Marvel Select
Dr. Doom
Action Figure
When it comes to guys you love to hate, there are a variety of cool characters in fiction. You have Hannibal Lector in the movies and James Spader as a lawyer on television. In comics, and specifically Marvel Comics, you have the one and only Doctor Doom, long-time nemesis of the Fantastic Four. Now you can have a new version of him in toys as well!
Doom was once a very smart guy in college, but he tended to experiment (like many college students) and things didn't go well for him. An accident scarred his face, and the man just didn't take it very well. He never did finish college, so you have to wonder why he's a 'doctor', though the Doom part just comes from his name - Victor Von Doom.
Just like fellow college drop-out Bill Gates, Doom felt technology was the way to go. He designed and eventually built an armored suit to cover his face and give him enough power to rule the world. Sounds like Gates, except for the armor part, probably because he'd be beaten up every time Windows crashed in his suit!
When you give a smart kid like Doom some really powerful toys, he'll get into trouble. And over the last forty years or so he's been a thorn in the side of the Fantastic Four and just about every hero in the Marvel Universe. He's even managed to cause trouble in a few other universes along the way, so you know he gets around!
The armor has changed somewhat over the years, from looking a little silly at the start to being sleek, dangerous and just a little sexy. This particular version of the bad doctor is based on the artwork of Jim Lee during the Heroes Reborn saga at Marvel. Specifically you can see the same chalice and throne in Fantastic Four #5 (volume 2), and Doom's 'other throne' in the executive washroom of Castle Doom.
In case you missed it, or realize that comic book continuity is just really confusing, the Heroes Reborn saga was a very interesting concept. Many of the major heroes of the Marvel Universe were seemingly killed by Onslaught, a psionic being that was created from Professor Xavier and Magneto. Of course, few people really die in comics so there had to be an out, and Heroes Reborn was it.
Marvel relaunched several of their books (like Captain America and Fantastic Four) and placed them in a new universe (which was later revealed to be a pocket universe created by Franklin Richards). The really interesting part about it were the creators, guys like Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld who had quit Marvel years earlier to start Image comics. The results were some slightly different takes on familiar characters, though these versions would prove to be short-lived.
This action figure though, will probably outlast you since it's made of space-age polymers! Well, plastic anyway. There are actually several plastics used, and the main figure is done in very hard plastic while the skirt and cape are made from a pliable plastic. It is so pliable and rubbery that it can allow Doom to sit on his throne with the cape on, though he fits easier with it off. He just doesn't look as cool.
The elbow, thigh and knee joints are all done with a ratchet-like design so they click into place and this keeps the joints very tight (even a little tough to move at first). This just keeps the joints nice and tight. The left hand is removable and there is an extra one with a chalice of spirits so Doom can lunge around and get a buzz.
He also has a large throne with some symbols of Doom on it, including flags and many, many D's. And last, he carries a pistol with him in a holster on his belt. The gun does come out, just in case he would rather just shoot you (or he can rig it with sleeping gas).
Articulation:- Neck - limited ball-joint
- Shoulders - ball-joints
- Biceps - twists
- Elbows - hinges
- Wrists - twists
- Waist - twist
- Thighs - swivels
- Knees - hinges
- Ankles - hinges
This isn't the first, nor will it be the last, Dr. Doom figure. With a big-budget Fantastic Four movie due in the summer of 2005 starring Doom (and co-starring the other four people), there will be enough Doom to go around. However, this Marvel Select figure is a perfect rendition of Jim Lee's art and an awesome figure in its own right, with the perfect mix of sculpt and articulation. Well okay, a removable mask would have made it perfect, and aside from that, it's the best Doom figure out there.
The figure is 7-1/4 " tall, so it is taller than the Marvel Legends line, but it fits in pretty well with the Thing from that line. It fits in perfectly with the other figures in the Marvel Select line and Art Asylum's Star Trek line and Mezco's Hellboy line. He also looks pretty cool all by himself, silently brooding or scheming.
Sam Greenwell is the sculptor who turned Jim Lee's two dimensional art into a three dimensional action figure. Sam has been on of the go-to-guys for Marvel Select, and he's also sculpted the Ultimate Hulk, Ultimate Venom, Ultimate Wolverine, Ultimate Thor and the Classic Green Goblin figures. Upcoming figures from Marvel Select sculpted by Sam include Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus, Phoenix from the New X-Men. Dr. Doom was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee.
Marvel Select is a toy line being produced by Diamond Select Toys and Toy Biz. It has quietly been building an impressive library of characters with many from the Ultimate Marvel Universe. The figures are based on a 7" scale (7" is 6' in scale), and come with elaborate bases to enhance display.
The line started with Ultimate Spider-Man, then the Punisher, Elektra, Ultimate WW2 Captain America, Black Widow, Origin Wolverine, Black Cat, Ultimate Iron Man, Ultimate Hulk, Ultimate Venom, Ultimate Wolverine, Classic Green Goblin, Ultimate Thor and now Heroes Reborn Dr. Doom. Future figures will be Spider-Man and the redesigned Doctor Octopus, Phoenix from the New X-Men and Emma Frost.
More pictures of Dr. Doom
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