contact his mother is dangerous, and with Reed's help corrects the device's faults and learns of his mother's plight in Hell. As in the real world he seeks the hidden sect of monks, but now becomes a force for good known simply as Doom. He frees his mother from Hell, by magic and then liberates Latveria from Count Ruffalo, marrying his beloved Valeria shortly afterwards. However, the evil demon Mephisto, enraged at losing the soul of Doom's mother, traps the monarch's entire nation in a glass ball, saying he will free them if to replace his mother's soul, Doom chooses to give either Valeria's or his own. Doom agonizes over this choice, but his ambition and pride are still stronger than his love and he chooses Valeria. Though still a force for good in the years to come, Doom spends each Midsummer's Eve (as he did for his mother's soul in the regular universe) battling demons in exchange for Valeria's soul. In What If Doctor Doom Were Sorcerer Supreme? A young Victor Von Doom does not stay with the hidden sect of monks in the Himalayas but continues on to find the Ancient One. The Ancient One immediately sees Doom's vast potential and hopes that by taking him on as a student he can teach Doom humility and channel his talent away from evil. While using the hands of one of his robots to replace Stephen Strange's broken hands, Doom's fellow student Mordo is threatened by Doom's vastly superior talent and plans to kill off the competition. Doom easily turns the table on Mordo and plants a small bomb in his skull as insurance against further treachery. The Ancient One fears that Doom is growing into a dangerous power and so decides to conclude their relationship by taking Doom to Mephisto's realm to rescue Doom's mother. Later, Doom dies and transfers his memories into Stephen Strange. In What if Doctor Doom had Become the Thing?, Recounting his college days, Doom again listens to Reed when he tells him of the flaw in his machine and becomes Reed's friend after this, but in this reality he is simply using Reed to further his own goals. During the construction of Reed's rocket, Doom notices the flaw in the shielding, but tells no-one, instead creating armor to protect himself. However, the armor actually absorbs and amplifies the cosmic rays, turning Doom into the