powerful characters in Marvel Comics who are superhuman aliens, Earth-born mutants, and literal gods. Yet Doctor Doom, someone who should have been deemed insignificant in the eyes of the cosmos, has time and again proven himself superior to them all.
Doom's inventions more impressive than practically anyone else's - and that’s just where he started. Beyond that, Doom has always found ways to harness otherworldly power, including those of even the strongest Marvel gods.
10 Doctor Doom Claimed Mjolnir & Wielded the Power of Thor
All-Out Avengers #2 by Derek Landy and Greg Land
When the Avengers were going up against an alien queen of a mysterious and sinister race capable of possessing, corrupting, and even splitting the souls of her victims, they are left with no choice but to go to the one man they knew could help: Doctor Doom. Doom actually fell victim to this cosmic creature, as his spirit was split in two. His 'good' half was separated from his 'bad', and while his 'bad' half served the queen, his 'good' half helped the Avengers.
That's actually why Doctor Doom was able to lift Mjolnir in the first place, as the version of him that was helping the Avengers was quite literally void of his normal amount of villainous treachery. Good thing, too, as this allowed Doctor Doom to claim Mjolnir and wield the power of a god.
9 Doctor Doom Harnessed the Magic of Dormammu
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 6 #18 by Al Ewing and Juan Frigeri
When Dormammu ventures from his Dark Dimension into the physical plane, he possesses Ego the Living Planet and launches an attack on the entire galaxy. This dark magic-fueled assault on the Marvel cosmos became known as the Last Annihilation, and could have led to the total destruction of Earth-616. However, Doctor Doom understood the scope of this threat, so he aligned himself with the Guardians of the Galaxy to take Dormammu down.
Doctor Doom also saw the threat of Dormammu as a perfect opportunity to siphon the demon-god's power. Doctor Doom cast a spell on Dormammu that effectively weaponized his own magic against him, and in doing so, Doom retained Dormammu's magic within his enchanted suit of armor - granting Doom access to god-tier power to use as he sees fit.
8 Doctor Doom Stole the Life Force from Scarlet Witch
Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #7 by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung
Following the events of M-Day, Scarlet Witch travels to Latveria and aligns herself with Doctor Doom, and before long, the two are engaged to be married. However, the main takeaway from their alliance wasn't their engagement, but rather their summoning and manipulation of the Life Force. The Life Force is the power of life itself in the Marvel Universe, allowing those who wield it untold magical abilities - and it became concentrated within the Scarlet Witch.
Scarlet Witch planned to use the Life Force to undo M-Day, but the power quickly became too much for her to bear. So, Doctor Doom - being her husband-to-be and all - offered to rid her of this overwhelming power. Doctor Doom siphoned the Scarlet Witch's Life Force into his own body, healing his physical appearance while also making him as powerful as a god.
7 Doctor Doom Siphoned the Cosmic Power of Aron the Watcher
Fantastic Four #373 by Tom DeFalco and Paul Ryan
A rogue Watcher named Aron is battling Molecule Man who is being controlled by the Puppet Master. Aron is a Watcher who rejected his race's oath to never interfere after he was inspired to do so by his uncle, Uatu, following Uatu's interference in "The Coming of Galactus". This battle alerted Doctor Doom to Aron's presence on Earth, as he could track the immense cosmic power being wielded by the Watcher.
Doom used his unparalleled tech to find Aron's exact location, before using another piece of tech to steal the Watcher's power for himself. The power of a Watcher is beyond human comprehension, which is why they've resigned themselves to merely watching the universe as opposed to playing a part in it. However, Doom was bound by no such oath, so Aron's power turned him into a cosmic god.
6 Doctor Doom Stole the Silver Surfer’s Surfboard & Wielded His Power Cosmic
Fantastic Four #57 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Only a few months after Galactus strands the Silver Surfer on Earth, Doctor Doom invites the Surfer to his kingdom in Latveria. Doom asks the Silver Surfer to display his awesome power, as well as explain the source of it. Silver Surfer, believing himself to be safe from any threat a mere mortal could pose, does what Doom wishes. All the while, Doctor Doom is pretending to be a benevolent leader, not the sinister super-villain he really is.
When the Silver Surfer's guard was down, and after Doom learned all he needed to know about the Power Cosmic, Doom strapped himself into a device of his own creation and stole the Power Cosmic from the Surfer - along with his surfboard. This made Doom stronger than he'd ever been before up until that point, as he wielded the power of a cosmic god.
5 Doctor Doom Took Odin’s Power for Himself (in an Alternate Reality)
Activision’s Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (2006)
Doctor Doom's lust for power isn't bound to Marvel Comics alone, but also other corners of the meta Marvel Multiverse - including video games. In the 2006 Activision video game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Doctor Doom steals the power of Odin (aka the Odinforce) and uses it to completely take over the world. Those Doom doesn't kill, he corrupts and transforms into his twisted puppets (including Colossus during one of the most badass cutscenes in video game history).
The heroes (who are chosen by the player) have to use power from both the M'Kraan Crystal and Galactus to stop 'Odinforce Doom', as he has quite literally become an all-powerful Marvel god. While it might not be Marvel Comics canon, this moment in Doctor Doom's history is certainly worthy of recognition among his other greatest feats.
4 Doctor Doom is the Marvel Universe’s Current Sorcerer Supreme
Blood Hunt #5 by Jed MacKay and Pepe Larraz
When vampires unleashed a cloud of Darkforce Energy big enough to encom the entire world, they were free to walk the Earth at all hours of the day, as the world was thrown into an eternal darkness. This forced Doctor Strange to turn to Doctor Doom for help. Doom knew a spell that would get rid of the Darkforce Energy, but he would only use it under one condition: Doctor Strange had to relinquish the title of Sorcerer Supreme to him - and Strange accepted Doom's .
Doctor Doom held up his end of the bargain, and he was integral to the vampires being defeated in the Blood Hunt event. However, since then, Doom has promised to reshape the world in his image, and he'll be using the near-unparalleled power of the Sorcerer Supreme to make that a reality.
3 Doctor Doom Stole Galactus’ Power Cosmic
Marvel 2-In-One #4 by Chip Zdarsky and Valerio Schiti
The Human Torch and the Thing travel to another universe in search of Reed Richards and Sue Storm, but they end up in the wrong one. However, while in this world, the two of the Fantastic Four learn a thing or two about this Earth's history, including how Galactus was prevented from consuming the planet. In this world, Reed Richards didn't stop Galactus with the Ultimate Nullifier. It was Doom who defeated Galactus, using a device of his own creation to take over the body of Galactus.
Doctor Doom effectively became Galactus in this universe, which proved to be more terrifying than anyone could have imagined. Doom left the Earth alone after vowing not to consume it, but the same was not true for the other planets, stars, and celestial bodies in the universe, as Doom literally "ate everything else".
2 Doctor Doom Harnessed the Power of the Beyonder
Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars by Jim Shooter and Michael Zeck
When a number of heroes and villains were abducted and brought to Battleworld by the Beyonder in the first Secret Wars event, Doctor Doom refused to see anyone other than the Beyonder himself as his enemy. Throughout the event, Doom tried to breach the veil between the physical plane and the realm of the Beyonders. Then, in the 10th issue, Doom was finally successful, though he was initially being utterly demolished by the Beyonder.
However, the Beyonder played right into Doom's hands, as he used Galactus' tech to build a device within his armor that could siphon the Beyonder's power. He just needed to get close to him for it to work. This resulted in Doom effectively becoming the most powerful being at that time - a god beyond the scope of the Marvel Universe.
1 Doctor Doom Became God Emperor Doom After Claiming the Power of the Beyonders
Secret Wars (2015) by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribić
2015's Secret Wars contained a number of shocking moments that fans are still blown away by nearly a decade later, which isn't surprising given that it's one of the best Marvel Comics crossover events in history. One of the biggest standouts was Doctor Doom himself, as he claims the title of God Emperor Doom after siphoning the power of all the Beyonders in existence.
Doctor Doom (along with Doctor Strange and Earth-616's Molecule Man) collected the Molecule Men from across the multiverse and 'detonated' all of them, directing that detonation directly at the Beyonders. This allowed Earth-616's Molecule Man to transfer the Beyonders' power into Doctor Doom, turning him God Emperor Doom - or, simply Doctor Doom's strongest god-tier form in Marvel Comics.