Doctor Doomis far stronger than people give him credit for. This is a character who is best known for his mastery of science alongside the dark arts, but in terms of pure strength, few would think him to rank among the best. No one would be bold enough to rank Doom near the top ofMarvel’s most powerful characters, but someone like Doom doesn’t have to be.
Notoriously, he tends to be a second banana to everything imaginable, especially to Reed Richards. Doctor Doom is usually no more than the second best when it comes to magic usage, science, strength, combat, etc. That may not sound impressive on paper, but when there are thousands of heroes and villains to contend with, it’s mighty impressive to even be in the conversation. Doom may not be the most powerful character, but evenbeing the most powerful humancounts for something. The comics show why Doom’s pure strength deserves to be feared, with or without powers.
10The Wall-Crawler Spider-Man Gets Put Through a Wall by Doctor Doom
The Amazing Spider-Man #350 by David Michelinie and Erik Larsen
While chasing after a petty thief named Black Fox, Spider-Man’s pursuit is interrupted by Doctor Doom, who wants the Black Fox for himself in hopes of securing a Dragon’s Egg that he stole. Spider-Man, in favor of bringing the Black Fox into police custody rather than the hands of a maniacal bad guy, begrudgingly tries to protect the Black Fox. His efforts get him beaten down mercilessly by Doom and put through a wall. This isn’t a version of Doom who has acquired infinite power bystealing them from a God. This is just pure, unrelenting strength driven by rage.
When he’s not holding back his full power (which he often does), Spider-Man is even stronger than the Hulk. It’s debatable whether that’s because he’s motivated by his urgency, gets a boost from his armor, or simply is naturally strong, butthis moment exposes Doom as a Hulk-tier threat.
9Doctor Doom Equals the Hulk in Strength, and Draws Blood
The Incredible Hulk #6 by Jason Aaron and Whilce Portacio
Tired of beingbound to someone he hates, The Incredible Hulk travels to Latveria to get Doctor Doom to separate him from Bruce Banner. Thanks to some brain surgery with an Adamantium cutting saw, the operation is a success, but when Bruce comes back crazier than ever, Hulk confronts Doom, accusing him of doing something they didn’t agree to during the procedure. Doom objects at the thought of not keeping his word, and Hulk refuses to accept that Banner’s simply gone bonkers. This forces a fight between the two egos, and surprisingly, Doom gets the better of Hulk.
… Doom does get in a test of strength with the Hulk that’s unexpectedly evenly matched.
The electrical outlets on Doom’s suit prove a big help, but Doom does get in a test of strength with the Hulk that’s unexpectedly evenly matched. Furthermore, Doom punches Hulk in the face and, miraculously, makes the green giant bleed red out of his mouth. Few men have made Hulk bleed, and fewer have lived to tell the tale. Doom is no mere man.
8A Fist to the Face is All It Takes for a Naked Doctor Doom to Beat a Lion
Doom #1 by Chuck Dixon and Leonardo Manco
Many of Doctor Doom’s feats of strength can be questioned or challenged by the fact that he wearsa powerful suit of armor. Some will argue that his armor gives him a power boost to commit some of these feats to begin with. In this instance, however, there are no excuses or upgrades to Doctor Doom’s power, as he’s stripped to his bare skin as a prisoner of Planet Doom. When encountering a lion, he’s forced to fight the majestic beast. Keep in mind that the average lion weighs 190kg and is strong enough to lift twice their body weight.
Planet Doom refers to Doomworld, an alternate Counter Earth within the multiverse. Banished in this copycat world, Doom finds himself trapped in this duplicate world’s version of Africa in The Serengeti.
Doctor Doom is able to knock out the lion with one punch. He insists that this isn’t a matter of strength, but speed and precision, as he finds the exact blow it would take to inflict damage to wear the brainstem meets the spine.
7Black Panther Can’t Witstand Doctor Doom’s Flurry of Punches
Black Panther #19 by Reginald Hudlin and Scot Eaton
Following their honeymoon, Storm and Black Panther visit Latveria following a wedding gift from Doctor Doom, which was actually a hologram inviting him for a political collaboration, so to speak. After refusing Doom’s proposal and being called Captain America’s “Tonto,” a fight was destined to break out between the two. Doom is confident that he has superior strength, and he’s proven right.At Doom’s most enraged, a series of rights and lefts overwhelm King T’Challa. Doom nearly chokes him to death, had Storm not intervened.
It’s also worth noting that Doom agreed to T’Challa’s wager of a simple bare-fisted fight, meaning his armor was no factor. As King of Wakanda, T’Challa is empowered by the Heart-Shaped Herb, giving him the gifts of the Panther God, which enhance his abilities to become equal to a Super-Soldier. The power that Doctor Doom holds at his fingertips is somehow mightier.
6The Thing Receives Comeuppance for Years of Beatdowns on Doctor Doom
Infamous Iron Man #3 by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev
Doctor Doom and The Thing have been fighting each other one-on-one for years in one of Marvel’s bigger mismatches. Be it bad luck or Doom’s ego, he always finds himself interlocked in a physical confrontation with The Thing, and every time (unless Doom happens to be wielding cosmic power), Ben Grimm humbles the Latverian ruler. However, the tables turn afterDoom adopts the Iron Man mantleafter the events ofCivil War II. On behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D., Grimm hunts Doom for a mission that is as personal as it is professional.
… Doctor Doom beat The Thing for once.
He ambushes the dictator at scientist Amara Perera’s apartment. For his efforts,Victor sends The Thing flying across the room and out the window. They continue their fight in the streets off-panel, but considering that the next page sees Doom having brought Amara to Switzerland for safety, it’s safe to say that Doctor Doom beat The Thing for once.
5Reed Richards Uses Doctor Doom’s Body to Dominate The Thing
Ultimate Fantastic Four #32 by Mark Millar, Greg Land, and Mitch Breitweiser
The Thing suffers a similar (and arguably worse) fate in the original Ultimate Universe. Here, The Fantastic Four opposes The Frightful Four. Not to be confused with Earth-616’s villain team, this Frightful Four comprises Earth-2149’s alternate universe Fantastic Four, who have been turned into zombies before combating those of Earth-1610. Doctor Doom takes the opportunity to swap brains with Mister Fantastic, rendering Reed in Victor’s body. As such, he gains access to Doom’s strength in his hands.While in Doom’s body, Reed fights a zombified Thing, ripping off his arm in the process.
Earth-616 refers to Marvel’s main official continuity.
On Earth-616, Ben Grimm always gets the better of Doom, but Earth-1610’sDoctor Doom’s Ultimate Universe superpowersgive him an edge. With those powers at his disposal, he can tear apart zombies with ease, even those as strong as The Thing.
4Doctor Doom’s Lethal Punch Prevails Against The Ghost Rider
Doctor Voodoo: Avenger of the Supernatural #5 by Rick Remender and Jefte Palo
In trying to steal the Eye of Agamotto, Doctor Doom imprisons Doctor Voodoo in a dimension constructed by the supervillain Nightmare. When Jericho Drumm returns from the realm, he incidentally brings with him the creatures from the dimension he exited, including Nightmare. As Nightmare’s influence spreads across the globe, Doom and Drumm are forced to work together to save it. Nightmare’s influence puts several superheroes under his control, including Spirits of Vengeance, Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch.
When one Ghost Rider tries to destroy Voodoo with his dreaded Penance Stare, a punch from Doctor Doom knocks him out the way. Doom’s vicious punch has been seen to be strong enough to knockout lions and Wakandan leaders, but to do the same for an indestructible supernatural force who happens to beMarvel’s most powerful fiery herois even more impressive. Doom’s got a mean right hook worth commending.
3The Hero of Hell’s Kitchen Gets the Hell Beaten Out of Him by Doctor Doom
Daredevil #37 by Stan Lee and Gene Colan
In perhaps Doom’s most disrespectful beatdown, he fights Daredevil in a subway, outright refusing to use his mystic arts or gadgets, thinking they’d be wasted on an opponent he believed to be weaker. It would be remiss not to mention that Doctor Doom confronts Daredevil mere moments after his fight with The Trapster that saw the two brawl throughout New York City. Doctor Doom does face down Daredevil when he’s at his weakest, but that doesn’t take away from how strong he is at that moment.
Even Matt Murdock takes note of Doom’s natural strength, calling Doom his"strongest foe of all.“Within a couple of pages, Doctor Doom knocks Daredevil out cold. This moment showed that if he so wanted to, Doctor Doom could beat even Earth’s mightiest heroes without any help, at leastheroes at the street level. All he needs is prep time and his bare hands.
2Catching Captain America’s Shield in Mid-Air and Crumbling It
“Doctor Doom” by Dave Cockrum in Marvel Comics Presents #75
Using a device that he creates out of sheer boredom, Doctor Doom captures cosmic energies from throughout the universe and stores them in a useable form within his body. He immediately uses his power to storm into New York City to wreak havoc, laying waste to any and every superhero who dares interrupt him. When it’s time for Steve Rogers to intervene, the star-spangled hero throws his signature shield in Doom’s direction.To Captain America’s surprise, Doctor Doom not only proves strong enough to catch it, but crumbles it into a ball that he flings right back at Cap.
The feat proves to be the dream of a child, but it nonetheless showcases a plausible worst-case scenario in which Doctor Doom conquers the Marvel Universe. Steve is someone who Doom holds in high regard and respect (unlike Sam Wilson), but not even The First Avenger could survive an all-powerful Doom.
1Thanos Becomes Spineless Because of Doctor Doom
Doctor Doom at his most powerful comes when he steals the powers of The Beyonders, and, by proxy, his strongest feat comes when he holds this degree of power. That same power is put to the ultimate test against Thanos, who worldwide, the readership viewed Thanos as the strongest villain Marvel has ever seen, thanks to a perception created by the MCU. There proved to be no greater way to showcase how powerful Doom had become by ripping Thanos' spine out from under him.
This wasn’t just an instance of a supervillain vanquishing another when challenged, but an example of a villain who just superseded someone who Marvel audiences viewed as the brand’s Big Bad.Doctor Doomestablished himself as even bigger and badder, elevating him in the eyes of casual audiences during his greatest feat of strength.
