Disassembled: Heroes and Villains

Why Doctor Doom Proves Redemption Requires Surrender - Marvel Comics Deep Dive

• Tom Bedford of Handsome Comics • Season 1 • Episode 15

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He was born with nothing.

No throne. No crown. No power.


Only ash, frost, and the sound of his father freezing to death beneath the stars.


Victor Von Doom could have been Earth’s greatest hero. Instead, he became its greatest threat. A scientist. A sorcerer. A sovereign. Forged in loss, driven by pride, and obsessed with control, Doom built an empire not from hope—but from pain.


In this episode of Disassembled: Heroes and Villains, we confront the tragedy and terror of Doctor Doom. From his Romani roots to his mastery of both science and sorcery, from his rivalry with Reed Richards to his rule of Latveria, Doom is more than a villain—he is a warning.


Is he a tyrant who proves power corrupts absolutely?

Or a broken man who shows us what happens when pain is mistaken for purpose?


We explore:

– Doom’s tragic beginnings and the scars that defined him

– How science and sorcery shaped him into Marvel’s most dangerous man

– His obsession with Reed Richards and the pride that fueled it

– Why Doom’s rule of Latveria blurs the line between savior and oppressor


Because Doom doesn’t beg.

He doesn’t kneel.

He doesn’t break.


But maybe… that’s the problem.


🔥 New episodes of Disassembled: Heroes and Villains every Thursday


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🎙 Written and hosted by Tom Bedford | Handsome Comics

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A MONSTER? IS IT THE MASK YOU WEAR, OR THE PAIN YOU NEVER HEALED FROM? IS IT BORN IN THE SHADOWS OF CRUELTY, OR BUILT BY THE CHOICES YOU MAKE WHEN NO ONE'S WATCHING? VICTOR VON DOOM WAS BORN WITH NOTHING. NO THRONE. NO ARMY. ONLY ASH. FROST. THE SOUND OF HIS FATHER FREEZING TO DEATH BENEATH THE STARS. AND YET, HE WOULD RISE. TO RULE THE NATION. TO MASTER SCIENCE. BEND MAGIC ITSELF TO HIS WILL. HE'S BEEN A TYRANT, A SAVIOR, AND EVEN A GOD. AND THROUGH IT ALL, ONE TRUTH REMAINS. DOOM DOES NOT BEG. HE DOES NOT KNEEL. HE DOES NOT BREAK. BUT MAYBE THAT'S THE PROBLEM. BECAUSE SOMEWHERE BENEATH THE IRON AND THE ARROGANCE, LIES A MAN WHO NEVER STOPPED HEARING HIS MOTHER SCREAM FROM HELL. A MAN WHO THOUGHT POWER COULD PROTECT HIM. THAT CONTROL COULD HEAL WHAT LOSS HAD HOLLOWED OUT. AND MAYBE THAT'S THE GREATEST TRAGEDY OF ALL. BECAUSE IF. DOOM HAD MADE JUST ONE DIFFERENT CHOICE, HE COULD HAVE SAVED THE WORLD. THIS IS DISASSEMBLED, HEROES AND VILLAINS. AND TODAY, WE DESCEND INTO THE TRIUMPH AND TORMENT FOUND IN THE SOUL OF VICTOR. VON DOOM TO ANSWER THE QUESTION, WHAT IF PAIN ALONE ISN'T ENOUGH TO GIVE YOUR LIFE PURPOSE? MONSTERS AREN'T BORN IN A VACUUM. THEY'RE CARVED BY THE HANDS OF FATE, BY GRIEF, BY FIRE. BY THE SILENCE THAT FOLLOWS A SCREAM NO ONE ANSWERS. TO UNDERSTAND DOOM'S RISE, WE HAVE TO BEGIN IN THE ASHES. NOT LAVERIE OF THE KINGDOM, BUT LAVERIE OF THE GRAVEYARD. A LAND COLD WITH WAR, BRUTAL WITH HISTORY, AND MERCILESS TO THOSE BORN WITHOUT POWER. BECAUSE BEFORE THE ARMOR, BEFORE THE EMPIRE, VICTOR VON DOOM WAS JUST A BOY, AND WHAT HE LOST WOULD DEFINE EVERYTHING HE'D BECOME. BEFORE HE WAS A SOVEREIGN, BEFORE HE WAS A SCIENTIST, VICTOR VON DOOM WAS A BOY WHO HELD HIS FATHER AS HE DIED, AND HEARD HIS MOTHER SCREAM INTO HELL. HE WAS BORN IN THE SHADOW OF SUFFERING, IN THE WAR RAVAGED NATION OF LAVERIE, WHERE HIS ROMANI PEOPLE WERE HUNTED, HATED, AND IGNORED. TO THE WORLD, THEY WERE OUTSIDERS. TO VICTOR, THEY WERE FAMILY. HIS MOTHER, CYNTHIA, WAS A HEALER, AND A WITCH. A WOMAN WHO TURNED TO DARK MAGIC NOT OUT OF THE PURSUIT OF POWER, BUT DESPERATION. SHE STRUCK BARGAINS WITH MEPHISTO TO PROTECT HER PEOPLE, AND LOST HER SOUL IN THE PROCESS. WHEN THE VILLAGERS TURNED ON HER, IT WASN'T MEPHISTO WHO CAME TO SAVE HER. IT WAS HER HUSBAND, WERNER, VICTOR'S FATHER. AND IN THE CRUELEST OF IRONIES, HE WOULD LOSE HIS LIFE TRYING TO SAVE THE ONE HE LOVED. THEY FLED INTO THE MOUNTAINS, HUNTED LIKE WILD ANIMALS, AND WHEN THE COLD CAME, WERNER GAVE VICTOR THE ONLY COAT THEY HAD. VICTOR SURVIVED. HIS FATHER DID NOT. IMAGINE THAT. THE MOMENT YOUR CHILDHOOD ENDS, THE MOMENT YOU REALIZE THE WORLD IS CRUEL AND COLD, AND IT WILL NEVER APOLOGIZE FOR IT. FOR VICTOR VON DOOM, THE MOMENT HAPPENED UNDER A FROZEN SKY, AND IT NEVER THAWED. HE RETURNED TO HIS PEOPLE NOT AS A CHILD, BUT AS CLAY, BROKEN DOWN BY THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD, AND READY TO BE REBUILT INTO SOMETHING IT COULD NEVER BREAK AGAIN. HIS GRIEF BECAME HIS GOSPEL, HIS PAIN BECAME HIS COMPASS, AND HIS MOTHER'S LOSS, A WOUND THAT WOULD NEVER CLOSE. VICTOR DIDN'T JUST MISS HER, HE REFUSED TO ACCEPT HER FATE. HE CONVINCED HIMSELF HE COULD OUTSMART HELL, THAT SCIENCE AND SORCERY WEREN'T OPPOSITES, BUT ALLIES, AND THAT NO ONE, NOT EVEN MEPHISTO, WAS BEYOND HIS REACH. BECAUSE THIS LEVEL OF PAIN IS A RAGING FIRE, READY TO BURN EVERYTHING AROUND YOU, OR FORGE YOU INTO SOMETHING THE WORLD HAS TO FEAR. DOOM CHOSE FEAR. HE TAUGHT HIMSELF THE FORBIDDEN ARTS. HE SCAVENGED MACHINES FROM JUNKYARDS AND CORPSES ALIKE. EACH DAY WAS A LESSON IN DEFIANCE. IF THE WORLD HATED HIM, HE WOULD BECOME TOO POWERFUL TO BE IGNORED. IF THE WORLD HURT HIM, HE WOULD BECOME TOO STRONG TO BE HURT AGAIN. VICTOR VON DOOM'S LIFE IS MARRED BY TRAGEDY, BUT NONE MORE ENDURING THAN THIS. PAIN ALONE CANNOT BE A PURPOSE. IT CAN PUSH YOU, IT CAN HARDEN YOU, BUT IT CANNOT GUIDE YOU, BECAUSE PAIN DISTORTS. IT TELLS YOU THAT POWER IS SAFETY, THAT CONTROL IS LOVE, THAT IF YOU CAN JUST BECOME STRONG ENOUGH, YOU'LL NEVER FEEL WEAK AGAIN. AND FOR VICTOR VON DOOM, THAT LIE BECAME HIS TRUTH. SO HE CARVED A PATH TOWARDS MASTERY, NOT OF HIMSELF, BUT OF EVERYTHING ELSE. AND WHILE HE CALLED IT DESTINY, IT WAS, AT ITS CORE, A CHILD'S SCREAM ECHOING THROUGH THE HALLS OF A BROKEN WORLD. BUT THE WORLD DIDN'T LISTEN. IT ONLY GAVE HIM MORE PAIN, MORE REASON TO HARDEN, MORE REASON TO CHASE POWER. AND IN TIME, THE BOY WOULD BECOME SOMETHING FAR MORE DANGEROUS THAN A VICTIM. HE WOULD BECOME A GENIUS. A SORCERER. A TYRANT WAITING TO RISE, BECAUSE VICTOR VON DOOM NEVER LET HIS PAIN GO. HE JUST BUILT AROUND IT, BRICK BY BRICK, SPELL BY SPELL, UNTIL THE WORLD HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO KNEEL. BUT UNDERNEATH IT ALL, THE BOY WAS STILL SCREAMING. BUT RAGE DOESN'T STAY BURIED FOR LONG. VICTOR VON DOOM HAD BUILT A FORTRESS FROM PAIN, BRICK BY BRICK, SPELL BY SPELL. AND NOW, HE NEEDED THE KNOWLEDGE TO TURN IT INTO A WEAPON. SO HE LEFT LATVERIA, NOT TO ESCAPE IT, BUT TO GATHER THE TOOLS HE NEEDED TO CONQUER IT. IN AMERICA, THEY GAVE HIM A SCHOLARSHIP, BUT THEY DIDN'T GIVE HIM RESPECT. BECAUSE DOOM WASN'T THERE TO LEARN. HE WAS THERE TO PROVE THAT HE WAS RIGHT. TO PROVE THAT THE PAIN HAD MADE HIM INVINCIBLE. TO PROVE THAT THE BOY WHO ONCE HAD NOTHING COULD MASTER THE WORLD THROUGH INTELLECT ALONE. BUT GENIUS, UNTEMPERED BY HUMILITY, IS A BLADE THAT CUTS BOTH WAYS. AND THE SHARPER VICTOR'S MIND BECAME, THE MORE DANGEROUS IT WAS TO EVERYONE AROUND HIM. ESPECIALLY TO HIMSELF. BECAUSE BRILLIANCE MAY OPEN THE DOOR TO GREATNESS, BUT PRIDE DECIDES WHO WALKS THROUGH. AND IN DOOM'S CASE, THAT DOOR WOULD LEAD STRAIGHT INTO MADNESS. VICTOR VON DOOM WAS THE LIVING EMBODIMENT OF A STORM. FIERCE. FOCUSED. UNRELENTING. AND WHEN THE EMPIRE STATE UNIVERSITY OFFERED HIM A SCHOLARSHIP, THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE GIVING A GIFTED YOUNG MAN A WAY OUT. A CHANCE TO ESCAPE A FORGOTTEN COUNTRY WITH LITTLE TO OFFER A BRIGHT MIND. INSTEAD, THEY WERE FEEDING THE FIRE. VICTOR ARRIVED IN AMERICA WITH A SINGULAR MISSION. NOT TO ASSIMILATE. NOT TO ADAPT. BUT TO EXCEL, TO DOMINATE. HE DIDN'T WANT FRIENDS, HE DIDN'T NEED THEM. NOT WHEN HE CARRIED A MIND SHARPER THAN ANY BLADE, AND THE MEMORY OF A FROZEN CORPSE AND A SCREAMING SOUL FUELING EVERY BREATH HE TOOK. HE STUDIED QUANTUM MECHANICS BY BREAKFAST, MYSTICISM BY DINNER, AND BY MIDNIGHT HE BENT THEM TOGETHER, BECAUSE DOOM DID NOT BELIEVE IN BOUNDARIES. BUT THERE WAS ONE NAME HE COULDN'T OUTRUN, REED RICHARDS. ANOTHER MIND, ANOTHER RIVAL, NOT BORN IN FIRE, BUT BRILLIANCE ALL THE SAME. REED WARNED HIM, SAID THE EQUATIONS DIDN'T ADD UP, BUT DOOM WOULDN'T LISTEN, BECAUSE IF HE WAS WRONG, THAT MEANT HE COULD FAIL. AND DOOM, DOOM DOES NOT FAIL. SO HE BUILT THE MACHINE, TRIED TO PIERCE THE VEIL BETWEEN WORLDS, TO FIND HIS MOTHER, THE CHEAT HELD ITSELF, BUT THE MACHINE EXPLODED. AND THOUGH DOOM SURVIVED, HE WOULD NEVER BE THE SAME. SOME SAY THE BLAST ONLY SLIGHTLY SCARRED HIS FACE. OTHERS SAY IT WAS NEVER ABOUT THE WOUND, BUT WHAT IT REPRESENTED. TO VICTOR, IT WAS A MARK OF BETRAYAL, NOT OF REED, NOT OF THE SCHOOL. BUT OF THE UNIVERSE ITSELF. HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN RIGHT. THE WORLD SHOULD HAVE BENT TO HIS WILL, AND SINCE IT DIDN'T, HE WOULD BREAK IT. HE VANISHED INTO EXILE, WOUNDED IN BODY, BUT BURNING IN SPIRIT. IN THE MOUNTAINS OF TIBET, DOOM FOUND MONKS WILLING TO TEACH HIM DISCIPLINE, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, HE TAUGHT THEM OBEDIENCE. HE CONSTRUCTED HIS ARMOR WITH THEIR HELP, FORGED THE IRON MASK THAT WOULD HIDE HIS SHAME, AND CROWNED HIMSELF IN FIRE AND FURY, NOT TO PROTECT THE SCAR, BUT TO ERASE IT. NOT THE ONE ON HIS FACE, BUT THE ONE THAT WHISPERED HE HAD FAILED. AND THEN, HE RETURNED TO LATVERIA. NOT AS A SON OF THE LAND, BUT AS ITS CONQUEROR. HE CRUSHED THE RULING CLASS IN A SINGLE NIGHT, ALLYING HIMSELF WITH THE SERFS TO RISE AGAINST THE REPRESSORS, TOPPLED THE THRONE WITH SCIENCE AND SORCERY FUSED BY RAGE, AND DECLARED HIMSELF RULER, NOT BY BIRTHRIGHT, BUT HE BUILT AN EMPIRE WHERE NO ONE COULD QUESTION HIM. WHERE HIS WORD WAS SCIENCE, HIS LAW WAS MAGIC. AND WITH EVERY EDICT, EVERY INVENTION, EVERY EXECUTION, HE REWROTE THE STORY. VICTOR VON DOOM. THE MISUNDERSTOOD GENIUS. THE SOVEREIGN MIND. THE KING WHO TURNED HUMILIATION INTO GLORY. BUT GENIUS LEFT UNCHECKED BECOMES DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR. AND PRIDE WITHOUT REFLECTION WHEN MIXED WITH A POWER TRIP BECOMES TYRANNICAL RULE. BECAUSE THERE'S A FINE LINE BETWEEN BRILLIANCE AND MADNESS. AND DOOM. HE CROSSED IT WHEN THE SCALDING METAL MASK WELDED ITSELF TO HIS FACE. NOT BECAUSE HE WAS SCARRED, BUT BECAUSE HE COULDN'T BEAR TO BE SEEN. NOT AS BROKEN. NOT AS WRONG. NOT AS ANYTHING LESS THAN DOOM. BEFORE WE CLOSE THE SPELLBOOK AND SILENCE THE STORM, MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW OR SUBSCRIBE TO DISASSEMBLED HEROES AND VILLAINS ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST APP. EVERY WEEK WE DIVE INTO THE MINDS OF POP CULTURE'S GREATEST ICONS AND MONSTERS TO UNCOVER THE PAIN, POWER, AND PURPOSE BEHIND THEIR LEGEND. AND NEXT WEEK, DISASSEMBLED DEEP CUTS RETURNS TO EXPLORE THE DEADLIEST SWORDSMAN IN THE DECEPTICON RANKS. A DISCIPLE OF DARKNESS. A RITUALIST OF RUIN, A MECH WHO TREATS COMBAT LIKE COMMUNION. NEXT WEEK, WE DESCEND INTO THE DARK CODE OF BLUDGEON OF THE TRANSFORMERS. BUT DON'T EXHALE JUST YET, BECAUSE NEXT THURSDAY, WE TURN OUR GAZE SKYWARD TO A TITAN WHO HEEDS THE CALL OF THE LAST PRIME, A CITY THAT WALKS, A PROTECTOR WHO WATCHES AND REMEMBERS. THE NEXT CHAPTER OF HEROES AND VILLAINS BRINGS US TO. METROPLEX, AND IF YOU WANT TO HELP DECIDE WHO WE COVER NEXT, VOTE EVERY WEDNESDAY IN THE HANDSOME. COMICS YOUTUBE COMMUNITY POLL. NOW, BACK TO DOOM, AND THE THRONE HE REFUSED TO LEAVE BEHIND. POWER BROUGHT HIM GLORY, THE MASK BROUGHT HIM FEAR, AND THE THRONE BROUGHT HIM CONTROL. BUT NONE OF IT BROUGHT HER BACK, BECAUSE BENEATH THE GENIUS, BENEATH THE EMPIRE HE FORGED FROM BLOOD AND PURE WILL, VICTOR VON DOOM WAS STILL A SON, AND HIS MOTHER WAS STILL SCREAMING. FOR ALL HIS INVENTIONS, FOR ALL HIS DOMINION OVER LIFE AND DEATH, THERE WAS ONE REALM HE COULD NOT BEND TO HIS WILL, HELL. AND SO, DOOM, DID WHAT HE ALWAYS DID WHEN FACED WITH PAIN YOU COULD NOT BEAR. HE TURNED IT INTO A MISSION, NOT FOR PEACE, NOT FOR CLOSURE, BUT FOR CONQUEST. BECAUSE HELL HATH NO FURY LIKE A DOOM SCORNED. BUT MEPHISTO DOESN'T TRADE IN SCIENCE, HE DOESN'T DEAL IN LOGIC, AND WHAT HE OFFERS ALWAYS COMES WITH A PRICE, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE WHO THINK THEY'RE SMART ENOUGH NOT TO PAY IT. SOME MEN MAKE PEACE WITH THEIR PAIN. VICTOR VON DOOM LOCKED HIS IN A CAGE, AND THEN TRIED TO STORM HELL TO BREAK IT OPEN. SINCE CHILDHOOD, HE BELIEVED CYNTHIA VON DOOM WASN'T TRULY GONE, ONLY TRAPPED. CONDEMNED TO ETERNAL TORMENT BY MEPHISTO, AND IN DOOM'S MIND, THAT WASN'T FATE, IT WAS A CHALLENGE. HE SPENT YEARS PREPARING, YEARS BUILDING A DEVICE TO PIERCE THE WALLS BETWEEN DIMENSIONS. BUT SCIENCE ALONE HAD FAILED HIM ONCE, AND SO THIS TIME, HE TURNED TO SORCERY. DOOM SCOURED FORBIDDEN TEXTS, STUDIED THE BLACK ARTS, AND PLOTTED NOT WITH FEAR, BUT PRECISION. NOT TO BEG, NOT TO MOURN, BUT TO WIN. AND HE WOULD NOT ENTER THE DEVIL'S REALM ALONE. HE NEEDED AN EQUAL, A MAN HE HATED AND RESPECTED. REED RICHARDS MIGHT HAVE BEEN HIS INTELLECTUAL RIVAL, BUT STEPHEN STRANGE, HE WAS DOOM'S ONLY PEER IN POWER. AND SO, IN ONE OF THE MOST UNLIKELY ALLIANCES IN MARVEL HISTORY, DOCTOR DOOM AND DOCTOR STRANGE SET OUT TOGETHER. TWO SORCERERS, TWO EGOS, ONE MISSION. TRIUMPH AND TORMENT ISN'T JUST THE BATTLE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL. IT'S A GLIMPSE INTO THE SOUL OF A TYRANT. BECAUSE HERE, WE SEE DOOM NOT AS A CONQUEROR, BUT AS A SON. A DESPERATE MAN HIDING BEHIND THE MASK. TOGETHER, THEY DESCEND INTO MEPHISTO'S INFERNO. AND IN THIS REALM, NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS. TIME BENDS, TRUTH TWISTS, AND NOTHING IS GIVEN FREELY. THEY BATTLE HORRORS NO SCIENCE CAN MEASURE, DEMONS THAT FEED ON MEMORY, SPECTERS THAT ECHO FAILURE, AND EVEN DOOM BEGINS TO FALTER. BECAUSE MEPHISTO DOESN'T FIGHT HEAD ON. HE MAKES YOU QUESTION EVERYTHING. YOUR MIND, YOUR MISSION. HE OFFERS YOU WHAT YOU WANT, AND TAKES WHAT YOU NEED. DOOM, FOR ONCE, CANNOT CONTROL THE BOARD. THIS ISN'T HIS GAME. BUT THEN, A MOMENT. MEPHISTO, AMUSED BY DOOM'S ARROGANCE, OFFERS A CHOICE. HE CAN LEAVE WITH HIS MOTHER'S SOUL, IF HE SACRIFICES THE SOUL OF AN INNOCENT. AND IN THAT MOMENT, VICTOR VON DOOM DOES NOT HESITATE. THIS IS THE MAN WHO CRUSHED REBELLIONS, LEVELED CITIES, AND RULED WITH AN IRON WILL. THE MAN WHO ONCE BELIEVED THAT ENDS JUSTIFY EVERYTHING. AND NOW, FACED WITH THE DEVIL'S PRICE, HE OFFERS STRANGE'S SOUL WITHOUT BLINKING. BECAUSE TO DOOM, THE MISSION MATTERS MORE. BECAUSE DOOM DOES NOT. BUT MEPHISTO DOESN'T DEAL IN CLEAN VICTORIES. HE TWISTS THE KNIFE. AND WHEN CYNTHIA VON DOOM LEARNS THE COST OF HER FREEDOM, SHE REFUSES TO GO. NOT OUT OF FEAR, BUT OUT OF PRINCIPLE. SHE SEES WHAT HER SON HAS BECOME. WHAT HE'S WILLING TO SACRIFICE. AND WHEN SHE CHOOSES TO REMAIN IN DAMNATION, RATHER THAN BE FREED BY BETRAYAL. DOOM DOESN'T LOSE THE BATTLE. HE DOESN'T LOSE TO STRANGE. HE LOSES TO GRIEF ITSELF. BECAUSE LOVE CANNOT BE BOUGHT WITH POWER. AND PAIN CANNOT BE CONQUERED LIKE A KINGDOM. AND WHEN THEY RETURN, STRANGE OFFERS A RARE WORD OF PRAISE. DOOM DOES NOT SMILE. HE SIMPLY TURNS, AND WALKS BACK INTO THE SHADOWS. BECAUSE EVEN IN VICTORY, HE CANNOT FEEL PEACE. THIS WASN'T ABOUT CLOSURE. IT WASN'T EVEN ABOUT LOVE. IT WAS ABOUT CONTROL. VICTOR VON DOOM BELIEVED THAT IF HE COULD SAVE HIS MOTHER, IF HE COULD OUTWIT THE DEVIL HIMSELF, THEN THE UNIVERSE WOULD FINALLY KNEEL. BUT GRIEF IS NOT A PUZZLE. IT CANNOT BE SOLVED. AND YOU CANNOT BARGAIN YOUR WAY OUT OF PAIN. DOOM TRIED. HE GAVE EVERYTHING. FACED THE LITERAL EMBODIMENT OF EVIL. AND IN DOING SO, HE DISCOVERED THE ONE TRUTH. HE COULD NEVER ACCEPT. SOME WOUNDS DO NOT HEAL. NOT WITH SCIENCE. NOT WITH MAGIC. NOT EVEN WITH TRIUMPH. BECAUSE EVEN WHEN HE WINS, DOOM CANNOT LET GO. HE DOESN'T BURY GRIEF. HE WEARS IT. LIKE ARMOR. LIKE A CROWN. AND WITH THAT, VICTOR VON DOOM DID NOT FREE HIMSELF THAT DAY. HE ONLY PROVED HOW FAR HE'D GO. TO STAY CHAINED. NOT FOR A LACK OF WILL. BUT BECAUSE EVEN THE GREATEST MINDS CANNOT RESURRECT WHAT'S ALREADY GONE. VICTOR VON DOOM HAD STOOD BEFORE THE DEVIL AND BEEN FOUND WANTING. AND THAT SHOULD HAVE HUMBLED HIM. SHOULD HAVE CRACKED THE ARMOR. SHOULD HAVE CHANGED HIM. BUT. DOOM DOESN'T RETREAT. HE RECALIBRATES. BECAUSE IF GRIEF COULD NOT BE UNDONE, THEN HE WOULD BUILD A WORLD WHERE GRIEF HAD NO PLACE. WHERE HE WAS NOT JUST A RULER, BUT REDEEMER. AND TO DO THAT, HE WOULD FIRST HAVE TO SETTLE THE OLDEST SCORE OF ALL. NOT WITH DEMONS, BUT WITH THE ONE MAN WHO REFUSED TO KNEEL. REED RICHARDS. THIS WASN'T ABOUT SCIENCE ANYMORE. OR SORCERY. IT WAS ABOUT LEGACY. AND OVER THE NEXT FIFTY YEARS OF MARVEL HISTORY, DOOM WOULD RETURN TO HIS FIRST BATTLEFIELD. AGAIN AND AGAIN. NOT JUST TO DESTROY THE FANTASTIC FOUR. BUT TO PROVE SOMETHING EVEN DARKER. THAT THE SMARTEST MAN IN THE WORLD STILL WASN'T DOOM. FOR ALL THE THRONES HE'S BUILT. FOR ALL THE DEMONS HE'S OUTWITTED. VICTOR VON DOOM'S GREATEST OBSESSION HAS ALWAYS WORN FOUR FACES. REED RICHARDS. SUE STORM. JOHNNY STORM. AND BEN GRIMM. THE FANTASTIC FOUR WERE NEVER JUST ENEMIES. THEY WERE A MIRROR. A CONSTANT REMINDER OF EVERYTHING DOOM BELIEVED SHOULD BE HIS. FAME. GENIUS. ADMIRATION. FAMILY. FROM THEIR VERY FIRST BATTLE IN THE FANTASTIC FOUR ISSUE 5 IN 1962. DOOM IS INTRODUCED NOT JUST AS A SUPERVILLAIN, BUT AS THE REFLECTION OF REED RICHARDS GONE WRONG. HE'S SMARTER THAN THEM. STRONGER THAN THEM. MORE DRIVEN THAN ANY OF THEM. AND YET, HE ALWAYS LOSES. WHY? BECAUSE DOOM DOESN'T SEE PEOPLE. HE SEES PAWNS. HE DOESN'T VALUE LOVE. HE VALUES LOYALTY. AND WHILE THE FANTASTIC FOUR FIGHT FOR EACH OTHER, DOOM FIGHTS ONLY FOR DOOM. AN IRONY TO HIS STRUGGLE. HE THINKS THEY'RE WEAK BECAUSE THEY CARE. BUT THAT'S WHAT MAKES THEM STRONG ENOUGH TO STOP HIM. EVERY TIME. STILL, HE NEVER STOPS TRYING. WHETHER IT'S TRICKING. SILVER AGE ROYALTY OR BUILDING ENTIRE TIME MACHINES IN SECRET LAYERS. DOOM'S WAR AGAINST THE FANTASTIC FOUR BECOMES A LIFELONG CRUSADE. AND WITH EACH LOSS, HE GROWS MORE UNHINGED. MORE THEATRICAL. MORE DETERMINED TO PROVE THAT HIS WAS THE SUPERIOR MIND. BY THE 1980S, DOOM'S AMBITION SPILLS ACROSS THE STARS. IN 1984'S SECRET WAR, DOOM STEALS THE POWER OF THE BEYOND, A COSMIC BEING WITH THE ABILITY TO RESHAPE REALITY ITSELF. HE SEIZES THIS POWER NOT JUST FOR CONQUEST, BUT FOR VINDICATION. HE DOESN'T JUST WANT TO DEFEAT THE FANTASTIC FOUR, HE WANTS TO TRANSCEND THEM. TO SHOW THE UNIVERSE THAT DOOM DESERVES TO BE WORSHIPPED. AND FOR A MOMENT, IT WORKS. HE HOLDS THE UNIVERSE IN THE PALM OF HIS HAND. HE STANDS TRIUMPHANT AS THE ARCHITECT OF A NEW ORDER. BUT POWER WITHOUT THE DISCIPLINE TO WIELD IT PROPERLY IS A CASTLE BUILT ON SAND, AND DOOM'S FATAL FLAW REMAINS. HE BELIEVES HE DESERVES EVERYTHING, BUT CANNOT ACCEPT THAT OTHERS MIGHT TAKE IT FROM HIM. SO THE BEYONDER RETURNS, THE POWER SLIPS THROUGH HIS FINGERS, AND DOOM IS CAST DOWN AGAIN. BUT HE DOES NOT LEARN, HE EVOLVES. IN THE EARLY 2000S, FANTASTIC FOUR UNTHINKABLE DELIVERS ONE OF THE MOST DISTURBING DOOM STORIES EVER TOLD. NO SCIENCE, NO MACHINES, ONLY MAGIC AND CRUELTY. DOOM TRADES INTELLECT FOR HORROR, PERFORMING A HUMAN SACRIFICE OF HIS FORMER ROMANTIC PARTNER VALYRIA TO GAIN GREATER MYSTICAL POWER. HE DOESN'T WANT TO DEFEAT REED WITH BRILLIANCE ANYMORE. HE WANTS TO DESTROY HIM COMPLETELY, BREAK HIM SPIRITUALLY, AND PROVE ONCE AND FOR ALL THAT DOOM CAN WIN ON ANY PLAYING FIELD. HE KIDNAPS FRANKLIN RICHARDS, TURNS VALERIA INTO A PAWN, TORMENTS THE TEAM WITH VISIONS OF FAILURE AND DEATH, AND FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE FANTASTIC FOUR CAN'T OUTSMART HIM, CAN'T OVERPOWER HIM, THEY HAVE TO OUT-BELIEVE HIM, AND EVEN THEN, THE COST IS IMMENSE, BECAUSE UNTHINKABLE REVEALS WHAT. DOOM HAS TRULY BECOME, A MAN WILLING TO REWRITE THE RULES OF REALITY JUST TO WIN ONE ARGUMENT. AND THAT'S WHAT LEADS US, FINALLY, TO THE MOMENT WHERE DOOM SUCCEEDS. WHERE HE BECOMES A GOD. JONATHAN HICKMAN'S SECRET WARS FROM 2015 IS THE CULMINATION OF DOOM'S ENTIRE LEGACY. WHEN THE MULTIVERSE COLLAPSES, IT IS VICTOR VON DOOM, NOT REED RICHARDS, WHO SEIZES THE POWER OF THE BEYONDERS. AND THIS TIME, HE DOESN'T JUST STEAL IT, HE SHAPES IT. HE CREATES A PATCHWORK WORLD CALLED BATTLEWORLD. A STITCHED TOGETHER REALITY WHERE HE IS NOT JUST RULER, BUT SAVIOR. HE BRINGS ORDER TO CHAOS. ENDS WAR. UNITES KINGDOMS UNDER A SINGLE LAW, HIS. HE RESHAPES THE WORLD IN HIS IMAGE. EVEN REMAKES SUE STORM AS HIS WIFE. ADOPTS FRANKLIN AND VALERIA AS HIS CHILDREN. HE HAS THE LIFE HE ALWAYS ENVIED. HE IS THE GOD HE ALWAYS CLAIMED TO BE. AND STILL, HE'S HAUNTED. BECAUSE IN THE QUIET CORNERS OF THE WORLD, SOMETHING EATS AT HIM. NOT REBELLION, NOT REVENGE, BUT DOUBT. BECAUSE DOOM KNOWS HE DIDN'T BUILD THE WORLD FROM NOTHING, HE STOLE IT. FROM RICHARDS. FROM FATE. FROM THE UNIVERSE ITSELF. AND EVEN NOW, WITH GALAXIES PRAISING HIS NAME, HE FEELS SMALL. BECAUSE VICTOR VON DOOM CAN CONQUER DIMENSIONS, BUT NOT THE WHISPER IN HIS SOUL THAT SAYS, YOU'RE STILL NOT ENOUGH. AND WHEN REED RETURNS WITH THE REMAINING POWER OF THE MOLECULE MAN AND DOOM'S WORLD IN SHAMBLES, THE TWO RIVALS BATTLE FOR THE FATE OF ALL REALITIES. IN THE END, DOOM FAILS. LETTING THE POWER OF THE MULTIVERSE SLIP THROUGH HIS FINGERS. BECAUSE FOR ALL THE UNIVERSE HE COMMANDED, DOOM COULD NOT COMMAND HIMSELF. EVEN AS A GOD, HE WAS STILL THE SCARED BOY WHO LOST HIS MOTHER. STILL THE RIVAL TRYING TO BEAT THE BETTER MAN. STILL THE TYRANT MISTAKING WORSHIP FOR LOVE. THIS WAS NEVER ABOUT REED RICHARDS. IT WAS ALWAYS ABOUT THE THING DOOM FEARED MOST. BEING SEEN. NOT AS A RULER. NOT AS A GENIUS. BUT AS SOMEONE WHO DIDN'T DESERVE TO WIN. AND SO, DOOM FAILS. NOT IN FIRE, BUT IN SILENCE. BECAUSE HE RULED THE MULTIVERSE, AND STILL COULDN'T SILENCE THE WAR INSIDE. BUT DOOM SURVIVES. HE ALWAYS SURVIVES. EVEN AFTER THE FALL OF BATTLEWORLD. EVEN AFTER REED RICHARDS REWEAVES REALITY AND LEAVES THE GOD EMPEROR DOOM PERSONA BEHIND. WHEN THE DUST SETTLES, VICTOR VON DOOM IS ALIVE AND SCARRED. HIS FACE, ONCE A SYMBOL OF SHAME, IS HEALED. BUT THE WOUND INSIDE, THE ONE NO POWER COULD FIX, STILL FESTERS. SO HE TRIES SOMETHING DIFFERENT. NOT A NEW CONQUEST, NOT A NEW TITLE, BUT A NEW IDENTITY. IN THE ABSENCE OF IRON MAN, VICTOR VON DOOM PUTS ON THE ARMOR, NOT TO MOCK, NOT TO INFILTRATE, BUT TO BECOME A HERO. AT LEAST, THAT'S WHAT HE TELLS HIMSELF. BECAUSE DOOM DOESN'T WANT FORGIVENESS. HE WANTS TO BE SEEN AS CHANGED, TO BE KNOWN AS REDEEMED. BUT CAN A MAN RULED BY CONTROL EVER TRULY SURRENDER? CAN VICTOR VON DOOM BECOME SOMETHING MORE, IF HE NEVER LETS GO OF WHO HE WAS? VICTOR VON DOOM HAS RULED NATIONS, DEFIED GODS, AND REWIRED THE MULTIVERSE. BUT WHAT HAPPENS AFTER A GOD GIVES UP THE THRONE? FOR VICTOR VON DOOM, THE ANSWER WASN'T SURRENDER, IT WAS REINVENTION. IN THE AFTERMATH OF SECRET WARS AND THE DESTRUCTION OF BATTLEWORLD, DOOM DOESN'T DIE. HE DOESN'T RETREAT. HE RE-EMERGES, SCARRED BUT HEALED, ARMORLESS AND UNMASKED. HE STEPS DOWN FROM THE THRONE OF LATVERIA, NOT IN EXILE, BUT IN TRANSFORMATION. HE APPOINTS GENERAL DICK, ONE OF THE NATION'S TOP MILITARY MINDS, TO HELP TRANSITION LATVERIA INTO A FREE STATE. HE WALKS AWAY FROM ABSOLUTE RULE SO HE CAN TRY SOMETHING HARDER. REDEMPTION. NOT THROUGH CONQUEST, BUT THROUGH HEROISM. NOT JUST ANY HERO. IRON MAN. VICTOR HAD ALWAYS ADMIRED STARK. NOT PUBLICLY. NOT OPENLY. BUT DEEP DOWN, HE SAW HIM AS AN EQUAL. A MAN WHO BUILT POWER WITH BRILLIANCE RATHER THAN BLOOD. A MAN WHO COULD HAVE BECOME DOOM, BUT DIDN'T. SO WHEN TONY STARK FALLS INTO A COMA AFTER CIVIL WAR II, DOOM SEES MORE THAN A VOID. HE SEES A MESSAGE. A CHALLENGE. A PATH FORWARD. AN OPPORTUNITY. AND SO, HE STEPS INTO THE ARMOR. NOT TO MOCK STARK, BUT TO HONOR HIM. NOT TO RULE, BUT TO PROTECT. AND AT FIRST, IT WORKS. HE TRACKS DOWN MADAM MASK AND EXERCISES THE DEMONIC PRESENCE INSIDE HER. HE CONFRONTS OLD ENEMIES, DISMANTLES CRIMINAL EMPIRES, AND OFFERS EIGHT TO SHIELD HE EVEN BEGINS TO FORM A FRAGILE BOND WITH ONE OF STARK'S OLD FLAMES AMARA PEREIRA A HUMAN CONNECTION FEW EVER SEE HIM MAKE BUT BENEATH THE SURFACE THE MASK IS SLIPPING BECAUSE DOOM DOESN'T ASK FOR TRUST HE DEMANDS IT HE DOESN'T EARN FORGIVENESS AND IN HIS ATTEMPTS TO BECOME IRON MAN HE BRINGS OLD GHOSTS WITH HIM MEPHISTO RETURNS NOT IN THE FORM OF FIRE AND FURY BUT IN THE SHAPE OF DOOM'S DEAD MOTHER A SIMULACRUM A WEAPON A TEST BECAUSE FOR ALL HIS ATTEMPTS AT VIRTUE VICTOR HAD NEVER TRULY MADE PEACE WITH HER DEATH NEVER FULLY CONFRONTED THE HOLE CARVED IN HIS SOUL AND MEPHISTO KNOWS THIS BECAUSE REDEMPTION ISN'T ABOUT DOING GOOD DEEDS IT'S ABOUT FACING THE PAIN THAT MADE YOU CRUEL IN THE FIRST PLACE DOOM RESISTS HE FIGHTS HE OVERCOMES BUT EVEN THEN THE WORLD DOESN'T EMBRACE HIM SHIELD HUNTS HIM THE HEROES MISTRUST HIM AND THE PEOPLE HE TRIES TO SAVE STILL ONLY SEE THE TYRANT AND WHY WOULDN'T THEY BECAUSE EVEN NOW DOOM CANNOT STOP TRYING TO CONTROL THE NARRATIVE. HE REFUSES TO ADMIT HIS FAILURES. HE BENDS TRUTH TO FIT HIS ARC. HE HELPS, BUT ONLY ON HIS TERMS. BECAUSE FOR DOOM, CHANGE WITHOUT POWER STILL FEELS LIKE WEAKNESS. VULNERABILITY STILL FEELS LIKE DEFEAT. AND EVEN WHEN HE MEANS WELL, HE BUILDS WALLS INSTEAD OF BRIDGES. HE HIDES INTENTIONS FROM GENIUS. HE REPLACES ACCOUNTABILITY WITH SPECTACLE. HE WANTS TO BE BETTER, BUT HE CANNOT LET GO OF THE BELIEF THAT ONLY HE KNOWS BEST, AND THAT IS NOT REDEMPTION, THAT IS STILL JUST HIS EGO. BECAUSE TO TRULY CHANGE, YOU MUST FIRST SURRENDER, NOT TO AN ENEMY, TO YOURSELF. AND VICTOR VON DOOM IS INCAPABLE OF THAT. HE'LL FIGHT DEMONS, HE'LL WEAR NEW ARMOR, HE'LL EVEN PLAY SAVIOR WHEN THE WORLD ALLOWS IT, BUT DOOM WILL NEVER KNEEL, NOT EVEN TO THE TRUTH. SO ASK YOURSELF, CAN YOU CHANGE WITHOUT SURRENDER, OR DOES REAL TRANSFORMATION REQUIRE MORE THAN ACTION? DOES IT DEMAND HUMILITY? BECAUSE DOOM NEVER LEARNS THAT LESSON, NOT IN ARMOR, NOT IN FIRE, NOT IN SILENCE, AND EVEN THOUGH HE WALKS THE PATH OF A HERO, HE WALKS IT ALONE. BECAUSE TO THE WORLD, HE IS STILL DOOM, AND IN HIS HEART, HE STILL BELIEVES HE SHOULD BE GOD. BUT DOOM'S STORY DIDN'T END WITH IRON MAN'S MASK. WHEN HIS FACE WAS ONCE AGAIN SCARRED, THIS TIME BY A DEMON, VICTOR RETREATED TO CASTLE DOOM, BROKEN AND FORGOTTEN. YET DOOM DID NOT VANISH. HE WAITS. AND WHEN LATVERIA IS TORN OPEN BY TYRANNY, HE RETURNS. CROWNED NOT BY ACCLAIM, BUT NECESSITY. HE CREATES VICTORIOUS, A NEW HERALD FORGED BY THE POWER COSMIC. HE IMPRISONS GALACTUS. HE CONQUERS SIMCARIA THROUGH DIPLOMACY AND SWORD. AND STILL, HE IS NOT WHOLE. FRAMED FOR WAR, BETRAYED BY HIS OWN MACHINES, HAUNTED BY VISIONS OF THE MAN HE COULD HAVE BEEN, EVEN DEATH CANNOT CONTAIN HIM. SHOT IN THE HEAD BY TASKMASTER, CAST INTO HELL BY MEPHISTO, RESURRECTED BY DEATH ITSELF. EACH TIME, DOOM SURVIVES. EACH TIME, HE RETURNS MORE DETERMINED. HE SEES THE WORLD WHERE HE RULED WITH WISDOM. HE MEETS A VERSION OF HIMSELF WHO BANNED AN EGO, AND FLOURISHED. AND WHAT DOES DOOM DO? HE KILLS THAT MAN. HE DESTROYS THAT WORLD. BECAUSE IF HE CANNOT BE PERFECT, THEN NO ONE CAN. HE WAGES WAR WITH. THURMAMMU, ABSORBS THE POWER OF THE FAULTINE, BATTLES ACROSS THE MULTIVERSE, RESHAPING HYDRA AND BENDING NATIONS TO HIS WILL. AND WHEN THE SKY DARKENS WITH ETERNAL NIGHT, IT IS DOOM WHO STEPS FORWARD. NOT AS A VILLAIN, NOT AS A SAVIOR, BUT AS SOMETHING FAR MORE DANGEROUS. A MAN WHO BELIEVES ONLY HE CAN SAVE THE WORLD. HE DOESN'T ASK FOR PERMISSION. HE DOESN'T WAIT FOR DESTINY. HE DEMANDS THE TITLE, AND SO, DR. DOOM BECOMES THE SORCERER SUPREME. BUT WHAT DOES A GOD DO WHEN BOTH SCIENCE AND ARMOR FAIL HIM? HE TURNS TO MAGIC. YEARS AFTER RELINQUISHING THE IRON MAN MANTLE, DOOM SEEKS OUT A DIFFERENT KIND OF POWER, ONE THAT BENDS NOT TO LOGIC, BUT TO WILL. AND WHEN. DR. STRANGE FAILS, IT IS VICTOR VON DOOM WHO CLAIMS THE MANTLE OF SORCERER SUPREME, NOT THROUGH CONQUEST, BUT BY RIGHT. BECAUSE DOOM HAS ALWAYS BEEN A MASTER OF THE ARCANE, TRAINED IN BOTH SCIENCE AND SORCERY, RAISED AMONG ROMANI MYSTICS, AND FORGED IN THE FIRES OF LATVERIAN FOLKLORE. BUT THIS TIME, SOMETHING FEELS DIFFERENT. HIS MAGIC IS STRONGER. HIS PRESENCE MORE CONTROLLED. HE NO LONGER POSTURES OR THREATENS. HE LISTENS. HE MEDITATES IN THE MOUNTAINS. HE PROTECTS INNOCENTS WITH A QUIET GRACE. HE EVEN TEACHES. AND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS, DOOM SEEMS AT PEACE. BUT APPEARANCES LIE, BECAUSE DEEP INSIDE, THE WAR STILL RAGES. THE WAR BETWEEN THE MAN HE WANTS TO BE, AND THE GOD HE THINKS HE HAS MEANT TO BE. EVEN AS SORCERER SUPREME, DOOM CANNOT STOP MEASURING HIMSELF. NOT AGAINST EVIL, AGAINST. STEPHEN STRANGE. HE WEARS THE CLOAK OF LEVITATION NOT AS A BADGE OF HUMILITY, BUT AS PROOF THAT HE HAS SURPASSED HIS RIVAL. AND THAT'S THE PARADOX. BECAUSE EVEN WHEN DOOM DOES GOOD, HE CANNOT HELP MAKE IT ABOUT HIMSELF. POWER MUST ALWAYS REAFFIRM HIS WORTH. A VIEW ROLE HE ASSUMES, IRON MAN, SORCERER SUPREME, IS FILTERED TO THE SAME QUESTION. DOES THIS PROVE I AM BETTER THAN THEM? AND UNTIL THAT QUESTION DIES, DOOM CANNOT CHANGE. BECAUSE HE STILL SEES VIRTUE AS A WEAPON, REDEMPTION AS A PRIZE, AND GOODNESS AS A THRONE TO BE CLAIMED. IN THE ONGOING ONE WORLD UNDER DOOM, HE FINALLY WINS. THE WORLD BOWS. WARS END. EVERY CHILD HAS FOOD AND MEDICINE. DOOM BECOMES SORCERER SUPREME AND EMPEROR OF EARTH. AND STILL, IT ISN'T ENOUGH. BECAUSE BEHIND THE MAGIC, BEHIND THE SPEECHES AND THE SMILING BROADCAST, DOOM IS HARVESTING THE LIFE FORCE OF HIS OWN PEOPLE. FUELING HIS POWER THROUGH STOLEN SOULS. REED RICHARDS CONFRONTS HIM, AND WHEN DOOM IS ASKED IF THESE HORRORS ARE SO JUSTIFIED, THEN WHY DO YOU HIDE THEM, HE SAYS NOTHING. BECAUSE THERE IS NO ANSWER. DOOM DID EVERYTHING HE SAID HE WOULD. HE GAVE THE WORLD PEACE, PROSPERITY, AND UNITY. BUT ONLY IF THE WORLD GAVE HIM SOMETHING GREATER IN RETURN. WORSHIP. BUT EVEN THAT WASN'T ENOUGH. BECAUSE NO MATTER HOW MANY WORLDS DOOM RESHAPES, HOW MANY MANTLES HE WEARS, HOW MANY ENEMIES HE CONQUERS, THERE IS ONE THING HE CAN NEVER DEFEAT. THE MIRROR. NOT THE REFLECTION OTHERS SEE, BUT THE ONE HE SEES WHEN THE POWER FADES. A MAN WHO COULD HAVE SAVED THE WORLD A THOUSAND TIMES, IF HE HADN'T ALWAYS NEEDED IT TO KNOW HIS NAME. SO WHAT DO WE DO WITH A LEGACY LIKE THAT? HOW DO WE MEASURE A MAN WHO REWROTE THE LAWS OF LIFE AND DEATH, ONLY TO PROVE HE COULD NEVER REWRITE HIMSELF? NOT BY HIS VICTORIES. NOT BY HIS GENIUS. BUT BY THE SCARS HE LEAVES BEHIND. BECAUSE THE LEGACY OF VICTOR VON DOOM ISN'T CARVED IN METAL OR MAGIC. IT'S WRITTEN IN THE LIVES HE TRIED TO OWN. THE TRUTHS HE REFUSED TO FACE. IN THE KINGDOM HE BUILT ATOP A THRONE OF FEAR. AND NOW, AS THE WORLD TURNS WITHOUT HIM, WE MUST ASK, WHAT REMAINS OF DOOM, AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LIVE IN HIS SHADOW? WHAT DO YOU LEAVE BEHIND WHEN YOUR NAME BECOMES LEGEND? FOR VICTOR. VON DOOM, LEGACY WAS NEVER A SIDE EFFECT. IT WAS THE GOAL. FROM THE MOMENT HE FIRST FORGED A MASK OF IRON AND FIRE, DOOM WASN'T JUST TRYING TO WIN. HE WAS TRYING TO BE REMEMBERED. THAT AS A VILLAIN, NOT EVEN AS A KING, BUT AS A GOD WHO PROVED THE WORLD WAS WRONG TO DOUBT HIM, HE WAS NEVER FORGOTTEN. NO MATTER HOW MANY CRIMES HE COMMITTED, HE WAS NEVER DESTROYED. EVEN HIS ENEMIES KNEW IT. YOU CANNOT IGNORE DOOM. HEROES FEARED HIM. NATIONS STUDIED HIM, AND THE MULTIVERSE ITSELF BENT AROUND THE GRAVITY OF HIS WILL. BUT LEGACY IS A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD. BECAUSE FOR EVERY LIFE HE SAVED IN ONE WORLD UNDER DOOM, A SOUL WAS HARVESTED IN SECRET. FOR EVERY MIRACLE HE CONJURED A SORCERER SUPREME, THERE WAS MOTIVE BEHIND THE MAGIC. FOR EVERY HEROIC MASK HE WORE, THERE WAS A MAN UNDERNEATH WHO STILL BELIEVED THE WORLD OWED HIM. THAT'S THE CONTRADICTION HISTORY CAN'T RESOLVE. VICTOR VON DOOM WANTED TO BE MORE THAN A TYRANT. BUT HE NEVER WANTED TO STOP BEING DOOM. AND SO, HE BECOMES SOMETHING ELSE. AN ARCHETYPE. THE RULER WHO BELIEVES ORDER JUSTIFIES CRUELTY. THE GENIUS WHO THINKS BRILLIANCE EXCUSES PRIDE. THE MAN WHO COULD HAVE BEEN HUMANITY'S GREATEST PROTECTOR, BUT CHOSE INSTEAD TO BE ITS REFLECTION. BECAUSE IF REED RICHARDS REPRESENTS THE IDEAL, THE MAN WHO SHARES KNOWLEDGE, WHO UPLIFTS, WHO BUILDS, THEN DOOM IS THE WARNING. THE PATH WHERE GENIUS BECOMES OBSESSION, WHERE TRAUMA CURDLES INTO CONTROL, WHERE GREATNESS BECOMES A CAGE BUILT OF EGO. AND YET, THAT'S WHAT MAKES HIM UNFEELING. BECAUSE UNLIKE SO MANY VILLAINS, DOOM DIDN'T WANT TO DESTROY THE WORLD, HE WANTED TO FIX IT. HE JUST COULDN'T DO IT WITHOUT MAKING SURE EVERYONE KNEW WHOSE HAND WAS ON THE LEVER. AND THAT'S WHY HE ENDURES. IN EVERY GENERATION, DOOM RETURNS. NOT BECAUSE HE ESCAPES DEATH, BUT BECAUSE WE NEVER STOP NEEDING HIM. HE IS THE QUESTION NO HERO CAN ANSWER. WHAT IF THE VILLAIN WAS RIGHT? HE IS THE TEMPTATION EVERY GENIUS MUST RESIST. WHAT IF YOU COULD FIX THE WORLD, BUT ONLY IF YOU RULED IT? BUT DOOM'S STORY DOESN'T JUST BELONG TO COMICS, IT'S A MIRROR FOR US. BECAUSE HOW MANY OF US PURSUE GREATNESS BUT ONLY ON OUR TERMS? HOW OFTEN DO WE CONFUSE CONTROL WITH VIRTUE? HOW OFTEN DO WE DEMAND TRUST WITHOUT EARNING IT? WE TELL OURSELVES WE'RE DOING GOOD, WE SAY IT'S FOR OTHERS, BUT IF WE'RE BEING HONEST, IS IT REALLY? OR IS IT ABOUT PROVING WE WERE RIGHT? DOOM SHOWS US THE DANGER OF CHASING REDEMPTION WITHOUT HUMILITY, SEEKING TRANSFORMATION WITHOUT SURRENDER, OF WANTING TO BE BETTER WITHOUT GIVING UP THE NEED TO BE WORSHIPPED FOR IT. SO ASK YOURSELF, ARE YOU BUILDING SOMETHING TO SERVE OTHERS, OR TO BE SEEN? ARE YOU CHANGING, OR JUST REBRANDING? BECAUSE DOOM WEARS EVERY MASK, HERO, VILLAIN, GOD, AND BELIEVES THEY ALL PROVE HIS WORTH, BUT TRUE GREATNESS, IT DOESN'T WEAR A MASK AT ALL. THANK YOU FOR WALKING WITH US THROUGH THE IRON WILL AND FRACTURED SOUL OF VICTOR VON DOOM, THROUGH THE FIRES OF CHILDHOOD TRAUMA, THROUGH THE CORRIDORS OF POWER, THROUGH THE HALLS OF SCIENCE AND MAGIC AND MULTIVERSAL AMBITION. WE'VE SEEN A MAN WHO'S LOST EVERYTHING, AND INSTEAD OF GRIEVING, HE BUILT AN EMPIRE. WE'VE SEEN A GENIUS WHO REFUSED TO KNEEL, EVEN WHEN IT COST HIM HIS FACE, HIS FRIENDS, AND HIS FUTURE. WE'VE SEEN A VILLAIN WHO TRIED TO BECOME A HERO, BUT ONLY ON THE CONDITION THAT HE STILL GOT TO BE THE ONE IN CHARGE. BECAUSE DOOM'S LEGACY IS ONE OF AMBITION, BRILLIANCE, AND RUIN. HE SHOWS US THAT THE MASK CAN PROTECT, BUT IT CAN ALSO CONSUME. THAT PRIDE CAN DRIVE GREATNESS, BUT ALSO ISOLATE IT. THAT PAIN, IF HELD TOO LONG, STOPS BEING FUEL AND STARTS BEING FIRE. HE BECAME IRON MAN. HE BECAME SORCERER SUPREME. HE BECAME GOD. BUT THROUGH IT ALL, HE NEVER BECAME FREE. BECAUSE VICTOR VON DOOM NEVER LET GO. NOT OF THE GRIEF. NOT OF THE EGO. NOT OF THE BELIEF THAT THE WORLD WAS BROKEN UNLESS HE RULED IT. AND THAT'S THE TRAGEDY. BECAUSE BURIED BENEATH THE SCARS, THE SPELLS, AND THE ARMOR, WAS ALWAYS A BOY IN THE SNOW, TRYING TO PROVE HE MATTERED. SO BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU BUILD YOUR STRENGTH FROM. SIT WITH THAT IDEA. SIT WITH THE AMBITION TO CHANGE THE WORLD THAT LEFT YOU BEHIND. SIT WITH THE TEMPTATION TO RULE IT WHEN THE SYSTEMS BROKE YOU. SIT WITH THE FEAR THAT YOU'LL LOSE SIGHT OF WHAT YOU'RE BUILDING WHEN EVERYTHING YOU LOVE WAS BORN FROM ANGUISH. BECAUSE IF YOU'RE NOT CAREFUL, THE WORLD YOU SHAPE WILL STILL BE NOTHING BUT ASH. SO STAY SHARP. STAY BRAVE. AND AS ALWAYS, STAY BRAVE. AND REMEMBER, YOU CAN REWRITE YOUR STORY. YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR PATH. BUT IF YOU DO IT FOR CONTROL INSTEAD OF TRUTH, YOU'RE NOT CHASING REDEMPTION. YOU'RE JUST BUILDING A PRETTIER PRISON. AND SOMEDAY, YOU'LL FORGET WHERE THE DOOR IS.