Racing car project done in collaboration with Marvel makes use of Dr. Doom for inspiration

Formula1 tells about a racing car promotion project done in collaboration with Marvel, making use of livery based on one of the most notorious villains in the MCU:

Williams unveiled a special Doctor Doom-inspired livery earlier this month as part of their ongoing collaboration with Marvel, replacing their usual blue with the villain's trademark black and green colours.

The striking design made its debut at New York Comic Con, where the team showcased a specially-liveried FW48 show car alongside superhero-inspired race suits and exclusive merchandise.

Taking inspiration from one of Marvel's most recognisable villains, the car was displayed as part of an immersive experience celebrating the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday film, with the collaboration bringing together Formula 1 and one of the world's biggest entertainment franchises.

What's so special about a villain that isn't so special about a hero? They do bring up how Iron Man's been put to use in a similar project, and there had been a story in the Silver Age where Happy Hogan rescued Tony Stark from a crashed sport car, which led to the former's employment by the latter. But putting a villain who was written doing sick acts like murder in past stories is insulting to the intellect, and no better than the time when Marvel put Doom in the pages of the 2001 Spider-Man tale that wound up blaming America for 911. What next, a livery project dedicated to the Joker, Bullseye and Sabretooth?

Crossovers between sport and superhero comics may seem unusual, but according to Dr Miriam Kent, Lecturer in Film and Media at the University of Leeds and author of Women in Marvel Films, the relationship between superheroes and sport is nothing new.

"We can look back to the history of superhero publishers working with sports teams or featuring famous athletes – going back to the '50s, '60s and '70s, even,” she explains. “Superhero comics have always had an odd relationship to the 'real world', but it's not unusual to find references to public figures or sports teams. The Thing in Fantastic Four is a fan of the New York Jets, I believe."

Well the difference is that back in the Silver/Bronze Age, when such blendings happened, it was usually just because the writers thought it could make a great story, not because they wanted to do a cross-promotion. Something the interviewees and interviewer obviously won't address.

"I think there is something to be said about Marvel affiliating itself with the cutting-edge technology that's involved in F1. Again, there is a history of this – going back all the way to Iron Man, Marvel had a partnership with [car company] Audi. Tony Stark drove an R8 in the film, and Audi featured the character in its own marketing.

"The superhero genre has long been concerned with what it means to push the limits of technology, where the boundaries are between humans and technology. A lot of the appeal is the tech superheroes have access to. So in a way, cars and superheroes make sense."

But not the entertainment value in the finished product? Or the interactions between heroes and civilian co-stars? That aside, when sales are so dismal today, it's clear not many care about even the technological side of the stories. And not all superheroes are portrayed using the most elaborate technology. Daredevil, for example, made use of a walking stick with hidden gimmicks to change it to a billy club, but not much else in the stories I read from the 1964-98 run, though I realize his blindness probably serves as an explanation.

But back to the main subject, what dismays me here is when a villain as nasty as Doom could be portrayed in past storylines is emphasized in a project like this. Because again, villains with lethal records are not somebody to admire, and this racing car project doesn't improve the situation at all. What's so special about Doom that isn't so special about Black Widow, or better still, Mary Jane Watson? If I were one of the project designers and realized how much fun I could've had producing liveries based on overlooked figures from the MCU, I could just weep.