Doctor Doom Once Switched Bodies With a Marvel Hero (Really)

Doctor Doom is often considered one of Marvel’s greatest villains, but one of his plans involved swapping bodies with an unlikely hero to defeat the Fantastic Four. Doctor Doom, born Victor Von Doom, is the ruler of Latveria, a country where his word is law and his will unchallenged. However, despite the monarch’s plans for further global conquest, he has lost to the Fantastic Four many times over the years.

Doctor Doom has challenged other heroes, such as Spider-Man, Iron-Man, and even Squirrel Girl, but lost to each and every one of them. Though Doom has proven to be a formidable foe over the years, due to his vast intellect and power over magic and the dark arts, sometimes even his plans aren’t well thought out. One of Doom’s more strange plots involved Daredevil, the “Man without Fear,” a blind attorney by day, vigilante by night, in his attempts to destroy the Fantastic Four, once and for all!

The story begins in Daredevil #35-36, where ol’ hornhead battles the Trapster (another of the Fantastic Four’s enemies), as the villain seeks to defeat easier prey than the FF and destroy Daredevil instead. However, Daredevil proves to be a more difficult opponent than Trapster predicted, and ultimately loses to the Man without Fear. However, the fight leaves Daredevil unconscious, leaving him vulnerable to Doctor Doom, who was waiting for his chance to subdue Daredevil himself. Daredevil #37 sees Doom manage to capture Daredevil after some resistance, and brings the hero to his Latverian Embassy (which, effectively, gives Doom authority to treat Daredevil as he sees fit) and makes him an unwilling prisoner. Doom then begins to mess with Daredevil’s senses, changing the room around him which, though Daredevil cannot see, affects his radar sense enough to confuse Daredevil. Eventually, Daredevil catches onto Doom’s tricks, but the villain has one more trick up his sleeve.

Eventually, Doctor Doom confronts Daredevil once more. Though it seemed that Daredevil had the advantage, Doom manages to lure him onto the exact space that would trap him in a body transfer capsule. Doom then reveals his plan to swap bodies with Daredevil, in an attempt to destroy the Fantastic Four by catching them off guard in the guise of their alleged friend. Doom then successfully swaps bodies with Daredevil, and then leaves him locked up in a cell, while proceeding towards the Baxter Building. Daredevil (as Doom) is initially overwhelmed by his ability to see once more, but quickly realizes that he needs to escape his current predicament. In a last ditch effort to escape, Daredevil calls out to Doom’s guards to free him from his prison, claiming that “Daredevil” got the better of him and left him to rot. Surprisingly, the guards (who were seemingly unaware of Doom’s plan) let “Doom” free, as our hero then orders them to track down and defeat Daredevil before he reaches the Baxter Building. “Doom” then decided to warn the FF about the impending attack by “Daredevil”, using the special frequency that only Daredevil (and other heroes) would know. With the team warned, Daredevil then plots on how best to reclaim his old body.

Meanwhile, Doom (as Daredevil) begins to walk through New York, and “learns” that Daredevil weakens his own sight in order to sharpen his own senses (evidenced by his tinted eye pieces). Though “Daredevil” encounters his own minions, the evil monarch quickly convinces them (with some brainwashing involved) that he is indeed the real Doctor Doom, and that “Doom” is actually Daredevil. “Doom” then has to fend off the real Doom’s own minions that, while initially difficult due to the heavy armor, he manages to overcome. Fortunately, a police officer nearby witnesses the fight, and helps arrest Doom’s minions, believing that the Monarch Doom would declare international war for this treatment in the United States. “Doom” then walks away from the scuffle, and finally figures out how to reclaim his old body back. “Doom” manages to catch up with “Daredevil,” and convinces him to listen in to a special radio frequency that, at a certain time, will cause Doom to forfeit his stolen body at once. Though skeptical, Doom listens in as Daredevil declares war against the neighboring countries of Latveria. Realizing that only he could undo such an incident, Doom returns to the embassy and, reluctantly, swaps bodies back with Daredevil. The monarch, back in his original body, decides to let Daredevil go, conceding defeat this time around.

While Doom would cause further trouble for Daredevil and the Fantastic Four afterwards (which the heroes would, time and again, overcome) this plot of Doom’s is really weak compared to other ones. For starters, how exactly was Doom going to overcome the Fantastic Four in Daredevil’s body in the first place? From an outside perspective, Daredevil just happens to be a really strong and nimble character, one without special powers or noteworthy features. Each member of the Fantastic Four would arguably give Daredevil a run for his money, so Doom (in a body that he would have little experience in) would almost certainly be defeated by the whole team, if not a member or two.

Doom’s plan may have actually worked, if not for the fact that he refused to tell his own minions of his plot, which led to Daredevil being freed, and ultimately cause Doom’s defeat. For all his power and authority, Doctor Doom fails due to his arrogance and overconfidence, which is why even someone as crafty as Daredevil can defeat him.