In the ever-evolving landscape of comics, there are simply some things that should not have happened. In Retcon This!, we examine some of the more questionable aspects of our beloved characters’ sordid histories.

In the early years of the past decade, 20th Century Fox acquired the film rights to Marvel’s first superteam, the Fantastic Four. Their involvement with the property brought us two films, 2005’s Fantastic Four and 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Both movies were substantial box office hits, but neither one is held in much esteem in the comic book community, mostly due to the changes they made from the original comics. Because of this, and also to prevent the rights to the characters from reverting back to Marvel, who now controls the movie rights of several of their more popular characters, Fox decided to retool the series and start over from scratch. This was a controversial decision, but at least it gives the studio a chance to correct some of the things that the first two movies got wrong about the FF, especially the portrayal of their main nemesis, Dr. Victor Von Doom, who was woefully misrepresented in both films. In this article, I will point out three integral steps that the screenwriter of the next FF movie will have to take in order to improve Doom’s character and make him a better representation of the heinous villian we comic fans all know and love.

Victor needs to move from the boardroom to the throne room in the new Fantastic Four flick.

The first step is the simplest: Make the character more faithful to the comics. I don’t want to get too fanboyish on this, but the simple truth is that the writers of the first two FF movies simply did not get who Dr. Doom is. In the comics, Doom is the tyrannical leader of the nation of Latveria. Despite being an evil despot who rules the nation with absolute power, Latveria is actually a peaceful, crime-free nation where the people are genuinely happy in their slavery, unless of course they cross their leader. This aspect of Doom’s character added a shade of grey to him that all the best Marvel characters have. In the movies, however, Doom is portrayed as the CEO of a corporation who funds and oversees the experiment that gives the Fantastic Four their powers. In the film, Doom is responsible for the accident that gives the FF their powers and leaves him disfigured. Rather than being a power-hungry tyrant, Doom is portrayed in the movies as a spoiled, vain egomaniac who vows revenge on Richards and his team for something that is actually his own fault. This is a gross injustice to one of the most powerful mortals in the Marvel Universe. Whoever is responsible for the script of the new FF movies must draw more from the comics in its portrayal of Doom in order to improve on his previous incarnation.  

The second step to improving Doom in the FF movies is to hire a more modest actor to play him. In the comics, Victor Von Doom is a horribly disfigured man who wears his trademark suit of armor to hide his deformity. In the movies, however, the failed experiment gives Doom an organic suit of armor that soon covers his entire body and gives him magnetic powers. Actor Julian McMahon appears in the majority of the movie with his face uncovered, and Doom’s signature mask doesn’t make its appearance until late into the first movie. No one really knows why the writers made this decision, but I suspect that it was in McMahon’s contract that his face be uncovered for the majority of the movie. In order to be true to Doom’s character, we need to see him in the mask (not an organic suit of armor) for the majority of his appearances onscreen and to hire an actor who has no qualms about this.

Sadly, we may never see this throwdown on the big screen.

The third and final step will require some patience and finesse on the part of the filmmakers, and that is to take their time with Doom’s backstory. In the first FF movie, Doom becomes evil literally overnight, attacking the FF for no apparent reason other than lashing out at his self-imposed deformity. The writers of the new film must give Doom a better reason for his vendetta against Reed and company. It may be a good idea to keep his origin a secret for most of the first film in the new series, or even to not reveal his origin until the sequel. This will give Doom an aura of mystery and menace that was sorely missed in the previous movie series.

Not everything about the past two Fantastic Four movies are in dire need of repair. The family dynamic of the FF was handled well, and the characters of Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm were spot on. The best comic book movies, however, are only as good as their villians, and neither FF film had a truly menacing villian at the center of the story. The reboot announcement gives Fox a prime opportunity to right the injustice these films did to the character of Dr. Doom. Here’s hoping that Fox hands the reigns to a writer and director with genuine love and knowledge of the properties who will give Doom his due and, in the process, will not screw something else up in his place.