Ben Mendelsohn names Doctor Doom the best Marvel character, calls The Fantastic Four “lame”

Last Updated on August 4, 2023

It seems mostly everybody has a favorite comic book character. And that certainly doesn’t exclude those within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as actor Ben Mendelsohn, who plays the Skrull Talos on Disney+ series Secret Invasion – has selected his own pick. And no, it’s not Nick Fury – or even a hero, as Doctor Doom ranked as his #1 Marvel character, having made his first appearance in The Fantastic Four #5.

Speaking with The Wrap, Mendelsohn – who played Talos previously in Captain Marvel and in a Spider-Man: Far From Home cameo – cited exactly why he choose Doctor Doom as the best Marvel creation ever. “Victor von Doom is the greatest single character in the entire MCU, bar none. He’s the first character to ever have a substantive backstory that we could understand and that gives context in both the old traditional Cold War mind of state kind of idea and also as someone who really got disfigured, got his family taken from him and then takes all that, takes his skill, has the wounds, and has to wear the mask and continues on to do what he did.”

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He also took a direct jab at the likes of Mister Fantastic, Human Torch, Invisible Woman, and The Thing. “The Fantastic Four suck, right? Now, you can keep anyone else. Give me Doctor Doom against anyone because Victor suffers and you will now suffer, you know? That’s why it’s a no-brainer. Give me Victor Doom. Give me the success from that lame-ass group of, like, “Flame on!”

Marvel’s Doctor Doom has been depicted a handful of times on the big screen, most recently in 2015’s Fantastic Four reboot. But his portrayer, Toby Kebbell, has about as much respect for his performance as the rest of us, saying, “I’d eat a whole croque en bouche of placenta puffs rather than be asked if I would go back and be terrible as Doctor Doom again. ‘Hey, you were terrible as Doctor Doom. Would you go back and do it again?’ Eh, no.” So, no, this probably isn’t the version of Victor Von Doom that Ben Mendelsohn is praising. Certainly Doctor Doom is ready for the proper Marvel Cinematic Universe treatment – just don’t let Howard Stern near it.

Where does Doctor Doom rank in your list of favorite Marvel villains? Who should play him in his next iteration? Let us know below!