Doctor Doom doesn’t need a huge armored suit to make an impression. The mask, dark green outfit and long cloak do most of the work on this Hot Toys Victor Von Doom, and the wired fabric gives you a lot to play with before you even reach for the magic effects. This is the Avengers: Doomsday travel outfit, rather than the separate armored Doctor Doom figure.
I like how much attention has gone into what could have been a fairly simple release. There is detail beneath the helmet that most poses will hide, proper metal chain links across the chest and two different supports for the display base. The stiff outfit and awkward hood keep it from being an easy figure to pose, though. It looks good standing still; getting the fabric to follow the pose is where the work starts.
The Mask Does the Job
The helmet is simpler than the one on the armored Doom, with a rounded top, clean front and the familiar narrow eye openings. It has enough shape and detail to look threatening without needing extra armor around the shoulders. With the hood sitting low and the head tilted forward, the eyes become the part you notice first.
The silver finish isn’t a spotless chrome surface. Brown washes, speckling and small sculpted marks break it up, while the mouth area has a darker gunmetal colour. Raised lines and rivets continue around the sides and back, so removing the hood doesn’t leave you looking at a plain unfinished shell. There is a good amount of work here, even in places that will spend most of their time covered.
The eyes move separately, and that is a useful feature on a character whose expression is mostly hidden by a mask. A sideways glance can give the same standing pose a different feel. Getting the gaze right matters more here than it does on a figure with an open face and a changing mouth. The skin around the eyes has texture, painted eyelashes and a little redness, which helps it look like someone is actually wearing the helmet.
You do have to remove the helmet to reach the eye controls. There isn’t a complete unmasked Robert Downey Jr. head sculpt underneath it, and the set doesn’t include a separate one. That is worth knowing before assuming the helmet is hiding a second display option. The visible eyes alone aren’t enough to settle how closely the figure captures Downey’s likeness.
There is also a skin-toned neck beneath the helmet, with a chainmail-style pattern showing above the inner collar. Most hooded poses won’t reveal much of it, but I give Hot Toys credit for including it. When the head turns or looks upward, you see another layer of the costume rather than a blank connection.
There Is More Green Here Than the Photos Suggest
In a dark photo, this outfit can look almost black. The tunic, trousers and cloak are actually dark green, with differences in the fabric and finish that stop them blending into one solid shape. It is a good colour for Doom, particularly once the silver fittings and green effects are added.
The tunic has raised ribbing down the front and around the sleeves, darker panels and a split lower section with black fabric between the layers. The trouser seams add more detail below the belt. It is a fairly plain outfit compared with the armored version, but it doesn’t look like Hot Toys simply threw a green robe over a standard body and called it finished.
The belt is a fabric strap, with a silver plastic buckle and sculpted details that make it look fastened. The chest fittings have a bright metallic finish and darker washes in the recessed areas. The chain across them is metal, and those links catch the light differently from the fabric behind them. Little details like that make this Doom more interesting to look at up close.
The hands are a good size alongside the body. The gloved fingers aren’t oversized, and there is leather-grain texture, sculpted stitching and wrinkling beneath the silver armor. The darker wash brings out the edges of the plates without making the whole glove look dirty. They fit the costume well, which is something that can get overlooked when all the attention goes to the helmet.
The Cloak Looks Great. The Hood Takes Patience.
The cloak has a small hexagonal pattern on the outside and a lighter green lining. Letting a little of that lining show gives the display more colour than keeping the cloak pressed flat against the body. There are wires along the front edges and bottom, so you can have it hanging naturally or swept to one side around the figure.
That is probably the strongest part of the display. Doom doesn’t have to be in a huge action pose for the cloak to give him some movement. A small head turn, one hand raised and the fabric pulled away from the legs can do plenty. The folds also give the silver chain and fittings space to stand out.
The hood is less cooperative. It is lined, has stitched panels and a wire around its front edge, but there isn’t a wire over the top to hold that part down. It can ride too high or look too large unless you spend some time arranging it. I’d have liked a little more control there, because the position of the hood has a big effect on how good the mask looks.
Set the head and eyes first, then settle the hood around them. That should be easier than adjusting the gaze after getting all the folds where you want them. You can still make it sit well, but it isn’t one of those pieces of clothing that falls into the right position every time you touch it.
The chest clasp is magnetic, which gives you a way to detach the cloak without pulling everything over the helmet. Take care with the chain and the edges of the fabric while changing it. The wires are there to hold a shape, not to make every fold worth repeatedly bending back and forth.
Magic Effects and a Better Choice of Stand
There are eight gloved hands: fists, relaxed hands, power gestures and a pair with green and black krackle effects built around them. The effect hands are the most interesting of the bunch. The translucent green continues into the palms, with black shapes curling around the fingers and metallic paint on the armor.
Those hands suit Doom well. They give him something to do without hiding most of the outfit behind a huge accessory. The separate green flame effects fit onto the open hands and offer another choice, although they are more familiar shapes than the krackle parts. A pearly finish and darker green areas keep them from looking like plain clear plastic.
This isn’t a box overflowing with extras, but the ones included serve the figure. There is no unmasked head sculpt, extra costume or diorama throne to transform the display. The main choices come from the hands, effects and the way you arrange the cloak.
The hexagonal base has an Avengers: Doomsday logo, character nameplate and metallic artwork across the top. More useful than the decoration is the choice of two supports: a flight pole with a spring-loaded waist clamp, and a normal upright support that sits between the legs. Hot Toys should give us that choice more often.
For a standing pose, the upright support keeps a clamp away from the tunic and belt. The flight support is there if you want a raised display with the cloak moving around him. Keep the pressure of the waist clamp in mind when using that option. Supporting the figure is useful; pressing a mark into the fabric isn’t.
The Outfit Limits the Posing
Underneath the costume there is a decent amount of movement. The head uses joints at the neck and beneath the helmet, so it can look down, turn and tilt well when the hood is out of the way. The elbows bend beyond a right angle, the biceps turn and the wrists have the normal hinged, rotating pegs.
The fabric is the problem. It has a fairly firm structure and doesn’t stretch much, which limits how far the arms can lift and how freely the legs can move. The torso can bend and turn, but the padding, belt and tunic get in the way. You can get useful poses; this isn’t the figure for a deep crouch or a wide stance with the clothing staying perfectly tidy.
There was visible scuffing where the sleeve was pinched during the production sample’s elbow movement. I wouldn’t assume every figure will immediately mark, but I also wouldn’t ignore that result. Check the folds before bending the joint, and don’t force trapped fabric into the elbow just to gain a little more range.
The knee joints have a double bend, while the boots use separate lower sections with floating covers above them. Moving those covers upward gives the ankle more room, then they need to come back down to hide the gaps. The boots have sculpted grain, stitching, buckles and laces, but they are hard plastic rather than a seamless flexible design.
Ankle movement is still fairly limited. There is some forward and backward motion, rotation and a little tilt, but not enough to make every wide stance sit comfortably. That is disappointing when the cloak can do so much. The upper half of the display can look dramatic while the feet keep the lower half fairly restrained.
The best poses make use of the head, hands and cloak together. A controlled stance with one magic effect can look better than forcing the legs apart and struggling to make both boots meet the shelf. This Doom has plenty of presence without needing every joint pushed to its limit.
Doom’s Mask and Cloak Carry the Display
Victor Von Doom is a good example of a simpler costume still making a strong figure. The weathered helmet, moving eyes, dark green layers and metal chain all work together, and the wired cloak gives you a lot of control over the display. The effect hands are useful, and including both supports for the base is a welcome decision.
The hood needs more work than I’d like, and the stiff outfit makes the articulation look better on paper than it feels in the finished display. The sleeve scuffing on the sample is worth taking seriously. I’d rather keep a good-looking, comfortable pose than force more movement and risk marking the suit.
I’d give this version 8 out of 10. It looks like Doom, has some thoughtful details and doesn’t need a pile of extras to carry a shelf. The armored Doctor Doom figure is a separate release with a different costume and display options, rather than a Deluxe version of this set. If you’re deciding which look belongs in your collection, that difference matters. You can find more finished figures in Hot Toys Reviews.
A great mask, detailed green outfit and useful magic effects, with a fiddly hood and restricted posing.
