wavering morality and the extreme methods he pursues to solve problems, no matter whose side he is on. The entries below showcase his strengths both on foot and narratively. He proves to be an excellent choice for both.
10 marvel zombies
Released: 2005
No one can say that Doctor Doom won't look out for those under him in times of crisis. At least as long as it helps his long-term goals. What better long-term goal than surviving an alien virus? In addition to holding down his vast superlative fortress, he casts a magical force field around the area for protection.
It fails and he is ultimately captured and swallowed. Nonetheless, through sheer force of will, he manages to keep the virus at bay long enough to ensure the safety of the survivors. The virus took hold of him, but he was nonetheless unstoppable and took Galactus head on along with the rest of the zombie heroes. He just doesn't quit.
9 secret war
Release date: 1984
Will heroes and villains fight against each other in a no-holds-barred fight? Register us! Some of your favorite characters from various Marvel franchises come together unexpectedly and form alliances that don't usually happen. But the doctor has another, more ambitious goal in mind. Instead of fighting others to gain power, he takes power for himself.
After several setbacks, he succeeds in his quest and the ultimate power flows through his body. However, harnessing the Beyonder's power proves to be too much for him as he loses control. After being beaten by the heroes, Doom is temporarily restored to his powers by the Beyonder. A wondrous cosmic force, a power that wields tiny ounces of time.
8 Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes
Release date: 2010
Do you know how great you have to be to make a big impact while only appearing in episode 3? He shows up, knocks everyone out, including the Hulk, and then makes everyone leave, telling them in too many words that it's not worth their time.
The entire Avengers team couldn't touch him! Hell, Doom threw Hulk into a brick wall without even taking a breath. Doom tried to tell them they weren't ready for any kind of battle, but of course they didn't listen and were left to lick their wounds. What was his goal? That's none of our business. He made that clear in these three episodes.
7 Marvel Ultimate Alliance
Release date: 2006
If you could take the power of the Norse gods and claim it as your own, would you do it? A logical opportunist, Doom forms alliances with familiar names like Loki and Ultron to steal several items of power, such as super serums, mutant amplifiers, and magical tombs that grant powers.
This augmentation of power alone is not enough and he now has Odin in his sights. As previous battles have shown, Doom is not one to be toyed with, so with the help of the Twilight Sword, he steals it from another dimension to bring Odin out of the picture and claim his godly powers.
6 fortnite
Release date: Official release in 2020, pre-release in 2017
When we talk about Doctor Doom's many accomplishments, it's not exactly what you'd expect, is it? Running collaborative events in Fortnite is nothing new (Eminem, anyone?), but the teams at Epic Games and Marvel have done well with this iteration of opportunistic genius. When he steps into the Omniverse, he immediately discovers what power is at his disposal.
This is where his abilities are on full display. Equipped with dimensional travel, energy manipulation, and of course all of his technological abilities. This is all before he gets his hands on Pandora's Box, which contains all of humanity's fears and hopes, which he immediately uses to defeat many enemies, villains, and heroes. In any dimension, Doom is god-like in most cases.
5 Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom: Triumph and Pain
Release date: 1989
Just as Secret Wars showcases Doctor Doom's wit, the Triumph and Torment story perfectly showcases his complexity and weaknesses. As usual, the Doctor's usual plan is on full display as he vows to sacrifice the soul of the newly created Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange. Together they venture into Hell to save Doom's mother from the clutches of the demon Mephisto.
Doom proves that he will do anything to get what he wants. Normally a superpower in its own right, but this time he sacrificed the one person he loved most in the world, earning her disgust in the process. All that power is at his fingertips, and he still fails, and it's overwhelming to witness.
4 Fantastic Four, Number 5
Year of release: 1961
What begins as mild opposition to Doctor Doom's ambitious, lifelong project turns into a decades-long beef of varying levels of severity. There are many, but one of Doc's most memorable shows of strength was his first encounter with the post-space The Fantastic Four.
In this iconic conflict, Doom leaps forward with the Quad Squad by demanding that they capture and transport the entire Baxter building to his castle to use his newly created time machine to steal from the pirate Blackbeard. Of course, the story is a little… It's disjointed, but the way he commands his power over the Four without skipping a beat shows his true power. Now if only he would bring that tiger back!
3 doctor doom
Release date: 2019
It's one thing to admit your mistakes for something you did or a failed plan for world domination. But if you were accused of something you didn't do, say creating a black hole on the moon, it would ruffle your feathers. So what do you do when you're on the run after being framed by people like the infamous assassin Taskmaster?
Well, you beat them. For Doc, it's as simple as that. He faced someone who could easily emulate and beat anyone, and Doom never broke a sweat. If it's not enough or seems useless to him, he'll just pop out and teleport somewhere else. As an aside, the biggest strength of this story is that it explores Doctor Doom as more than just a megalomaniacal genius ruler.
2 infamous iron man
Release date: 2016
Set against the backdrop of a fierce Second Civil War between superhero factions who disagree with the morality of prescient justice, the weight each person lost during the war is felt. After Iron Man's death, Doctor Doom notably repents and decides to take on the role previously held by Tony Stark.
The mere thought of Doom turning over a new leaf horrifies the villain community and immediately seeks his death. Do you know how strong you have to be to strike fear into the heart of your former temporary partner in crime?
1 secret war
Release date: 2015
While everyone else in the multiverse is understandably worried about a cosmic collision, Doom sees this as an opportunity to gain the power of the Beyonders in a modernized 2015 retelling of the 1984 Secret Wars storyline. Doom's divine ambition.
The threat to the Doctor isn't necessarily that there are discontent trying to overthrow him from his rule over Battleworld, but it's more about whether he deserves the full power of creation and omnipotence. His humanity becomes his greatest struggle as he tries to balance the forces that 'place' him above others and still keep him sane. This is not a fight that can be won through strength alone.
