Warning: Contains spoilers for The Ultimates #4! Marvel Comics has recently introduced fans to a whole new one Doctor Doom Which debuts in the newly established Ultimate Universe of Earth-6160, and now, the face under the mask is revealed. Fans are well aware that the true face of Victor Von Doom is horribly scarred and disfigured, but they have no idea what to expect with this new Doctor Doom, and the reveal is more terrifying than the original.
The Ultimates #4 by Deniz Camp and Phil Noto gives the full backstory for the new Ultimate Universe’s Doctor Doom aka Reed Richards. In this universe, Richards’ story is very similar to that of his Earth-616 counterpart, although a number of critical changes were made to the timeline by the Maker (the Reed Richards of the original Ultimate Universe) that yielded vastly different outcomes. Rather than gaining superpowers while flying up into space, the would-be Fantastic Four all died in different but equally horrific ways. All of them, except Reid Richards.
The maker had other plans for his variant, namely one thing in particular: torture. Basically just for fun, the Maker tortured his variant by locking him in a time-displaced dome to drive him insane, and he physically tortured him through the use of mutant rats gnawing at his flesh and a device built specifically to cause pain and mutilation. The creator created his own Doctor Doom from a version of himself, so naturally, he had to mess up his face.
Ultimate Doom’s Face is worse than the original for more reasons than just appearance
Earth-616 Doom was responsible for his own injuries while Final Doom was the victim
It’s obvious that Ultimate Doctor Doom’s face looks pretty bad as a result of the Maker’s torture, and it’s arguably even worse than Earth-616’s Doctor Doom’s true face, which was scarred after a lab accident in College. However, this is not why his disfigurement is worse than the original, because the real reason is that Ultimate Doctor Doom was a victim of cruel torture against Earth-616 Doctor Doom, who only suffered the consequences of his own hubris.
When he was in college with Reed Richards, Earth-616’s Doom created a device that would allow him to travel into other dimensions. Reed noticed that his calculations were a little off, and tried to warn Dom about it. Doom didn’t listen, and when he used the device, it exploded, shattering his face. Doom could not accept that he had made a mistake, so he came up with a paranoid theory that Reed had sabotaged the machine. So, not only was Earth-616’s doom responsible for his own disfigurement, Reed actually tried to save him—which is a far cry from the Ultimate Universe.
Doctor Doom’s Ultimate Universe Origin is a dark reflection of the original
The Ultimate Universe version of Doctor Doom’s origin story is a twisted inversion of the original. As if the paranoid delusions of Earth-616’s doom were evident, Reed Richards (as the Maker) was directly responsible for the scarring on Doom’s face, as he literally put Doom in his iconic metal mask. Not only that, but Reed Richards is technically doing this to himself, further cementing Reed’s connection to the origin of Doom in a much more personal and intimate way. Honestly, it’s absolutely brilliant, and only speaks to the care and quality put into Marvel’s new Ultimate Universe.
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The face of the final Doctor Doom looks pretty grim under his mask, although the true horror lies in how and what he now has to hide it, with the poetic connection to the original adding even more depth to this well-crafted beginning. Oh, Marvel’s new Doctor DoomHis face is even more terrifying than the original, and the reason is due to the origin of his disfigurement – and only time will tell how it will shape his future in the Ultimate Universe.
The Ultimates #4 by Marvel Comics is now available.