What is Doctor Doom’s IQ?
A time machine in 1962, the Silver Surfer’s power stolen in 1966, the Sorcerer Supreme’s title taken in 2024: Doom’s feats are documented. The fan-listed IQ of about 198 is not.
No comic, reference page or test we could read gives Doctor Doom an IQ. The ~198 that circulates for him is a fan figure, the “616” in “dr doom iq 616” is Earth-616, Marvel’s main continuity, not a score, and this site’s estimated IQ level for Victor von Doom as written is 185–205, just under Reed Richards’s 190–210.
Doctor Doom’s estimated IQ
- Wikipedia’s account of Reed Richards has Doom meeting in Reed, at Empire State University, his first intellectual match, and its Doctor Doom article says he spent his life mastering both science and sorcery.
- Wikipedia credits the time machine in The Fantastic Four #5 (cover-dated July 1962) with establishing time travel as a recurring Marvel device; in issue #10 (January 1963) he swaps bodies with Reed using alien Ovoid knowledge, and in issues #57–60 (1966–67) he steals the Silver Surfer’s power.
- In Secret Wars (2015) he and Doctor Strange build Battleworld from the wreckage of the multiverse and Doom rules it as a self-declared god; per Wikipedia, Latveria’s economy depends on his high-tech inventions.
- Tibetan monks trained him in magic and Morgan le Fay later strengthened it; he placed second in the Aged Genghis’s magic tournament and took the Sorcerer Supreme title from Doctor Strange in Blood Hunt (2024).
- The limits are written in: the machine that scarred him failed on a flaw Reed had warned him about, Reed tricks him with worthless chains in Fantastic Four #5, and in “Endangered Species” Doom admits he lacks talent in genetics.
This range rates a portrayal, not a person: Doom is as brilliant as each writer needs, and comics journalists split on who is smarter (Screen Rant says Reed regularly outsmarts him; Comicbook.com lists Doom among seven characters it says are smarter than Reed). Reports of scores much above 160 are considered dubious even for real people, so a fictional range this high describes authorial intent, not a score.
- First appearance
- The Fantastic Four #5, cover-dated July 1962
- Created by
- Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
- Full name
- Victor Werner von Doom
- Role
- Monarch of Latveria; scientist and sorcerer; archenemy of the Fantastic Four
- Education and training
- Scholarship to Empire State University; magic learned from monks in Tibet
- Continuity
- Earth-616, the main Marvel continuity; the Ultimate version (Earth-1610) is Victor Van Damme
- Played on screen by
- Julian McMahon (2005, 2007), Toby Kebbell (2015), Robert Downey Jr. (2025 onward)
- Canonical IQ
- None found for the main-continuity character; about 198 circulates as a fan figure
What an IQ of 185–205 actually means
Set the claim aside for a moment. If someone genuinely scored in this range, here is what that would represent.
Average is 100 by construction, and about two-thirds of people fall between 85 and 115. Take the test to place your own score on this scale.
| Score range | Classification | Share of people | What it indicates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 85 – 114 | Average | ~68% | The range most people fall into. |
| 115 – 129 | Above average | ~13.6% | Roughly one person in seven. |
| 130 – 144 | Gifted | ~2% | The threshold most high-IQ societies use. |
| Above 144 | Highly gifted | ~0.1% | Figures above this range are extrapolated from the curve rather than measured. |
Percentages are approximate and describe a normal distribution. The same number means different things on tests with different standard deviations.
Thirty questions gives you a measured position on this exact scale — your score, your percentile and the ability breakdown behind it.
Find out in 30 minutes →Who Doctor Doom is
Doctor Doom is a Marvel Comics supervillain created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. He first appears in The Fantastic Four #5, cover-dated July 1962, and gets his full origin in Fantastic Four Annual #2 (1964), where, per Wikipedia’s Latveria article, his country first appears. Victor Werner von Doom is its monarch. In Wikipedia’s account of his origin he wins a scholarship to Empire State University, where he meets Reed Richards; builds a machine to enter hell and rescue his mother; miscalculates, and is scarred when it explodes; and travels to Tibet, where monks help him forge the iron mask that bonds to his face, before taking Latveria in a revolution. In released films he has been played by Julian McMahon (2005, 2007), Toby Kebbell (2015) and Robert Downey Jr., who appears as Doom in the mid-credits scene of The Fantastic Four: First Steps (July 25, 2025) and leads the cast of Avengers: Doomsday, which Disney lists for December 18, 2026.
The documented science is specific. Doom’s time machine debuts in that first issue, sending the Fantastic Four back to the era of the pirate Blackbeard, and Wikipedia credits it with establishing time travel as a recurring device in Marvel comics. In Fantastic Four #10 (January 1963) he uses knowledge from the alien Ovoids to swap bodies with Reed, and in issues #57–60 (December 1966 to March 1967) he steals the Silver Surfer’s power. Latveria’s economy depends on his high-tech inventions and his Doombots keep order there. In Secret Wars (2015) he and Doctor Strange build the planet Battleworld from the wreckage of the multiverse, which he rules as a self-declared god until Reed and other survivors restore it. The limits are recorded too: in the X-Men story “Endangered Species” he turns down a request from Beast and admits he lacks talent in genetics, and in FF #1 (2011) Valeria Richards offers to restore part of his damaged mind.
Sorcery is the other half of the character. Tibetan monks train him first and his lover Morgan le Fay later strengthens his magic; he placed second in the Aged Genghis’s magic tournament; Doctor Strange acknowledged his potential to become Sorcerer Supreme; and in Blood Hunt (2024) he takes the title, which leads into One World Under Doom (2025, Ryan North and R.B. Silva), a crossover in which he governs the planet. The recurring flaw is pride. Wikipedia says Stan Lee’s writing typically showed Doom’s arrogance as his constant downfall, and John Byrne’s later addition has him donning the newly forged mask before it had cooled, so that his own haste turned a small scar into ruin. It is a good illustration of why smart people make bad decisions, and of why one number cannot summarize him.
Placed against the fictional peers on this site, 185–205 puts Doom in the top tier: five points under Reed Richards (190–210) at each end, five above Lex Luthor (180–200), whom Wikipedia compares with Doom for their similar ambition and intellect, and below Rick Sanchez (195–215), the other supergenius here with a circulating number. As for why he sits just under Reed, the stories are the reason. Doom is written as Reed’s only real peer and adds sorcery and a state to run, but the decisive contests keep going Reed’s way: Reed warned him about the flaw that scarred him, tricks him with worthless chains in Fantastic Four #5, and at the end of Secret Wars sees Doom acknowledge that Reed would have made the better God. Where Doom does come out ahead, it can be by exploiting Reed’s habits, as in Fantastic Four #2 (2025, Ryan North and Humberto Ramos), where SuperHeroHype has Doom using Reed’s need to prove his intelligence. None of that is a genius IQ level; it is a portrayal.
By Elora Mercer, Celebrity Research WriterFigures checked by Leon Falkner, Data & Research AnalystReviewed by Aarav Vardhan, Editor-in-Chief · Last reviewed August 2026
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Doctor Doom: the documented record
The estimate above rests on this record. Every entry here is a matter of public fact, which is more than can be said for the number itself.
- 1962The Fantastic Four #5, cover-dated July 1962, introduces Doctor Doom and his time machine (Stan Lee and Jack Kirby).
- 1963Fantastic Four #10 (January 1963): Doom swaps bodies with Reed Richards using knowledge from the alien Ovoids.
- 1964Fantastic Four Annual #2 gives Doom his full origin and, per Wikipedia, first shows Latveria.
- 1966–1967Fantastic Four #57–60 (December 1966 to March 1967): Doom steals the Silver Surfer’s power.
- 1981In an August 1981 Iron Man story, Tony Stark thwarts Doom’s time-travel plan to enlist Morgan le Fay.
- 2003–2006“Unthinkable” (2003–2004) turns Doom toward sorcery; Ed Brubaker’s Books of Doom (2005–2006) retells his origin.
- 2005–2007Julian McMahon plays Doom in Fantastic Four (July 8, 2005) and Rise of the Silver Surfer (June 15, 2007).
- 2015Secret Wars: Doom and Doctor Strange build Battleworld; Reed and other survivors restore the multiverse. Toby Kebbell plays Doom in Fantastic Four (August 7).
- 2024Doom takes the Sorcerer Supreme title in Blood Hunt; in July, Marvel announces Robert Downey Jr. as Doom for Avengers: Doomsday.
- 2025–2026One World Under Doom (2025) has Doom govern the planet; Downey appears as Doom in The Fantastic Four: First Steps (July 25, 2025); Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled for December 18, 2026.
Where the 198 figure came from
Following a claim back to its first appearance is the part almost nobody does — and it is what most people are actually asking.
Doctor Doom’s IQ is not a number that any comic, reference page or test we could read gives for the character. The figure that circulates is about 198, which iq-test-official.site prints beside “Victor Von Doom” with Reed Richards at about 267 and Tony Stark at 270+, all labelled fan or wiki estimates, and which no page we could open ties to an issue, a Handbook entry or a test. Pages headed “What is Dr. Doom’s IQ?” also rank in search results but returned HTTP 403 to us. It is the pattern our note on where celebrity IQ numbers come from describes for fictional characters generally.
The neighboring number has a documented home. Reed’s 267 belongs to the Ultimate universe: in Ultimate Marvel’s Earth-1610 Reed Richards is a child prodigy, and Wikipedia’s article on the Maker, the villain he became, gives an IQ of at least 267 at 16 and cites Ultimate Fantastic Four #4 (May 2004). That world has its own Doctor Doom, Victor Van Damme, a fellow student of Reed’s at a think tank in the Baxter Building who, Wikipedia says, sees science as an art where Reed sees a system and reprograms the teleporter at the last minute because he is sure Reed’s coordinates are wrong, an inversion of the main-continuity origin, in which Reed spots the flaw. No source we opened says which Doom the 198 belongs to. A search limited to the Marvel Database appears to show “an IQ of 198” on the Van Damme entry, but the wiki is closed to us (Fandom, HTTP 402), so treat that as a lead seen only in a search result, not a citation.
The “616” in “dr doom iq 616” is not a score either. Earth-616 is the designation for Marvel’s main continuity, first used in a 1983 Captain Britain story in Marvel UK’s The Daredevils, and Wikidata lists Doctor Doom’s narrative universe as Earth-616. The Marvel Cinematic Universe uses the label too, and the premise of Avengers: Doomsday sorts its heroes into Earth-616, Earth-828 and Earth-10005, so the searcher is asking about the mainstream Victor von Doom of Latveria, for whom no page we read gives a sourced number. As for 198 itself, it is not absurd on its face, but on the usual scale it lies about 6.5 standard deviations above average, where the IQ ceiling effect means no test can separate people, and Wikipedia notes that reports of scores much higher than 160 are considered dubious.
The versus queries fail for the same reason. The fan ranking puts Doom at about 198 against Reed Richards at about 267 and Tony Stark at 270+, gaps of roughly 70 points that no test produced. What the stories show is closer. Wikipedia’s account of Reed says Doom found in him his first intellectual match; Screen Rant (Spencer Connolly, January 2, 2024) calls Reed’s intellect matched only by Doom’s while adding that Reed regularly outsmarts him; Comicbook.com (David Harth, June 4, 2025) lists Doom among seven characters it says are smarter than Reed. Against Tony, Wikipedia records an August 1981 Iron Man story in which Tony thwarts Doom’s time-travel plan, and Screen Rant (February 21, 2022) reads Iron Man #17, where Tony has shared his intellect with those around him, as Marvel turning to Doom as the one mind left unaffected. Each is a writer’s choice, not a score.
How we read a number →Doctor Doom: creators, the July 1962 debut and 1964 origin; the Empire State University scholarship, the machine, Tibet and the mask; the issues used here (#10, #57–60, “Endangered Species”, FF #1 of 2011, Secret Wars, Blood Hunt, One World Under Doom); the time machine; magic training, the Aged Genghis tournament and the Sorcerer Supreme title; Lee’s arrogance theme, Byrne’s mask detail, the Luthor comparison and the August 1981 Iron Man story. The infobox lists genius-level intellect; no IQ appears. Mister Fantastic: Doom meets in Reed his first intellectual match. Latveria: first appears in Annual #2; economy depends on Doom’s inventions.
Ultimate Fantastic Four: Victor Van Damme, the Ultimate Doom, sees science as an art and Reed’s view as a system, and reprograms the teleporter believing Reed’s coordinates wrong. Maker: Earth-1610 Reed Richards, “a genius with an IQ of at least 267 at age 16”, citing Ultimate Fantastic Four #4 (May 2004). Ultimate Universe: Earth-1610 is the original Ultimate world. Multiverse: Earth-616 is the main continuity, first so designated in The Daredevils #7 (1983), and the film universe’s internal name; in Secret Wars Doom acknowledges Reed would have done better as God.
Label “Doctor Doom”, description “fictional character in Marvel Comics”; instance of comics character and fictional human, among others; creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby; from narrative universe Earth-616. Separate items exist for Victor von Doom in the 2005 film and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so this one is the comics character.
Doom played by McMahon (2005, 2007), Kebbell (2015) and Downey (mid-credits scene of First Steps, released July 25, 2025); releases July 8, 2005, June 15, 2007 and August 7, 2015. Doomsday: casting announced July 2024; filming April 28 to September 19, 2025; scheduled for December 18, 2026; heroes from Earth-616, Earth-828 and Earth-10005.
Lists a release date of December 18, 2026, directors Anthony and Joe Russo, and Robert Downey Jr. as Victor von Doom / Doctor Doom; read on September 24, 2026, when the film was still unreleased.
Connolly: Reed’s intellect is matched only by Doom’s, though Reed regularly outsmarts him. Cacciatore: preview of Iron Man #17 (2022, Christopher Cantwell), in which Hellcat turns to Doom as the one person unaffected by Tony’s shared intellect. Morrison: Fantastic Four #2 (2025, Ryan North, Humberto Ramos), Doom exploiting Reed’s need to prove his intelligence. None gives an IQ figure.
Lists Doctor Doom among seven characters it says are smarter than Reed Richards; its Doom entry says Marvel has gone out of its way to show that Reed is smarter, then calls that hard to prove. No IQ figure is given for Doom.
Colbert (citing Fantastic Four Annual #2, 1964) and Pishny agree that Reed found flaws in Victor’s machine and warned him, and that Victor, too proud to listen, was scarred when it exploded. Cronin: the first of Doom’s mind swaps is Fantastic Four #10. None gives an IQ.
Prints about 198 for Victor Von Doom, about 267 for Reed Richards (fan/wiki) and 270+ for Tony Stark (fan estimate); states that no fictional character has ever sat an exam and that every number was invented by a writer, a wiki editor or a fan. Cites no issue, handbook or test.
Checked: Wikipedia’s articles on Doctor Doom, Mister Fantastic, Latveria and the films, the journalism above, and check-iq.org’s Reed Richards page, which neither mentions nor links to Doom (the Doom addresses we tried returned 404). None gives the main-continuity Doom an IQ or states 616 as one. The Official Handbook’s power-grid ratings for Doom and Reed could not be read: the wikis that transcribe them are on Fandom (HTTP 402), the archive.org scans are lending-library items (HTTP 401) and Marvel.com refused our requests (HTTP 403), so no Handbook number is stated. We could not read the comics either; issue references come from Wikipedia and comics journalism.
The sources behind our estimate
The figures that circulate for Doctor Doom, what we were able to confirm, and where the two diverge.
An IQ of about 198 is printed for Victor Von Doom on iq-test-official.site’s “Smartest Marvel Characters Ranked by IQ”, beside Reed Richards at about 267 and Tony Stark at 270+. Each is labelled a fan or wiki estimate, and the page says every number was invented by a writer, a wiki editor or a fan. Pages headed “What is Dr. Doom’s IQ?” also appear in searches but refused our requests (HTTP 403). Searches add “616”, which is not a score.
No page we could read gives the main-continuity Doctor Doom an IQ. Wikipedia’s article on the character lists genius-level intellect in its infobox and calls him a scientific genius and a sorcerer, but never mentions an IQ. check-iq.org, which prints Reed at 267, has no Doom page at the addresses we tried (404), and its Reed page neither mentions nor links to him. One lead is unconfirmed: a search limited to the Marvel Database appears to show “an IQ of 198” on its entry for the Ultimate universe’s Victor Van Damme, but that wiki is closed to us (Fandom, HTTP 402), so we saw the wording only in a search result. The Handbook’s Intelligence ratings could not be read either, so none is stated.
Unlike most circulating figures on this site, 198 falls inside the range, seven points under the top. That is not confirmation. On the usual scale (mean 100, standard deviation 15) it is about 6.5 standard deviations above average, roughly 1 in 30 billion on a normal curve, beyond what any test can measure, and no source we could open ties it to the main-continuity Doom. What misleads is its gap with Reed’s 267: that number comes from the Ultimate universe (Earth-1610) per Wikipedia’s Maker article, and no source we opened says which universe the 198 belongs to, so the gap of about 70 points may compare different characters.
Want a number that does hold up? Every figure on this page is somebody’s claim. Take the 30-question test and get a percentile you can check rather than a figure you have to trust.
Doctor Doom — frequently asked
What is Doctor Doom’s IQ?
Doctor Doom has no IQ that any comic, reference page or test we could read documents; this site’s estimate for the character as written is 185–205. iq-test-official.site prints about 198 and labels it a fan figure, and no source we opened ties it to an issue, a Handbook entry or a test.
What is Doctor Doom’s IQ level in the comics?
No page we read reports an IQ from the comics. What they show is a scientific genius and sorcerer: a time machine in Fantastic Four #5 (1962), the Silver Surfer’s power stolen in issues #57–60, and the Sorcerer Supreme title in Blood Hunt (2024). Those are feats of writing, not test results.
Where does the Doctor Doom IQ of 198 come from?
The only page we could open that prints it is iq-test-official.site, which lists about 198 for Victor Von Doom as a fan figure and says every number in its ranking was invented by a writer, a wiki editor or a fan. No source we opened ties it to an issue, a Handbook entry or a test.
What does “Dr. Doom IQ 616” mean?
It is not a score. Earth-616 is Marvel’s designation for its main continuity, first used in a 1983 Captain Britain story, so the search is asking about the mainstream Victor von Doom rather than the Ultimate Van Damme. No page we read gives 616 as anyone’s IQ.
Doctor Doom IQ vs Reed Richards: who is smarter?
No sourced number settles it. A fan ranking gives Reed about 267 and Doom about 198; Wikipedia places Reed’s 267 in the Ultimate universe, and no source we opened says where the 198 belongs. Screen Rant says Reed regularly outsmarts Doom while calling Doom his only match; this site rates Doom 185–205 and Reed 190–210, so the ranges overlap.
Doctor Doom IQ vs Tony Stark: who is smarter?
No sourced IQ settles it. A fan ranking prints Tony at 270+ and Doom at about 198. In the comics, Tony thwarts Doom’s time-travel plan in an August 1981 Iron Man story, while Screen Rant reads Iron Man #17 (2022) as turning to Doom as the one mind unaffected by Tony’s shared intellect.
Is Doctor Doom a genius?
Within the stories, yes: Wikipedia calls him a scientific genius and a sorcerer, and its account of Reed Richards has Doom meeting in Reed his first intellectual match. That is not a specific IQ; this site’s 185–205 estimate rates the portrayal, not a measurement.
Who plays Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday?
Robert Downey Jr. plays Victor von Doom / Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and scheduled for December 18, 2026. He first appeared as Doom in the mid-credits scene of The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025); Julian McMahon and Toby Kebbell played earlier film versions.
How does my IQ compare with Doctor Doom?
You can find out in about fifteen minutes. The IQ Metrics assessment is 30 questions, scored on the same 100-mean scale used throughout this page, so your result and the estimate above are at least expressed in the same units — one measured, one inferred. Once you have a number, the leaderboard shows where it would sit, and how we score and norm it explains the benchmarking.
Where does this estimate come from?
From the documented record rather than a test — the method is named above and set out in full under how we read a number. Compare it against the other fictional profiles, starting with Sherlock Holmes.
- Take the 30-question IQ test — get a measured score and percentile of your own
- Average IQ by country — how the scale behaves across populations
- How IQ Metrics scores its assessment — the method behind our own number
- More on how IQ testing works — reliability, error and what a score can and cannot say
- More fictional profiles — same field, same method
More fictional
Photograph of actor Mark Ruffalo by Gage Skidmore (San Diego Comic-Con, July 22, 2017), CC BY-SA 2.0. Bruce Banner is a character created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for Marvel Comics, played by Ruffalo in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. Cropped and with background removed for the portrait above. · Illustration by Sidney Paget (1890s), public domain. · Illustration by Sidney Paget (1893), public domain. Background removed for the portrait above.
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