“He’s a father who’s a victim of trauma": Joe Russo teases Doctor Doom's "scary" Doomsday backstory

With Doomsday a little more than a month away from its theatrical release, there's a lot of curiosity around what Victor Von Doom/Doctor Doom is going to be like. Moreover, fans have also been wondering how Robert Downey Jr.'s Doom is going to be different than the earlier versions of the character we have seen in films like The Fantastic Four (1994) and Fantastic Four (2015), among others.

Joe Russo, one of the directors of Doomsday, has now teased Doctor Doom's backstory and how that makes the film scary.

Doctor Doom's backstory in Doomsday

Doomsday will follow the Avengers, Wakandans, New Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and X-Men as they unite to face the threat that is Doctor Doom. At the same time, they also have to stop the collapse of the multiverse. Doom is thus the central antagonist of the film. However, there's more to his story.

In an interview with Empire, co-director of Doomsday, Joe Russo, talked about Doom's character, saying:

"Doom is a Gothic character."

Joe Russo explained:

"He says, ‘Hell answers to me,’ and he’s not kidding. He’s a very powerful character with some very dark magic, and he’s not above selling his soul to get what he wants. He’s worth being scared of."

In The Fantastic Four Annual #2 (1964), Victor Von Doom is the son of Cynthia Von Doom, a Romani witch. In Books of Doom (2005), Cynthia passed away as a consequence of a deal she made with Mephisto, and Victor later became a master sorcerer and a scientific genius. Thus, according to comics, Doom is supposed to be extremely powerful.

Russo also teased more about Doom's backstory in the upcoming film, saying:

"He’s a father who’s a victim of trauma."

Russo further states:

"He has lost a child... When people see the film they say it’s a very scary movie. It’s scary because he’s so profoundly damaged."

Thus, Doctor Doom is not just a scientist and a sorcerer but also someone who is working from a place of loss. He is so beyond repair that taking lives and destroying universes don't bother him too much. Additionally, as Russo stated, Doctor Doom's past and what he has been through is what will make him "scary" in Doomsday. Anthony Russo talked about the character, saying:

"Doom is much more ego-driven than Thanos...Thanos believed he was serving a greater good."

Thus, while Thanos did what he did believing it was for a greater good, Victor isn't like that. He functions from a place of ego, which suggests that he will go to extreme lengths to get what he wants because all of it is justified to him. While one could understand why Thanos did what he did, it is yet to be seen whether Doom is a character whose actions are justified by something or not.

Doomsday is directed by Joe and Anthony Russo. The film is written by Stephen McFeely and Michael Waldron. Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, and Jonathan Schwartz are the producers behind the film. Marvel Studios is the production company behind the film.

Avengers: Doomsday will be released in theaters on December 18, 2026.