Okay, so the moral
myopia and righteous vengeance are staples of the genre. Got it. The heroes who
pursue violence against those who don’t deserve it, who are pacifists, and who
try to solve all of the world’s problems are doomed to failure. Failure and suck.
Eventually.
That said, let’s
discuss some of these unapologetic punching bags for our heroes, the villains:
Doctor Doom. No one
stands as a stronger counterpoint to the things that I’m saying than Doctor
Victor Von Doom of Latveria. Sure, he gets beaten pretty consistently, thanks
in no small part to exactly The Thing’s fists and uncanny sense of chronology, but he stands above other
villains (and, indeed a few heroes). Doom has a sense of style and nobility. While
his monarchy isn’t strictly old school (its absolute as few monarchs have ever
been, thanks in large part to its almost American three branch system of
government; The Doom, Doombot, and
RIIIIIICCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRDDDDDSSS!!!!!!!!!), it is old world in that
Doctor Doom is generally polite and straightforward with his guests, even if he
does expect them to grovel a little bit. Of course, as an enemy, he will make
deals with devils and defy the laws of nature to achieve his goals, but he is
quite polite. I think that’s a contradiction that defines him; he does have
rules and integrity, but his limitations pertain to when he will or won’t kill
someone and how casually (monologue first, or just a witty-put down? How about
a post-incineration exposition? Just shout his own name? There’s a lot of ways
Doom could go with each murder.). It’s like he has the same parts of so many
heroes, but they’re all screwed up with self-confidence, becoming ego--a veneer
of selflessness cloaking ambition, and humbleness only in the face of god-like
superiority (sometimes). It’s the not-humbleness of Doctor Doom that puts
Batman in perspective. Batman’s evaluation of his abilities is matter-of-fact,
as is Doom’s, but Doom’s exhortations of his abilities are truth mixed with
speaking of himself in the third person and making sure everyone knows how easy
this is for him because he’s Doctor Doom and Doctor Doom is awesome.
If you were to ever
have a “’nuff said” style comic with a Doctor Doom/Batman team up, you could
accurately reflect their personality differences without words by simply having
Doctor Doom wear a Doctor Doom t-shirt.
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