Avengers: Doomsday Rewriting Doctor Doom’s Tragic Motive

Marvel’s Doctor Doom is set to become the face of the MCU’s next major crisis. Early ticket sales for Avengers: Doomsday are already outpacing Spider-Man: Brand New Day, raising expectations for the 39th MCU film and the penultimate chapter of the Multiverse Saga. The film will bring the Avengers together with Thunderbolts*, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men. Their target is Doctor Doom, who has only appeared in a brief scene after The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Audiences will meet him fully in the fifth Avengers movie, where his MCU origin will likely come into focus. Robert Downey Jr.’s casting led to theories that Doom might be a Tony Stark variant. The trailers have now confirmed that he is Victor von Doom. That clears up his identity, though Marvel Studios appears ready to change what made him a villain. In Marvel Comics, Victor was born in Latveria to a Romani family. His father was a healer, while his mother, Cynthia, practiced witchcraft. After making a deal with Mephisto, Cynthia lost her soul. Victor’s father later froze to death after Latveria’s ruler punished him for failing to save the ruler’s wife. Victor studied science and magic, left behind a woman named Valeria,...