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WARNING! Spoilers for One World Under Doom #2
Doctor Doom may seem unbeatable now that he’s conquered the Marvel Universe, but the Fantastic Four have identified his ultimate weakness, and it’s one that I think should be integrated into the MCU. With people across the world chanting his name and cheering him on, Doom’s pride is off the charts since his deepest desire is to be the best. Of course, as we all know, pride cometh before the fall.
In the preview for One World Under Doom #2 by Ryan North, R.B. Silva, David Curiel, and Travis Lanham, the Fantastic Four are picking up the pieces after Doctor Doom’s worldwide takeover. However, even if Doctor Doom has the public on his side, the Fantastic Four can exploit that.
In the Human Torch’s words, “That’s how you burn down a legend. You make him look like a chump.” Doctor Doom’s ego has never been more inflated now that he’s won politically, and that means it’ll be all the more devastating for the Fantastic Four to make him look bad in front of a global audience.
Doctor Doom’s Greatest Flaw Is His Ego, And The Fantastic Four Know It
Doom’s Bravado Falls Apart When He Gets Shown Up by Others
Pride has been Doctor Doom’s definitive weakness since his initial creation by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and this flaw can most notably be identified within his origin story. In college, Victor Von Doom was working on an experiment when Reed Richards informed him that there was something wrong with it. Rather than accepting help and admitting he’d done something incorrectly, Victor followed through with his project, only for it to go horribly wrong. With his face scarred and his pride wounded by the realization that someone was potentially smarter than him, Doom put on a mask and vowed to take revenge.
Doctor Doom’s vanity pushes him on a path to villainy, and it’s as much a strength that fuels him as it is a weakness that could be used against him.
Doctor Doom’s vanity pushes him on a path to villainy, and it’s as much a strength that fuels him as it is a weakness that could be used against him. This concept gets expanded upon in Fantastic Four #29 by Ryan North and Cory Smith, in which Invisible Woman explains that Doom builds up an elaborate idea about himself using his fearsome codename. In reality, though, he is “just some guy named ‘Victor'”. The legends he constructs are all illusions to build his ego, but when that’s taken away, Doom is hardly a threat at all.
Doctor Doom Has Won the Public’s Favor, So Taking That Away Will Defeat Him
The Fantastic Four Can Use Doom’s Ego Against Him to Claim Victory
In One World Under Doom, the titular villain has soared higher than ever before, winning the world to his side and framing their former heroes as incompetent fools who can’t help them the way he can. He’s convinced the world’s leaders to support his rule, and despite the Avengers’ attempts at exposing his lies, Doom has managed to outsmart them by using his secret murder of Baron Zemo and Red Skull as a propaganda tool. The people of the world have declared Doom to be their savior, and this widespread acclaim gives him power – but the Fantastic Four see that it can be stripped away.
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Doctor Doom has found many ways to defeat the Fantastic Four over the years, but his most recent victory may be his greatest of all time.
The Fantastic Four’s plan isn’t to physically kill Doom. Instead, they aim to make him look “weak and silly and angry”, which would be a massive blow to his pride. When he’s made a fool of, Doom loses control out of desperation, and it’s when he’s not operating at his full strategic capacity that he’s at his most vulnerable. I’m impressed by the Fantastic Four’s tactics here, since they demonstrate how deeply they understand Victor, and I’d love to see a similar approach to fighting Doctor Doom get depicted in the MCU once he joins the franchise.
I Hope Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom Incorporates Victor’s Weakness
Any Good Adaptation of Doctor Doom Must Understand His Flaws
With Robert Downey Jr. set to play Doctor Doom in his upcoming MCU debut, I sincerely hope that his version of the character sheds light on this major flaw. Doom’s ego is an essential part of him that can be used against him by opponents, and the MCU would be remiss not to acknowledge it. The key to defeating Doom is to get under his skin, so it would be interesting to see the heroes of Marvel’s cinematic universe exploit that as they do in the comics. Doctor Doom is defined by pride, and I’m curious to see how Robert Downey Jr. handles that side of him.
One World Under Doom #2 will be available on March 19th, 2025 from Marvel Comics!
“}]] The MCU must implement Doctor Doom’s main flaw. Read More