With the Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection game around the corner -- I was tempted to visit one of the most popular villains ever. Yes, I'm talking about Doctor Doom who was first introduced as the recurring enemy of the Fantastic Four. However, as time passed, Doctor Doom became more and more distanced from his most recurring foes. That would be a peculiar thing since Doctor Doom's backstory starts with the Fantastic Four, having met Reed Richards in COLLEGE, and had a rivalry ever since. How did Doctor Doom become more popular than the Fantastic Four?
The answer may lie with the Spider-Man franchise. Spider-Man may be more popular than the Fantastic Four. I'm no avid comic book reader because of the overdoing of retroactive continuity. However, in the 1960s, Spider-Man would also clash with Doctor Doom. Doctor Doom also fought with other more popular villains like the Avengers, Hulk, She-Hulk, and the Uncanny X-Men. Having fought with several superheroes BETTER than the Fantastic Four might be the boost he needed!
Toei had the liberty to use the Marvel license for a time -- all before Haim Saban got it. Toei's Spider-Man TV series was loosely based on the actual Spider-Man. It meant Toei could do what it wanted at a certain limit. Professor Monster was obviously a tribute to Doctor Doom -- even if the villain was an extraterrestrial. The show was in 1978 -- back when Toei decided to test the waters for a Megazord. Battle Fever J would become the first Super Sentai series with a giant Megazord. Megazords became a staple for Super Sentai -- something Toei and Saban took advantage of when Power Rangers hit the West became a smash hit during the 1990s.
Doctor Doom would resume his fights with the Fantastic Four in Saban's Marvel adaptations. Saban probably didn't want to use Doctor Doom because of Toei's blatant usage of Doctor Doom. Another reason might be because Doctor Doom had become Spider-Man's recurring enemy in Spider-Man (1981) and Saban wanted a unique direction with Marvel. Instead, Saban made the Kingpin the main villain in the Spider-Man (1994) cartoon while Doctor Doom was the recurring villain in the Fantastic Four segment of the Marvel Action Hour. Doctor Doom only appeared much later in the Spider-Man (1994) TV series.
The video games gave room for more conflict between Spider-Man and Doctor Doom. Some Spider-Man arcade games featured Doctor Doom as the main antagonist -- sometime after Toei's strange Spider-Man localization. Doctor Doom was also prevalent in the Marvel vs. Capcom series. Marvel Super Heroes featured Doctor Doom as a notoriously cheating sub-boss with good keepaway tactics. One must wonder where in the world was the Fantastic Four? It seems Doctor Doom got more popular fighting SPIDER-MAN. Spider-Man was among the 10 main characters one can choose. Of course, there's also the infamous Fantastic Four game -- something that probably caused Doctor Doom to be associated with other superheroes instead.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance made Doctor Doom the MAIN VILLAIN. The Fantastic Four are once again pushed into the background. The beginning scene has Captain America, Wolverine, Thor, and Spider-Man battling Doctor Doom's forces -- all popular characters! It gets even more interesting that Doctor Doom created corrupted versions of the Fantastic Four BUT the Fantastic Four aren't the heroes of the game. What gives? Was that plot meant to insult the Fantastic Four and that Doctor Doom is truly more popular than them? I didn't care too much about that because I wasn't a huge fan of the Fantastic Four. Doctor Doom also became the main antagonist of Marvel Superhero Squad. Once again, Doctor Doom gets more limelight when he's fighting OTHER HEROES than the Fantastic Four.
Could it be marketing of the Fantastic Four was bad? Could it be that the clash of Doctor Doom and the Fantastic Four was a failed experiment to learn from? I can't be sure why it happened. What I realize is that Doctor Doom seems to get more popular than the Fantastic Four. Maybe today, Doctor Doom would probably be more remembered for fighting his other more popular foes than the Fantastic Four!
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