Marvel Just Dropped an Insane Doctor Doom Twist Ahead of Doomsday And We Didn’t See It Coming

Marvel Comics is building up the next major Avengers event Armageddon in books like Avengers: Armageddon and Captain America (Vol. 14). That book has been dealing a lot with Latveria since Chip Zdarsky and Valerio Schiti took over. The first story was a flashback to Cap’s secret first mission to the country, where he fought Doctor Doom. The next arc would see him go to the country after the events of One World Under Doom, trying to keep the nation free from both wannabe Dooms and the forces of the Red Hulk. That one ended with Red Hulk nearly killing Cap and the next story opened in Hell, with Cap teamed up with the last person anyone would have expected – Doctor Doom, in Hell since the end of One World Under Doom.

The two of them end up battling against Mephisto, trying to start a revolution among the damned to take his realm and be allowed back on Earth. Cap and Doom make for an interesting team. Both of them have a lot of respect for each other and love their nations but their morals and ego separate them, so watching work together is a lot of fun. The two of them have been making a formidable team against the demons, but issue #13 reveals their greatest obstacle, a relic of Doctor Doom’s past and his endless grudge with Reed Richards.

Doctor Doom’s First Love Led to His Greatest Sin

Doctor Doom is one of Marvel’s greatest villains and a big reason for that is the character’s history. Doom has one of Marvel’s greatest villain origins ever, showing him for the complex bad guy he really is. Doom started his life with his clan of Romani, traveling around Latveria. His mother was a witch and his father was one of the leaders of the group. Young Victor was raised with a young girl named Valeria and the two of them hit it off. They became the best of friends as children and as they got older, that friendship blossomed into love. However, the two of them never had a chance to find true love. His mother ended up losing her soul to Mephisto, leaving him with just his father. At the time, the Baron ran Latveria and decided to get rid of the Von Dooms, who were agitating against him.

His father died saving him and Victor was forced into hiding to save the rest of the Romani. He ended up making his way to America, where he went to Empire University, trying to prepare himself to return home for revenge. This is where he met Reed Richards and Ben Grimm, eventually having the accident that scarred his face. This would lead him on his quest across the world, creating his armor and going back home to take revenge. He was able to take his home country back from the Baron and became the monarch we all know and love, swearing revenge on Reed Richards. Eventually, he would discover that Valeria was still alive and tried to convince her to come and be with him. She refused and the two parted ways forever.

However, that wasn’t the end between the two of them. Eventually, Doom would find her again and swear that he would give up everything for her. She believed him, but that was the last mistake she’d ever make. Doom had made a deal with a cabal of demons and sacrificed her to them in exchange for power. She was flayed and her skin was made into armor which he wore to battle the Fantastic Four in the story “Unthinkable”. It was Doom’s most inhuman act and it showed how much hate had twisted him. Doom has done a lot of terrible things, but this was easily his most terrible sin. He took someone who loved him dearly and destroyed her, all for the power to defeat the Fantastic Four.

Captain America (Vol. 14) #13 ends with an unthinkable moment – Valeria revealing herself to Doom and Cap. At some point during her time in the infernal realm she became a servant of Mephisto and was tasked by the demon lord, along with the Red Skull, to hunt down Cap and Doom, each of them promised to return to Earth if they could get them. The two of them had begun to raise a powerful army, one that could rival Mephisto’s own, but Valeria showing up could throw the whole thing into jeopardy. Doom has changed a lot since he killed her, but she certainly doesn’t care; she’s been tormented for years. There’s little chance of the two of them ever finding common ground again. It was a wonderfully shocking moment, ending issue #13 with a bang.

Valeria Von Frazen Proves Doom Is a True Monster

Doctor Doom is about to debut in Avengers: Doomsday and Marvel Comics is pulling out all the stops for movie fans who may want to read more about Doom. The character has been playing a massive role in the Marvel Universe since the announcement that Robert Downey Jr. was going to play the villain. One World Under Doom was just the beginning and his time in Captain America (Vol. 14) has been amazing for the character. Cap and Doom make such an interesting team and their current sojourn through Hell is showing them for the ultimate odd couple. We already got Red Skull, Cap’s greatest enemy in the story, so bringing in Valeria was an inspired choice. While she isn’t actually Doom’s greatest foe, she represents his worst sin.

Speaking as someone who loves Doctor Doom, it’s easy to forget that he’s one of the most evil people on Earth. His entire world view is twisted by his own ego. He will do everything he can to give his people everything they need to live, but they have to worship him. For every good thing he does, he makes a demand. His treatment of Valeria is a perfect example of just how terrible he has become. Love means nothing to him and he’ll sacrifice anything for power. He has changed a lot over the years, even learning to love people again, but Valeria will always be a huge failure in his life. She proves that he’s not the noble man that he pretends to be, but a petty egomaniac willing to do the worst things possible to win.

What do you think is Doom’s greatest sin? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!