Doom does not hide. That, in a nutshell, is at the core of the MCU’s Doctor Doom problem. With casting confirmation apparently imminent on the Fantastic Four we’re also eagerly awaiting any news on who’s going to be playing arguably Marvel Comics’ greatest villain: Victor von Doom.
But there’s a problem. We’re now 15 years into the MCU project and while it’s easy enough to handwave away the absence of the Fantastic Four (they’re lost in space/trapped in another dimension/frozen in time etc) the world should know all about Doom.
The matter is currently being debated on r/Marvel_Studios, with a thread pointing out that, as leader of Latveria, Doom’s existence should be public knowledge, as he has no reason to hide in the same way Wakanda did. Replies counter that by saying Latveria may exist but simply hasn’t been mentioned on-screen.
Perhaps the MCU Doom is yet to gain control of the country and establish a name for himself. Or, as one comment puts it: “Why talk about some small, non-vital Eastern-European nation that you know nothing about?”
All that said, the MCU has technically already confirmed Latveria exists, depending on your view on what counts as canon. In The Incredible Hulk video game, an adaptation of the 2008 film, we see the Latverian Embassy in New York and soon afterwards the building was destroyed by the Hulk. Sure this is more an Easter Egg, but at least it confirms that somewhere out there Latveria – and likely Doom himself – is biding his time before making himself a major player in the MCU.
However it shakes out, we’re praying we get a comics-accurate Doctor Doom who’s as bombastic on screen as he is on the page.