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Edited by Mrph1 on Jul 29th 2024 at 3:09:00 PM
"Von Doom, P.H.D." has a nice ring to it. Makes the movie sound clinical.
Edited by TobiasDrake on Aug 30th 2021 at 8:51:27 AM
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.We have a whole trope dedicated to stuff like that, although it can have mixed results depending on how it's executed.
I can't help thinking he chose the Doctor title at least partially out of petty oneupmanship. If RIIIICCCHHHAAARRRDSSS was going by merely "Mister" Fantastic then Doom was going to be a Doctor, dammit.
"These 'no-nonsense' solutions of yours just don't hold water in a complex world of jet-powered apes and time travel."Uh no joke but Doom's origin story would honestly make a great film.
Once in the United States, Victor met fellow student and future rival Reed Richards, who was intended to be his roommate, but Von Doom disliked him and asked for another roommate. After a time, Victor constructed a machine intended to communicate with the dead, specifically his mother. Though Richards tried to warn him about a flaw in the machine, seeing his calculations were a few decimals off, Victor continued on with disastrous results, the machine violently failing with the resulting explosion seemingly severely damaging his face.[49] It is later revealed that Ben Grimm, a friend of Richards who despised Victor for his superior attitude, tampered with the machine. He would later blame himself for Doom's initial fall to villainy and rise to power but never revealed this information to anyone.[50] Expelled after the accident, Victor traveled the world until he collapsed on a Tibetan mountainside. Rescued by a clan of monks, Victor quickly mastered the monks' disciplines as well as the monks themselves. Victor then forged himself a suit of armor, complete with an iron mask, but before the mask had finished cooling, Victor put it on permanently bonding it to his skin, and then took the mantle Doctor Doom.[49] As Doctor Doom, he would go on to menace those he felt responsible for his accident—primarily, Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four. He succeeded in leading a revolution to take over Latveria from the Baron, taking an interest in the welfare of the Roma.
I'm kinda sad it's rarely adapted in media. It's quite something.
"That's right mortal. By channeling my divine rage into power, I have forged a new instrument in which to destroy you."The '90s Fantastic Four cartoon showed Doom's backstory, although it left out the part about his mother being killed by Mephisto.
Oddly, the closest I've that story adapted outside of the comics was The Super Hero Squad Show, only it was Cthon who took Doom's mother prisoner and, uh... played it a lot more for laughs:
Yeah, Doom's backstory could easily just be an entire film unto itself, ending with him taking over Laveria and declaring war on RICHAAARRRDSS. Considering how convoluted his backstory is, that might actually be the best move, because that's a LOT of backstory to blow in an exposition dump. Might as well just do it as a movie.
Also wow, I had no idea that Ben was actually literally responsible for Doom's machine blowing up. That... kind of ruins a lot of things, like how Doom is responsible for the accident but blames Reed wrongfully, and it makes Ben look a lot worse. Maybe don't include that detail in the movie.
So, for a DR. DOOM movie, here's the 3-act structure:
- Act 1: Victor Von Doom is born to a tribe of Latverian Romani people under the rule of the Baron. Victor's mother was witch Cynthia Von Doom who died by Mephisto's hand while Von Doom was young. His father, Werner, is the leader of the tribe and a renowned medicine man who kept his wife's sorceress life quiet in order to protect Victor from a similar fate. Soon after Cynthia's death, the Baron's wife grows incurably ill from cancer and Werner is called to the capital to heal her. When she succumbs to illness, the Baron labels Werner a murderer and calls for his death. Werner escapes with young Victor, having realized the night before the woman would die. He goes on to die of exposure on the mountainside, cradling the boy in a final embrace and giving him his garments to keep him warm. Victor survives and, on return to the Romani camp, discovers his mother's occult instruments and swears revenge on the Baron.
- Act 2: Victor grows into a headstrong and brilliant man, combining sorcery and technology to create fantastic devices to keep the Baron's men at bay and protect the Roma people. His exploits attract the attention of the dean of Empire State University, who sends someone to the camp. Offered the chance to study in the United States, Von Doom chooses to leave his homeland and his love, Valeria, behind. Once in the United States, Victor meets his roommate, Reed Richards, and Reed's best friend Ben Grimm. After a time, Victor constructs a machine intended to communicate with his dead parents. Though Richards tries to warn him about a flaw in the machine, Victor continues on with disastrous results, the machine violently failing with the resulting explosion severely damaging his face.
- Act 3: Expelled after the accident, Victor travels back to Latveria and forges himself a suit of armor, complete with an iron mask, and takes the mantle Doctor Doom. As Doctor Doom, he goes on to lead a revolution to take over Latveria from the Baron. And then he declares revenge on RICHARDS.
It even comes with a convenient main villain in the form of the Baron.
Edited by PushoverMediaCritic on Aug 30th 2021 at 3:50:53 AM
Knowing Marvel, they’ll almost certainly composite a more well known villain into the Baron’s position, possibly making him Mephisto in disguise.
There are a lot of variables in what we can expect from an MCU Doom. A critical one is what kind of villain they want to use him as.
- A one-and-done movie villain for the Fantastic Four.
- A franchise villain for multiple Fantastic Four films.
- A Myth Arc villain for an entire phase or more of MCU films.
If they go for the third option, then his rivalry with Reed will likely be present, but not character-defining. Like, he may have a personal relationship dynamic with Reed with scenes together highlighting their enmity and Reed will likely deliver the final blow against him in the big Avengers film, but his plans and scope will be much more grandiose than simply "Screw Reed."
Kinda like how Thanos and Tony's relationship in Infinity War and Endgame was depicted, except with two characters whose dynamic actually comes from the comics and wasn't made up for the MCU.
Edited by TobiasDrake on Aug 30th 2021 at 5:03:20 AM
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.![]()
During the original Secret Wars, the Beyonder placed Doom in charge of the villians' faction. Kang protested, and Doom had Ultron vaporize him on the spot. Later, when Doom managed to steal the Beyonder's power, he resurrected Kang and in later stories keeps holding that over him so that Kang will know his place on Doom's personal pecking order. Kang, naturally, is very much not fond of Doom for this. Not to mention they're both rivals in wanting to take over the world, though Kang already rules it in the future and wants to also take over the present. Doom, by comparison, only has a country, so I imagine he's a bit jealous.
Edited by lbssb on Aug 30th 2021 at 6:11:05 AM
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Maybe you can call it “Victor Von Doom” with DOOM in all caps.
The legend has returned.