Does Doctor Doom actually have a doctorate?

If you’re choking in a restaurant, the Marvel Universe is the place to do this since it has so many doctors. There’s Doctor Doom, Doctor Strange, Doctor Octopus and so many others. But how many of these actually hold an advanced degree? Are some of these characters only claiming to have an MD or PhD just to confer an unearned status on themselves? The following will be an in-depth investigation.

Doctor Doom is a brilliant, evil scientist who rules the fictional nation of Latveria with an iron fist. He certainly did do advanced studies at State University with his mortal enemy, Reed Richards. (Perhaps in an effort to be modest, the incomparably intelligent Richards adopted the code name Mister Fantastic rather than Doctor Fantastic.) Victor Von Doom scarred his face in an attempt to rescue his sorceress mother from hell, and forever blamed Richards for the disfiguration. However, even though Doom had no doubt advanced very far in his studies, it is unclear whether his medical emergency and rehab from the scarring prevented him from collecting his doctorate.

The code name Doctor Strange may just seem like a Silver Age attempt for a character to look authoritative and mysterious but it does have some basis in fact. Stephen Strange was a promising neurosurgeon who was injured in a car accident and the resulting damage to his hand left him unable to perform surgery. Under the tutelage of the Ancient One, Strange became earth’s sorcerer supreme.

The longtime Spider-Man villain Doctor Octopus also has a bona fide medical background. Otto Octavius was a brilliant nuclear scientist who developed a technology of extra arms to allow him to work with harmful isotopes. An accident allowed him to mentally control the extra arms but drove him insane. Still, he must have considerable scientific knowledge, as Reed Richards turned to Doc Ock for help when his wife Sue was miscarrying her baby due to radiation related issues. The attempt failed and Sue did miscarry, although the child later came back to life in a development I really didn’t think was necessary.

Doc Samson has a psychiatry degree as well as super powers. Many superheroes in need of counseling have turned to him, most notably the Hulk (who could reeeeeally use some kind of psychological help, for the good of the world). On the other side of the psychological spectrum is Doctor Faustus, who used his knowledge of the mind for evil. He’s the guy who manipulated Peggy/Sharon Carter (I cannot keep track of who is who amid all the de-aging and resurrection) into shooting Captain America.

Doctor Druid is an Avenger we will never, ever see in the movies. He joined the team in the late ‘80s when it was in a bit of a lost period and nobody, readers or teammates, liked him. His powers mostly relate to Celtic magic. He did study medicine at Harvard, according to my Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition so he’s a doctor. He’s dead now.