With scientific genius, an unquenchable lust for power, and a towering ego, Victor Von Doom has forged himself into one of the world’s greatest villains.
Heart of Darkness
Born to poor gypsies in the small European nation of Latveria, Victor Von Doom lost his mother to a soldier’s anger, and not long after lost his father to a king’s revenge. Alone, the young Victor discovered his mother’s trove of mystical artifacts and set himself on a path of darkness when he realized her spirit was subject to a demon she’d bargained with. His incredible scientific acumen won him a scholarship at America’s State University in New York, and he left his native country seeking knowledge with which to salve his wounded soul.
During his time in New York, Von Doom met another scientific prodigy, Reed Richards, and the two formed an immediate rivalry. When the Latverian student secretly experimented with a device of his own creation to bridge the gap between dimensions, only for it to literally blow up in his face, he found himself expelled, with only small scars on his face in return. Loathing his marred good looks and furious at fate’s fickle finger, Von Doom made his way to Tibet to allow his anger an outlet. There, he dominated a circle of monks and after learning their secrets directed them to forge him a suit of armor and an iron mask to hide his face from the world forever.
As Doctor Doom, he returned to Latveria, overthrew its monarch, and renamed its capital Doomstadt while further developing his command of science through robotics, weaponry, and even time travel. Secure in his rulership and with formidable forces at his command, Von Doom set out to conquer the globe, as well as rescue his mother’s soul, and prove himself superior to Reed Richards, the only man he’d ever met who might equal his own scientific genius.