The Doctor Doom Easter Egg In Fantastic Four: First Steps, Explained

Spoilers for "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" follow.

"The Fantastic Four: First Steps" is the best Fantastic Four movie to date, but no "F4" movie is complete without one crucial character: the Four's nemesis, Doctor Victor von Doom. Doom has been absent from the "First Steps" marketing, but the movie does offer a sneak peek at him in its mid-credits scene. In an apparent set-up for "Avengers: Doomsday," Doom (who remains mostly unseen, but will be played by Robert Downey Jr.) teleports into the Baxter Building and introduces himself to young Franklin Richards.

But Doom's presence had been foreshadowed earlier. During "First Steps," Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) has founded a United Nations-like assembly called the Future Foundation. One seat is noticeably empty: the delegation for the Eastern-European country Latveria is nowhere to be seen. No, it's not a real country. Latveria is Doom's domain, and the previous "Fantastic Four" films have depicted him as a Latverian-American immigrant. In the comics, Doom rules Latveria. That's why the F4 can never throw him in jail no matter all the horrible things Doom has done to them; as the sovereign ruler of Latveria, Doom has diplomatic immunity from prosecution. Doom's genius and inventions also mean he can fight off any coup attempts or U.S. backed invasions.

Doom's animus is a burning hatred for his college rival, Reed Richards, supposedly because Reed sabotaged one of Doom's experiments, but really because Doom just can't stand that Reed is smarter than him. Assuming Doom is the ruler of Latveria in "First Steps" (and by extension, the Doom in the post-credits scene is the one from Earth-828), it makes total sense that Latveria would not participate in an organization founded by Richards' wife.

Now, anyone who calls themselves "Doctor Doom" can't be very nice, and Victor isn't. But as the ruler of Latveria, is he the malevolent tyrant you'd assume he is? That answer is not so simple.

Doom's very first appearance in 1962's "Fantastic Four" #5 (by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby) dispensed quickly with his origin. He was introduced as an old schoolmate of Reed Richards' who was seduced by the dark arts, but how he became Doctor Doom was left unsaid. He owned a castle, too, but there was no mention of him being a true monarch.

Lee & Kirby's full origin for Doom only came in 1964's "Fantastic Four Annual" #2. Victor von Doom was born to a poor Romani tribe in Latveria, which was then ruled by a cruel Baron. Doom's father Werner failed to save the Baron's terminally ill wife and froze to death trying to flee the Baron's troops. Victor later left to be educated in America, but we know how that turned out. After becoming Doctor Doom, Victor returned to Latveria and led the people in revolt against the Baron. (Lee/Kirby skipped over this, but Ed Brubaker and Pablo Raimondi's expanded 2005 origin "Books of Doom" turned the Latverian revolution into its climax.)

What is consistent is that Doom elevated Latveria from a backwater nation into a superpower. (He also renamed the nation's capital city Doomstadt.) Many Marvel writers have different opinions on who Doom truly is behind his mask, though, so how Doom treats his subjects and how they feel about him can vary. Lee & Kirby suggested that Doom's people respected him, but feared his tempestuous wrath too.

Marvel Comics

In "Fantastic Four" #57, a Latverian citizen bumps into Doom; Doom is ready to eviscerate the clumsy "clod," but cools his anger because he's trying to deceive the Silver Surfer into trusting him.

John Byrne's "Fantastic Four" offered the modern take on Doom as, in the words of Marvel.com, a "somewhat benevolent dictator." In an earlier story, "Fantastic Four" #200, the F4 helped depose Doom and put Zorba Fortunov — last surviving heir to the Latverian royal family — on the throne. When the F4 next visit Latveria in "Fantastic Four" #246-247, our heroes are stunned that Latveria has fallen into ruin under Zorba's ruthless but incompetent leadership, and the people want Doom back. The Doctor obliges them.

Doom may be an autocrat who restricts personal liberties, but he keeps his people safe and well-fed. He's like a stern father, while all of Latveria are his beloved children (almost literally with Kristoff Vernard, a Latverian orphan whom Doom takes as his ward). Many of the best Doctor Doom stories explore his leadership of Latveria — I hope that "Avengers: Doomsday," which looks to be a packed movie, doesn't leave this out.

"The Fantastic Four: First Steps" is playing in theaters.