Doom

Doom (stylized as DOOM) is an American media franchise created by John Carmack, John Romero, Adrian Carmack, Kevin Cloud, and Tom Hall. The series usually focuses on the exploits of an unnamed space marine (often referred to as Doomguy or Doom Slayer) operating under the auspices of the Union Aerospace Corporation (UAC), who fights hordes of demons and the undead to save Earth from an apocalyptic invasion.

There are eight mainline games in the series, Doom, Doom II: Hell on Earth, Final Doom, Doom 64, Doom 3, DOOM (2016), DOOM: Eternal, and DOOM: The Dark Ages.

Series Summary

The DOOM series takes place across unknown large gaps of time, usually on the planet Mars, its moons, and the Hell dimension. They follow the Doom Slayer in his quest to rid the world of evil.

The original main series of games, beginning with Doom, then Doom II, Final Doom, and Doom 64, are first person action shooters developed for PC and Nintendo 64 with an emphasis on gameplay and level design. These levels get used by online modders to make their own levels to share with other people online (WADs). The story focuses on the Doomguy being trapped on Phobos, fighting his way through demonic hordes, and eventually culminating in killing the Mother Demon and remaining in Hell for all eternity to prevent another demonic invasion (in Doom 64: The Lost Levels).

Doom 3 is set in a different world but is still considered canon to the mainline series. Doom 3 follows a new marine (known as, the Marine,) battling against the demonic invasion brought on by a rogue scientist on the UAC Mars base. The Marine battles through the horde and journeys to Hell twice to fight against the main antagonist, Maledict. There are two entries in the Doom 3 subseries, Doom 3 and Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil. In 2012 a remaster including both story modes titled Doom 3: BFG Edition released.

In 2016, a soft reboot of the series titled just DOOM released on modern consoles. It brought gameplay back to the style of the original games while expanding on aspects introduced in Doom 3. DOOM (2016) spawned a sequel titled DOOM: Eternal in 2020 and a prequel titled DOOM: The Dark Ages in 2025. These games are canon to the overall narrative and feature the same Doomguy from the first original series. Up to the DLC release for Eternal, The Ancient Gods is the entirety of Doom Slayer's story, where it canonically ends in The Ancient Gods 2.

Series Overview

Doom (1993)

• Doom
• The Ultimate Doom

Doom (1993)

In DOOM, you're a space marine, one of Earth's toughest, hardened in combat and trained for action. Three years ago you assaulted a superior officer for ordering his soldiers to fire upon civilians. He and his body cast were shipped to Pearl Harbor, while you were transferred to Mars, home of the Union Aerospace Corporation. The UAC is a multi-planetary conglomerate with radioactive waste facilities on Mars and its two moons, Phobos and Deimos. With no action for fifty million miles, your day consisted of suckin' dust and watchin' restricted flicks in the rec room.

• Protagonist: Doomguy
• Main antagonist: Spider Mastermind
• Final boss: Spider Mastermind
• Villainous faction: Demons
• Setting: Phobos, Deimos, Mars, Hell
• Released: 1993
• Platforms: PC, SNES, PlayStation, GBA, iOS
• Developer: id Software
• First level: Hangar
• Final level: Warrens

The Ultimate Doom (1995)

The Ultimate Doom is an updated version of Doom released on April 30, 1995, that adds a fourth nine-level episode, Thy Flesh Consumed, which contains eight regular maps and one secret map. This enhanced version was made as an incentive in the distribution of the boxed game through retail stores and venues, although to be fair to fans who had previously registered Doom, id Software provided them with a freely available patch to upgrade their copy of Doom version 1.9 to The Ultimate Doom.

• Protagonist: Doomguy
• Main antagonist: Spider Mastermind
• Final boss: Spider Mastermind
• Villainous faction: Demons
• Setting: Phobos, Deimos, Mars, Hell
• Released: 1995
• Platforms: PC, SNES, PlayStation, GBA, iOS
• Developer: id Software
• First level: Hangar
• Final level: Unto the Cruel

Doom II: Hell on Earth (1994)

Doom II: Hell on Earth (1994)

The player once again takes the role of a lone Marine, an unnamed hero, who, after escaping Hell and being the only survivor, returns to Earth. He discovers that Earth has been invaded (as foreshadowed back in Doom I). To close the portal, he must enter Hell again to stop the invasion. After journeying through its twisted surface, the Marine manages to confront the Icon of Sin, a gigantic demon, and kills it. Its gruesome death causes devastation on Hell, and the portal to Earth has been sealed.

• Protagonist: Doomguy
• Main antagonist: Icon of Sin
• Final boss: Icon of Sin
• Villainous faction: Demons
• Setting: Earth, Hell
• Released: 1994
• Platforms: PC, SNES, PlayStation, GBA, iOS, Steam
• Developer: id Software
• First level: Entryway
• Final level: Icon of Sin

Final Doom (1996)

Final Doom (1996)

Final Doom is a compilation of two standalone official Doom episodes: TNT: Evilution and The Plutonia Experiment, which include full sets of new levels (both of them use the same level structure as Doom II with 30 regular levels and 2 secret levels), new graphics and textures, and new text interlude screens in addition to most of the resources from Doom II and some from Doom. It is set after Doom II and takes place on the moons of Jupiter and in Hell.

• Protagonist: Doomguy
• Main antagonist: Demon-Spitter
• Final boss: The Gatekeeper
• Villainous faction: Demons
• Setting: Moons of Jupiter, Hell
• Released: 1996
• Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Steam
• Developer: Team TNT
• First level: System Control
• Final level: The Gateway of Hell

Doom 64 (1997)

Doom 64 (1997)

A sequel to Doom II and Final Doom that tells of yet another invasion of the UAC on Mars by demons, this time lead by the Mother Demon, who resurrects every single monster ever killed by Doomguy in order to kill him once again. Doomguy makes his way through the invaded base, and then finally once again to Hell to kill the Mother Demon. It doesn't take long after her death for the Resurrector to resurrect the demons again, and Doomguy must kill this one once and for all. Following the defeat of the Resurrector, Doomguy decides to stay in Hell for all eternity so that he can wipe out any further demonic invasion before it begins.

• Protagonist: Doomguy
• Main antagonist: Mother Demon
• Final boss: The Resurrector
• Villainous faction: Resurrected demons
• Setting: UAC Base, Hell
• Released: 1997
• Platforms: Nintendo 64, Steam
• Developer: Midway
• First level: Staging Area
• Final level: The Absolution

Doom 3 (2004)

• Doom 3
• Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil
• Doom 3: BFG Edition

Doom 3 (2004)

Set in an alternate timeline to the previous four games, although it is explicitly canon, a portal to Hell has been opened on the UAC Base on Mars by the evil Doctor Betruger, and only one marine survives the carnage by exploring the invaded base and eventually journeying to Hell to stop the invasion from happening. The game is canon to the overall storyline, as ancient Martian ruins show the original Doomguy from the previous four games in stone tablets, implying that they tell tales of Doomguy's epic exploits while he remains in Hell, after Doom 64.

• Protagonist: Doom Marine
• Main antagonist: Doctor Betruger
• Final boss: Cyberdemon
• Villainous faction: Demons
• Setting: Mars, Hell
• Released: 2004
• Platforms: PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, PC, Steam
• Developer: id Software
• First level: Mars City
• Final level: Primary Excavation: Artifact Dig

Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil (2005)

A sequel and expansion to the original Doom 3 that shows what happened after the Doom Marine's stopping the initial Hell invasion. The Doom Marine ventures through the ruined and invaded UAC Base once again in order to charge up an artifact that was discovered in ancient Martian ruins, which when fully charged, he uses when he finally returns to hell on Doctor Betruger, who transformed into the terrible Maledict, saving humanity from the Hell invasion once again. The ending seems to be ambiguous on if the Doom Marine really returned home after Maledict's defeat.

• Protagonist: Doom Marine
• Main antagonist: Doctor Betruger
• Final boss: Maledict
• Villainous faction: Demons
• Setting: Mars, Hell
• Released: 2005
• Platforms: PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, PC, Steam
• Developer: id Software
• First level: Erebus - Level 1: Main Excavation
• Final level: Hell

Doom 3: BFG Edition (2012)

An enhanced remaster of the original Doom 3 that includes both the original campaign and the Resurrection of Evil. It includes The Lost Levels, which was cut from the original game. Step into the boots of DOOM Marine and experience his adventures for the first time, or all over again. Featuring enhanced versions of DOOM 3, DOOM 3: Resurrection of Evil and the all new DOOM 3: The Lost Mission, plus the classics DOOM and DOOM II, DOOM 3 BFG Edition is the consummate DOOM experience.

• Protagonist: Doom Marine
• Main antagonist: Doctor Betruger
• Final boss: Maledict
• Villainous faction: Demons
• Setting: Mars, Hell
• Released: 2012
• Platforms: Xbox 360, PC, Steam
• Developer: id Software
• First level: Mars City
• Final level: Hell

DOOM (2016)

DOOM (2016)

Also known as Doom 4, set an indeterminable amount of time after Doom 64, it features the Doomguy awakening from a slumber to stop yet another Hell invasion on Mars in 2148 after the Union Aerospace Corporation scientist Dr. Olivia Pierce allows forces of Hell to invade.

• Protagonist: Doom Slayer
• Main antagonist: Dr. Olivia Pierce
• Final boss: Spider Mastermind
• Villainous faction: Demons
• Setting: Mars, Hell
• Released: 2016
• Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Steam
• Developer: id Software, Bethesda
• First level: The UAC
• Final level: Argent D'Nur

DOOM: Eternal (2020)

• Eternal
• Ancient Gods, Part One
• Ancient Gods, Part Two

DOOM: Eternal (2020)

Also known as Doom 5, it is the final installment in the Doom Slayer's story that started all the way back in Doom. Hell's armies have invaded Earth. Become the Slayer in an epic single-player campaign to conquer demons across dimensions and stop the final destruction of humanity. The only thing they fear... is you. Experience the ultimate combination of speed and power in DOOM Eternal - the next leap in push-forward, first-person combat. Discover the Slayer’s origins and his enduring mission to RAZE HELL.

• Protagonist: Doom Slayer
• Main antagonist: Khan Makyr
• Final boss: Icon of Sin
• Villainous faction: Demons, Hell Priests
• Setting: Earth, Phobos, Hell
• Released: 2020
• Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Steam
• Developer: id Software, Bethesda
• First level: Hell on Earth
• Final level: Final Sin

DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods, Part One (2020)

The Ancient Gods - Part One, abbreviated in-game as Ancient Gods 1 and commonly abbreviated by fans as TAG 1, is part one of two in The Ancient Gods, a two-part campaign extension to Doom Eternal. It was announced at the launch of Eternal, and was free (on the launch of the parts) for owners of the Deluxe Edition and for people who purchased the Year One Pass. Both parts were revealed at QuakeCon 2020. Part One was released on October 20, 2020. It is also available through a stand-alone edition. A sequel, The Ancient Gods - Part Two, was released on March 18, 2021.

• Protagonist: Doom Slayer
• Main antagonist: Seraphim
• Final boss: Transfigured Seraphim
• Villainous faction: Demons
• Setting: Earth, Hell, Urdak
• Released: 2020
• Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Steam
• Developer: id Software, Bethesda
• First level: UAC Atlantica Facility
• Final level: The Holt

DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods, Part Two (2021)

The Ancient Gods - Part Two, abbreviated in-game as Ancient Gods 2, and commonly abbreviated by fans as TAG 2 is the second and final campaign extension for Doom Eternal, that was released on March 18, 2021. It is a sequel to The Ancient Gods - Part One, the first campaign extension. It was announced at the launch of Eternal, and was free (on the launch of the extension) for owners of the Deluxe Edition and for people who purchased the Year One Pass. Both parts were revealed at QuakeCon 2020. Part Two was scheduled to have an official teaser trailer and release date announcement on March 15, 2021. The teaser was released as planned and the full trailer was released on March 17, 2021. Both parts have a stand-alone edition.

• Protagonist: Doom Slayer
• Main antagonist: The Dark Lord
• Final boss: Davoth
• Villainous faction: Demons
• Setting: Argent D'Nur, Earth
• Released: 2021
• Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Steam
• Developer: id Software, Bethesda
• First level: The World Spear
• Final level: The Dark Lord

DOOM: The Dark Ages (2025)

DOOM: The Dark Ages (2025)

A prequel to DOOM, set during the time between Doom 64 and when he awakens at the beginning of DOOM.

• Protagonist: Doom Slayer
• Main antagonist: TBA
• Final boss: TBA
• Villainous faction: Demons
• Setting: Hell
• Released: 2025
• Platforms: PlayStation 5, Steam
• Developer: id Software
• First level: Villages of Khalim
• Final level: Reckoning

Doomguy Timeline

Timeline of the events following the Doomguy, later known as the Doom Slayer.

• Pre-Doom
  • The Doom Marine was originally a human from Earth who served in the Marines and was dishonorably discharged due to assaulting his commanding officer after refusing to fire upon a crowd of unarmed civilians and was later transferred to the UAC Phobos base as security.

• Doom I, II, Final Doom & 64
  • The UAC had been developing teleportation technologies and somehow opened a portal to Hell that wiped out everyone in the Mars bases, killing them or turning them into zombies. The Marine soon found himself the lone survivor trying to prevent the demons of Hell from invading Earth. After having fought demonic hordes through Phobos, Deimos and Hell, with the final confrontation with the Spider Mastermind, he returns home to find Earth now overrun by demons. Among the billions of people killed were his family, including his pet rabbit Daisy. Now vengeful, angry, and full of bloodlust, the Doomguy sets out to vanquish the demons once and for all.
  • He continues fighting the horde on Earth, before taking the fight to Hell once more. There, he destroys hundreds more demons before the final confrontation with the Icon of Sin, a disembodied head of a Titan able to summon demons specifically to kill the Doomguy. The Icon of Sin is destroyed, and the portal to Hell closes, and Doomguy makes his trek back home.
  • After Hell's continuous catastrophic invasions, the global governments decide to take measures against future invasions, knowing that the powers of Hell still remain strong. The UAC corporation is refounded under completely new management and aims to develop tools that would prevent demonic invasions. It is said that the new UAC base is on one of Jupiter's moons. UAC's scientists thought that this distance from Earth might prevent another catastrophic invasion, however this is proven not to be the case, and another invasion unfolds.
    • The Doomguy, now in command of the marine deployment, has been away on a walk, and has thus escaped death or zombification. After being attacked by an imp he rushes back to the base, where he sees the demonic spaceship still hovering above it and realizes what has happened. Then he swears that he will seek vengeance for his slain troops and sets out to kill as many evil creatures as possible. Doomguy defeats the hordes again, and destroys a sibling of the Icon of Sin, the Demon Spitter.
    • Following the last invasion, UAC's scientists start working on quantum accelerator devices intended to close interdimensional gates and stop possible invasions. The work seems to be going well, the UAC now able to close gates as soon as they open. They are not prepared when 7 gates open at once, and only 6 are able to be closed. The complex is overrun, and everyone present is slain, or zombified. The last gate of Hell remains open, manned and guarded by a demon Gatekeeper, another brother of the Icon of Sin. The government, frantic that the quantum accelerator will be destroyed or used in some evil alien fashion against humanity, orders all marines to the site at once. Doomguy is the closest one to the site and gets there first. There he concludes that by the time reinforcements arrive that the demons will be too numerous and powerful. The marine decides to enter the complex and stop the Gatekeeper alone, which he does, vanquishing demons for the fourth time.
  • Following this, the Marine was decommissioned. Some years later, he was called upon again to fight the hellish force attacking a space station because of his reputation, prompting him to return to Hell where he defeated the Mother of All Demons. In order to save Earth, he decided to close the portal from inside Hell and continue the fight against the demons. Not too soon after this, the Mother's sister, Resurrector, wanted vengeance, thus teleported him to Earth to kill him there. But he fought his way to Hell again and defeated her there. Once more, chose to remain in Hell to fend off the demons for eternity.

• Pre-DOOM
  • At some point, after countless battles in Hell, Doomguy was teleported to Sentinel Prime due to a rift in space-time being opened from killing the Resurrector. He was given trial by combat to see if he could walk among the people of Argent D'Nur, and rose to victory over every enemy. The Khan Makyrs, gods to the Argentians, chose him to join the Night Sentinels when the forces of Hell also found their way to Argenta, as his immense strength would help them, and he seemed to have a history with destroying demons already.
  • It was soon discovered that the Makyrs had allied themselves with Hell and wanted to use the Night Sentinels technology to use souls of the damned across the universe to power themselves with Argent Energy. This caused a rift in the Night Sentinels, who went to war with each other and the Makyrs.
  • Because of his bloodlust, and infamy among demons, he was gifted with immense power by the Seraphim. The Seraphim was an angel from Heaven who stole "The Father" from the Makyrs and rebelled against the Khan Makyr in order to grant Doomguy immense power, speed and immortality.
  • Doomguy would emerge in the first battles in Hell, driven by vengeance against the dark lords, earning the title of Doom Slayer. He became known as the Hell Walker and Unchained Predator, he waged war relentlessly, destroying demons across realms. His legend grew over eons, as he continued to slaughter demons, gaining strength from his fallen foes. Eventually, he faced and defeated the mighty Titan, which was created by the lords of Hell to stop him, but he too was destroyed in his wake.
  • On and on he continued his destruction of demons on his quest to stop the Makyrs from using their technology on damning the souls of earth, before he was ultimately trapped by the demon priests, lured into a tomb where he was sealed away, a warning to all of Hell. Though entombed, his legend endures as a force of unstoppable wrath and destruction.

• DOOM & DOOM: Eternal
  • An unknown amount of time later, the Doom Slayer was awakened from his slumber by Doctor Samuel Hayden, who discovered his tomb when the UAC was journeying to Hell to uncover Argent Energy. After the lead scientists at the UAC were corrupted by Hell's demons, Hayden used the Doom Slayer to return their technology back to Mars and seal the portal to Hell once again, but Hayden had been using the Doom Slayer to gain the upper hand, and continued his research into Argent Energy, transporting the Doom Slayer to another location.
  • 15 years later, Hell is unleashed on Earth, and the Doom Slayer returns to destroy it by killing the Demon Priests who were corrupted by Hell. After retrieving his Crucible, he makes his way to the Khan Makyr's domain, where he kills the Khan Makyr, but not before she can resurrect the Icon of Sin, who he previously destroyed. The Icon makes it way to Earth, where the Slayer follows it and kills it for good. Now, with VEGA being revealed to be "The Father", the reign of the Khan Makyrs is over.
  • Not much time later, the forces of Hell continue to rage in Heaven without the Khan Makyr. Samuel Hayden sends the Slayer to find the Seraphim who has been locked away underwater, as he is the only one who will be able to send him to Heaven to stop the forces of Hell from using the technology there to destroy the world. It is soon after that it is discovered that Samuel Hayden himself is the Seraphim, meaning all this time he has been a god who gave the Slayer the power of the Makyrs, and has been helping him all this time. Samuel's form begins to transmogrify, and the only way to stop it is to get The Father's Life Orb, which is in Hell. When he gets there, instead of taking the Life Orb to transform back into The Father, he destroys it and takes the Life Orb of the Dark Lord, Davoth, instead. With The Father's spirit gone, the only thing left of him is in VEGA. The Slayer takes the orb to the Luminarium in what's left of Urdak and briefly fights Samul before awakening the Dark Lord himself, who is revealed to be him: Doomguy- from this world.
  • Davoth is unable to be killed in the Luminarium so he tells the Slayer to meet him in the capital city of Hell. The Slayer makes his way to the World Spear, the birthplace of the Argentians, and makes his way there, before finally making the trek to Hell for the final time. There he confronts Davoth, who reveals that HE is the true creator of all things, and was betrayed by his creations, locked away and seething with hatred and rage. He forged contracts out of vengeance and the betrayal of Samur and the creation of the Slayer was all orchestrated by him. Doomguy destroys his creator once and for all, causing all demons outside of Hell to be vanquished for good. With the devil dead, the Doom Slayer falls and is entombed by the remaining gods.

May the blood on your sword never dry and may we never need you again.