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History
The term "Doombot" refers to various series of robots originally created by Doctor Doom. All robots that are now identified as "Doombots" are exact physical and mental replicas of the original Victor von Doom in his armored form. They are designed with psionic disguising circuitry that is capable of fooling low level telepaths into accepting them as the real Dr. Doom. Their advanced A.I. program makes them believe themselves to be the real Doom, except when they are in the presence of Doom or another Doombot.[4] They were created to replace Doom whenever he cannot be present at a situation, or whenever he does not want to risk his own life.
A first prototype of Doombot was created before von Doom even went to university. Chased by the Latverian authorities, von Doom built a doppelganger of himself to trick the soldiers. This human-like robot was executed by firing squad, and only when they heard it speak and analyzed the riddled corpse they noticed they had been fooled.[5]
The first known Doombot was used to trick the Fantastic Four into retrieving the Stones of Merlin from Blackbeard. When the quartet return they fight the Doombot and destroy it and realize the truth.[6]
Doom used a similar trick soon afterward to meet with Spider-man in an attempt to forge an alliance: After summoning Spider-man to his hidden laboratory with a Spider-Wave Transmitter, Doom sent a robot to negotiate with Spider-man, foreseen that the interview could go wrong. Indeed, Spider-man rejected the offer and attacked the robot with his webs, only to see the real Doom reveal himself. Spider-man escaped Doom, but Doom insisted on tracking Spider-man again. Doom accidentally kidnapped a kid in disguise, but Spider-man went to rescue the later and confronted Doom again, who used several devices against the hero. When Spider-man managed to entangle Doom with a web, the Doombot moved and grabbed Spider-man by surprise, trapping him in the path of a Disintegrator. Spider-man's extraordinary strength allowed him to throw the Doombot and make it collide with Doom himself. Doom escaped the laboratory soon afterward when the Fantastic Four arrived.[7]
Originally the term "Doombot" was applied to various different types of robot created by Von Doom, including the series that was later known as Servo-Guards.[2] It was later restricted to his armored duplicate robots, and does not include his look-alike unmasked Victor Von Doom robots[3], though these also stand in for Von Doom when he deems it necessary.
A Doombot was also used when Prince Rudolfo and his men raided Castle Doom in an attempted coup. They found themselves surrounded by apparently several doppelgangers of Doom: One of them was a Doombot, broadcasting his vision to Doom, and the others were shimmering holograms. Rudolfo's men identified the solid Doombot, mostly because it was attacking them, and focused their fire on it. Although they destroyed the Doombot, they also fell prey to Doom's Hypno-Probe; and Doom sent his voice through the broken head of the Doombot to mock his prisoners.[8]
Later, Rudolfo staged a second attempt when he heard that Doom had been killed: He successfully impersonated a Doombot, fooling even Doom's close friend Boris.[9]
Unmasked Doombot
When Doctor Doom was deposed and replaced as king of Latveria by late Rudolfo's brother Zorba Fortunov,[10] and then his mind was trapped in a miniature body in toy city Liddleville by the Puppet Master,[11] his Doombots replaced him and impersonated him several times, while looking for a way to restore their master to health and power.[12]
With Doom away, the mutant Toad took over Doom's Adirondacks Castle and made an amusement park of it[13] with the help of assassin Arcade. This was insulting to Doom.[14] A Doombot impersonating Doom, A 76,[15] recovered the castle, staffing it with mercenaries and closed the show. He also captured Arcade to demand a satisfaction. Arcade's allies recruited the X-Men to release Arcade. X-Men leader Storm intended to meet with "Doom" to negotiate Arcade's release, but this was just a ploy to distract "Doom" while the remaining X-Men secretly infiltrated to the cells. The Doombot A 76 assumed this and, while meeting with Storm, monitored the cells, sent the armored warriors Doom Squad to stop the X-Men and ensured that Arcade was not in the cell but a guest. The X-Men defeated the Squad, with the last warrior escaping only to face A 76's punishment. Although the Doombot found himself attracted to Storm and vice versa[14] -an attraction that Doom himself would later feel-[16], when the X-Men assaulted him, he soundly defeated them all with defenses, a Neural Disruptor to knock Colossus down and a Metabolic Transmuter to cryonize Storm as liquid chrome.[14] A 76 then used a robot doppelganger of Storm as a servant while the real Storm -a claustrophobic- unleashed a wild tempest around the castle, with A 76 understanding the danger.[17]
In an attempt to discover more of the X-Men, A 76 imprisoned each of his enemies in a different, specialized cell from which they could leave if they were crafty enough, while A 76 himself monitored it all through a painting/liquid-crystal display screen. Arcade enjoyed the show, also taking a Havana cigar from Doom's supplies and lighting a match on A 76's shoulder armor; A 76 simply reprimanded Arcade for not contemplating the ecological danger posed by Storm.[17] Meanwhile, the X-Men escaped. Wolverine was the first to arrive and attacked A 76 in his private study; soon, Nightcrawler joined him. A 76 fought them, but was grabbed and Wolverine threatened to pierce his face with adamantium claws unless he released Storm. A 76 offered a technology that would indeed release her, but in a spectacular weay which would give A 76 a chance to escape Wolverine. This was so, but Storm, wild and unleashed, attacked A 76 with a powerful lightning bolt, draining his armor, and threatened to destroy everything in a godlike whim. A 76 contemplated using his technological genius to confront her, but it was Colossus who, using well-felt words, calmed Storm. Recovered but exhausted, Storm again begged "Doom" to release Arcade. Doom's honor still required satisfaction but, for Storm's sake, A 76 accepted just Arcade's coerced apologies. A 76 even apologized for defending himself against the X-Men and insisted he would like to get to know Storm; the X-Men left not as enemies of Doom.[18]
Several other Doombots started Plan Epsilon, which had been defined by Doom himself. Firstly, one Doombot impersonated Doom[12] and took discreet control of Ambassador Leopold of the Latverian Embassy. Leopold agreed to help "Doom" in his plot to summon the Fantastic Four to the Embassy, where "Doom" intended to destroy them. Ironically, the Fantastic Four intended to deliver Doom's inert body to the Latverians,[19] with the body being a piece of the Doombot's Plan Epsilon. The Doombot and his peers intended to recover the body and take it to a hidden flying vehicle, the Saucer Ship, where they could restore Doom's mind - partly because another Doombot had recovered Doom's miniature body from Liddleville (and crushed the Puppet Master's toy body in the process). With these two pieces, four Doombots zelously restored Doom in the bridge of the Saucer Ship.[20]
Meanwhile, four other Doombots took care of the Embassy situation. After executing Ambassador Leopold for doubting Doom's designs, the Doombots captured the Fantastic Four, separated them in four different cells and confronted each hero individually. The Doombots were soundly defeated but, while fighting, they affected the heroes with Doom's Inhibitor Ray, preventing the heroes from directly attacking Doom. Once Doom took control of the situation, he dismissed the Doombots and personally met the Fantastic Four - not to destroy them, but to recruit them in an attempt to recover the Latverian throne,[12] a task they succeeded at in the next few hours.[20]
Having recovered Latveria, Doom reviewed his Doombots while also attending his foster son and apprentice Kristoff Vernard. Doom noticed A 76's scratched shoulder and discovered that A 76 had not executed Arcade for such an affront as A 76 had believed Doom may have had need of Arcade in the future. Doom, disagreeing on him needing anyone else at all, activated A 76's self-destruct mechanism. The young Vernard was aghast at this.[15]
Doom then launched the alien Tyros the Terrible against the Fantastic Four in New York City. While Tyros confronted the Human Torch and the Thing, Doom himself captured the Invisible Girl onboard his stealth Flying Fortress. Doom sent a Doombot to greet his unwilling guest but, when the Invisible Girl was defiant, the Doombot slapped her. She understood that Doom could never be that crude, thus she was facing a doppelganger robot. She easily destroyed the robot's head - even if it was a robot with a concussive weapon to counteract her force field. Doom then conferred with her via a Communication Sphere.[21] Soon afterward, Doom was believed dead in the ensuing conflict.[22]
Five Doombots, including units A-73 and B-57,[4] were selected to ensure a smooth transition of government, first impersonating Doom as the ruler of Latveria[4] while the Latverian ambassador's dismissed any claims of Doom being dead,[23] and later starting Doom's contingency plan in case of his death. The Doombots were to take Doom's foster son and selected heir, Kristoff Vernard, and submit him to the Memory Transference Machine so that Doom's memories, personality and skill replaced Vernard's. The Doombots were to identify Vernard as their new Master. However, while assimilating the memory-tapes, Vernard decided he had seen enough and he was to act and take immediate action against the Fantastic Four. He launched a scheme, improving one of Doom's first attempts on the Fantastic Four,[4] but failed to kill them. The Fantastic Four reacted by raiding Doom's Castle, but Vernard -now Doctor Doom II- refused to believe he had failed to kill them, thus he identified the intruders as impersonators, unworthy of his attention although the Doombots tried to convince him otherwise. When the Fantastic Four raided Doom's rooms, the Doombots, having the Master's command, offered no resistance when the Fantatic Four destroyed them, even if -unlike Vernard- they understood that Doom II's plans had failed.[24]
One Doombot kept on impersonating Doom at the Latverian Embassy. The real Doom, trapped in the body of a Norman McArthur, disguised himself as the Invincible Man and launched an attack against the Embassy, purportedly aiming to kill Doom for supposedly abducting his family, with the help of superheroines Invisible Woman -previously Invisible Girl-, She-Hulk and Wasp. The Invisible Woman sneaked to Doom's office and confronted the Doombot. She discovered the robot's nature as it was far clumsier than Doom, and destroyed it by expanding a Force Field from the robot's innards.[25] Doom recovered the Latverian throne soon afterward while Vernard, still with Doom's brain patterns, languished in the Fantastic Four's cells.[1]
Kristoff Vernard's rule[]
When Doom kidnapped Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman's son Franklin Richards and took him to Latveria, the Fantastic Four arranged for Vernard to escape so that he would go back to Latveria with the Fantastic Four secretly on his tail. Vernard went to a secret lair where he recovered his armor and met Doombot B-78. Vernard claimed that a clever Doom impersonator had replicated his brainscans and, along with B-78, secretly enter the Castle from a catacomb. The Fantastic Four tried to follow him, but Vernard identified the danger and trapped them in the tunnels. Vernard then entered the Castle and recruited all the Doombots, including B-78 and B-16, to attack the so-called impersonator. They raided a room where Doom was tried to appease Mephisto by offering Franklin Richards in exchange for his mother, but the robots and Vernard interrupted the scene. While Doom and Vernard fought, the robots stopped: They could not identify who was the real Doom, as their programming as not prepared for this. When the Fantastic Four entered the fray, the Doombots attacked them, identify Mister Fantastic as the primary foe, but they were unable to stop them. In the end, the Human Torch held the Doombots at bay, and the night ended with Doom unable to rescue his mother. Speaking of this event, Doom recognized having failed, and the robots decided that admitting a failure was so unlike Doom that this one should be the impersonator. Doom destroyed the Doombots in the room, but he fled away as he could not confront all the robots in the castle. Vernard took over Latveria, still impersonating Doom. During that night, Vernard also had decided that his Doombots, called "B-series", should change their appearance to replicate his sleek armor, as soon as possible.[1]
During the Acts of Vengeance event, Doom was approached by other supervillains with the intent of forming a federation to defeat several superheroes at once by exchanging their usual opponents. Doom disregarded this plan, as he believed no other man could ever defeat the Fantastic Four, and focused on recovering Latveria from Vernard's hands. He nonetheless assigned one or more Doombots to impersonate him so that the other villains would believe Doom was helping them; however, Doom's plots for these "Acts of Vengeance" were whimsical and unimportant for him, little more than a hobby. One Doombot even revealed these details to the Fantastic Four when they found it - as Doom had expected - in an Albany hideout.[26]
Doctor Doom then sent one Doombot in a so-called Doom-ship to find the Silver Surfer and steal his power. Doom had realized that his own human body was unable to store the Power Cosmic, thus he sent a doppelganger in his stead.[27] The Surfer, who was suffering a faith crisis at the time, agreed to give Doom his power if he helped the population of dying planet Tanus;[28] the Doombot, carefully choosing his words, destroyed the planet to fulfill his vow. The Surfer, powerless although still chromed, was imprisoned by the Doombot's two alien guards. The Doombot then noticed that, while it had the Power Cosmic, it could not control the Surfer's board. The Surfer refused to help him and even attacked him, succeeding at breaking his mask, but being utterly defeated. The Doombot drunk with power, destroyed his own ship, as he no longer needed it to move in space; his guards and the Surfer were to suffer death by exposure.[27] Satisfied, the Doombot steered to Earth,[29] where it intended to use its newfound power to attack Mr. Fantastic, the Fantastic Four -unaware of the then-current status of the team- and probably even Doom himself, as the Doombot had grown ambitious with power.[27] The Surfer was however rescued by his superpowered friend Legacy, and then the Surfer tracked the Doombot and destroyed it to recover his cosmic power, just a few astronomic units from Earth.[29]
Later events[]
One particular Doombot even replaced the real Doom ruling Latveria temporarily. That unit became more humanlike than the others, to the point of Doom taking a personal liking to it and refusing to destroy it. This robot was interviewed by a female journalist, to whom it reported Doom's origins and rise to power. After that encounter, Doom's servant Boris ensured that the woman was imprisoned so that she could not use that intel on Doom.[30]
Doom recently has begun using Doombots openly as attack robots akin to his Servo-Guards, rather than as secret stand-ins complete with non human voices, defeating their original purpose of being secret stand-ins.
Alternate Universes[]
2099 A.D. (Earth-928)[]
When Doom showed up to deal with Tiger Wylde, his lieutenant, Zone, confused him for another of his robots.[31]
MC2 (Earth-982)[]
After discovering a new way to harness the Power Cosmic, Doctor Doom transferred that energy into his Doombots. The human body could not contain those cosmic energies indefinitely, but a series of robots could, and they provided Doom with a small army of nigh-invincible soldiers with which he could conquer the world.[32]
Doom Vs Namor (Earth-1016)[]
Doombots encountered by Calvin Rankin of the Exiles.[33]
Crossoververse (Earth-7642)[]
When the Decepticons constructed a dome emitting radiation creating "violent rays," Doombots were sent to eliminate the dome. The bots were destroyed and later found outside the entrance of the dome by the New Avengers.[34]
Mangaverse (Earth-2301)[]
The Doombots make up the majority of Dr. Doom's army. They are powered by magic.[35]
Earth X (Earth-9997)[]
The Doombots origins are similar to that of their Earth-616 counterparts. In recent history, when Reed Richards took over Doctor Doom's Castle and took on the monarch's identity, he programmed the Doombots to be loyal to him, and to continue posing as Doom so that the people of Latveria would not be any wiser. The Doombots would defend Castle Doom, but were usually ineffective when larger groups, such as the Church of Immortus, and Tong of Creel attacked the castle.[36]
Last Gun On Earth (Earth-11080)[]
When a plague turned the world's population into cannibals, Doctor Doom offered a cure to the Avengers in exchange for being named Emperor of the World. They reluctantly agreed, unaware that Doom was fooling them.[37]
His Doombots helped turn on backup power in the Baxter Building and mass-produced parts for a laser fence that the Avengers installed around New York City's five boroughs.[38] Their fate following the death of Doctor Doom is unknown.[39]
_from_Fantastic_Four_Vol_4_13_0001.jpg){kind=link}
Home of Old Johnny Storm (Earth-13266)[]
In an alliance formed with Kang and Annihilus, Doctor Doom took over the world after the Fantastic Four left for a cosmic voyage. Here the Doombots patrolled the planet.[40]
Note: Doombots of Earth-13266, look less like Doctor Doom, and more like the Sentinels.
Ultimate Thor is President (Earth-20604)[]
Some Doombots were sent by Dr. Doom to the Baxter Building for appropriating of the time machine in the hope he'd unravel everything accomplished there.[41]
Age of le Fay (Earth-26111)[]
Various Doombots were employed by Morgan le Fay in her massive attack against the Defenders.[42]
Earth-91110[]
One Doombot, believing to be the real Dr. Doom, tried to steal the Unipower from Spider-Man, but when he did it his robotic body was not able to contain it and was destroyed.[43]
The Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe (Earth-95126)[]
When the Punisher placed a magnetic mine on Doctor Doom's forehead, the pulse created by the mine disabled Doom's robots, and exploded.[44]
_from_Marvel_Avengers_Academy_001.jpg){kind=link}
Marvel Avengers Academy (Earth-TRN562)[]
Doombots are the robot army employed by Doctor Doom. They attacked Avengers Academy when the latter attempted to recruit Doctor Doom into their ranks.[45]
_from_Deeds_of_Doom.jpg){kind=link}
Deeds of Doom (Earth-TRN564)[]
In Earth-TRN564, like in Earth-616,[46] Doctor Doom used robotic doppelgangers of himself with advanced artificial intelligence to impersonate and behave like him, delegating in them a number of minor tasks. The Doombots were programmed to behave like Doctor Doom and, in fact, believed themselves to be Doom himself, unless Doom or other Doombots were present. There were two main variants of Doombots: the combat Doombot and the diplomatic Doombot, each with its own specialty.[47] Doom kept a cadre of at least twenty Doombots at his main base and home, Castle Doom in Latveria. The Doombots were, however, not allowed to use some very specific possessions of Doom such as his Promethium Armor.[46]
Doom assigned several diplomatic Doombots to represent him in a secret, subterranean lair under an American city, where genius robotocist Wolfgang Kriegslieber was building the giant pacifier robot Doomsman III. Only one Doombot was active at a given time, but should that one be destroyed, the next one was immediately activated. If the Doombot captured any superpowered human, it had a Power Transference Machine to feed the prisoner's powers to the Doomsman.[46]
Kriegslieber betrayed Doom, intent on stealing the Doombot for the Darkholders cult. Doom suspected this and did not act immediately, waiting for the exact moment to retaliate the Darkholders for maximum effect. He nonetheless kept an eye on Kriegslieber's base. However, when some superheroes discovered and raided the base, truthfully accusing Doom and his minions of several crimes, the Doombot confronted the heroes. Kriegslieber then revealed his true colors and teleported away with the inactive Doomsman.[46]
The Doombot, pretending to be Doom, accused the heroes of meddling and unleashing a great evil in the world. The Doombot explained that the Darkholders had the means to summon the evil god Chthon and make it possess the robot, and the reasons to send the Doomsman to destroy Doomstadt to get revenge on Doom. The Doombot then recruited the heroes to help defeat the Doomsman and they all travelled to Castle Doom in a Saucer Ship.[46]
Once there, meeting with more Doombots and Doom himself, the Doombot turned over the floor to his master, who welcomed the heroes. Soon afterwards, when the Doomsman attacked Doomstadt, a Doombot (either a different one or the same one) interrupted Doom to notify him about that. The heroes then went to Doomstadt and ultimately defeated the Doomsman.[46]
,_Vision_(Earth-TRN564)_from_Deeds_of_Doom.jpg){kind=link}
Doombot fighting Vision and the Torch
A diplomatic Doombot approached the Latverian Embassy in New York City in a black limousine, which was unexpectedly attacked and destroyed by the android Human Torch. The Doombot survived and returned fire, receiving quick reinforcements from the Embassy in the form of six Warrior Robots. The Torch was immediately helped by two other superheroes, Deathlok and the Vision (the three of them secretly mind-controlled by Doom's enemy Andro, Lord of Androids); and the embassy replied by sending six more Warrior Robots. A number of independent superheroes joined the fray while Doctor Doom himself monitored the event from the Embassy, ready to send more Doombots if required.[46]
Andro captured a Doombot, removed its self-destruction system (and was probably able to use it) and altered its programming, accidentally giving it a personality - a heroic one, to top it. The Doombot escaped Andro's secret lair, chased by Andro's andromite minions, and humbly joined a superhero team for help. During the battle, the real Doom appeared with a dozen of Warrior Robots to defy the defective Doombot: It had become a threat and it may fall into the wrong hands, who'd study it for valuable information. The Doombot intended to continue existing.[46]
Doom eventually launched an attack against Andro's lair, supported by several heroes and robots. It is unclear whether Doom himself or a Doombot went with the party; in any case, the purported Doom there focused its attacks on Andro. While Andro's plan was stalled, Andro himself managed to escape.[46]
Spidey (Earth-TRN576)[]
In Earth-TRN564, Doctor Doom was surrounded by a community of Doombots while at Castle Doom. He overtook Con Edison Plant and used the power it generated to power his Doombots during an attack on New York City. The attack was a diversion; however, so that one Doombot, nicknamed Doomster by Spider-Man, was supposed to steal back a Latverian painting. Spider-Man figured out his plan and deactivated all the Doombots in the city.[48]
Anthony Stark became the Sorcerer Supreme (Earth-TRN591)[]
Various Doombots followed Morgan le Fay when she returned to and retreated from Earth.[49]
Doom Universe (Earth-TRN667)[]
In the reality where Doctor Doom took over Galactus and became the devourer of worlds, he created his own Heralds of Doom. They appeared to be artificial lifeforms not unlike Doombots imbued with the Power Cosmic.[50]
Notes
- Doombots are indistinguishable from the real Doctor Doom.
See Also
Links and References
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Fantastic Four Annual #20
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Fantastic Four Vol 1 85
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Fantastic Four Annual #2 (1964) and Marvel Super-Heroes #20 (1969)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Fantastic Four #278
- ↑ Fantastic Four Annual #2
- ↑ Fantastic Four #5
- ↑ Amazing Spider-Man #5
- ↑ Astonishing Tales #1
- ↑ Super-Villain Team-Up #9
- ↑ Fantastic Four #200
- ↑ Fantastic Four #236
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Fantastic Four #246
- ↑ Marvel Two-In-One #68
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Uncanny X-Men #145
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Fantastic Four #258
- ↑ Marvel Comics Presents #48
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Uncanny X-Men #146
- ↑ Uncanny X-Men #147
- ↑ Fantastic Four #244
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Fantastic Four #247
- ↑ Fantastic Four #259
- ↑ Fantastic Four #260
- ↑ Fantastic Four #268
- ↑ Fantastic Four #279
- ↑ Fantastic Four #287
- ↑ Fantastic Four #336
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 Silver Surfer Vol 3 #107
- ↑ Silver Surfer Vol 3 #106
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 Silver Surfer Vol 3 #108
- ↑ Books of Doom #6
- ↑ Doom 2099 #1
- ↑ Fantastic Five Vol 2 #3-5
- ↑ Exiles #14
- ↑ New Avengers/Transformers #1
- ↑ Marvel Mangaverse #5-6
- ↑ Earth X #7
- ↑ Marvel Universe Vs. The Avengers #2
- ↑ Marvel Universe Vs. The Avengers #3
- ↑ Marvel Universe Vs. The Avengers #4
- ↑ Fantastic_Four_Vol_4_13
- ↑ Ultimate Fantastic Four #28
- ↑ Age of Ultron #8
- ↑ What If? Vol 2 #31
- ↑ Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe #1
- ↑ Marvel Avengers Academy
- ↑ 46.0 46.1 46.2 46.3 46.4 46.5 46.6 46.7 46.8 Deeds of Doom
- ↑ Machines of Doom
- ↑ Spidey #4
- ↑ Generations: Iron Man & Ironheart #1
- ↑ Marvel 2-In-One #5