Marvel Comics is turning Doctor Doom into a cosmic champion. Victor Von Doom has always been one of Marvel's most fascinating and powerful villains. He's a master of both science and sorcery, which means he's as capable of an enemy for the Fantastic Four as he is for Doctor Strange. What's more, there are absolutely no limits to his ambition; he's utterly convinced it is his destiny to rule the world, and he will go to any lengths to achieve this goal.

Doctor Doom has frequently been at the heart of some of Marvel's best cosmic stories. No sooner had he discovered the existence of the Power Cosmic than he was attempting to steal it from the Silver Surfer, and it didn't take him long to try to do the same with Galactus himself. When all of reality began to collapse in the Secret Wars event, he positioned himself as a Multiversal savior and claimed to be the god of Battleworld, the patchwork-quilt reality created from the fragments that survived. But now it seems Marvel is preparing Doctor Doom for a different role.

Related: Doctor Doom Is Joining The Guardians of the Galaxy

Doctor Doom may be irredeemable, but he is nonetheless being transformed into a cosmic champion. Marvel has already confirmed he will be the most unlikely addition imaginable to the Guardians of the Galaxy, but teasers for Marvel's summer 2021 event "The Last Annihilation" have gone further and suggested he will be one of Earth's foremost defenders as a devastating army sweeps across the universe. He'll apparently be dining with the leadership of SWORD when the Last Annihilation hits Earth, meaning he'll become part of Earth's first line of defense.

SWORD 7 Cover

While this is certainly a surprising development for Doctor Doom, it actually makes sense. Little is known about "The Last Annihilation" so far, but Marvel has teased this new invasion has been triggered by someone who has their own vision for how the universe should be run. And, as far as Doctor Doom is concerned, there is only one person equipped to dictate the terms of existence to the universe; Doom himself. What's more, if Doctor Doom felt the Earth was threatened, he would inevitably step in - and has done so before, in stories such as the "Onslaught" event. Doom wants to rule the world, which means he has a vested interest in stopping anyone else from destroying it.

So, strangely, there may be a new era for Doctor Doom in the Marvel Universe. He is moving from staple supervillain to cosmic champion, operating on a scale readers haven't seen since 2015's Secret Wars. It's going to be fascinating to see how he attempts to manipulate "The Last Annihilation" to his own advantage.

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