What Marvel’s Doctor Doom Looks Like Under The Mask (Warning: It’s Disturbing)

Doctor Doom’s facial scarring has become one of the character’s hallmarks. It spawns his hatred for Reed Richards and, therefore, his many clashes with the Fantastic Four while giving a compelling reason for the use of his signature metal mask. However, when Doom’s backstory was still in development, Jack Kirby — the Marvel Comics icon behind the creation of various enduring elements of the Marvel Universe — wanted to take him, his injuries, and his mask-wearing in a different direction.

During an August 1992 interview, Kirby explained that he initially envisioned Doom’s perfectionism playing a bigger role in his origin story. “So what happens to Doctor Doom — who wasn’t even Doctor Doom at the time? He was just a chemist. He gets a cut on his chin! The perfectionist suddenly finds himself imperfect, small as that scar may be. So he can’t live with the rest of humanity,” the artist said. Thus, due to this one little scar, Doom feels grossly imperfect, prompting him to swear revenge on Richards and encase his face in a mask to hide the damage (via The Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center).

Had Kirby and the folks at Marvel gone in this direction, Doctor Doom would’ve been a vastly different character than the one we know today. Sure, Doom is a vain, self-obsessed person, but for him to become a supervillain all because of a small facial imperfection could’ve taken that vanity to a whole other, potentially comedic level. But as it stands, and as difficult on the eyes as it is, Doom’s extreme face scarring has worked wonders for him.

Doctor Doom’s facial scarring has become one of the character’s hallmarks. It spawns his hatred for Reed Richards and, therefore, his many clashes with the Fantastic Four while giving a compelling reason for the use of his signature metal mask. However, when Doom’s backstory was still in development, Jack Kirby — the Marvel Comics icon behind the creation of various enduring elements of the Marvel Universe — wanted to take him, his injuries, and his mask-wearing in a different direction.

During an August 1992 interview, Kirby explained that he initially envisioned Doom’s perfectionism playing a bigger role in his origin story. “So what happens to Doctor Doom — who wasn’t even Doctor Doom at the time? He was just a chemist. He gets a cut on his chin! The perfectionist suddenly finds himself imperfect, small as that scar may be. So he can’t live with the rest of humanity,” the artist said. Thus, due to this one little scar, Doom feels grossly imperfect, prompting him to swear revenge on Richards and encase his face in a mask to hide the damage (via The Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center).

Had Kirby and the folks at Marvel gone in this direction, Doctor Doom would’ve been a vastly different character than the one we know today. Sure, Doom is a vain, self-obsessed person, but for him to become a supervillain all because of a small facial imperfection could’ve taken that vanity to a whole other, potentially comedic level. But as it stands, and as difficult on the eyes as it is, Doom’s extreme face scarring has worked wonders for him.