The Bad, The Worse, and the Vile: The Art of Being Evil
Analysis of a Villain
Dr. Doom was “born” in 1962 in the pages of Fantastic Four. Few villains since have become as universal and menacing as Victor Von Doom. He has since then appeared in the pages of Spiderman, The Punisher, X-Men, The Avengers, and Excalibur. He has taken on cosmic powerhouses from the marvel universe like the Silver Surfer and the Beyonder while getting beaten by comedy characters like Squirrel Girl. He is simply that universal.
Dr. Doom, the actual character, was born in the fictional eastern European country of Latveria where his mother and father were gypsies. His mother was a witch who sold her soul to the Devil. After his father was unjustly murdered by the rulers of Latveria at the time the young Victor Von Doom vowed revenge and began to study science and the occult as a means towards that end. Eventually he went to America for an education where he worked with a then attending Reed Richards. Dr. Doom had completed a machine that would allow him to communicate with his dead mother in Hell. Disregarding a warning from Reed about a miscalculation on his device Victor activated the machine and caused serious injury to his face.
Writers and fans disagree as to the nature of this injury, as at times he is shown as perfectly normal except for a small scar and at other times completely mangled. Eventually writers settled on a story where the scar was indeed small, but became mangled early on as we’re about to see.
After this experiment caused his ejection from the university Dr. Doom traveled to Tibet where he met with monks who taught him mystic arts and forged him a powerful suit of armor. Impatient and vain as always Dr. Doom put the mask on his face before it cooled, permanently mangling his face. Ever since then he has proven himself a character with many layers to his being. There are stories where he’s a hero, ones where he’s a truly horrific monster, and still others where he falls somewhere in between. In all his incarnations he steals the show, and it’s easy to see why.
For one, he is imposingly tall and broad shouldered appearing arrogant and noble while at the same time intimidating and cunning. Kirby modeled his appearance after the classic depiction of death-an emotionless metal mask hidden under a large hood and cloak. His armor is a mixture of medieval design and technological mastery that Doom never goes without unless forced to do otherwise. Another facet of Doom is that on top of his mastery of science he is a powerful sorcerer. Often he will combine his scientific and mystical knowledge to produce some extremely powerful weapons. On top of all this, he’s still an accomplished fighter capable of killing even a ferocious lion while naked and bare handed. This wide array of skills combined with his unquenchable ambition is what makes him such a universal threat.
Arrogance of a Monarch. Genius of a Renaissance Man.
In the mind of Dr. Doom there is a very simple pecking order; Dr. Doom, Reed Richards, and everyone else. It’s this immense arrogance that defines the character the most. It’s through his arrogance that he has been defeated more often than not. His ego is such that he gladly spits in the eyes of beings that could turn the world into a wet smear on the face of the sun while claiming mental superiority over beings that have existed before the universe was even born. To top all of this off he’s not a real doctor.
Yet, despite his ego and his enormous arrogance, he still displays nobility that can be considered nothing less than honorable. However it bears remembering that he acts noble only to maintain his image and put himself above others. For example, in one memorable moment during the Fantastic Four Sue Storm is having a difficult birth with her second child that could cost the lives of bother her and her child. Doom is responsible for not only ensuring the safe birth of both Sue Storm and her child but he also fixes a problem that the Human Torch was having with his powers. All he asked for in exchange was the privilege of naming the child Valeria, his first love and consequently the woman he skinned alive for supreme magical power later in life. Was this some kind of hidden nobility? Was this a twinkling of light in a man filled with darkness? No, it was done for one purpose and that purpose was to piss off Reed Richards.
His hatred for Reed Richards is another aspect of his character that defines him. Despite all the god like beings that have thwarted him, despite all the various heroes and villains that have opposed him, he holds one man above all the rest as his rival and nemesis. In an ironic twist, the man known for his enormous ego and arrogance holds Reed Richards as an arrogant villain who will doom the world with his reckless disregard. He thinks that Reed is one who wastes his potential fruitlessly when he could be benefitting mankind. He believes that Reed’s reckless and pointless delving into the realms of super science will end catastrophically (and in many cases it nearly has) and the world will be coming to him to save them. As a villain one would normally scoff at this remark as further arrogance and egotism from him.
Sometimes a writer will delve into what a world would be like if it were ruled by Doom. Almost always it’s an idyllic paradise free of crime where no one suffers from poverty or disease. What tarnishes this, of course, is the pile of bodies required to obtain this paradise and the amount of suffering Dr. Doom puts anyone through in his quest for power.
In the end one could argue that Dr. Doom is like any other evil dictator of his time. He has great vision and only intends the best for the future of mankind, no matter who he has to kill to get it.
Dr. Doom in your game.
Dr. Doom as a character is universal. His looks and style let him fit anywhere from a high fantasy game to a science fiction game. On top of that he owns a time machine and could very conceivably build a machine that lets him cross dimensions (in fact I’m sure he already has). So, it’s not impossible for him to appear in your game if you ever decide to use him. Whether or not you keep his name (Dr. Doom sounds a little corny and all too obvious to the jaded gamer mind) or use a new one Dr. Doom is the villain all mad geniuses and tyrannical kings want to be.
Strengths
In addition to being a technological genius, he is a ruler and leader of men having taken his country of Latveria and turning it into one of the most peaceful and orderly places on Earth barring the occasional attack by one superhero or another on his castle. On top of this he is a master sorcerer and scientist unmatched by any save a handful of people who can claim to be a master of one or the other but not both. In his armor he has super strength, can fly, and carries a wide array of weapons that lets him take on entire battalions of soldiers without a scratch. Without his armor he is an accomplished fighter and, as previously mentioned, capable of killing a full grown male lion with his bare hands. With all his available resources he is a military superpower with his own army of robotic duplicates and defense mechanisms. To fight Doom is to fight any combination of evil overlord, mad scientist, and dark sorcerer.
Weaknesses
Despite all his strengths Dr. Doom is still largely human. He’s not omnipotent or omniscient. Characters who can remain out of his sight long enough to sabotage his plans can often end the fight before it starts. Just keep in mind Doom always has contingencies and is never afraid to dirty his own hands in removing threats. His enormous ego, while providing him with an unmatchable will, tends to make him underestimate an opponent. If a party has a strong spirit and works together they can prevail against him. He also tends to rely on artifice to accomplish his goals whether it is androids, magic spells, or powerful weapons. Without these tools at his disposal he’ll likely retreat to plot his later revenge.
Getting him to your world
Whether you decide to use Dr. Doom himself or a proxy with a different name Dr. Doom is not a difficult villain to get into your game. His ambition is something that cannot be contained to a single universe, let alone a world. He can get there by any means you choose, whether by his origins simply taking place on your world or from a device or spell he has used to cross the planes. His purpose there must always focus on one of his two goals; either the total conquest of his home world or the destruction of Reed Richards. The means of which he does so should be present in this world. His concerns for these two main goals should be primary, conquest secondary, and any personal goals should be last to those.
Getting your players involved
That’s even easier. He’s a universal bad guy. Mayhap he uses the player characters to find a magical mcguffin. Maybe they discover what he’s up to and oppose him, or even join him. Dr. Doom seeks any avenue of power he possibly can and has no qualms about manipulating others to get it for him.
Roleplaying Dr. Doom
Dr. Doom is arrogant, and holds himself above all others, something that’s apparent right from the start. However he is charismatic and polite and won’t kill off any characters that prove themselves of value to them and are not hostile. However, to him, other people are tools and etiquette is simply a way of manipulating those tools to his ends. Try not to make him initially hostile to the characters until they prove themselves hostile to him as he tries to discern the proper use for everyone in his plans before trying to eliminate them. When and if they do oppose him he is merciless in protecting his own and will only spare them if he believes they can prove him some worth. Dr. Doom does not take frustration well and lashes out violently at anything he perceives to be the cause. Dr. Doom never blames himself and never considers himself evil no matter how vile his means. He is benevolent when it suits him and avoids conflict if he thinks diplomacy will attain his goals most expediently.
*For inspirational reading look up Dr. Doom’s Wikipedia entry for good volumes to look him up. It’s where most of this columns research came from.
