Doctor Doomand Mister Fantastic have locked horns countless times over the years, and their hatred for each other seems to grow with every encounter. They constantly feel the need to one-up each other whenever possible, particularly in a battle of wits.
Despite The Fantastic Four collectively having fought against Doctor Doom for more than 60 years, Doom’s true archrival remains Reed Richards. The two can’t help but embark on a game of mental gymnastics against each other whenever they are within inches of each other. Their bad blood stems from bitter rivalries, sheer pettiness, and an unspoken pride between both men. When their pettiness has revolved toDoom forcing Reed to let him name his daughter, it becomes clear their differences are irreconcilable - unless they do battle.
10Doctor Doom vs. The Fantastic Four, Round 1
Fantastic Four#5 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Fantastic Four#5 marks the first time Doctor Doom makes his Marvel appearance, and the first time that Reed and Doom cross paths as superhero and villain. The reunion manifests once Doom captures The Fantastic Four by launching a net overthe Baxter Building. The moment he hears his old college chum’s voice for the first time in years, Mister Fantastic reacts like he’s just seen a ghost. Holding his wife as a hostage, Doom forces Reed and his team to go into the past to retrieve Blackbeard’s treasure.
In their first encounter in years, Doom manages to outsmart Reed and his fantastic friends.
When the mission is complete, The Thing tries to smash Doom into smithereens, only to learn they’ve been talking to a Doombot, while Doom himself drains their chamber of oxygen from a secure location. In their first encounter in years, Doom manages to outsmart Reed and his fantastic friends.
9Doctor Doom Beat The Fantastic Four, Before Namor Arrives
Fantastic Four#6 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
After narrowly escaping death by Doctor Doom in the last issue, the next begins with the team endlessly searching for the maniac before getting distracted by the Yancy Street Gang. Meanwhile, Doctor Doom meets with another fairly new foe of The Fantastic Four’s, Namor the Submariner, hoping to collaborate on destroying the team (except for The Invisible Woman, whoNamor is infatuated with). The plan sees Doom use his new grabber invention to push The Fantastic Four and their ship into the sun’s orbit.
The battle briefly culminates between Reed and Doom, as the former tries to thwart the latter by using his powers against his aeroship. Doom’s defensive rocket burns through Reed’s hands, severely injuring him. Had Namor not intervened and saved the Four upon realizing Doom had betrayed him, they would all have been dead.
8Doctor Doom Switches Bodies With Reed Richards
Fantastic Four#10 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
In one ofStan Lee’s strangest comic book cameos, Doctor Doom returns when he confronts Lee and Kirby by demanding that they call The Fantastic Four and lure Reed Richards to their studio. Using his knockout gas and a mental teleportation device he created, Doom brings Reed to his secret laboratory. There, using technology he acquired from the Ovoid alien race,Doom manages to switch bodies with Mister Fantastic. In that instance, The Fantastic Four intervene unaware their friend is in Doom’s body.
For all the hair-brained schemes Doctor Doom has had, this one nearly worked in his favor. Not only does he nearly get Reed clobbered to death by The Thing and locked in an underground chamber, but has further plans to trick the remaining three into getting shrunk down to nothingness with a reducing ray. His plan is foiled when Reed escapes and Johnny Storm deduces who the real Reed is.
7Doctor Doom Falls To The Combined Might of The Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four#23 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
The Fantastic Four have had a handful of altercations with Doctor Doom at this point, butthis one is promoted as the master plan of Doctor Doom. Through a series of events meticulously orchestrated by Doctor Doom, every member is kidnapped by Doom and sent to his hidden lair. Doom had planned to transport The Fantastic Four into their ultimate demise in space, taking advantage of an incoming Solar Wave. In an effort to trap Doom with them, the Fantastic Four attack.
Reed struggles with Doom alone, as do the rest of the team individually, but once they all unite to form a cohesive front, they manage to defeat Doom. Victor eventually falls into the portal into space that he created himself, leading to his own pending doom. Or so The Fantastic Four think…
6What Almost Became Reed And Doctor Doom’s Final Battle
“The Final Victory of Doctor Doom!” by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby inFantastic Four Annual#2
Taking place after the events ofFantastic Four#23, Doctor Doom returns from space to battle with The Fantastic Four. Eventually, the battle dwindles solely between Reed and Victor. They agree to partake in one final one-on-one battle using the Encephalo-Gun, a double-sided blaster device where the one with the greater mentality will send the other to a timeless limbo from which there is no return. Much to the surprise of the undefeated Reed Richards, he’s finally defeated by Doom as Mister Fantastic fades out of existence.
Doom is elated, but unbeknownst to him, none of that happened. Reed had spiked Doom’s drink with a juice that enabled the one with the stronger mentality to create an illusion in the brain of the other.As the smartest man alive, Reed creates the illusion of victory in Doom’s mind, albeit temporarily.
5Mister Fantastic Falls To Doctor Doom’s Power Cosmic
Fantastic Four#58 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
In the previous issue, Doctor Doom steals the Power Cosmic from The Silver Surfer, gifting him with power beyond anything he dreamed of at this point. He wastes no time in using it to torment The Fantastic Four. On the Surfer’s board, Doom travels to New York, where he ambushes Reed Richards while he’s working on his latest invention, a conductive inverter. Reed tries his hardest to fight back, but he’s no match for Doctor Doom’s Power Cosmic, which he uses to manifest any and every weapon imaginable.
Ironically enough, Doctor Doom waits until he can overwhelmingly outmatch Reed in terms of power to engage in a physical fight with him.
With both being men of science and geniuses, most ofReed and Doctor Doom’s fightsare mental more than anything, but this is a rare instance of their battles being a physical one. Ironically enough, Doctor Doom waits until he can overwhelmingly outmatch Reed in terms of power to engage in a physical fight with him. Johnny Storm has to save Reed.
4Reed Richards And Doctor Doom Battle Minds, Not Muscles
Fantastic Four#200 by Marv Wolfman and Keith Pollard
In time for the anniversary issue, The Fantastic Four find themselves imprisoned at Castle Doom, a.k.a. Doomstadt. In attempting to escape,Reed and Doom are left alone together in what the cover art calls the “Long-Awaited Fight to the Finish.“Their fight is a constant back and forth until Doom traps his old enemy in his macabre murder room, leaving Reed to be subdued by flames and lasers. Miraculously, to Doom’s surprise, Reed escapes. Using a device to short circuit Doom’s armor and tech, the time for cheap tricks is over.
The battle is now reduced to fisticuffs, although he still has one trick up his sleeve to try using his refrigeration controls to freeze Mister Fantastic to death. Alas, Reed bursts out the incased ice, leading to another fist fight. The battle ends when Reed yanks off Doom’s mask, forcing him to cower atthe sight of his grotesque facein the mirror.
3Doctor Doom Attacks Reed’s Son, Not The Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four Annual#20 by Steve Englehart and Paul Neary
Upon learninghow powerful Frankin Richards is, to the point that he can singlehandedly defeat Mephisto, he arrives at the Four Freedoms Plaza in hopes of asking Mister Fantastic for his child to help him save his mother from the nether realms. Aware of how Doom mistreats his own adopted son, Kristoff Vernard, Reed outright refuses without hesitation. The conversation seems to end civil, until after Doom leaves, the Fantastic Four are surrounded by drones, one of which kidnaps Franklin.
Doom attempts to sacrifice Franklin’s life for Mephisto in exchange for that of his mother’s, before he’s interrupted by Kristoff and his Doombots. As the two men battle for the title of Doctor Doom, Mephisto tries to flee with the child before Reed is able to intervene at the last moment, then Franklin uses his powers to destroy Mephisto once more. Meanwhile, Doom inevitably retreats.
2Reed Richards vs. Doctor Doom Fight For The Multiverse Itself
In the finale of Marvel’s multiversal event, Reed Richards has one final confrontation with Doctor Doom, who has become theGod Emperor of Battleworldby stealing the power of The Beyonders. However, that power proves futile and useless when he’s unable to destroy Reed with a snap of his fingers, all because he didn’t bring The Molecule Man something to eat. Now, with the two on equal footing,Reed and Doom tussle with the multiverse hanging in the balance.
The fight ends when both men begrudgingly agree that they could’ve done better with Doom’s power, as The Molecule Man transfers that power to Reed. In a white flash, Battleworld is destroyed, and the Marvel Universe is reverted to normal. For all the battles that Reed Richards and Doctor Doom have had in the past, this one emphasized that the two are more alike than either would want to admit.
1Reed Richards Becomes The Monster Who Created Doctor Doom
The Ultimates #4 by Deniz Camp and Phil Noto
The original Ultimate Universe saw the Reed Richards of Earth-1610 turn into thedastardly villain calling himself The Maker. As such, he becomes a threat to the multiverse, most notably assembling Earth-6160 in his image. In doing so, he opts to create his own Doctor Doom, showcasing exactly how his hatred for the namesake and its entity knows no bounds. In this world, The Maker sabotages the space flight that would’ve given The Fantastic Four their powers.
The Maker’s actions result in the explosive death of Johnny Storm, Sue’s death by radiation, Ben Grimm’s suicide, and a prison sentence for Reed. When he’s at his lowest, Reed is captured and tortured by The Maker until he adopts the name that The Maker forces upon Reed: Doctor Doom. It takes Reed Richards to become a supervillain and beat himself to win his most diabolical showdown withDoctor Doom.
