What Happened To Doctor Doom’s Face? His Mask Explained

Robert Downey Jr. has played one metal-visaged fellow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but in “Avengers: Doomsday,” he switches from his lengthy tenure as Tony “Iron Man” Stark to an opponent even more terrifying than Thanos: Victor von Doom, aka Doctor Doom. But what, exactly, happened to Doctor Doom’s face, and why does he need his metal mask? Watch Looper’s video above to find out.

If Doom’s comic history is anything to go by, Downey’s new mask may be a far more permanent fixture than his Iron Man face plate was, thanks to the villain’s infamous facial disfigurement. Victor von Doom’s metallic mask is iconic, but its purpose is out of necessity rather than personal stylistic choice.

Originally, Doom’s facial disfigurement was caused by a malfunctioning device that he built while studying at the university. This incident caused a great divide between himself and future Fantastic Four leader Reed Richards, who tried warning Doom of the device’s unreliability. Injured and insulted, Doom left to wander the Earth, eventually gaining a measure of temporary respite (and his now-iconic mask and armor) in the Himalayas.

Marvel Comics Of course, Doctor Doom has been around for a while and has evolved a lot over the years — which extends to his face. His facial scarring has gone from a laughably minor scratch to a deformity that even doctors find hard to witness. What’s more, he has gained and lost incredible powers quite a few times, which has occasionally involved a complete restructuring of his face.

Even the most powerful versions of Doctor Doom fall, though. Superhero comics love their status quo, and Doom inevitably defaults back to some version of his scarred, masked visage before long, to the point that you wonder why he ever bothers taking it off in the first place.

As Marvel Universe’s premier recipients of nasty facial injuries go, perhaps only Wolverine and other characters with a healing factor can challenge Doctor Doom. It remains to be seen how “Avengers: Endgame” intends to handle his origin — not to mention the extent of his facial scarring. It will definitely be hard for the MCU to keep a star of Robert Downey Jr.’s caliber locked inside a full-face mask throughout the movie, so there’s every chance that we’ll find out what his Doom truly looks like — especially if the theory about “Avengers: Doomsday” having two Doctor Dooms is correct. Until then, Looper’s video above will give you everything you need to know about the history of Doom’s fascinating face.