Victor Von Doom: Supervillain supreme, sympathetic devil, and inspiration for Darth Vader. He really is one of the greatest comic book victims of all time, even when he seems over-the-top and ludicrous. This is a guy who can laugh wildly while shooting lasers from his fingertips, fly a space-age pirate ship, summon the devil... or have a quiet moment filled with emotional gravitas. And if he seems poorly-written, then it was just one of his malfunctioning Doombots! As I said, good old Doom.
Marvel Select produced a Doctor Doom, and gave it one of the best possible accessories ever - a throne! Many toys come with terrain to stand on, but few have chairs. So I had to bring this guy home, barely a week before I packed up and moved to a new place. Am I mad? YES. BUT SO IS DOOM. AND YOU WOULD NOT DEIGN TO SPEAK AGAINST YOUR LORD AND MASTER.
PACKAGING: ***
Doctor Doom comes in a gigantic window blister package which takes up way too much space, but shows off the figure and its surroundings well. If you have collected many Marvel Select toys, the space might be an issue, but there is no denying that it is effective.
SCULPT: ****
This is a figure of Doctor Doom. There is no denying that Doom has had many other toys before, but how does this one stack up? It's odd - Doom's design is relatively simple and has remained absolutely constant through the years, and yet some toys wear it better than others. For this Doom, Marvel Select really went all-out in costume texturing. The cloth is often where a lot of figures go awry, but his tunic and cape are done very well, keeping that comic-book-like feel without looking simplistic or overly realistic. His hood lacks a traditional triangular point, instead falling realistically around his metal mask. Doctor Doom stands at about 8" tall, on par with other Marvel Select figures.
As for the metal parts of his sculpt, Doom is suposed to wear armor that makes him almost seem robotic. This figure handles that well by giving him metal plating and joints that are surprisingly form-fitting around the neck and joints. His face is also well-done, giving him that expressive Doom mask we all know and love.
PAINT: ****
Green and silver are, of course, the dominant Doom colors, as they have been for decades. His paint job is essentially simple, but Doom's color scheme is hard to get right on a toy. For one thing, this figure kept to a darker, almost earthier green that manages not to look too "comic-book-ish." They even added a black wash to fill in the details, and the resulting effect grounds the figure and makes it look great. The rest of his outfit is appropriate - Doom's armor is not going to be very scuffed, because he has servants to polish it for him.
Doctor Doom's accessories, such as his wine goblet or throne, are painted to the same high standard as the figure. I can almost believe, from the texturing of his chair cushions to the sculpt of the wine in his goblet, that these items are real, and that is extremely important. A lot of effort was put into his paint job, as befits one of the biggest supervillains of all time.
ARTICULATION: ***1/2
Doctor Doom has a ball-jointed head, ball-and-socket shoulders, hinged elbows, knees, and ankles, and swivel hips, wrists, biceps, and waist.
Marvel Select figures are generally known for poor articulation, or at least less movement than Marvel Legends figures. While it is true that Doom is less flexible than a Legends figure, he is actually pretty good.
The legs lack the ball-and-socket joints that we may be used to, but his tunic skirt would restrict them under even the best of circumstances. Instead, his strong swivel joints allow him to - miracle of miracles - actually sit in his throne! Well... sort of. His cape is kind of an issue, and hard to work around, but it can be done. He fits perfectly without the cape if it bothers you that much.
As for the rest of him, Doctor Doom is quite mobile. He can't take every pose imaginable, but he can certainly do enough for a fight or a pose with his wine goblet, and that's all we need.
ACCESSORIES: ****
Doctor Doom comes with a throne. A huge throne. Marvel Select figures gnerally come with a backdrop, stand, or piece of terrain, but a setpiece like this is just beyond nice. The texturing on his throne is fantastic and very Old World Europe, with the wood and padded sections looking absolutely appropriate. It stands on a stone dais with a red carpet, and is topped with a massive removable gold eagle. The eagle actually balances pretty precariously, but can be made to fit. Doom's throne is flanked with two red banners carrying his insignia - the banners are cardboard, so be careful with them!
Doom also comes with a spare hand. His left hand can be swapped for a flat palm or one carring a wine goblet, which is pretty awesome and well-detailed. Somehow, I can see Doom fighting while holding the wine. It is also a great way to reenact one of Dracula's Castlevania speeches.
Doctor Doom also comes with a pistol - a luger, I believe? It's funny how Doom always carries around a recognizable real-world sidearm, and yet he so often seems to be shooting lasers. Just look at Marvel Vs. Capcom! The pistol fits in his right hand a little loosely, but it also slides snugly into the holster at his hip.
And finally, his hood and cape are quite removable. The upside is that you can dress Doom down for a fight. The downside is that it has a tendency to ride up when he poses, as it does in many of these pictures.
VALUE: ****
At $25, this figure gives you way more than, say, a Masters of the Universe Classics toy, but for less cost!
THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR:
The flags next to Doom's throne are cardboard, and cardboard never lasts long.
WHERE TO BUY:
I found mine at a local comic shop. New stock, even. So it stands to reason that they can still be found at retail.
OVERALL: ****
I'll be honest, I got this for the throne. Well, at least at first. Doom in any form is a good idea for a toy. But I bought it for the throne. As it turns out, Doctor Doom ended up really impressive, and I am glad I have him - I might just integrate him into a random display somewhere because he is so awesome!
Buy it for the throne, keep it for the figure.
