The once-legendary Dr. Doom’s star has fallen a lot in recent years. Oft considered the greatest Marvel villain, Dr. Doom has been surpassed in the public’s eyes by characters such as Loki, Magneto and Thanos receiving more attention in modern movies and comic storylines. Even so, Dr. Doom is an all-time-great supervillain and beloved by hardcore comic book fans the world over. And that’s why he’ll also be Sideshow’s next major villain sculpture released–the Sideshow Exclusive Dr. Doom Premium Format Figure statue is now up for order!

“ALL HAIL DOOM!” Despite getting left-behind in mainstream notoriety due to Fox holding the movie rights to the Fantastic Four (and consequently, Dr. Doom), Doom is about as classic and recognizable as villains get (at least, among comic book fans). And while Doom isn’t exactly getting the limelight from Marvel in films or comic books lately, he’s about to get his due from Sideshow Collectibles with his second Premium Format Figure statue!

The original Sideshow Dr. Doom Premium Format Figure on his throne is still a work of art years after its release–but that LE 500 Premium Format Dr. Doom on Throne statue will also run you $2000-$3000 on the aftermarket if you want. Clearly, there’s a market for a new (and stylistically totally different!) Dr. Doom Sideshow statue. And as fate would have it, that’s just what Sideshow will be delivering to our doors in early 2015!

I am not always a soft goods kind of person–especially on my statues–but in the case of this Dr. Doom Sideshow Premium Format Figure, the soft goods just look right.

The contrast between the layered soft goods costume, the metallic bronze accents on the outfit, and Doom’s polished armor makes this statue pop all-around. And while cheap fabric can ruin any statue with soft goods, the cloak on this Dr. Doom figure looks heavy and high-quality. Truly excellent design work by Sideshow Collectibles!

I’ve had to deal with quite a few cases of broken capes on Bowen Designs statues that I’ve received over the years, so I’m feeling very welcoming of this gorgeous (and far less breakable) cloak that Sideshow Collectibles has designed for the new Dr. Doom Premium Format Figure.

Don’t like the classic Dr. Doom mask? Sideshow’s got you covered! The Premium Format Dr. Doom statue includes both classic and modern Dr. Doom face masks, so you can accessorize Doom however your heart desires! I was a bit afraid Sideshow would try to sell us two Doom statues (one with classic Doom mask and one with modern Doom mask), but we’ve lucked out. Hallelujah!

If there’s one area that I think is a bit weak about this 1/4 Dr. Doom statue, it’s the base. Sideshow has produced some really incredible-looking bases in the past year or two, and this raised platform just isn’t one of them. There’s nothing wrong with the base, per se, but it’s certainly not anything to get excited about either. It’s just sort of there.

Sideshow Collectibles actually showed off a far more interesting base when this statue was in development, so I don’t know what happened that we’re ending up with this bland one now.

As usual–and as collectors always hope–Sideshow is producing a Sideshow Dr. Doom Exclusive Edition Premium Format Figure. The bonus accessory that comes with the Sideshow Exclusive Dr. Doom statue is an alternate swap-out right hand for Doom that’s holding a cosmic ray gun (yes, you read that right–a cosmic ray gun).

I would totally forgive anyone who thought that Sideshow Collectibles was making this “Cosmic Ray Gun” thing up, but it’s actually for real–Dr. Doom’s Cosmic Ray Gun appears in the classic Stan Lee & Jack Kirby Fantastic Four comic book issues. Dr. Doom looks slick holding a firearm–and it’s particularly cool that this is a legit one, making this a very worthwhile Sideshow exclusive item.

The Sideshow Exclusive Dr. Doom Premium Format Statue is now available for pre-order, and FlexPay options are available (thank god). The exclusive edition Cosmic Ray Gun bonus accessory adds zero cost to the statue and will help ensure the future value of the Premium Format Doom, so definitely make sure you snag the exclusive edition (available only on the Sideshow Collectibles website) if you’re planning to pick this piece up.

Marvel collectors–what are your thoughts on the new (and improved?) Premium Format Dr. Doom figure? Is this the Dr. Doom you’ve been waiting for all your life, or is some aspect of the statue (like the ho-hum base) bringing this piece down for you?