Latveria

Not to be confused with Latvia.

Latveria
Fantastic Four location
A rendition of the nation of Latveria (in green) and its capital Doomstadt. Symkaria borders along the south.
Flag of Latveria
Created by	Stan Lee, Jack Kirby
In-universe information
Type	Autocracy
Ruler	Doctor Doom
Location	Europe
Locations	Doomstadt (capital)
Characters	Doctor Doom Lucia von Bardas Dreadknight
Currency	Latverian Franc

Latveria is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is depicted within the storylines of Marvel's comic titles as a small, isolated European country ruled by the fictional Supreme Lord Doctor Doom, supposedly located in the Banat region. It is surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains, and also borders fictional Symkaria (home of Silver Sable) to the south. Its capital is Doomstadt.

Publication history

Latveria first appeared in Fantastic Four Annual #2, published in 1964. Victor von Doom is the ruler of Latveria. Though he has been dethroned a number of times, Victor has invariably managed to return to the throne of his country within a matter of months.

Victor also has a Council who obeys him entirely. In Fantastic Four #536 in 2006, he killed his own Prime Minister for claiming control of Latveria in his absence and threatened to kill two other ministers if they failed to find the landing spot of Thor's hammer.

Doctor Doom's style of rule can best be described as an absolute monarchy, with one minister boasting "Doctor Doom decides everything. His slightest whim is Latverian law!" It is shown Doom has devices throughout the Kingdom to watch his people and even has hidden weapons force fields (though apparently it can be a defense against nuclear attack) to prevent them leaving without his consent.

Fictional history

Located in southeast Europe, Latveria was formed out of land annexed from southern Hungary centuries before, and possibly land from Serbia as well as Romania.

Latveria under the Fantastic Four

When Doom's descended into Hell, the nation became a target for conquest by the neighbouring countries. This forced Reed Richards to seize control of the country, attempting to pry the populace out from under the thumb of Doom, while at the same time disarming all of Doom's weaponry and technology, so if he ever returned, he would come back to absolutely nothing. In the process, Richards relocated Doom from Hell into a pocket dimension of his own design, and although Doom used his consciousness-switching abilities to escape, the death of his host body seemingly caused him to die as well, and the Fantastic Four pulled out of the country.

Doom survives this and rules Latveria for a time with a 'puppet' Prime Minister and robotic enforcers.

Series of takeovers

After the Fantastic Four left, the United States attempted to fill the void left by Doom by establishing a democracy for the nation. The Countess Lucia von Bardas was elected as Prime Minister. However, when it was revealed that von Bardas was employing the Tinkerer to use Doom's technology to arm various tech-based villains in the United States, S.H.I.E.L.D. Commander Nick Fury took action.

During Secret War, Fury and a number of superheroes invaded Latveria without permission of the US Government and attempted to assassinate von Bardas. While von Bardas survived, she was horribly disfigured and sought to destroy Fury and the heroes responsible. She was killed by S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Daisy Johnson while trying to blow up New York with the armor of the various villains she employed.

Country-wide disasters

Much of Latveria was destroyed and the population severely reduced by an attack executed by the Marquis of Death (a.k.a. "Dooms Master").

S.H.I.E.L.D., under the leadership of Iron Man and his team of U.S. sanctioned Avengers invaded Latveria after discovering Doom's (unintentional) involvement in the release of a symbiote virus on New York. The country was yet again devastated and Doom was taken into custody for crimes against humanity.

Doom is released from prison due to the influence of H.A.M.M.E.R. director Norman Osborn. He restores his nation with the use of his time travel technology.

Statistics

The common geographic description of Latveria places it as a small nation, around the area where Hungary, Romania and Serbia meet in real life. The capital city of Latveria is Doomstadt, formerly Hassenstadt, renamed when Doom seized power, located just north of the Kline River. The administrative center is Castle Doom.

• Population: 500,000 (An approximation, since Doom does not reveal it)
• Type of government: dictatorship (Victor Von Doom prefers to call this an "enforced monarchy")
• Public holidays: Doom's Day, Christmas, New Year's Day (note: Doom's Day is an eclectic holiday, celebrated whenever Doom declares it.)
• Airports: the only airport for the country, Doomsport, lies on the southern outskirts of Doomstadt. It has two maintained runways and a modern terminal, but flights into and out of Doomsport are quite limited.

Points of interest

• Doomstadt ("City of Doom") - The capital of Latveria, replacing on the map the real-life Romanian city of Timișoara.
• Castle Doom - An ancient castle with modern-day technology, home to Victor Von Doom.

Demographics

The population consists of mixed European stock and Romani people, in whose welfare Von Doom takes a particular interest. Victor Von Doom, being Roma, has declared the Romani a protected class and attempts to shower them with benefits. However, due to Latveria's poor economy and oppressive rule, their lifestyles hardly outshine other ethnicities, and the Romani by and large live in the same fear of their own government as do fellow Latverians.

Law enforcement

Latveria relies largely on Doom's robot sentinels, called Doombots, to keep law and order. One of the few known Latverian superhumans is Dreadknight, whom Doom himself created by punishing Dreadknight's alter ego for hoarding ideas from von Doom. Dreadknight has since tried to get revenge on Doctor Doom, only to be thwarted by various superheroes. Aside from superhuman activity, the Latverian military functions in multiple capacities; in addition to being responsible for defense of Latveria (i.e., keeping Victor Von Doom on the throne), they also make arrests and function as Latveria's secret police.

Economy

Much of Latveria's economy depends on Doctor Doom's high-tech inventions. The country's official currency is the Latverian franc - because Doctor Doom refuses to join the European Union or adopt the euro. The Latverian franc is still considered to be reasonably strong against the United States dollar.

State

Latveria is generally depicted as a rural nation with a primitive economy and a population living an almost medieval lifestyle. Nonetheless, the state itself is consistently depicted as a global superpower on par with or even surpassing any nation on Earth, largely due to Doom's scientific genius. Thus, despite the country being both extremely small and economically backward, it is a powerhouse in military and technological terms and therefore has a vastly disproportionate influence on global affairs relative to its size and GDP. Doom also proudly claims that the country is free of poverty, disease, famine and crime and while citizens of the nation are commonly shown to be oppressed and to live in fear of their monarch, they are also shown to be relatively well cared for, so long as they do not cross Doom. Other occasions suggest that Doom is at the centre of a self-propagated personality cult and is admired and worshipped by other segments of the populace in spite of his mistreatments and he is often demonstrated to be at least a more stable and less corrupt ruler than any other Latverian leader who has replaced him.

Known inhabitants

• Doctor Doom - The current ruler of Latveria.
• Cynthia Von Doom - The mother of Doctor Doom.
• Werner Von Doom - A talented doctor of the Zefiro Gypsy Tribe and Doctor Doom's father.
• Valeria - The teenage love of Doctor Doom's life who is the granddaughter of Boris. Her life was sacrificed to the Haazareth Three (a group of demons) by Doctor Doom.
• Alexander Flynn - The alleged mutant son of Doctor Doom and an unidentified Romani woman.
• Arturo Frazen - He was installed as Latveria's ambassador during the temporary reign of Prince Zorba Fortunov.
• Boris - Doctor Doom's Zefiro guardian since childhood and closest confidant.
• Cristos Malachi - A one-time member of Doctor Doom's Zefiro Gypsy Clan. He served as the Zefiro Gypsy Clan's fortune-teller.
• Djordji Zindelo Hungaro - The Zefiro mystic who trained Cynthia Von Doom in the mystic arts.
• Dreadknight - A Latverian scientist who had a skull-shaped cybernetic helmet bio-fused to his head by Doctor Doom and developed a vendetta against him.
• Editor - He was tasked with rewriting Latverian history to conform with Doctor Doom's world view.
• Fydor Gittrlsohn - One of Doctor Doom's chief scientists.
• Gert Hauptmann - One of Doctor Doom's chief scientists and the brother of Gustav Hauptmann. His attempt at betrayal led to his death at the hands of Doctor Doom.
• Gustav Hauptmann - One of Doctor Doom's chief scientists. He was a former Nazi that worked for Adolf Hitler and Red Skull. When the flamethrower that Gustav was using to attack Mister Fantastic with endangered his art collection, Doctor Doom reversed the sonic weapon he planned to use on the Fantastic Four and killed Gustav Hauptmann instead.
• Gustav von Kampen - A one-time member of Doctor Doom's Zefiro Gypsy Clan.
• Hans Stutgart - A Latverian agent who is living in the United States.
• Jakob Gorzenk - He serves as the chief ambassador to the United States.
• King Vladimir Vassily Gonereo Tristian Mangegi Fortunov - The tyrannical ruler of Latveria who was extremely harsh to the gypsies that lived on the borders. He was killed by Doctor Doom.
• Kristoff Vernard - The adopted son of Doctor Doom. His mother was killed by a robot that was used by Prince Zorba Fortunov.
• Kroft family - A family of vampire hunters that existed from the 16th century to the 19th century.
• Larin - A Tibetan Monk who helped to construct Doctor Doom's first armor.
• Lucia von Bardas - The Prime Minister of Latveria.
• Mengo Brothers - A pair of international mercenaries.
• Otto Kronsteig - One of Doctor Doom's chief scientists.
• Prince Rudolfo Fortunov - The former crown prince of Latveria before his family was ousted by Doctor Doom.
• Prince Zorba Fortunov - The former prince of Latveria and brother of Rudolfo. He once reclaimed the throne to Latveria when the Fantastic Four had defeated Doctor Doom. With the help of the Fantastic Four, Doctor Doom was able to reclaim his throne.
• Seven Daggers of Doom - A group of Latverian mutants who serve Doctor Doom. They consist of siblings Dreamer and Ironcloak; Nerium, who possesses four arms and plant manipulation; Slag, who possesses geo-thermokinesis; and Volta, who can manipulate electricity and wields a Vibranium spear.
• Torvalt - A one-time member of Doctor Doom's Zefiro Gypsy Clan.
• Tristian de Sabbat - A member of Doctor Doom's inner circle who produces holy propaganda.

Other versions

Further Information: Doctor Doom#Other Versions

King Loki

In the future depicted in Loki: Agent of Asgard, Doctor Doom discovers Latveria completely destroyed after King Loki destroyed the Earth. Doom attempts to prevent this future by imprisoning the Loki of the present.

Ultimate Universe

In Earth-6160, a world marked by alternate history due to the interference of the Maker, Latveria is an independent territory close to the European Coalition and used as his seat of political power, as he reshapes the global status quo, eroding national identities and independence in favor of a new world order, creating a Council composed of leaders of regional power blocs and creating a permanent war economy between their territories, while they operate covertly as a group, keeping their local populations controlled as a worldwide form of shadow government.

It is shown through Howard Stark's history files that the Maker arrived in 1963, establishing the futuristic enclave known as "The City" at Latveria, showcasing himself as a force of progress to the world and performing feats such as taking care of external threats like Galactus and performing a moon landing. He is regarded as an Imperator, or the de facto ruler of the Earth, due to being regarded as the only one capable of keeping the public safe from global threats and disseminating technological advances on a regular base, using the organization H.A.N.D as a secret police. As Stark rebels against the Maker, he imprisons both of them and Kang inside the City, leaving two years before it opens.

In other media

Television

• Latveria appears in Fantastic Four (1994).
• Latveria appears in The Super Hero Squad Show episode "Pedicure of Doom!".
• Latveria appears in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes episode "The Private War of Doctor Doom".
• Latveria appears in Ultimate Spider-Man (2012).
• Latveria appears in Avengers Assemble episode "The Doomstroyer".
• Latveria appears in Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.

Film

• Latveria appears in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. This version is not led by Doctor Doom, who is instead a wealthy businessman.
• Marvel Cinematic Universe writer Eric Pearson stated in an interview with IGN that he included an ultimately deleted reference to Latveria in Black Widow, admitting that he always tries to include references to Latveria in the MCU when possible.

Video games

• Latveria appears in Ultimate Spider-Man (2005).
• Latveria appears in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.
• Latveria appears in The Incredible Hulk.
• Latveria appears in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2.
• Latveria appears in Marvel: Avengers Alliance.
• Latveria appears in Lego Marvel Super Heroes.
• Latveria appears in Marvel Heroes.
• Latveria appears in Fortnite.

Miscellaneous

Latveria appears in the Spider-Man comic strip.

Reception

Bustle published a humorous article about how to convince people that Latveria is a real place, saying "Latveria doesn't sound made up [...] in this case, Latveria is very much fake — which doesn't mean you can't still have fun convincing people it's real, though."

Screen Rant writes that ever since The Fantastic Four #5 was published in 1962, "the tiny country of Latveria has long been a thorn in the side of Marvel's heroes", noting that it was long established as a country located in Southeastern Europe, and as of 2020 its location was firmly identified as the Banat region, so that "This fixed location for Latveria grounds the nation more fully in readers' understanding of the real world, suggesting realistic political tensions and even geographical factors which can play into future stories."

Mark Hibbett of Central Saint Martins notes that Latveria in 1964 was described as a small country in East Europe "nestling in the heart of the Bavarian alps", and he explains that "Right from the start Latveria is presented as a very strange place, like a fairy tale village transplanted into the real world, with Jack Kirby's illustrations showing an almost medieval world of peasant cottages and gypsy caravans."

Further reading

• War, Politics and Superheroes: Ethics and Propaganda in Comics and Film by Marc DiPaolo, McFarland (2014)
• Caped Crusaders 101: Composition Through Comic Books by Jeffrey Kahan and Stanley Stewart, McFarland (2006)
• "Latveria's Place in Marvel Geopolitics" by Josh Weiss, Marvel.com (April 1, 2019)
• The Hidden Europe: What Eastern Europeans Can Teach Us by Francis Tapon (2012)

External links

• Latveria at Marvel Wiki
• Article on History of Latveria