Kristoff Vernard
Encyclopedia
Kristoff Vernard is a fictional character
appearing in the Marvel Comics
universe
. He has been mainly involved with the Fantastic Four
as enemy, ally and even short-term member.
run in issue #247 in October 1982. Kristoff served as heir to Doctor Doom
, occasional ruler of Latveria, a probational member of the Fantastic Four, and temporal adventurer alongside Nathaniel Richards.
The character next appears in Fantastic Four #258-259 (September-October 1983) and first appears as the second Doctor Doom in Fantastic Four #278-279 (May-June 1985). After a few scattered appearances in, Kristoff Vernard becomes a semi-regular cast member in Fantastic Four #400 (May 1995). His last appearance was in Fantastic Four #416 (September 1996), during the Onslaught crossover
.
An alternate future version
appeared as an adult in the MC2 universe, beginning in A-Next
#5 (1998), followed by scattered appearances, but was only featured regularly in Fantastic Five #1-5 (September-November 2007).
Doctor Doom received an entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89
#2, and the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #12 (2007).
. Doom met the young Kristoff and his mother. Both were still loyal to Doom, and so the former dictator placed them under his protection. However, Kristoff's mother was killed by a robot of Zorba's. After destroying the robot and defeating Zorba, Dr. Doom adopted Kristoff as his heir and took him to live in Castle Doom.
Following the apparent murder of Dr. Doom by Terrax
, Doom's robots took Kristoff and brainwashed him, also implanting him with Doom's mental patterns and detailed memories. However, he did stop the process before all of Doom's memories could be implanted (but after his intellect had been duplicated).
Now believing that he was the real Doom, Kristoff's first action was attempting to destroy the Fantastic Four by blowing up the Baxter Building
, a plan drawn from memories of the real Dr. Doom's plot to kill the FF while he was teamed with the Sub-Mariner
. The FF survived the explosion thanks to the force fields of Sue Richards
, something Kristoff had not anticipated because he had stopped the memory transfer at a point before Sue Richards had fully developed her force field abilities. The FF quickly traveled to Doomstadt and defeated their adversary. To the team's surprise, the armor held not Doom but a child, whom the team took with them.
Kristoff would be imprisoned in Four Freedoms Plaza
, the new home of the Four, following his destruction of the Baxter Building. He was still convinced that he was Doom and Mister Fantastic
hoped to restore him to his normal personality. At this time the real Dr Doom "returned from the dead".
Kristoff would free himself with the aid of a Doombot sent to kidnap Franklin Richards
, son of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman
, by the recently resurrected Dr. Doom. Doom wanted to use Franklin as a bargaining chip for the soul of his mother which was held captive by Mephisto
. Although still a child of about four or five, Franklin had powerful psychic
powers which had enabled him to defeat Mephisto in a previous encounter. This time, however, Doom's power inhibitors prevented Franklin from fighting the demon, who agreed to the bargain. But at that very moment, Kristoff, in full armor, burst in with an army of Doombots and challenged Doom, who he thought to be an impostor.
Meanwhile the FF, who had followed Kristoff in order to rescue Franklin, intervened and Mister Fantastic used a device of his own to enable his son to fight back against Mephisto. As the two Dooms battled, the Doombots stood by, unsure which to aid since they both claimed to be Doom and the brainscans seemed to confirm this.
The battle soon ended but Doom's mother was still not free. Her imprisonment in the nether realms was one of the few failures that Doom would admit to and he said as much to those present. The robots perceived this as doubt and a lack of confidence meaning Kristoff could only be the real ever-confident Dr. Doom. The Doombots turned on their creator and Dr. Doom was forced to flee.
Kristoff ruled Latveria as Doom once again, where he would encounter the West Coast Avengers. To their surprise, he let them leave Latveria. He stayed the regent until the original infiltrated the Castle and uttered a codeword that reverted Kristoff to his original personality. Doom reclaimed his throne while Kristoff was sent as a decoy to battle Mr. Fantastic, however he was killed and was placed in stasis in a Tibetan Monastery.
in disguise. The former dictator returned with Richards and the Invisible Woman, where he became a closely monitored member of the Fantastic Four, and close friends with Cassandra Lang
, daughter of Ant-Man (Scott Lang) who had also joined the team following the "death" of Mister Fantastic. He eventually took his leave from the group to go with Nathaniel Richards. He was reunited with Doom when the alternate future offspring of Franklin Richards
and Rachel Summers
called Hyperstorm
, attacked the Fantastic Four where he chose to help them instead of attacking at their weakest. The group defeated Hyperstorm.
Following the Onslaught saga, Kristoff and Nathaniel tried to collect the now-missing FF's equipment located in the Negative Zone
. They then returned to Latveria, Kristoff with hopes of assuming the throne once again, but they were met with resistance by the Dreadknight
and found Doombots in charge. The duo were then tricked by S.H.I.E.L.D.
into defeating them.
Kristoff and Nathaniel were later displaced by Stryfe
after his ship crashed into Castle Doom.
Nathaniel Richards has hinted that he is Kristoff's father, which gives something of an irony that Doctor Doom chose, as his heir, the half-brother of his most hated rival.
At the start of Fantastic Four: Three, Doom was making plans to abdicate his throne and give it to Kristoff, who is referred to as living in "exile".
Kristoff was then revealed to be the villain in the Spider-Man/Fantastic Four miniseries, setting up an elaborate plan to depose Doom and take his place — such as acquiring samples of the Venom
symbiote
in order to create a 'symbiote bomb' that he could secretly 'sell' to Doom to take him out of the picture — culminating in him seeking the aid of Spider-Man
and the Fantastic Four to help in his final plan, regarding them as Doom's greatest enemies. Spider-Man was an 'honourary' member of the FF as he is invariably the first person the team turn to when they require either general outside assistance or just someone to socialise with. Although he attacks them when they turn him down, claiming that they were willing to just 'forget' him after the Onslaught incident, Spider-Man and the Thing discover an old family photo album which includes pictures of Kristoff's time with the team, the Thing explaining that they have actually never stopped trying to find Kristoff but had long ago run out of ideas about where to actively look. Their original search had failed because Kristoff was hiding away in training. Despite this, Kristoff rejects the team and departs in anger, swearing to destroy Doom himself.
and the Fantastic Five
. He uses the name "Doom" and has requested membership in the Fantastic Five. He is later shown to have indeed gained membership. His costume is a combination of his old mask and a green version of the F5 uniform.
, Kristoff Vernard is an alternate costume for Doctor Doom.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
appearing in the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
. He has been mainly involved with the Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
as enemy, ally and even short-term member.
Publication history
Kristoff first appeared in John Byrne's "back to the basics" Fantastic FourFantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
run in issue #247 in October 1982. Kristoff served as heir to Doctor Doom
Doctor Doom
Victor von Doom is a fictional character who appears in Marvel Comics publications . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Fantastic Four #5 wearing his trademark metal mask and green cloak...
, occasional ruler of Latveria, a probational member of the Fantastic Four, and temporal adventurer alongside Nathaniel Richards.
The character next appears in Fantastic Four #258-259 (September-October 1983) and first appears as the second Doctor Doom in Fantastic Four #278-279 (May-June 1985). After a few scattered appearances in, Kristoff Vernard becomes a semi-regular cast member in Fantastic Four #400 (May 1995). His last appearance was in Fantastic Four #416 (September 1996), during the Onslaught crossover
Onslaught (comics)
Onslaught is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in X-Man #15 , and was co-created by writers Scott Lobdell, Mark Waid, and artist Andy Kubert....
.
An alternate future version
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
appeared as an adult in the MC2 universe, beginning in A-Next
A-Next
A-Next is the Marvel Comics' MC2 universe version of the Avengers. The team made its first appearance in What If? #105, the first comic featuring Spider-Girl, and the team's origin story was told in the A-Next #1, cover dated October 1998....
#5 (1998), followed by scattered appearances, but was only featured regularly in Fantastic Five #1-5 (September-November 2007).
Doctor Doom received an entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe is an encyclopedic guide which details the fictional universe featured in Marvel Comics publications...
#2, and the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #12 (2007).
Heir
After being ousted as leader of Latveria, Dr. Doom and the Fantastic Four returned to the country to overthrow its leader ZorbaZorba (comics)
Zorba is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Fantastic Four #198 and was created by writer John Buscema and penciller George Tuska.-Biography:...
. Doom met the young Kristoff and his mother. Both were still loyal to Doom, and so the former dictator placed them under his protection. However, Kristoff's mother was killed by a robot of Zorba's. After destroying the robot and defeating Zorba, Dr. Doom adopted Kristoff as his heir and took him to live in Castle Doom.
Second Coming of Doom
Terrax
Terrax the Tamer is a fictional character that appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Fantastic Four #211 and was created by Marv Wolfman and John Byrne.-Fictional character biography:...
, Doom's robots took Kristoff and brainwashed him, also implanting him with Doom's mental patterns and detailed memories. However, he did stop the process before all of Doom's memories could be implanted (but after his intellect had been duplicated).
Now believing that he was the real Doom, Kristoff's first action was attempting to destroy the Fantastic Four by blowing up the Baxter Building
Baxter Building
The Baxter Building is a fictitious 35-story office building in Manhattan whose five upper floors house the Fantastic Four's headquarters in the Marvel Universe.-Publication history:...
, a plan drawn from memories of the real Dr. Doom's plot to kill the FF while he was teamed with the Sub-Mariner
Namor the Sub-Mariner
Namor the Sub-Mariner is a fictional comic book character in the Marvel Comics universe, and one of the first superheroes, debuting in Spring 1939. The character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for Funnies Inc., one of the first "packagers" in the early days of comic books that supplied...
. The FF survived the explosion thanks to the force fields of Sue Richards
Invisible Woman
Susan "Sue" Storm Richards is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superheroine created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby. The character first appeared in Fantastic Four #1 in November 1961, and was the first female superhero created by Marvel in the Silver Age of Comics...
, something Kristoff had not anticipated because he had stopped the memory transfer at a point before Sue Richards had fully developed her force field abilities. The FF quickly traveled to Doomstadt and defeated their adversary. To the team's surprise, the armor held not Doom but a child, whom the team took with them.
Kristoff would be imprisoned in Four Freedoms Plaza
Four Freedoms Plaza
Four Freedoms Plaza is a fictional structure in the Manhattan of the Marvel Universe; it served as the replacement headquarters for the Fantastic Four when their original dwelling, the Baxter Building, was destroyed by Kristoff Vernard, the adoptive son of Doctor Doom. It is located at 42nd Street...
, the new home of the Four, following his destruction of the Baxter Building. He was still convinced that he was Doom and Mister Fantastic
Mister Fantastic
Mr. Fantastic is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero and a member of the Fantastic Four. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #1 ....
hoped to restore him to his normal personality. At this time the real Dr Doom "returned from the dead".
Kristoff would free himself with the aid of a Doombot sent to kidnap Franklin Richards
Franklin Richards
Franklin Richards is a fictional comic book character appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in Fantastic Four.Franklin is an Omega-Level mutant with vast psionic and reality-manipulating powers...
, son of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman
Invisible Woman
Susan "Sue" Storm Richards is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superheroine created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby. The character first appeared in Fantastic Four #1 in November 1961, and was the first female superhero created by Marvel in the Silver Age of Comics...
, by the recently resurrected Dr. Doom. Doom wanted to use Franklin as a bargaining chip for the soul of his mother which was held captive by Mephisto
Mephisto (comics)
Mephisto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Silver Surfer #3 and was created by Stan Lee and John Buscema, loosely modeled on Mephistopheles - a character from the Faust legend.Debuting in the Silver Age of comic books,...
. Although still a child of about four or five, Franklin had powerful psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
powers which had enabled him to defeat Mephisto in a previous encounter. This time, however, Doom's power inhibitors prevented Franklin from fighting the demon, who agreed to the bargain. But at that very moment, Kristoff, in full armor, burst in with an army of Doombots and challenged Doom, who he thought to be an impostor.
Meanwhile the FF, who had followed Kristoff in order to rescue Franklin, intervened and Mister Fantastic used a device of his own to enable his son to fight back against Mephisto. As the two Dooms battled, the Doombots stood by, unsure which to aid since they both claimed to be Doom and the brainscans seemed to confirm this.
The battle soon ended but Doom's mother was still not free. Her imprisonment in the nether realms was one of the few failures that Doom would admit to and he said as much to those present. The robots perceived this as doubt and a lack of confidence meaning Kristoff could only be the real ever-confident Dr. Doom. The Doombots turned on their creator and Dr. Doom was forced to flee.
Kristoff ruled Latveria as Doom once again, where he would encounter the West Coast Avengers. To their surprise, he let them leave Latveria. He stayed the regent until the original infiltrated the Castle and uttered a codeword that reverted Kristoff to his original personality. Doom reclaimed his throne while Kristoff was sent as a decoy to battle Mr. Fantastic, however he was killed and was placed in stasis in a Tibetan Monastery.
Life After Doom
Nathaniel Richards revived Kristoff along with Boris, Doom's former guardian, who was actually the Tomorrow ManZarrko
Zarrko, the Tomorrow Man is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics supervillain, most commonly associated with Thor. The character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Journey into Mystery #86 .-Fictional character biography:...
in disguise. The former dictator returned with Richards and the Invisible Woman, where he became a closely monitored member of the Fantastic Four, and close friends with Cassandra Lang
Cassandra Lang
Stature is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. She is the daughter of the late Scott Lang . Cassie Lang is a member of the Young Avengers and The Initiative...
, daughter of Ant-Man (Scott Lang) who had also joined the team following the "death" of Mister Fantastic. He eventually took his leave from the group to go with Nathaniel Richards. He was reunited with Doom when the alternate future offspring of Franklin Richards
Franklin Richards
Franklin Richards is a fictional comic book character appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in Fantastic Four.Franklin is an Omega-Level mutant with vast psionic and reality-manipulating powers...
and Rachel Summers
Rachel Summers
Rachel Anne Summers is a fictional character, a comic book superheroine created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne for Marvel Comics....
called Hyperstorm
Hyperstorm
Hyperstorm is a fictional supervillain from the Marvel comics universe. Also known as Jonathan Reed Richards, Hyperstorm is both the future descendant and enemy of the Fantastic Four...
, attacked the Fantastic Four where he chose to help them instead of attacking at their weakest. The group defeated Hyperstorm.
Following the Onslaught saga, Kristoff and Nathaniel tried to collect the now-missing FF's equipment located in the Negative Zone
Negative Zone
The Negative Zone is a fictional setting, an antimatter universe depicted in publications from Marvel Comics, most frequently in Fantastic Four and Captain Marvel. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, it first appeared in Fantastic Four #51 .-Fictional description:The Negative Zone in the Marvel...
. They then returned to Latveria, Kristoff with hopes of assuming the throne once again, but they were met with resistance by the Dreadknight
Dreadknight
Dreadknight is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Iron Man #102 Dreadknight is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Iron Man #102 Dreadknight is a...
and found Doombots in charge. The duo were then tricked by S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage and a secret military law-enforcement agency in the Marvel Comics Universe. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Strange Tales #135 , it often deals with superhuman threats....
into defeating them.
Kristoff and Nathaniel were later displaced by Stryfe
Stryfe
Stryfe is a fictional character, a supervillain in the . The character was created by Louise Simonson and Rob Liefeld, and first appears in The New Mutants #87...
after his ship crashed into Castle Doom.
Nathaniel Richards has hinted that he is Kristoff's father, which gives something of an irony that Doctor Doom chose, as his heir, the half-brother of his most hated rival.
At the start of Fantastic Four: Three, Doom was making plans to abdicate his throne and give it to Kristoff, who is referred to as living in "exile".
Kristoff was then revealed to be the villain in the Spider-Man/Fantastic Four miniseries, setting up an elaborate plan to depose Doom and take his place — such as acquiring samples of the Venom
Venom (comics)
Eddie Brock is a fictional character created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane. A comic book supervillain, Brock's earliest appearance is a cameo in Web of Spider-Man #18 before making his first full appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #299 as Venom...
symbiote
Symbiote (comics)
In the Marvel Comics universe, The Symbiote is a specific parasitic species of extraterrestrial organism...
in order to create a 'symbiote bomb' that he could secretly 'sell' to Doom to take him out of the picture — culminating in him seeking the aid of Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
and the Fantastic Four to help in his final plan, regarding them as Doom's greatest enemies. Spider-Man was an 'honourary' member of the FF as he is invariably the first person the team turn to when they require either general outside assistance or just someone to socialise with. Although he attacks them when they turn him down, claiming that they were willing to just 'forget' him after the Onslaught incident, Spider-Man and the Thing discover an old family photo album which includes pictures of Kristoff's time with the team, the Thing explaining that they have actually never stopped trying to find Kristoff but had long ago run out of ideas about where to actively look. Their original search had failed because Kristoff was hiding away in training. Despite this, Kristoff rejects the team and departs in anger, swearing to destroy Doom himself.
House of M
Kristoff was a member of Doom's Fearsome Four, as the Inhuman Torch. In the crafted world, Kristoff was the adopted son of Valeria and Doom, and thanks to the cosmic experimentation of his adoptive father, had the abilities of Johnny Storm.MC2
In the MC2 universe, Kristoff appears as an ally of the A-NextA-Next
A-Next is the Marvel Comics' MC2 universe version of the Avengers. The team made its first appearance in What If? #105, the first comic featuring Spider-Girl, and the team's origin story was told in the A-Next #1, cover dated October 1998....
and the Fantastic Five
Fantastic Five
Fantastic Five is the name of superhero team that exists in the MC2 Universe, an alternate future to the Marvel Universe. A continuation of the Fantastic Four, the team was originally composed of the Human Torch, his wife Ms.Fantastic/Lyja , the Thing, Big Brain , and Psi-Lord .-Fictional team...
. He uses the name "Doom" and has requested membership in the Fantastic Five. He is later shown to have indeed gained membership. His costume is a combination of his old mask and a green version of the F5 uniform.
In other media
In the Heroes and Villains expansion pack for Marvel: Ultimate AllianceMarvel: Ultimate Alliance
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is an action role-playing game developed for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox and Xbox 360 by Raven Software and published by Activision. The game was simultaneously ported to the PlayStation Portable and Wii by Vicarious Visions, and to Microsoft Windows by Beenox...
, Kristoff Vernard is an alternate costume for Doctor Doom.