Doctor Doom & A Blow-Up Sex Doll: Marvel's Weirdest 'Team-Up' Explained

Doctor Doom is not only the most important villain the Marvel Cinematic Universe needs to introduce but the pinnacle of Marvel Comics bad guys in the eyes of many. He's intimidating and looks pretty disturbing underneath his metal face mask, he has proven capable of executing world-threatening plans, and he has defeated several of the Marvel Universe's most powerful heroes throughout his time in print. At the same time, he has sat at the center of some pretty head-scratching moments, like the time he was pranked by Daredevil (a hero Marvel lied to you about in many ways) and Black Panther while relaxing with Kingpin and a blow-up sex doll.

The moment in question stems from the infamous Marvel Comics parody of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issues, 1991's "Marvel Swimsuit Special" #1. The pages are filled with images of heroes, heroines, and villains alike lounging around and otherwise having fun in the sun, with this specific issue spotlighting Wakanda. When Daredevil and Black Panther spring their prank, which seems to involve a group of chimpanzees surprising Doom and Kingpin, for some reason, the former is shown holding a blow-up doll, which one of the chimps is trying to yank from his arms.

All in all, it's a bizarre panel featuring one of Marvel's strangest "team-ups," for lack of a better term. Decades later, Marvel fans still can't wrap their heads around it.

Given the campy nature of the "Marvel Swimsuit Special" comics, this panel isn't too out of place. It's simply Daredevil and Black Panther playing a practical joke on the unsuspecting Doctor Doom and Kingpin. It does seem to be a weird prank, having a bunch of chimps attacking the two villains, but it's all in good fun nonetheless, as the caption on the page explains. Still, Doom hanging out in the Wakandan jungle with a blow-up doll is quite an unusual sight, even in this context, hence why Marvel fans still approach the scene with confusion and humor.

"Is Dr. Doom fighting with a monkey over a sex doll?" questioned one deleted Reddit user in a thread about the image. In response, u/DukeVaungur joked that it was merely a malfunctioning Doombot and nothing more. Looking more broadly, u/hibryd highlighted that someone at Marvel actually had to draw this fascinatingly strange scene, which likely took days to complete. While u/stink_182 made note of Doom's fashionable choice to wear a tank top and shorts over a full suit of armor, u/emdeemcd brought the conversation back to the questions on everyone's minds: "Why does Dr. Doom have a sex doll? What is going on here???"

The "Marvel Swimsuit Special" comics may not be looked at as classics, but their absurdity and wackiness have allowed them to endure decades beyond their time. Of course, evidently, the image of Doctor Doom — the fearsome leader of Latveria and rival of the Fantastic Four — holding a blow-up doll, has helped out considerably as well.