Doctor Doom plays a different role in any potential Doctor Strange comic than he does just about anywhere else.
In an issue of Fantastic Four, if Doom shows up, he is inevitably the antagonist. In an issue of Spider-Man, he is almost always the antagonist. In Avengers, antagonist. If he ever shows up in an X-Men comic – antagonist. When he’s not the antagonist, his presence is just about always a MacGuffin instead. And this is fine and good. Doom is a bad guy. He should be the antagonist.
But in Doctor Strange’s world, Doom isn’t necessarily the antagonist. He can be, but the thing about Doctor Strange is that, when it comes down to magic, he’s inevitably superior to Doom. Doom’s not bad by any means – really, he’s impressively powerful in a magical sense – but his desire to master both science and magic means that his magic will always be weaker than Strange’s. (But it doesn’t necessarily mean that his science will always be weaker than Reed Richards’ science. This is one of the ways magic is slightly different from science.) Doom’s entire character makes him often unsuited to be an antagonist for Strange, because in a battle between the two, Doom is almost always attacking at a disadvantage, and Doctor Doom doesn’t do that when it’s possible.
Plus, Doom doesn’t really have any reason to be an antagonist for Strange. Most of the time, anyway. Certainly Doom’s ever-present power lust is always going to be cause for potential strife. But he doesn’t dislike Stephen Strange particularly, not like he hates the Fantastic Four or doesn’t understand the motivations of Captain America. Stephen Strange makes perfect sense to Doom: a man who sought mystical power and got it, and who protects his home turf from outward threats. Of course, there’s more to Strange than that, but it doesn’t matter because what Doom sees, Doom understands. Everything else is just window dressing.
This means that Doom is a relative rarity in Doctor Strange stories; he’s a true wild card. Not like Baron Mordo, who on their rare team-up occasions inevitably would turn on Stephen the moment it seemed convenient. If Doom throws in with Strange, he will (mostly) throw in with Strange for real. But there’s no guarantee that he will throw in with Strange, because it’s entirely possible that Strange’s goals will stand in sharp relief to Doom’s.
Which means that when Doctor Doom shows up in a Stephen Strange story, you get a novel experience not normally associated with Doctor Doom: you don’t necessarily know why he’s there or what he’s going to do. And that’s valuable.
Top comment: Just looking at the artwork MGK chose for this post makes me wonder: When did Doctor Strange sport a “Meathead” mustache, and why isn’t Doom mocking him for it? — ps238principal
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Doom comes to Strange for help getting rid of that annoying little GLA girl once and for all….
Or to set things up so Strange has to deal with Doom’s ex-LeFay. Leaving Doom free to pursue his true goal, acquiring a rare My Little Pony in Queens…
Well, you don’t know why he arrives unless he’s screaming “RIIIIICHAAAARDS!”
Then you have a pretty good idea that he’s just pissed.
There was a What-If where Doom became the Sorceror Supreme. At some point Doctor Strange, fresh after the accident and looking for magic to give him back his steady hands, showed up, and Doom cut off his hands and gave him mechanical ones. The Ancient One disapproved of this, it’s an easy fix, but Doom didn’t care. He was interesting in that one.
There are certain things you know that Doom isn’t there for. He’s not there to learn, since his ego would prevent him from acknowledging Strange as his superior. He’s probably not there to ask for a favor, since he wouldn’t want to be beholden to Strange.
Now, a straight trade is something that I can see:
“Strange! I would barter with you! I must have the rare first edition Moe Berg trading card!”
“In return, I only ask a small thing. You must take Deadpool with you when you leave!”
“…”
“Okay, and I’ll get Squirrel Girl to promise to stay out of Latveria for a full year.”
“I agree to this pact. Meet me at in three days at Herbert’s Taco Hut. You’re buying. SO SAYS DOOM!“
I love those old Mike Mignola Marvel covers. I have a couple of issues from when he did the covers for Classic X-Men and they are awesome.
It also helps that, personal preference aside, on a purely professional level, Strange doesn’t care if Doom rules the entire world. If he were to conquer via impermissible magical techniques, that would be one thing, but Doom’s magical schemes tend to be more personal than his technological or political ones.
And Doom, of course, has no desire to see Mephisto or anything like him rule this world, when DOOM is obviously it’s rightful ruler.
I think we are all ignoring the obvious reason Doom would go to Strange:
Strange has the last “My Little Pony” Doom requires.
Yes, since Strange basically is defending the world from perils which are virtually always things Doom doesn’t want either, I think Doom would be content to leave the howling hordes of chaos and darkness for Strange to take care of while Doom does his own thing. If Doom were to ever try to take over the world by magical means, that might be a different matter, but that just doesn’t seem Doom’s usual style, and he knows about the costs which would come with that. Perhaps some kind of “steal the power of Dormammu the way he did the Silver Surfer” or such would be an issue.
I like this idea. You should call it “Dr. Strangedoom or: How I learned to stop worrying and hate RICHAAAAARDS!”
@Bryce (Mouser) – You win this round of comments.
Also Doom does have that whole “Get my mom out of hell” bit in his back-story…
The thing that has always drived me nuts about Doom is that he has all this awesome technology but doesn’t apply it well enough. All he does is use it on
For example, I know Doom has a machine that gives him the ability to transfer powers from one person to another.
I also know that there are several excessively powerful individual in the MU who haven’t been able to conquer the world because, plain and simple, they’re not bright enough to.
Imagine if Doom took several lesser-known characters with these insane levels of power and transferred them to himself – The raw strength of Fight-Man (yeah, I know I’m obsessed); The persuasive powers of the Purple Man (or his daughter Persuasion); the teleportation abilities of The Spot; The gravity manipulation of Graviton; etc.
Or at the very least transfer them to someone else who would stand beside him.
I’ve always felt Latveria needed a “Captain America” (Admiral Latveria) of sorts, perhaps even a Doomstadt Patrol.
Did you read the graphic novel, “Doctor Strange & Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment”? In that, at least, Doom acknowledged that he was in no way Strange’s equal in terms of magic, and did spend some time learning magic from him. Doom may have an ego, but he’s not so stupid that he doesn’t recognize there are sorcerers better and more learned than he is.
“All he does is use it on” the FF
So… why don’t you? Well, not now. Law student. Rhymes with insanely busy and stressed. But why not go for it? Gail Simone was a hairdresser before she changed careers via… well, blogging, if I remember. Women in Refrigerators. But you’ve got the gift… you could.
What if Doom gets into competition with an alternative universe Doom, who happens to be a member of Strangenet?
Didn’t Doom once take over the world, found it was just a huge pain in the metal-plated backside, and let Namor “beat” him so he could get back to Latveria and doing his own thing?
And I’d love to see some Strange/Doom teamups. I think they’d have some droll conversation while blasting back the hordes of chaos and crazy. Possibly about baseball (Doom’s secret love).
This is an interesting line of thought, but I think it underrates what is obviously the coolest aspect of Doctor Doom: his status as a geopolitical figure.
What if Cthulhu cultists are threatening Latveria’s borders? The G20 is possessed by Nyarlthotep and Doom offers Strange asylum? Yogg-soggoth disciples take over Europe and Doom provides territory to open up portals and bases for interdimensional reinforcements… but then what’s he going to do with all those nifty magical soldiers once it’s all over?
Obviously I’m a little obsessed with the Lovecraft aspects of MGK’s storyline so far, but this is part of Doom’s character that just can’t be left out if you’re talking about the ways in which he just thinks in different terms than most characters.
Just looking at the artwork MGK chose for this post makes me wonder: When did Doctor Strange sport a “Meathead” mustache, and why isn’t Doom mocking him for it?
Doom would make an excellent solution for the problem of the 17th Wong. If only because there are actually two ways he could solve the problem, and you know he’ll go with the one that benefits himself so it comes down to how Wong reacts.
I always thought there was a second quirk to any potential Strange/Doom interaction.
Strange is a better magic user than Doom will ever be. Strange was a REAL doctor (and a brilliant one too) whereas Doom is a college dropout. Strange commands respect while all Doom will ever really get is fear. Both Strange and Doom know this.
I know that – Civil War backstabbing and satanic divorces aside – Marvel like to portray its heroes as decent human beings but the fact is that Strange can be an asshole. I don’t mean in the “Spider-Man uses insults to distract his foes” way. I mean in the “Strange was an awful human being before he found the Ancient One” way. I know a lot of his origin story is about him learning to care about things other than himself but I have a hard time believing that he doesn’t still have a huge ego. The man was calling himself the “Sorcerer Supreme” after only a few months training.
Doctor Strange gives Doctor Doom the rare opportunity NOT to be the most pompous blowhard in the room.
Bah!
Doom excels in pompous blowhardery as he does in all things!
Doom, with Strange’s help, managed to save his mother’s soul from Mephisto’s realm.
Up until it was freed, it was under the demon’s total control, and Mephisto is both unimaginably powerful and very, very greedy. He guards his souls like a mother octopus guards her eggs (and he also tortures them, of course). There is a reason for this.
Some beings see a freed soul as an opportunity. There’s a lot to be learned from a soul that spent time in hell. Like how hell works. Like how the devil can do what he does.
Cynthia Von Doom’s soul, while freed from Mephisto’s will, still retained an imprint, a memory of the time it spent there, the torments it suffered, and the power of that place’s ruler. Its release meant that Mephisto could no longer torture it, sure, but also that he could no longer guard it, or keep it from falling into the wrong hands.
Cynthia Von Doom’s soul did not actually ascend to heaven.
Cynthia Von Doom’s soul ascended to a giant Dire Wraith masquerading as a heaven-like realm. An ancient Dire Wraith super-weapon, imbued eons ago with all of the magical energy of a civilization in its mystical prime. Paradise-Wraith is now using terrifying magic in conjunction with the spiritual memories of Dr. Doom’s mother to construct “Hell 2” within itself. Soon, it will have the power to make its own magical dire-wraith Mephisto clone.
Doom is, understandably, angry about this.
Doom knows that Strange helped him sort out his mom-issues before.
Just wondering MGK, who would you like to pencil your hypothetical Dr. Strange run? (i personally think John Cassaday would be well suited for this)
You know, considering that he would probably be cheaper to hire than an established Hollywood screenwriter, one wonders why MGK isn’t as rich as or richer than some of the hacks Marvel’s hired to write their previous schlocky films. (…What bitter about the FF movies no not me.)
Seriously. Wolverine: Origins parodies itself, and all of MGK’s “Why I Should Write”s are pretty much golden.
I don’t know: I think Doom regards Strange as superior in his magical abilities…for the time being. When the opportunity arises, Doom will have Strange removed, since Doom refuses to acknowledge any being as superior to him in the long run. (Hence Doom’s railing against Richards, the Beyonder, Thanos…) Strange knows Doom is always a viper waiting to strike.
Doom’s lack of personal enmity could be a problem as well: since he doesn’t need to gloat in Strange’s face, Doom can merely kill him now…
I would absolutely love to see Strange actually come looking for Doom for assistance, with Doom offering ad on the condition that whatever exactly needs to get done someone screws over Richards as a secondary effect.
Something like, “Sure I’ll help you breach the Astral Plane with a dimensional anchor, but only if we do it over frequency 1066524.2234, the frequency favored by my hated rival.”
Doom’s picked up the Power Cosmic once or twice, and he’s stolen, bartered for, or created various methods to significantly enhance his firepower at least temporarily often enough. He might not be able to rival Strange all the time, but at his high points (which, coincidentally, happen to be instances in which he most threatens the continued existence of his native reality) he could probably give Strange a run for his money.
FTR, when Doom shows up in an X-Men story…it’s usually cuz he’s looking to score some X-Woman tail.
That’s what MOST would-be-world-conquers do when they show up in an X-book*. If Helmut Zemo showed up in an X-book tomorrow then it’d be just because he wants to get in Storm’s pants. Well okay, probably Jean’s (he’s into crazy chicks, she’s insanely powerful, and she has excellent taste in codenames**).
*Except for Magneto. He has the human fever.
**Five nerd points to the person that gets that joke.
Beacon: Because for many years she ran around with the “codename” Jean Grey. Where’s my 5 points?
Video Beagle: There’s a great moment in the The Cabal one shot that came out yestersday which I’m reminded of in your post. It’s kind of a spoiler though so I’ll wait to see if anyone really wants to hear it.
You’ll get the points when you come up with the right answer 😛
I still think that Strange would not trust Doom entirely.i mean their team up can be made awesome but i always expect that the end of their association must feel kinda of harsh, because like it or not Doom admitting sincerely that Strange is his superior would be pushing it (he knows it’s true but he’s too petty to say it loudly)
Wait — two years later and nobody has gotten the “Phoenix” codename joke? Well, hell, I’ll take the five points then. I assume I can redeem them for a burrito at a certain taco hut?
Code Name Phoenix. It was a movie, I guess.
Nah, it’s because Helmut himself briefly went by the moniker of Phoenix.