Man Impersonates Comic Book Villain and Makes Bold Claim at City Council Meeting

City Council meetings are open to all residents, including sorcerers with plans to conquer the world, apparently.

During a recent Seattle City Council meeting, a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2026/sep/10/dr-doom-surveillance-seattle” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>man dressed as the iconic Marvel villain Dr. Doom delivered a controversial take on Flock surveillance cameras.

Flock’s ALPR cameras aren’t like your normal traffic cameras. This surveillance technology records and tracks every car that comes into view. Once scanned, an AI algorithm catalogs the make, model, color, license plate number, bumper stickers, and even scratches. 

This personal information is then uploaded into a nationwide database that any law enforcement agency with a Flock contract can search.

Although law enforcement agencies rely on Flock cameras, some residents believe the technology is too invasive and prone to misuse, including unauthorized data sharing and stalking.

Robert Frommer, senior attorney for the Institute for Justice, describes Flock as the “poster boy” for growing worries about potential invasions of privacy

“What Americans are starting to realize is there’s been an entire surveillance industry erected around them,” Frommer says.

Man Dressed as Marvel Villain Takes Eerie Stance on Flock

A Dr. Doom cosplayer in Seattle weighed in on the controversial cameras.

During the Sept. 8 Public Safety Committee Meeting, the Fantastic Four villain provided an eerie approval of Flock cameras.

“Doom took over Axon Enterprises. Now, Doom will be watching you. Your continued cooperation in expanding Doom’s surveillance network is required,” he said.

He added, “This is the first of Doom’s gifts to the city of Seattle. The second gift is this: Doom will expand the real-time crime center to all neighborhoods with over 1,000 cameras watching every move. Doom has total dominion over the city of Seattle.”

404 Media identified the masked man as Clifford Cawthon, a policy advisor for the Washington State Department of Commerce. 

Cawthon said he was inspired to attend the city council meeting in costume after seeing a Darth Vader cosplayer at a California city council meeting.

Cawthon believed that a pop culture reference would help command attention to the issue.

“We thought, wouldn’t it be interesting if the Seattle city council met Victor von Doom?” Cawthon told the outlet. “And Victor von Doom shares this with this pathetic American municipal council. They are actually doing Doom’s bidding without even realizing it.”