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Is the Fantastic Four’s iconic villain Doctor Victor von Doom becoming Victor von Montague? With the news that Robert Downey Jr. will play the genius villain in 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday, fans have been wondering how the MCU will adapt a character who has appeared in multiple panned movies. Is Marvel recreating a past mistake by changing the mystic dictator’s real name?
This choice could mimic Josh Trank’s attempt to rename the villain as Victor Domashev for 2015’s Fantastic Four.
Like Doctor Strange, Doctor Doom doesn’t operate using a codename… or so fans thought. In a preview for Avengers #25 – from Jed MacKay, Valerio Schiti, Federico Blee and Cory Petit – the new Masters of Evil gather around, complaining about Doctor Doom’s recent takeover of Earth. As they agree to rebel against Doom’s rule, unhinged villain Madcap confides that Doctor Doom’s real name is secretly, “Victor von Montague.”
While this could be a weird joke, it could also represent Marvel updating its lore ahead of Robert Downey Jr. playing the character. After all, this choice would mimic Josh Trank’s original intention to rename the villain as Victor Domashev in 2015’s Fantastic Four. It would also match the recent decision to rename Batman villain Oswald Cobblepot to Oz Cobb in HBO’s The Penguin.
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10 Most Iconic Doctor Doom Comic Appearances
This Fantastic Four villain has made some great appearances in other comics in the Marvel Universe to cause destruction and chaos.
Movies Have Tried to Change Doctor Doom’s Name Before…
Victor von Doom has undergone name changes before – for example, becoming Victor Van Damme in the Ultimate Universe comics continuity – despite the fact that ‘Doom’ is a real-world surname. It’s entirely possible Madcap is lying here (the character is known for his zany sense of humor and less than perfect grasp on reality), but it’s also possible Marvel is foreshadowing a new revelation about Doom, especially as the epic One World Under Doom event offers up a great opportunity to expose any skeletons in the dictator’s closet.
In the comics, Doctor Doom is the son of Werner and Cynthia von Doom, Latverian Romani who were persecuted by the state. Through his genius skill in both science and mysticism, Doom rose up to become the ruler of the country that once abused his family, transforming into a ruthless autocrat in the process. While this is a solid origin for the villain, Marvel is constantly changing the backstories of its heroes and villains, with long-lost relatives a specialty. All it would take would be one revelation about Doctor Doom’s father to make this name change a reality – and with his psionic powers, it makes sense that Madcap would somehow have discovered this unusual bit of information.
Doctor Doom’s mother is a powerful sorcerer who was captured by Mephisto, with Doctor Doom making a yearly trip to try and free her. He eventually succeeded with Doctor Strange’s help – one of several alliances between the hero and villain.
Comic fans will be hoping that Madcap’s joke is exactly that, rather than foreshadowing for an actual name change. Movie and TV adaptations have a bad habit of changing iconic lore in the name of realism, and movie-makers have tried to change Doom’s name in the past, only for fans to push back. Future comics will expand on whether Doctor Doom is really getting a name change, but at least for now, it feels most reasonable to assume that Madcap is just running his mouth… although if the comic change is coming, it’s likely because Marvel is setting up ‘Victor von Montague’ for the MCU.
Avengers #25 is coming from Marvel Comics April 23.
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