IF you're referring to the origin story in FF annual #2, that was 1964 so is not a big "gotcha" to say it is dated. It reminds you of the depictions of "gypsies" in the old Universal horror movies. I think it is unfortunate that writers don't delve into his Romani heritage and maybe there is some reluctance there.
But remember this.
Jack Kirby served in the army during WWII, in fact in one of General Patton's divisions that were pushing there way through France. Since he could draw they used him as an advance scout to map out what lay ahead. One thing that shocked him was when he was scouting and came across a stockade of prisoners left behind from the retreat of the German forces in the town. So I'd say Kirby probably saw a lot of the country sides in those years when he was in the service and it's not that much of a stretch to surmise that he used his first hand view of Europe in those days back in 1943-1945. I think he and Stan both treat the Romani characters respectfully in that brief origin and it's my belief that they shared authorship on this as Stan frequently would have Jack block things out for him to script.
Overstated shade of gray? I question that too. Things frequently happen in cycles in comics. You'll have some bat **** crazy stuff going on with Doom or you will get something different like when Gerry Conway writes him in Astonishing Tales #8 or in the arc with MODOK in his Sub-Mariner run. Gerry Conway has said in an interview piece for the Masterworks edition of his Sub-Mariner story that he views Doom as more of an anti-hero. His Doom is definitely more introspective. And you can't dismiss Roger Stern's GN Triumph and Torment either.
We could go on to the Doom 2099 or Infamous Iron Man but this sidebar is enough for now since this is not the main topic. These shades of grey have been deliberately painted by various writers over the years
I really miss the days when they had thought balloons because sometimes they would act as a counterpoint to a character's actions. We could go on to the Doom 2099 series but this sidebar is enough for now since this is not the main topic.