Random thoughts: Doom’s armors

Just for the hell of it, let’s rank the armors of Doctor Doom from worst to best.
Based on, not necessarily in this order:
A) esthetics
B) the coolness factor
C) the lore behind a particular armor
D) how much this “looks like Doctor Doom”
E) personal preference

I will take into consideration both stories I’ve have reviewed and future ones, as well as the notable alternate reality versions.
This isn’t an exhaustive list, and I’m not taking into consideration the countless minor variations.
That should get us up to how many armors?
…
…
SEVENTY-SEVEN ???
…
…
Oh God what have I gotten myself into?

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77) the Fan4Stic Armor
Fantastic Four (2015)

WORST. DOOM. EVER.

76) the Angel Armor
Earth-X #0 (1999)

We don’t talk about Earth-X.

75) the Skeleton Armor
Guardians of the Galaxy (1992)

This is the 30th century Doom inhabiting Wolverine’s adamantium skeleton, because 90s.
Ranked higher than Earth -X because at least the backstory to this makes SOME sense.

74) the X-23 Armor
All-New Wolverine #33 (2018)

This version of Doom lost a world war. And his fashion sense I guess.

73) the Mecha Armor
Doom: The Emperor Returns #3

I still don’t get WTF was going on in this issue.

72) the Red Towel Armor
What If? #89

Which shockingly wasn’t called “What If Doctor Doom sucked at armor design”.

71) the Max Armor
U.S. War Machine #11 (2001)

Never read this series. Now I know why.

70) the Annihilating Armor
Fantastic Four v4 #15 (2013)

This thing is Doctor Doom fusing with Kang and Annihilus.
Apparently fusing three awesome villains turns them into crap.

69) the Ultimate Armor
Ultimate Fantastic Four (2004)

This version of Doom isn’t even named Doom but “Victor Van Damme” and has goat legs.
No, really.
One of the worst versions of Doom, but keep an eye on him because he has a MUCH better armor later.

68) the Rags Armor
Fantastic Four v6 #1 (2018)

Be thankful that when he decides to stop using technology he at least gets pants.
Let that sink in: Doctor Doom in underwear looks better than those I ranked lower.

67) the Vision Armor
Marvel Vision #6 (1996)

This is just a one page story concept, but it’s ugly enough to be mentioned.

66) the Doppelganger Armor
Silver Sable And The Wild Pack #5

Technically speaking this is not Doctor Doom but an alien parasite masquerading as him, but it’s just too ugly not to mention.

65) the Gala Armor
Hellfire Gala (2022)

This is what Doom wears when he wants to impress the planet at a party.
I don’t think he gets out often.
There WILL be a fancy party armor WAY higher than this one.

64) the Mad Max Armor
Doom #2

The lore really, REALLY helps this one.

63) the Good Gold Armor
What If? #11

This armor would actually be pretty awesome with a regular helmet, or even leaving Doom’s face visible. That thing on his head, however, is an atrocity.

62) the Nazi Armor
A-Next #10 (1999)

This is from an alternate reality when Doom is raised by Red Skull. It’s not nearly as interesting as that sounds.
The combination of not having a mask and sporting a giant D on his chest ruins it for me.

61) the Suspenders Armor
What If? #64 (1994)

This is from “What If Iron Man Went Public?”. I don’t get why that leads to Doom wearing this.

60) the Caliph Armor
Exiles v.3 #9 (2018)

This is from a “1,001 Arabian Nights” timeline.

59) the Skin Armor
Fantastic Four v3 #67

By far the most controversial armor in the list. I really enjoyed the storyline it’s from and lore behind it, but its look is just meh.

58), the Goblin Armor
Mutant X (1999)

I know next to nothing about this series, but Doom sports a truly awful mask.

57) the Doc Iron Armor
Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #25 (2007)

This won’t be the last Iron Man knockoff armor you’ll see in this list.

56) the Plague Armor
Marvel Universe Vs. Wolverine #3 (2011)

I haven’t read this one. Apparently this armor is how Doom survives a plague that turned humanity into cannibals. Which would’ve been the lesser evil than wearing this monstrosity.

55) the International Armor
2099 Unlimited #7 (1994)

This is from a virtual reality where Doom basically becomes Iron Man working for “Von Doom International”.

54) the Kristoff Armor Mark 2
A-Next #5 (1998)

In this reality, Kristoff becomes a good guy and a member of the Fantastic Five with an awful armor.

53) the Czerny Armor
Doom 2099 #21 (1994)

This is worn by an impostor thinking he’s Doom, but he does have his memories.

52) the End Armor
Fantastic Four: The End (2006)

But why four arms? Is it because he fights the Fantastic Four? That’s lame.

51) the Tribunal Armor
Doctor Doom #7 (2019)

Doom wears this one when he has to interrogate his men to see who has betrayed him.
Yeah I don’t get it either.

50) the 2099 Armor Mark 3
Doom 2099 #38 (1996)

I don’t mind the golden trim on the cape, but that is one of the worst Doom masks ever.
IT HAS LIPS.

49) the Edge Armor
Edge of Spider-Verse v2 #3 (2022)

Haven’t read this one. Looks badass if a bit busy, though.

48) Doctor Doomsday
Amalgam Comics

As if Doctor Doom wasn’t bad enough, this version has his intelligence AND his tech AND his magic AND the strength of Doomsday. How does ANYONE defeat this guy!?!?

47) the Juggernaut Armor
Heroes Reborn v.2 (2021)

I haven’t read this one either. Why is he wearing shorts?

46) the 2099 Omega Armor
Doom 2099 vol.2 (2019)

This alternate version of 2099 is vastly inferior to the original in many ways, including the Doctor Doom armor. It’s not a bad design, it’s just not Doomy enough to get any higher.

45) the Invincible Armor
Fantastic Four #287

Yeah that’s not a Doom armor, but he still makes it work.

44) the Stark Armor
Demon In An Armor

Not the last Stark armor in the list.

43) the Lion Skin Armor
Doom #1

As low tech as you can get, but man was that an awesome moment.

42) the Marquis Armor
Fantastic Four #569

This is what Doom wears when masquerading as the apprentice of the Marquis of Death, but he slaps the Doom mask on it at the end, so it counts.

41) the Cyborg Armor
Iron Man #250

As if Doom couldn’t make himself a better cyborg body. It’s a modification of the classic armor but way too busy for no reason.

40) the Lady Armor
Marvel Mangaverse #3 (2002)

This is actually the sister of Black Panther.
Yeah I don’t get it either.
But it looks Doom enough and doesn’t complicate the design too much… except those huge shoulders!

39) the Venom Armor
Venomverse #3 (2017)

There are two trends in Marvel: everyone eventually gets the Phoenix Force, and everyone eventually gets a Venom symbiote. Doom DOES get the Phoenix Force once, but it doesn’t change his looks.

38) the Too Many Buttons Armor
Age of Apocalypse

And what’s up with all those belts?

37) the Movie Armor
Fantastic Four (2005)

Bad adaptation. Passable armor.

36) the Road Trip Armor
Doctor Doom #5 (2019)

Doom wears this in a road trip with Kang. He’s not amused.

35) the Legacy Armor
Thor v5 #5 (2018)

This is a future version of Doom that has stockpiled all of Doctor Strange’s magic items AND the Spirit of Vengeance AND the Starbrand AND the Iron Fist. And he still couldn’t find a better looking armor?

34) the Golden President Armor
Captain America and Black Widow #636 (2012)

This won’t be the last armor in this list Doom wears as President of the United States.

33) the Strange Armor
What If? #52

Yeah he stole Doctor Strange’s look, but who wore it better?

32) the Doomworld Armor
Doomwar #3 (2010)

This is from a vision of the future where Doom has conquered the entire planet thanks to Vibranium.

31) the Dream Armor
Fantastic Four vol.3 #30

Easily the best low-tech non-magic armor.

30) the Galactus Armor
Marvel 2-In-One #4 (2018)

Just guess what this alternate version of Doom did.

29) the Doomwar armor
Doomwar (2010)

I’ll talk about this one during the Doomwar storyline. Note that he’s wearing this armor ABOVE his regular armor, so it being very bulky makes some sense.

28) the Destroyer Armor
Thor #605

Another armor that Doom wears ABOVE his armor.

27) the Hell Armor
Doctor Doom #2 (2019)

WAY cooler than any other magic armor. But one is higher on the list thanks to the lore, plus this one is a bit too busy.

26) the Kristoff Armor
Fantastic Four #278

It’s amazing what a difference the absence of the cowl makes.

25) the Beyonder Armor
Secret Wars #10

Not the last armor on the list that involves the Beyonder. Hurt by the lack of a cape but at least it has the cowl and a kickass backstory.

24) the M Armor
Fantastic Four: House of M

Technically speaking Doom IS the armor here.

23) the Beyonder Armor Mark 2
What If? Secret Wars

Now THAT is what you wear after stealing the Beyonder’s powers.

22) the Animated Armor
Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes (2006)

This is from a FF animated series that wasn’t very good, and its design for Doom was a significant departure from the original. But it’s not a bad stylized version.
Not the last armor from an animated series you’ll see on the list.

21) the Supreme Armor
Avengers/Hulk (2021)

This one’s reeeeally complicated. This is a Doom that became Sorcerer Supreme and time traveled to other timelines to defeat other Doctor Dooms. I’m not sure I’ll ever cover that storyline since it involves only alternate Dooms; it’s an absurdly convoluted mess from the Jason Aaron run on Avengers that I really didn’t care for.

20) the Adventure Armor
Iron Man: Armored Adventures (2011)

Now THIS is how you do an animated version of Doom that is stylistically different but still looks like Doom enough.

19) the Maestro Armor
Maestro: War and Pax #1 (2021)

We WILL eventually talk about this one, trust me.

18) the Original Armor
Fantastic Four #5

The lack of a cape REALLY hurts. It didn’t get too much screen time in the original story, but whenever a flashback goes there in modern times it always looks amazing.

17) the Crusade Armor
Avengers: The Children’s Crusade

Not the last “Doctor Doom with infinite power and white cloak” on the list. If only it had ANY sort of mask it would rank much higher.

16) the Hood Armor
Dark Reign: The Cabal

This is BARELY distinguishable from the classic version, but it sports the Hood’s magical hood.

15) the Future Knight Armor
Fantastic Four #501

A bit bulky, but otherwise not a bad variation. Very knightly.

14) the Infamous Armor
Infamous Iron Man (2016)

Doctor Doom replacing Iron Man in a series written by Bendis should not work, AT ALL, and yet… I still can’t believe how much I enjoyed that series AND how well Doom wears this armor.

13) the Foundation Armor
F.F. (2011)

This what Doom wears when he reluctantly joins the Future Foundation. The white cape and the absence of any color in the details, however, doesn’t help it stand out.

12) the Watcher Armor
Fantastic Four #375

See how much difference a bit of green can make?

11) the Silver Armor
Fantastic Four #350

This has its fans, but the lack of any explanation behind it AND the weirdness of having Doom’s eyes glowing red lowers it for me.

10) the Promethium Armor
Excalibur #39

Often confused with the Silver Armor, but I like this one better because of the lore.

9) the State Dinner Armor
Marvel Double Shot #2

The only thing to prevent this from getting any higher is that I just can’t imagine Doom wearing this into battle.

8) the Groom Armor
Fantastic Four v6 (2021)

This is what Doom decides to wear for his marriage. And I CAN believe he can fight with this.

7) the God Armor
Secret Wars (2015)

Also known as God Emperor Doom. BY FAR the most powerful version of Doom and one of the most complex. Visually VERY close to the other white armors, but the lore helps its rank.

6) the 2099 Armor Mark 1
Doom 2099 #1 (1993)

A huge departure from the classic but with his own style. The fact that I really, REALLY liked the part of the run where he wears this one helps.

Its weak spot is that you can NEVER see Doom’s eyes. But on the other side… this armor is TERRIFYING in the shadows.

5) Alliance Armor
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order (2019)

Haven’t played this game, but that’s not a bad rendition.

4) the Excalibur Armor
Legacy of Doom

Black goes with everything.

3) the Presidential Armor
Doom 2099 #25 (1995)

A drastic departure from the classic ranking this high?
Yes: it screams presence and authority, plus the Doom that wears this armor is very, VERY close to being my favorite version of Doom of all time.
All the advantages of the original 2099 armor, plus in this version you can see the eyes (most of the time).

#2) the Ultimate Winter Armor
Ultimate Fantastic Four #30 (2006)

Told you the Ultimate version had a vastly superior armor! Granted, this is just the classic one with a bit of fur on the coat, but it works sooooo well. To the point that the regular Doom sometimes wears this variant.

#1) the Santa Armor
What The? #10

 

Just kidding. OF COURSE you know what #1 is.

#1) the Classic Armor
Fantastic Four #6

‘Nuff Said.