Posted in: Comics, Marvel Comics | Tagged: Armageddon, captain america, doctor doom
Doctor Doom’s Long Lost Love And Marvel Editorial Footnotes (Spoilers)
Doctor Doom’s Long Lost Love And Marvel Editorial Footnotes (Captain America #13 Armageddon Spoilers)
Published Wed, 15 Jul 2026 10:16:10 -0500
by Rich Johnston
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Article Summary
- Doctor Doom’s long-lost love is revealed in Captain America #13 in hell.
- Marvel’s editorial footnote is unpacked, tracing Doctor Doom and Valeria back to Marvel Super-Heroes #20, not FF #67.
- Doctor Doom’s tragic romance with Valeria spans rejected love, demonic bargains, and her horrific death.
- Now Valeria puts Doctor Doom at the heart of Armageddon.
In recent issues of Captain America, Steve Rogers has descended into hell after being (almost) killed by General Ross, the Red Hulk after a military bombardment, and finds himself with Doctor Doom and one other. Unnamed, the solicits mentioned “Doom’s first love”, so we wondered if this is Valeria, the woman Doctor Doom named Valeria Richards after?
No, it was someone else in hell who was Valeria Von Frazen, and now stands with the very sword Captain America needs to slay Mephisto. Check that editorial box…Fantastic Four (1961)#67? Was it really?
I don’t think it was this. Stan Lee would never have got that kind of thing wrong, would he? Honestly, Marvel Comics editors these days… Let’s do a little dive…
Maybe it was Marvel Super-Heroes #20 from 1968 by Larry Lieber, Frank Giacoiaand Roy Thomas. That had Valeria Von Frazen’s first appearance
Come on, Doom, we use “romani” or “travelling community”. Well, it was a different time
Which saw Doctor Doom recalling how he reclaimed his mother’s legacy, his magical lineage restored, and Valeria rebuffed…
And the flashback used by Diablo against a now adult Valeria and Doctor Doom… Doctor Doom defeated by his own emotions, longing and past relationships? Surely not. Doom has no room for such weak human sentiment. He defeats Diablo and rescues Valeria. But she doesn’t entirely see it that way…
And makes a promise that she will never see him again. Didn’t last long. But there were no demonic deals here. Doom kept Valeria Von Frazen prisoner, offering her countries to rule…
…but she ended up angering Doom, saved by the Hulk in The Incredible Hulk #144 byGary Friedrich, Roy Thomasand Dick Ayers. And no, Stan Lee, it was in Marvel Super Heroes #20, not #19! Maybe I owe current Marvel editops an apology. And then in 2003, Doctor Doom found her again. Living in Georgia, USA, we got a new version of their story, inFantastic Four Vol. 3 (1998) #67 from 2003 instead. I bet that’s what they meant… 1961 and 1998 are easy to mix up
Still the G word, Victor? It was less of a different time then
Retelling that story from Marvel Super Heroes #20, yes Stan Lee, #20, as well as filling in a few gaps along the way…
And now Valeria’s path has moved on. She has grown older, even if Doom has not. In more ways than one
As he vowed to renounce science in exchange for her hand, and she accepted, it came with death, deceit and trickery
Doom had made a pact with demons for supernatural gifts in exchange for the sacrifice of something of irreplaceable value, the life of the only woman who had truly loved him
Valeria was killed as the demonic spell unleashed by Doom consumed her body, her flayed skin becoming Doom’s new enchanted armour
But that was then. The name returned once more after Doctor Doom saved Reed Richards for Susan Storm, but that came with a price as well
Doctor Doom got Reed Richards to name their daughter Valeria. And now? The original real Valeria is back. She’s in hell, she holds the ultimate weapon… and she is haunted by a lot of demons. Captain America #13 by Chip Zdarsky and Ton Lima is published today…
- Captain America #13 by Chip Zdarsky, Ton Lima
CAPTAIN AMERICA: HELL’S ANGEL! VICTOR VON DOOM has captured the soul of Captain America, dragging him to an unfamiliar battlefield to use him as an unwilling weapon. As Steve Rogers struggles to survive in a world he doesn’t understand, the world he left behind needs him more than ever. And ARMAGEDDON draws ever closer… $4.99 7/15/2026
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