Long ago, in order to help the people of Latveria break free from a cruel Baron's tyranny, Cynthia von Doom struck a bargain with Mephisto, trading her own soul for greater power. With this borrowed might, she defeated the Baron's soldiers, but in doing so, inadvertently caused the death of every child in the village. Consumed by guilt, she perished—and her soul was condemned to eternal torment within Mephisto's grasp.
Thus changed the path of her son—Victor von Doom. His lifelong quest to rescue his mother's soul would come to define and utterly transform him, forging the man who would become the dreaded Doctor Doom. Yet even now, armed with formidable and forbidden arts beyond mortal ken, the end of that path seems forever beyond his reach…
