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Sunday, December 29, 2024

"Why Doctor Doom Worries Me…" By: Holden Kodish

Why Doctor Doom Worries Me…

I’d like to preface this with me saying that I hope I’m wrong. I hope in 5 years, I get laughed at, and made fun of, and canceled for this article. I really do. But, as more news about Dr. Doom in
the MCU, comics, and just recently, Fortnite comes out, I’m starting to feel scared for the future of this character. You see Dr. Doom is an easy character to write, but a hard character to write
well, and with his rise in popularity due to recent Marvel news, I’d like to discuss some of the reasons for my recent disappointment in Doom’s increasing rise in presence. Let me start off by discussing my problem’s with the MCU announcements. Everyone and their creepy loner friend has an opinion on the casting of Robert Downey Jr. so I won’t discuss it
here. Instead, I’d like to talk about the new information that we’ve received about Doom and Mr. Fantastic’s relationship in the MCU, more specifically, the lack of one. They’ll know vaguely about each other, but won’t have the same archenemy adversarial relationship from the comics. Which is a bad choice, not for just Doom, but for Reed’s character itself. You see, Doom is a
dark reflection of Reed. “Wow, the Villians a evil version of the Hero, what a big shock.” I know, I
know, it’s quite a frequent trope for that to be the case. But Doom could be considered the final
boss of this trope. While Reed has a support system, with family both blood and found, Doom’s
support system is himself. While Reed is a man who thinks almost exclusively logically, Doom is
both a master of Science and Magic. While Reed uses his advancements and his powers to
help the world, Doom cares for himself and those he considers worthy. And when they interact,
their contrasts and similarities are frequently highlighted and played with. For example, during
Secret Wars, Doom is given ultimate power, and used it to save what’s left of worlds he thinks
deserves to be saved, while punishing those he dislikes, especially members of the Fantastic
Four. Meanwhile, when given ultimate power, Reed uses it to rebuild the multiverse into
something new, as well as fixing Dr. Doom’s face. By removing their connection, you limit the
strength of both characters both individually and when opposing each other.
Recently, Marvel Comics announced a new event “One World Under Doom” a big event
revolving around, you guessed it, Dr. Doom taking over the Earth. This, I actually don’t have a
problem with. After all, he tends to do that a lot. However, I worry that this may be the last time
we see comic doom before he is replaced by MCU-ified Doom. This can work wonders for some
characters, such as Marvel’s Star-Lord or DC’s Peacemaker becoming more engaging and
deep characters while clearly being more similar to the movies then their past selves. However,
Dr. Doom is a character who’s identity is so trenched in history, both in the Marvel comics and
Marvel company, that making changes to fit more in with the new movies would only harm the
character’s effectiveness. While it might have worked for Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. will not
be a good template for Doom’s personality.
Now onto the real reason I wrote this, Fortnite’s Absolute Doom. This newest season of Fortnite
is a spiritual successor to the first Marvel event a few years ago, and while it was both a hit
critically and financially, it was lackluster compared to it’s older sibling. However, I’d like to
explain my issues with the season, both Doom and in general. My main problem stems from
one cool, but overall bad decision: Killing the Fantastic Four. Trust me, seeing the Thing
Throne, and Mr. Fantastiball was cool. Really gave off Doom’s overwhelming power. But that
left us with no Fantastic Four in the story, with it mostly focusing on original fortnite character
“Hope”. Hope is… well, she’s fine. She’s your Katniss Everdeen, Harry Potter blank slate
character, prophisized to save the world. And that’s kinda… it. And that’s totally fine in a more
Fortnite lore centered season, but this is a Marvel season. I want to see Marvel characters
interact, lead the story, interact with them. It’s what made fighting Galactus so cool, since you
were side by side with other heroes from throughout the season.
Meanwhile, we just got really big Doom NPC that was just a bullet sponge. Speaking of Doom,
let’s talk about his arc here, or more specifically, the lack of one. In the first Marvel season,
Galactus was an everlooming threat, with characters working on getting the island ready to fight
back, as new characters appeared to help, both in the item shop and on the island. But in
Absolute Doom, everyone kinda stayed where they were in terms of role and storyline for the
whole season. Just a few bosses to fight, and a few generic NPCs (besides Gwenpool, she was
fun). And Doom’s whole goal in this season is confusing. It seems like it’s just “get power”.
Doom’s desire for strength comes from the idea that only with him in charge can the world
prosper, one that’s been proven to not be incorrect a few times. But in this season, we barely
interact with him, and when we do, there’s no real motivation. He’s kinda like Godzilla in a bad
monster movie. He’s just there to wreck stuff, and be a target for the heroes. And that’s what I
fear for him in the future. To lose his depth and become just a target.
Before I go, I want to leave you with something I do like. Recently, a youtube channel going by
Straight Outta Latveria has started. In it, a wonderfully unknown individual is playing one of the
best versions of Doctor Doom I’ve seen in media, seething with hatred and full of ego. And
that’s ego he deserves, as his works clearly reflect an attempt to adapt the pure essence of Dr.
Doom as a character: Bitter and Hatefilled in a way you hate to love and love to hate.
But what do you think? Are you worried about Doom’s portrayal recently? Do I just need to
touch grass and get laid? I’m trying, but it’s scary out there. Let me know in the comments. I
won’t read them. I’m too busy trying to go to hell to ask the devil where my mom is.

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