Doctor Doom Appreciation 2023 - Scientist, Sorcerer, Romani King

[ImperiusWrecked]

Could this be why some people thought werner was white? he has blond hair here for the first time ever that I can see and even victor's mother is blonde which again none of that coloring makes any sense for them. And the coloring changes literally in the next panel with victor and cynthia.

[Iron Maiden]

It is a weird coloring mistake I think. Apparently the colorist didn't realize it was the same two characters.

[DoomScribe]

Could this be why some people thought werner was white? he has blond hair here for the first time ever that I can see and even victor's mother is blonde which again none of that coloring makes any sense for them. And the coloring changes literally in the next panel with victor and cynthia.

That's not Victor and Cynthia. The coloring is crazy inconsistent (black hair in panel 2, brown in panel 3), but the boy in the panel is supposed to be Victor's father. The woman would be his grandmother. But if the boy called Werner in that Doom 2099 is really Werner von Doom, why does Doom 2099 talk about his "grandfather's" puppets? His grandfather would be Werner's father, and is not identified as being in the scene. And clearly the Werner in that scene is captivated by the combatant's metal masks either because they're like his grandfather's puppets, or we are meant to believe his father's puppets will end up copying what he sees in those masks. (none of this is meant to be canon because it could all be a game played by Margaretta, alternate realities or cyber dreams, & time travel makes my head hurt)

BTW, in Punisher #28 (1989) we get the clearest picture to that date of Werner and Cynthia Von Doom together yet:
Punisher 28 Dooms parents.jpg

[DoomScribe]

It took forever for me to find this ... these pages were from Marvel Two in One, Annual #1, where young Victor is shown with Werner von Doom in Latveria:
Marvel Two in One Annual 1 page.jpg

Marvel Two in One Annual 1 pagea.jpg

Marvel Two in One Annual 1 pageb.jpg

It's an extraordinary exchange, because it is completely new, and it does give us info about the character of Werner, of whom we know so little in these past 60 years.

[ImperiusWrecked]

That's not Victor and Cynthia. The coloring is crazy inconsistent (black hair in panel 2, brown in panel 3), but the boy in the panel is supposed to be Victor's father. The woman would be his grandmother. But if the boy called Werner in that Doom 2099 is really Werner von Doom, why does Doom 2099 talk about his "grandfather's" puppets? His grandfather would be Werner's father, and is not identified as being in the scene. And clearly the Werner in that scene is captivated by the combatant's metal masks either because they're like his grandfather's puppets, or we are meant to believe his father's puppets will end up copying what he sees in those masks. (none of this is meant to be canon because it could all be a game played by Margaretta, alternate realities or cyber dreams, & time travel makes my head hurt)

BTW, in Punisher #28 (1989) we get the clearest picture to that date of Werner and Cynthia Von Doom together yet:

Yes! That is the picture I knew I saw where it clearly showed him as Romani, but for some reason I thought there were words over the photo, but that's it! Thank you!

I agree time travel is a good tool to use for storytelling but tbh it can get confusing pretty fast, I had forgotten this totally because I haven't read 2099 in ages but I will refresh my memory when I read through!

It took forever for me to find this ... these pages were from Marvel Two in One, Annual #1, where young Victor is shown with Werner von Doom in Latveria:
Marvel Two in One Annual 1 page.jpg

Marvel Two in One Annual 1 pagea.jpg

Marvel Two in One Annual 1 pageb.jpg

It's an extraordinary exchange, because it is completely new, and it does give us info about the character of Werner, of whom we know so little in these past 60 years.

This is probably the most character defining moment for Werner, and it shows him instilling lessons that Doom will carry with him. I'm honestly more interested with Doom's views on his father because his mother has been discussed quite a bit, we know Doom idolized his mother but how much of that was a young boy wishing he could have saved her, and how much of it was the stories told by his father? To Victor I always felt Cynthia is more of an Idea, the perfect mother, the one who sacrificed herself for her people, who was trapped. He wanted to be her white knight and free her and it's what drove him for so many years. I honestly prefer Victor barely knowing his mother and growing up with his idea of her than what Bendis did in the Infamous run.

However with Werner it feels at times Doom viewed him as weak and too caring and other times a fool for his actions/being a healer, and other times he seeks to make his father proud by calling himself (and getting degrees) a Doctor, etc. Like Werner had more of hand in shaping Victor's character while Cynthia was the driving force to push Victor into his downward and dangerous spiral of attaining more power which leads to the Latverian revolution and him taking over the throne. Victor clearly loved both of his parents very much even if he doesn't show it, same for Boris as his second, adopted father figure.

Which brings me to another point of how important it is that Doom isn't royalty by blood because the arc of him taking control by his own power is much more powerful than some "Everyone will follow me because I'm the true prince!" I really feel a good story for Doom would be a long run starting out with him returning home after the college incident, only to find things were worse for his people since he left it and then going on set up an underground resistance force which gets crushed by the ruling class and it's his second taste of defeat but the final one he would allow himself, and then the series could lead into Victor learning more sorcery and becoming Doom, and then the final part would be him returning and this time the people don't trust him because he failed the last time and he rouses them with his speeches and displays of power and then they take over the castle and downfall of the noblity with Doom crowning himself as King as the final shot. Sorry for the long ramble but Doom is such an interesting character and I always feel Marvel never takes the chance to really go into Latveria and show us more. I really loved the beginning of the last Doom series starting in Latveria.

[DoomScribe]

This is probably the most character defining moment for Werner, and it shows him instilling lessons that Doom will carry with him. I'm honestly more interested with Doom's views on his father because his mother has been discussed quite a bit, we know Doom idolized his mother but how much of that was a young boy wishing he could have saved her, and how much of it was the stories told by his father? To Victor I always felt Cynthia is more of an Idea, the perfect mother, the one who sacrificed herself for her people, who was trapped. He wanted to be her white knight and free her and it's what drove him for so many years. I honestly prefer Victor barely knowing his mother and growing up with his idea of her than what Bendis did in the Infamous run.

Exactly, in the early years Doom often lamented that he barely knew his mother, that she died when he was just a baby. Later story telling has him older and older, and it messes with the myth of the idea of her being a perfect mother for him - she would never have had the time to show him her flaws, and he only remembers her love (see Triumph and Torment - 1989: Strange asks "Tell me, Doom, what do you remember of your mother?" he answers, "Only her face ... her smile ... her touch.") There was a certain romanticism to her being so much a mystery, yet he loves her to this day. Later books have eroded that mystery, that mystique, and I think it muddies the story of Doom's quest. Even in Books of Doom they make him older than in the origin story told in Marvel Superheroes #20 (1969):
Marvel Superheroes 20 pg 10.jpg

Books of Doom #1 (2005)
Books of Doom1 pg_0003.jpg

and later still, in Infamous Iron Man #10 (2017), he's older still:
Infamous Iron Man #10 pgb.jpg

Yet through all of those stories, Werner is an even bigger mystery, barely discussed at all. Surely he had a bigger impact on who Doom was to become, and whose death he would avenge.

However with Werner it feels at times Doom viewed him as weak and too caring and other times a fool for his actions/being a healer, and other times he seeks to make his father proud by calling himself (and getting degrees) a Doctor, etc. Like Werner had more of hand in shaping Victor's character while Cynthia was the driving force to push Victor into his downward and dangerous spiral of attaining more power which leads to the Latverian revolution and him taking over the throne. Victor clearly loved both of his parents very much even if he doesn't show it, same for Boris as his second, adopted father figure.

Werner was at times the moral North Star for Doom. But Werner was unable to protect the Zefiro from the malevolent forces that plagued them, so Victor - who saw power as the way to freedom - always faulted his father for that shortcoming.

Which brings me to another point of how important it is that Doom isn't royalty by blood because the arc of him taking control by his own power is much more powerful than some "Everyone will follow me because I'm the true prince!" ... Sorry for the long ramble but Doom is such an interesting character and I always feel Marvel never takes the chance to really go into Latveria and show us more. I really loved the beginning of the last Doom series starting in Latveria.

Books of Doom takes on some of these themes, but I agree that Doom rising up from the dirt and taking power by his own will and cunning is far more interesting and compelling than having royalty bequeathed onto him by birthright.

ds

[Iron Maiden]

Yes! That is the picture I knew I saw where it clearly showed him as Romani, but for some reason I thought there were words over the photo, but that's it! Thank you!

I agree time travel is a good tool to use for storytelling but tbh it can get confusing pretty fast, I had forgotten this totally because I haven't read 2099 in ages but I will refresh my memory when I read through!



This is probably the most character defining moment for Werner, and it shows him instilling lessons that Doom will carry with him. I'm honestly more interested with Doom's views on his father because his mother has been discussed quite a bit, we know Doom idolized his mother but how much of that was a young boy wishing he could have saved her, and how much of it was the stories told by his father? To Victor I always felt Cynthia is more of an Idea, the perfect mother, the one who sacrificed herself for her people, who was trapped. He wanted to be her white knight and free her and it's what drove him for so many years. I honestly prefer Victor barely knowing his mother and growing up with his idea of her than what Bendis did in the Infamous run.

However with Werner it feels at times Doom viewed him as weak and too caring and other times a fool for his actions/being a healer, and other times he seeks to make his father proud by calling himself (and getting degrees) a Doctor, etc. Like Werner had more of hand in shaping Victor's character while Cynthia was the driving force to push Victor into his downward and dangerous spiral of attaining more power which leads to the Latverian revolution and him taking over the throne. Victor clearly loved both of his parents very much even if he doesn't show it, same for Boris as his second, adopted father figure.

Which brings me to another point of how important it is that Doom isn't royalty by blood because the arc of him taking control by his own power is much more powerful than some "Everyone will follow me because I'm the true prince!" I really feel a good story for Doom would be a long run starting out with him returning home after the college incident, only to find things were worse for his people since he left it and then going on set up an underground resistance force which gets crushed by the ruling class and it's his second taste of defeat but the final one he would allow himself, and then the series could lead into Victor learning more sorcery and becoming Doom, and then the final part would be him returning and this time the people don't trust him because he failed the last time and he rouses them with his speeches and displays of power and then they take over the castle and downfall of the noblity with Doom crowning himself as King as the final shot. Sorry for the long ramble but Doom is such an interesting character and I always feel Marvel never takes the chance to really go into Latveria and show us more. I really loved the beginning of the last Doom series starting in Latveria.

As Doomscribe metioned, Books of Doom ends very much like you describe. If you haven't read it yet I think it is worth your while. It can be difficult to find on the secondary market as a TPB but if you have the Doom Omnibus, it is the last series that it covers.

I feel like we did get a some of Latveria's politics in Christopher Cantwell's Doom series and that's one of the reasons why I think the series was so good (it was nominated for an Eisner award ) The story opened with Doom dealing with a serious crisis on his hands when the Antlion as attacked by missiles launched from Latveria without no orders coming from Doom. He didn't want a war he wasn't prepared for and saved his people and country from being attacked by surrendering himself.

I also agree it's best that Doom is not of royal blood. The Fortunov family was not of high ranking among the crowned heads of Europe and were mostly corrupt. Despite some writers trying to make in look heroic in SVTU, Prince Rodolpho was a very selfish heir to the throne when first introduced in Astonishing Tales. They were not loved by the people. In Books of Doom we get a more detailed account of Doom's revolution that leads to the downfall of the ruling family.

On this page Victor has returned to Latveria after spending time in Tibet and seeks out the members of his tribe or as he calls them "the family" to plan the revolution (Books of Doom #5)


Here's a panel of a young Victor killing the old King Vladimir himself.

[ImperiusWrecked]

Exactly, in the early years Doom often lamented that he barely knew his mother, that she died when he was just a baby. Later story telling has him older and older, and it messes with the myth of the idea of her being a perfect mother for him - she would never have had the time to show him her flaws, and he only remembers her love (see Triumph and Torment - 1989: Strange asks "Tell me, Doom, what do you remember of your mother?" he answers, "Only her face ... her smile ... her touch.") There was a certain romanticism to her being so much a mystery, yet he loves her to this day. Later books have eroded that mystery, that mystique, and I think it muddies the story of Doom's quest. Even in Books of Doom they make him older than in the origin story told in Marvel Superheroes #20 (1969):
Marvel Superheroes 20 pg 10.jpg

Books of Doom #1 (2005)
Books of Doom1 pg_0003.jpg

and later still, in Infamous Iron Man #10 (2017), he's older still:
Infamous Iron Man #10 pgb.jpg

Yet through all of those stories, Werner is an even bigger mystery, barely discussed at all. Surely he had a bigger impact on who Doom was to become, and whose death he would avenge.



Werner was at times the moral North Star for Doom. But Werner was unable to protect the Zefiro from the malevolent forces that plagued them, so Victor - who saw power as the way to freedom - always faulted his father for that shortcoming.



Books of Doom takes on some of these themes, but I agree that Doom rising up from the dirt and taking power by his own will and cunning is far more interesting and compelling than having royalty bequeathed onto him by birthright.

ds

I so agree about how it strips away the mystery of Cynthia! Like there was nothing wrong with Doom not ever knowing her as an older kid, it would have only fueled his need to save her. Werner is Victor's guiding star on how to be a leader and care for Zefiro (first) and rest of the Latverian people, and he showed Victor how cruel and corrupt people are, which would have fed into his later mentality of "Only I, Doom, Can ever be leader because everyone else is selfish, weak, etc." Boris would have been the living reminder of his father and the last person Victor openly showed any affection for, because as he grows older he becomes more closed off from others until Kristoff moved him with his plight and he adopted him.

It's interesting how Doom both loves his father and despises him for his perceived weakness while his mother is idolized even though she too failed to account for what could go wrong and paid the price for it.

As Doomscribe metioned, Books of Doom ends very much like you describe. If you haven't read it yet I think it is worth your while. It can be difficult to find on the secondary market as a TPB but if you have the Doom Omnibus, it is the last series that it covers.

I feel like we did get a some of Latveria's politics in Christopher Cantwell's Doom series and that's one of the reasons why I think the series was so good (it was nominated for an Eisner award ) The story opened with Doom dealing with a serious crisis on his hands when the Antlion as attacked by missiles launched from Latveria without no orders coming from Doom. He didn't want a war he wasn't prepared for and saved his people and country from being attacked by surrendering himself.

I also agree it's best that Doom is not of royal blood. The Fortunov family was not of high ranking among the crowned heads of Europe and were mostly corrupt. Despite some writers trying to make in look heroic in SVTU, Prince Rodolpho was a very selfish heir to the throne when first introduced in Astonishing Tales. They were not loved by the people. In Books of Doom we get a more detailed account of Doom's revolution that leads to the downfall of the ruling family.

On this page Victor has returned to Latveria after spending time in Tibet and seeks out the members of his tribe or as he calls the "the family" to plan the revolution (Books of Doom #5)


Here's a panel of a young Victor killing the old King Vladimir himself.

I totally forgot about this ending but now it's coming back to me, lol, read the books of doom ages and ages ago! I enjoyed them for the most part but I would love to see more of this era of Doom.

[Iron Maiden]

I so agree about how it strips away the mystery of Cynthia! Like there was nothing wrong with Doom not ever knowing her as an older kid, it would have only fueled his need to save her. Werner is Victor's guiding star on how to be a leader and care for Zefiro (first) and rest of the Latverian people, and he showed Victor how cruel and corrupt people are, which would have fed into his later mentality of "Only I, Doom, Can ever be leader because everyone else is selfish, weak, etc." Boris would have been the living reminder of his father and the last person Victor openly showed any affection for, because as he grows older he becomes more closed off from others until Kristoff moved him with his plight and he adopted him.

It's interesting how Doom both loves his father and despises him for his perceived weakness while his mother is idolized even though she too failed to account for what could go wrong and paid the price for it.



I totally forgot about this ending but now it's coming back to me, lol, read the books of doom ages and ages ago! I enjoyed them for the most part but I would love to see more of this era of Doom.

Me too. I would like to see his early years covered in the MCU. I believe this was in Noah Hawley's treatment he was working on before Fox sold the Marvel properties to Disney/Marvel. Kevin Feige even asked to see his script on that. But I am highly doubtful they will stick to Doom's traditional origin considering how much they have changed Kang in the MCU. I think they are going to make a Kang the Beyonder if the Secret Wars arc Marvel / Disney has planned.

I wish they had introduced Doom back with the Russo brothers were doing just about all of the Marvel movies. They were very interested in looking at Hawley's script


In this interview, Hawley gives a brief summary of his proposed script for when Fox owned the Fantastic Four rights. "But as for Doom, since the film’s future is hazy, Hawley figured, why not tell a little of what fans could expect from the storyline. The “kind of Cold War, geopolitical movie” would take place ten years after Doom’s Latverian isolation, when he invites a female journalist to come into his sanctum. Her takeaways would be his message to the world.

“Is he a good person or bad person?” Hawley asked. “We don’t know anything about him.”

[DoomScribe]

We also missed a potential boat load of pre Dr Doom history when the young Victor Von Doom series was scrapped, because of unknown reasons (or the artist couldn't get it finished on time, even though we got three covers and ads). I would really hope they revive that project one day ... maybe it was too close to what they were planning at MCU?
Victor Von Doom 1 cover.jpg

[Iron Maiden]

I remember that. I actually briefly talked to Nick Bradshaw about a year after that at C2E2 and he really had no explanation. Probably Marvel didn't want him to give any statements. But reports at the time were that it was due to the layoff of the editor of the series. Bradshaws Iron Man 2.0 was also cancelled. It is very rare that comic would be cancelled one week before the first issue was to be in the comic books stores. I have been using the PreviewsWorld site for years to make a list to take to my LCS of titles I want I do remember it appearing there. The article I cited has 2 other covers that were already done.

There were some rumors at the time that due to personal issues Becky Cloonan couldn't finish the art but I think that was debunked. The report about artist Becky Cloonan was reported at the Bleeding Cool site and but then they edited the piece to remove mentioning her. In any case IMO this was very unusual.

And it still is remembered even today....here at CBR they ran an article last spring listing it as one of 10 Canceled Series That Left Readers Wanting More


They had all three covers already done for the series. I remember doing the old right click and saving them.



I really liked the cover for issue #3 . I also saved a copy of just the art.

[DoomScribe]

Even at the cancellation of 2099 we got (hastily produced) replacements at least for a couple issues.

For the uninitiated, Marvel sacked Joey Cavalieri, the editor of the group line, and many of the artists and writers quit in solidarity. Warren Ellis, the writer of Doom 2099, penned his last issue #40 which came out in April 1996. Cavalieri was actually credited with editing issue #41, but the series ended at issue #44. 2099: World of Tomorrow came out in Sept 1996 and lasted only eight issues. Side note, Cavalieri was the writer of the Doom3 (Doom cubed) story in The Ultimate Super-Villains (Anthology) prose book that also came out in 1996. We don't really know the full story of the cancellations, comics were struggling at the time but the 2099 was overall pretty successful. Marvel was facing bankruptcy though, and sales had slipped from the early 90's speculator bubble. However there was a video game in the works at the time, with demo versions, screenshots, video shorts and ads already released - below is a screenshot of the one that was under development featuring the Doom's floating city ship Valhalla. The game was titled Marvel 2099: One Nation Under Doom
2099 game art Dooms Throne room on Valhalla.jpg

Supposedly that Playstation game was scrapped when developer Mindscape was undergoing "restructuring" at the time of development, but it all coincided with the shakeup at Marvel 2099 altogether. So I think the developer wasn't going to go ahead with it if there wasn't a comic book to tie into.

Needless to say, for a fan, there is nothing worse than hearing and seeing about a project featuring your favorite characters, only to have it disappear into the ether with nary a whisper.

[ImperiusWrecked]

Me too. I would like to see his early years covered in the MCU. I believe this was in Noah Hawley's treatment he was working on before Fox sold the Marvel properties to Disney/Marvel. Kevin Feige even asked to see his script on that. But I am highly doubtful they will stick to Doom's traditional origin considering how much they have changed Kang in the MCU. I think they are going to make a Kang the Beyonder if the Secret Wars arc Marvel / Disney has planned.

I wish they had introduced Doom back with the Russo brothers were doing just about all of the Marvel movies. They were very interested in looking at Hawley's script



In this interview, Hawley gives a brief summary of his proposed script for when Fox owned the Fantastic Four rights. "But as for Doom, since the film’s future is hazy, Hawley figured, why not tell a little of what fans could expect from the storyline. The “kind of Cold War, geopolitical movie” would take place ten years after Doom’s Latverian isolation, when he invites a female journalist to come into his sanctum. Her takeaways would be his message to the world.

“Is he a good person or bad person?” Hawley asked. “We don’t know anything about him.”

I really thought the rumors of Coogler's Doom were real, and I wished it was so badly because I feel Coogler would be able to handle how complex Doom is, like Namor is the perfect blend of King and antihero! The MCU has never done a villain movie before but if anyone was to have a chance at it then I know it should be Doom, maybe they can adapt Hawley's script?

We also missed a potential boat load of pre Dr Doom history when the young Victor Von Doom series was scrapped, because of unknown reasons (or the artist couldn't get it finished on time, even though we got three covers and ads). I would really hope they revive that project one day ... maybe it was too close to what they were planning at MCU?

I remember that. I actually briefly talked to Nick Bradshaw about a year after that at C2E2 and he really had no explanation. Probably Marvel didn't want him to give any statements. But reports at the time were that it was due to the layoff of the editor of the series. Bradshaws Iron Man 2.0 was also cancelled. It is very rare that comic would be cancelled one week before the first issue was to be in the comic books stores. I have been using the PreviewsWorld site for years to make a list to take to my LCS of titles I want I do remember it appearing there. The article I cited has 2 other covers that were already done.

There were some rumors at the time that due to personal issues Becky Cloonan couldn't finish the art but I think that was debunked. The report about artist Becky Cloonan was reported at the Bleeding Cool site and but then they edited the piece to remove mentioning her. In any case IMO this was very unusual.

And it still is remembered even today....here at CBR they ran an article last spring listing it as one of 10 Canceled Series That Left Readers Wanting More


They had all three covers already done for the series. I remember doing the old right click and saving them.


I really liked the cover for issue #3 . I also saved a copy of just the art.

Even at the cancellation of 2099 we got (hastily produced) replacements at least for a couple issues.

For the uninitiated, Marvel sacked Joey Cavalieri, the editor of the group line, and many of the artists and writers quit in solidarity. Warren Ellis, the writer of Doom 2099, penned his last issue #40 which came out in April 1996. Cavalieri was actually credited with editing issue #41, but the series ended at issue #44. 2099: World of Tomorrow came out in Sept 1996 and lasted only eight issues. Side note, Cavalieri was the writer of the Doom3 (Doom cubed) story in The Ultimate Super-Villains (Anthology) prose book that also came out in 1996. We don't really know the full story of the cancellations, comics were struggling at the time but the 2099 was overall pretty successful. Marvel was facing bankruptcy though, and sales had slipped from the early 90's speculator bubble. However there was a video game in the works at the time, with demo versions, screenshots, video shorts and ads already released - below is a screenshot of the one that was under development featuring the Doom's floating city ship Valhalla. The game was titled Marvel 2099: One Nation Under Doom

Supposedly that Playstation game was scrapped when developer Mindscape was undergoing "restructuring" at the time of development, but it all coincided with the shakeup at Marvel 2099 altogether. So I think the developer wasn't going to go ahead with it if there wasn't a comic book to tie into.

Needless to say, for a fan, there is nothing worse than hearing and seeing about a project featuring your favorite characters, only to have it disappear into the ether with nary a whisper.

Yeah I had heard there was something going on behind the scenes with the Higher Ups rather than the creators unable to do anything, which is so sad because when I found out about this comic series I have never stopped thinking about it, who knows maybe if Doom gets into the mcu they might do something like revive this? Just speculation.

[Iron Maiden]

I really thought the rumors of Coogler's Doom were real, and I wished it was so badly because I feel Coogler would be able to handle how complex Doom is, like Namor is the perfect blend of King and antihero! The MCU has never done a villain movie before but if anyone was to have a chance at it then I know it should be Doom, maybe they can adapt Hawley's script?

I still think there was something planned at one point and Kevin Feige had it taken out. Why would Lake Bell, when asked on the the red carpet at the Wakanda Forever premier what character she would be playing said she would be in big trouble if she revealed it? She was in the night scene on the freighter and IIRC she is a good friend of Coogler's. The leak was that her character's name was Lucia von Bardas, who has a direct link to Latveria and Doom. I remember when the story leaked early in 2022, I checked her listing on IMDB and there was no name listed for her character in Wakanda. Now it says "Dr. Graham"... why would she have to be quiet about that? There is no Marvel character of any significance with that name.

[Doom Answers to No Master]

I still think there was something planned at one point and Kevin Feige had it taken out. Why would Lake Bell, when asked on the the red carpet at the Wakanda Forever premier what character she would be playing said she would be in big trouble if she revealed it? She was in the night scene on the freighter and IIRC she is a good friend of Coogler's. The leak was that her character's name was Lucia von Bardas, who has a direct link to Latveria and Doom. I remember when the story leaked early in 2022, I checked her listing on IMDB and there was no name listed for her character in Wakanda. Now it says "Dr. Graham"... why would she have to be quiet about that? There is no Marvel character of any significance with that name.

Exactly! Up to BP: WF I was totally onboard with the direction of the MCU...then (despite it being a good movie) when I found out Doom wasn't in it after all, no Lucia, no Latveria no nothing, it just turned me very jaded. Now seeing Kang potentially get EVERYTHING handed to him (Secret Wars, the possibility of a variant of his being Beyonder, etc) it just makes me sick lol. I love the character of Kang but Doom is literally getting the shaft...if we judge a HUGE story on a characters accomplishments, then how do you go from Thanos wiping out half the universe to the conquest of the multiverse with Kang to what? Doom trying to take over the world? Fighting Galactus? They are going to make Doom small potatoes it seems if they even use him at all. The more time passes with Feige not even bringing him up in ANY conversation with the public, the more I believe he may not even have a role in the MCU...I want to be wrong sooooo bad....