Victor Von Doom is one of the greatest “villains” of the Marvel Universe for good reason. Whether he’s written as an iron-fisted despot or a misunderstood Latverian whose pride gets the better of him, his Marvel comic history has made one thing clear. At the end of the day, if Dr. Doom were to rule the world, the populace would ultimately be better off. Thanks to the recent crossover, One World Under Doom, readers have been able to see some of the benefits of Victor’s reign but we figured that we’d go one step further and examine instances in his past that prove he should reign supreme in the 616.
Videos by ComicBook.com
For those who haven’t been following the events of the Marvel Comics recently, Dr. Doom became the new Sorcerer Supreme thanks to a deal struck with Dr. Strange during the vampiric crossover event, Blood Hunt. While Stephen Strange believed that Doom would give him back the mantle, Victor had plans of his own and bent their arrangement to allow him to keep the title. In One World Under Doom, the Latverian Monarch has used his new magical abilities to take over the world at large and his reign, so far, hasn’t been all that bad for both the common folk and the heroes that protect them.
Dr. Doom’s New World
Announcing himself to be the new ruler of the world, Dr. Doom didn’t immediately start slapping people into Doombots and/or rallying them to be a part of an army to defeat the Fantastic Four. In fact, Doom even addresses this point in his first speech to the United Nations. Instead, Doom began taking measures that would, arguably, help society and everyone who lives within it. Victor immediately outlaws all wars between nations, creates “true” universal health care for everyone on the planet, and free “elite-tier education” for anyone who desires it. The good doctor also allows anyone from any country to move to anywhere they wish in the world, adding another major benefit to his rule in the form of “open borders.” The real cherry on top is when Victor uses a variant of himself, which happens to be a T-Rex, to take down members of Hydra and Baron Zemo, one of Marvel’s most nefarious antagonists.
In the second issue of One World Under Doom, Victor has an in-depth debate with Valeria Ricahrds, the daughter of Reed and Sue Richards, about whether he should rule, and in all honesty, he makes a fairly good argument. Doom truly believes that he is simply the best person to rule the world, warts and all, shunning the idea that he is a fascist thanks to the benefits his actions have brought to the world so far. In the final pages of the recent issue, Doom even takes Ben Grimm’s “curse” away from him, doing something that Reed has never been able to do in turning the Thing back into a human being. Granted this fact is most likely to leave Reed with an emotional black eye but the act still stands.
Marvel History Backs Doom
Of course, there’s the argument to be made that Dr. Doom will push past his “gifts” to the world and demand more but, as of right now, the Earth is seeing a peace that might have never come otherwise for this comic book universe. Marvel Comics’ past even foretold this very fact in the 2010 crossover known as “Doomwar.” During this crossover event, countless Marvel heroes are dragged into a war between the kings of Latveria and Wakanda as Dr. Doom and Black Panther go toe-to-toe. Victor is presented with a challenge unlike any he faced before thanks to facing down the Panther God Bast.
Looking into Doom’s past and his reasoning behind why he wants to rule the world, Bast comes to learn that of the many alternate futures that might arise, there is only one where the Earth not only survives but excels. Under Dr. Doom’s rule, the planet Earth would be “united” and give its people all the benefits necessary to live in peace. Not only does this explanation save Doom’s life but the Panther God even goes so far as to hook Victor up with a serious amount of Vibranium to help him in his quest for world domination. If even a god can back Doom in his reasoning for world domination, what arguments do mortals have?
This isn’t to excuse the evils that Dr. Doom has done in his comic book career as he certainly has his fair share of deaths hanging over his head. Doom’s rule in One World Under Doom most likely won’t turn out to be peaches and creme for the Marvel Universe but as it stands right now, the crossover is living up to one of its biggest slogans.
“Only Doom Can Save Us.”
