Seeking Clarity: What is a Supervillain?

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Superheroes are often the pure forces of benevolence who strive to protect those weaker than them. However, the presence of superheroes always begets the rise of supervillains who stand to oppose them. These entities are constructs of malevolence who represent ideals that are the antithesis of superhero ideologies. However, the characteristics of a supervillain are shrouded in ambiguity and necessitate creation of a concrete and descriptive definition. There are particular criteria that are essential to the classification of supervillain. Among these standards is the ability to utilize superpowers, a display of high-level intelligence, a warped vision of the world, and a merciless tendency to do evil. In Iron Man: Legacy of Doom, Doctor Doom displays the aforementioned characteristics throughout the comic. In battling Iron Man and pursuing the power of Excalibur, Victor von Doom corroborates the features of a supervillain and represents them to their fullest extent.
Superpowers are necessary criteria when defining the primary characteristics of a supervillain. The superpowers define how the supervillain acts and where he or she will land on the spectrum of evil. Without a superpower element, the supervillain would be hindered in his battle against super heroism. Doctor Doom, in Iron Man: Legacy of Doom, equips several superhuman capabilities through the advent of technology and sorcery. As a man of genius level intellect, Victor von Doom is able to create and adapt technology to his will. For example, Doom swiftly reprograms a highly advanced time travel machine into a dimensional transporter as a means to reach Mephitso (Michelinie 16). This demonstrates his ability to create technology to augment physical and mental capabilitie...

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...ation of these features results in the genesis of a supervillain of the nature of Doctor Doom. In Iron Man: Legacy of Doom, Victor von Doom demonstrates the criteria defined for a supervillain. Throughout the comic book and by description of expert analysis, Doctor Doom fuses the standards of super villainy to achieve his motives and defeat his foes. By employing sorcery and intelligently crafted technology, Doom is able to accomplish the goals that satiate his warped worldview. Doctor Doom is characteristic of the notion of a supervillain due to his perceptions, powers, and personality.

Works Cited

"IGN's Top 100 Villains of All Time." Www.ign.com. IGN, 01 Jan. 2009. Web. 14 Feb. 2014. .
Layton, Bob and Michelinie, David [w] and Ron Lim [p]. Iron Man: Legacy of Doom. I. New York: Marvel Publishing. 2008. Print.

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