Marvel has begun to reveal the new origin story ofDoctor Doom, making huge changes to the story of the iconic nemesis of theFantastic Four. Doom has long been Marvel’s most imposing character - a self-aggrandizing genius whose will is equal to any task except treating others as his equals. Now, however, Marvel is introducing a tragic new take on the Latverian dictator.
In a preview ofUltimates #4shared bySlashFilm.com, fans finally get to see Doctor Doom’s origin inMarvel’s new Ultimate Universe continuity. The comic breaks up Doom’s life into four time periods, with a panel from each appearing on each page. In this world,Doctor Doom is a version of Reed Richards whose family the Fantastic Four were killed.
The issue ends with the tease thatDoom has been injured in an experiment, with the suggestion he traveled back in time to save his family and tragically failed. This is a new, far more sympathetic version of Doom for Marvel to introduce, especially in the context ofRobert Downey Jr.’s return to the MCUas the character.
Fans have seen Doom experimenting with mice in the comics so far, with the vermin possessing the powers of the Fantastic Four. The relevance of these experiments will likely be revealed in this latest issue, given the mice appear on the cover.
Fans had assumed the Maker simply killed Reed’s family, but now it appears he may have manipulated Reed into blaming himself.
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The Ultimate Universe was introduced in 2023’sUltimate Invasionby Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch. There, thesuper-genius villain known as the Makerdecided to use his advanced tech (including time travel) to bend an entire reality to his will.Maker traveled to Earth-6160 and, using his extensive knowledge of Marvel’s mainstream timeline, altered events so that he became the unopposed ruler of the planet.Maker made sure that any hero who could stand against him was either corrupted, killed or never gained powers. However, he saved the darkest fate for this world’s Reed Richards.
After the death of his family as engineered by the Maker, Reed was imprisoned as the dictator’s pet inventor, working on various tools to aid him in conquering the Earth. It was only when Howard Stark struck out against the Maker that Doom saw his chance to act, turning against his master and locking the villain in a time-prison for two years - hopefully long enough forTony Stark’s Ultimates to destroy his power baseahead of his return.
Writer Deniz Camp had previously teased on X thatUltimates #4would offer fans insight into Downey Jr.’s return to the MCU, but has since made it clear his initial message was a joke.
However, given how much theoriginal Ultimate Universe inspired the MCUand how many times Doom has appeared on film before, it’s entirely possible the movie creators will choose to incorporate elements of this new Doom at a later date.
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However, while fans know that the Fantastic Four are dead and that Doom was imprisoned by the Maker, that’s really all they know. Nothing so far has revealed why Reed took the name Doctor Doom, why he wears his mask, or what actually happened to his family. Fans had assumed the Maker simply killed them on arrival, but it now seems thathe let some version of the Fantastic Four’s traditional origin go ahead, likely to make Reed feel responsible for their deaths.
The Fantastic Four aren’t the only heroes the Maker killed off, with his victims includingFantastic Four allies Black Bolt and the Sentry. Sadly, in trying to return the powers of the heroes whose origins were changed by the Maker, Tony also caused the deaths of several heroes including Captain Marvel, who couldn’t control her powers without a lifetime of experience.
This issue will reveal what happened to Reed Richards to turn him into Doctor Doom, as well as the torture he suffered at the Maker’s hands and the ways he has been trying to reclaim his sense of self now that he’s free.But if Doom is himself trying to change the timeline, can the Ultimates actually trust him to help them stop the Maker, or does this new Doctor Doom have plans of his own?
Facing off against Mister Fantastic, the Maker asked if he’d erase him from history, given the chance. Reed said “Yes,” and now it seems the Maker is having his revenge.
The Maker Is Paying Back a Major Insult
Easily the most complicated aspect of the new Doctor Doom’s existence is that there are actuallythreeversions of Reed Richards involved, since the Maker isalsoa version of Reed from another reality:
Earth-616 (Mainstream Marvel timeline)
Earth-616
Tried to imprison the Maker, has never met Doctor Doom Reed
Earth-6160
Former prisoner of the Maker, unaware Mister Fantastic exists
In 2000, Marvel launched itsfirst version of the Ultimate Universe, telling edgy, modern stories of its most famous heroes free of their prior history. One of the big twists of this original Ultimate Universe was thatthe teenage Reed Richards eventually became a villain, renaming himself the Makerand abandoning human morality in favor of extreme experimentation of the human form. The Maker caused a civil war in America by assassinating various political figures including the president and slew the gods of Asgard, eventually escaping out into the multiverse.
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For years, the Maker was a recurring villain across Marvel Comics, but he eventually fell afoul of the original Mister Fantastic. This original version of Reed locked the Maker away in a prison on Earth-616, only for the villain to escape in 2023’sUltimate Invasion, kicking offMarvel’snewUltimate Universe initiative, set in its own reality (the world whose timeline the Maker has rewritten.)Before he escaped Earth-616, Maker asked Mister Fantastic to honestly answer whether he’d wipe him from history if he could, and the Fantastic Four’s leader admitted that if he had the chance, he would.
Mister Fantastic’s insult to the Maker is even more significant given he once had the opportunity to erase theoriginalDoctor Doom’s mind in Hickman’sFantastic Fourrun, but ultimately chose not to. This suggests hehates and/or fears the Maker even morethan his lifelong nemesis.
The Maker told Mister Fantastic he’d remember the insult, andit seems that his torture of the Reed who has become Doctor Doom is a form of revenge, both against the original Reed who imprisoned him and also likely out of self-loathingfor how he destroyed his own friendships and family - if the Maker can’t havehisFantastic Four, then no other Reed can either. It’s also possible that Maker pushed this latest Reed into the Doctor Doom persona in a cruel mockery of the original Reed, for who the villain has always been a deadly enemy.
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The new Ultimate Universe has been a fascinating read so far, not least because of howThe Ultimatesis handling its publishing schedule. Each issue represents another month of in-world time, moving closer to the Maker escaping from his prison and returning to destroy Tony and Doom’s Ultimates. The series also contains subtle parallels to the original Ultimate Universe, with key moments, dialogue and plot beats being given a new twist. Even without knowing it, characters like Captain America and Hulk are living out dark reflections of their previous Ultimate Universe canon.
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This is especially interesting in Doctor Doom’s case because the character he’s a dark reflection of is still around and acting as the big bad of this entire universe. Doom is the only character who can actually see what happened to ‘him’ before and make decisions based on what he sees.The Ultimateshas done an admirable job of avoiding becoming too overt or meta in the way it’s in conversation with the prior Ultimate Universe, while still trapping this new Reed Richards in a house of mirrors where his entire life was torn to shreds by his own variant.More than any other hero, Marvel’s new Doctor Doom can’t deny the knowledge of his own capacity for evil.
The fight between Maker and Doom (and the original Mister Fantastic’s part in it) asks dark, complex questions about identity, playing with what it means to be ‘Reed Richards’ or ‘Doctor Doom,’ especially in a reality where those names can belong to the same person. It’s going to be particularly interesting to see how Doctor Doom’s loyalties lie in relation to the Ultimates, given the pattern set by the Maker is for him to betray everyone in a major and irredeemable way.Doctor Doom’s dark new origin is the latest sign that the creative team behindUltimatesare at the top of their game, with the issue set to reveal what happened to theFantastic Fourin this new reality.
