Like, imagine the movies, but no bad guys with technology or- okay, I'm getting off track.
Now, lots of people like particular villains. A lot of people think the Joker is a great villain, and they're not wrong. So is the Red Skull, Lex Luthor, Loki, and all the other big guns, but there's one villain who most people would agree is the biggest, scariest one for a hero to face.
Dr. Doom, one of the smartest men in the world, a master of several magical disciplines, and the ruler of his own nation. He defeated cosmic threats, outsmarted the Devil himself, and even took over the world a few times (including one that I think is still in effect, but everyone forgot it existed).
Doom also has some of the most badass moments in comics. For instance, there's the time he used the Purple Man (stupid name, I know) and his mind control powers to take over the world. Now, the Purple Man is one of the more powerful "mind control" people. Here's what happened when they faced off.
(Remember, you can click on the image to see it bigger!)
Something I've always loved about Dr. Doom (when he's being written correctly) is the fact that he may want to conquer the world and rule over all, but the man does have a sense of honor. I own a Spider-Man vs. Dr. Doom comic that illustrates this well, with Spider-Man trying to keep Dr. Doom from killing a burglar who stole some jewelry that belonged to his mother from a museum. Spider-Man, being completely unable to defeat him in any kind of physical confrontation, he instead offers a deal to Dr. Doom to catch the burglar, get the jewelry back, and keep any shame from bringing brought to Doom's mother when the tabloids hear about what happened.
But first of all, there are very few times I've ever seen Spider-Man this beat up.
Granted, it turns out the jewel is wanted by an evil cult to summon an alien swarm to the planet, and right when Spider-Man is fighting them is when the cut-off time for Doom runs out...which means he pretty much blows up an entire side of the building everyone is standing in and strides inside.
Then there was also the times the Fantastic Four have been able to ask him for help saving the world from other huge threats. He helped save the world from the Over-Mind, standing his ground against the "power of a billion billion minds" and refusing to budge, surrender, or strike a deal with the other bad guy.
So, back to the subject matter, there's a great miniseries that spotlights Dr. Doom as he interacts with other villains across the Marvel Universe. He utilizes the Sinister Six (Spider-Man's rogues gallery), the Circus of Crime, the Masters of Evil, Magneto, and others in his scheme to finally "defeat his greatest enemy once and for all," and while he does stab a few people in the back, his sense of honor still comes through. He, at one point, could abandon his allies once he gets the item he's seeking, but instead turns back to save them. He acquires some allies through trade instead of simply "do what I say or die."
It's a great book that gives a classic character study of Dr. Doom and why, out of all of the allies he could have, the one he seems determined to keep around is a woman with pet snakes from the circus of crime.
Plus, it has moments like the Sinister Six hanging out in Paris after robbing a museum:
Though, this is outshined in the moment they get on a subway and it's revealed that Mysterio is using his illusion powers to make himself look like a high school boy surrounded by catholic schoolgirls. Hi-larious.
It's a great read, and one I highly recommend.
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