Old Doomguy

**Old Doomguy** (often referred to as **Doomguy** or the **Doom Marine**) is the protagonist and player character in the upcoming mod *DOOM: Reawakened*. He is the lone-surviving heroic Marine from the events of *The Ultimate DOOM* and *DOOM II: Hell on Earth*.

## Concept and Creation

The original character of Doomguy was created by id Software co-founders Tom Hall and Adrian Carmack and assistant artist Kevin Cloud. He is called Doomguy because id Software created him without a name as a means of increasing immersion for players. "There was never a name for the [*Doom*] marine," said John Romero, "because it's supposed to be [the player]." It was also said by Romero that Doomguy is the great-grandson of *Wolfenstein* protagonist William "B.J." Blazkowicz and the son of *Commander Keen* protagonist Billy Blaze. His only known heritage is Caucasian, although it is rumored that he may also be of Polish and Jewish descent.

As the character became one of the most popular video game protagonists, Doomguy was reincarnated in different adaptations to the franchise. He was depicted as Corporal Flynn "Fly" Taggart in a series of four novels written by authors Dafydd ab Hugh and Brad Linaweaver. He was also given somewhat of a backstory. Along with that, the story says that there were two surviving Marines instead of just one: a female supporting character named PFC Arlene Sanders, who also served as a potential love interest. *DOOM* was given its first remake on August 3, 2004 titled *DOOM 3*. Despite its name, it was not a sequel to its previous games; and the Doomguy in that game had a different appearance. He was depicted as a Marine part of a security regiment on Mars and was assigned to Counselor Elliot Swann. He has no name in the game but was called John Kane in the novel *DOOM 3: Worlds on Fire*. A different Marine assumed the role of protagonist in *DOOM 3: Resurrection of Evil* and was more of an anti-hero than the other. On October 21, 2005, a film adaptation was released. Its version of Doomguy was a Marine named Staff Sergeant John "Reaper" Grimm, played by New Zealand actor Karl Urban. Reaper has a backstory where his parents were UAC archaeologists who were killed during an accident that took place in a dig site on Mars; and he has a sister named Samantha Grimm, a scientist played by English actress Rosamund Pike. Near the end of the film, Reaper is near death and is injected with an ancient Martian super-gene serum that gives him superhuman strength, speed, and accelerated healing. Unlike previous versions of Doomguy, Reaper was a talking character. In *DOOM RPG*, Doomguy is said to be the same Marine from the first two games as B.J. Blazkowicz III. He has a relative in *DOOM II RPG* named Stan Blazkowicz, who is also a descendant of the protagonist from the *Wolfenstein* series. Finally, *DOOM* was given its last reboot released on May 13, 2016, depicting Doomguy as an ancient warrior called the Doom Slayer. This version of the character once had a shady backstory, with rumors suggesting that he could be the original Doomguy with a story serving as a loose continuation of *DOOM 64*. He is fully dressed in power armor, and he has superhuman strength and speed that he had gotten from a seraphim. In the beginning of the game, he is trapped inside a sarcophagus, either captured or was banished into Hell as punishment. He is discovered by UAC Director Samuel Hayden and sees that the demonic invasion on Mars had already begun. This reincarnation of the heroic Marine reprises his role in *DOOM Eternal*, and the lore of that game confirmed the fan theories to be true that the Doom Slayer is indeed the original Doomguy.

In early March 2019, a trailer was released for the upcoming direct-to-video film *DOOM: Annihilation*. It was Universal Pictures' second attempt in making a live-action film adaptation for *DOOM*. The film's first trailer received so many negative reactions, even from Mad Squirrel Mods who criticized the film's budget and practical effects. Along with the many differences that the movie has, it was the first *DOOM* title to present a female protagonist, thus replacing the franchise's most iconic character. Mad Squirrel Mods has even talked foul towards lead actress Amy Manson and her "unnecessary" behavior of accusing the fanbase as misogynists. Her abusive tweet saying "WHO NEEDS DOOMGUY?" became the primary cause of the fans boycotting the upcoming film. *DOOM: Annihilation* was leaked just weeks prior to the film's release, and so criticism of the film even before its launch was overwhelmingly negative.

Mad Squirrel Mods decided to create a fan-fiction continuation to the original Doomguy's story that is alternate from *DOOM 64*. This new story would portray Doomguy as an old man who had survived the many terrors of Hell and would have more experience than his younger self. The idea of an old-aged Doomguy began as a joke making fun of Hollywood action stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Bruce Willis, who reprise roles that they originally played in their youths. Old Doomguy was to be the embodiment of that joke, but instead has become somewhat of a symbol to the old saying, "Once a marine, always a marine."

At some point, id Software revealed the existence of a multiverse, which was briefly mentioned by William "B.J." Blazkowicz in a cutscene in *Wolfenstein: Youngblood*. Afterwards, Mad Squirrel Mods decided that the timeline for *DOOM: Reawakened* exists as one of many different alternate realities within the id Multiverse.

## Background

### History

Details of Old Doomguy's past and personal life are unknown. It has been revealed though that he is the great-grandson of B. J. Blazkowicz, an American secret agent who fought against the Nazis and assassinated Adolf Hitler during World War II. Also, Doomguy once had a wife, a son, and a pet rabbit named Daisy prior to the events that began the First Demonic War. What is officially known about him is that he is the lone survivor of the Marine regiment on Mars that served as part of the expedition’s security force. He was originally stationed on Mars as punishment for assaulting a superior officer. In Doomguy's defense, the superior officer he assaulted had ordered him to shoot and kill unarmed innocent civilians during a mission in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, even though Doomguy did the right thing in acting against an illegal order, his good deed did not go unpunished. Additionally, as part of his punishment, his family had to stay behind on Earth.

In 2022, as part of the expedition’s main security detail, he witnessed the first Hell Portal and battled his way through an army of demons. He eventually returned to Earth, only to find that his family and their pet rabbit had been slaughtered gruesomely by the demons. He then finds another Hell Portal in the middle of his home town and returns to Hell and puts a stop to the invasion, thus signifying the end of the First Demonic War. The people of Earth looked up to him as a hero and had, at some point in the aftermath, built a monument for him. This was of course against Doomguy’s wishes; and so he retired, both because he was annoyed by the constant hero worship and he had lost his family thus his entire life.

### *DOOM: Reawakened*

*Main article: DOOM: Reawakened*

In 2052, his retirement had come to an end because he was chosen to finish the now Second Demonic War, seeing he is the only person alive who understands the enemy and knows how to defeat them.

## Personality

Even when he was young, Old Doomguy has always been known for being the silent type. Despite his lack of words, his actions speak louder. With the fact that Doomguy was meant to be the player, he does not have a known personality. With personalities aside, he was often seen with an evil grin every time he found and picked up a new weapon. Now that he is an old man, he has been rumored to be more cantankerous than his younger self. It would also seem that the events of the First Demonic War plus the loss of his family had made him fall into severe post-traumatic stress disorder. Old Doomguy was bored by his retirement; and as typical of a Marine, he wanted to be back out in the field than sitting at home doing nothing. Regardless of his reasons for retiring, it is possible that the USMC would have medically discharged him from his service in the military anyway due to his PTSD. When they offered him to come back to put a stop to the Second Demonic War, it was an offer that he welcomed with open arms. He was chosen for the task because he is the only man brave and crazy enough to survive the forces of Hell.

## Physical Features and Traits

Even though he is now old, his age does not appear to have slowed him down. His fighting skills are still impressive, suggesting that he has been practicing and keeping himself in shape during his retirement. He knows how to use any weapons in sight, both projectile and melee. Besides just melee weapons, he is also trained in close quarters combat.

Doomguy originally had brown hair; but over time, it had become completely gray. In addition, he has a ragged beard and blue eyes; and he has a muscular body capable of withstanding any physical pain.

## Appearances

* *The Ultimate DOOM*
* *DOOM II: Hell on Earth*
* *DOOM: Reawakened*

## Trivia

* Old Doomguy's name is a homage to Old Snake from *Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots*.
* Old Doomguy was originally going to be given an eye patch, but the idea was scrapped because the modder felt that this would have made the character look too much like Big Boss from the *Metal Gear* franchise.
* In regards to the player avatar, the idea of portraying the player character without his helmet is to signify him as a character who is not as generic as the other Marines.
* In the original games, Doomguy is voiced by American actor Mike Dopud. The audio files for Dopud's voice have been kept for the voice of Old Doomguy.
* One of Old Doomguy's nicknames is "Man and a Half". This is meant to be a homage to a one-liner from the *DOOM* comic.
* Doomguy's mission in Afghanistan and his punishment of being sent to the Mars base consist of backstory elements similar to that of Corporal Flynn "Fly" Taggart, the protagonist of the novel *DOOM: Knee-Deep in the Dead*.
* In the beginning of *Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus*, William "B.J." Blazkowicz wakes up from his five-month coma, which was due to the severe injuries he received from his last encounter with General Wilhelm "Deathshead" Strasse at the end of *Wolfenstein: The New Order*, with a beard. His face was coincidentally identical to that of Old Doomguy, probably because he and Doomguy have the exact same kind of face in general.
* Fans have revealed that the Doom Slayer from id Software's *DOOM* (2016) and *DOOM Eternal*, who is apparently their take on Doomguy from the original timeline, may have had a wife and son whom he lost when the demons invaded Earth. Old Doomguy's wife and son are meant to be those two characters.
* Doomguy's family shares a similar kind of tragedy as Max Rockatansky's family in the first episode of the *Mad Max* series.

## References

1. ↑ Wikipedia. "Doomguy", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomguy#cite\_note-7
2. ↑ Hugh, Dafydd ab & Linaweaver, Brad. *DOOM: Knee-Deep in the Dead*. ISBN: 9783833212079.
3. ↑ Hugh, Dafydd ab & Linaweaver, Brad. *DOOM: Hell on Earth*. ISBN: 9783833212086.
4. ↑ Hugh, Dafydd ab & Linaweaver, Brad. *DOOM: Infernal Sky*. ISBN: 9780671525637.
5. ↑ Hugh, Dafydd ab & Linaweaver, Brad. *DOOM: Endgame*. ISBN: 9781501100307.
6. ↑ Costello, Matthew. *DOOM 3: Worlds on Fire*. ISBN: 9781476791265.
7. ↑ Fandom, Doom Wiki. "ID multiverse timeline", https://doom.fandom.com/wiki/ID\_multiverse\_timeline
8. ↑ Fandom, Doom Wiki. "Flynn Taggart", https://doom.fandom.com/wiki/Flynn\_Taggart
9. ↑ Midnight. "Doom Eternal - The Real Reason Why The Doom Slayer Is So Angry", YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CBJKuxcg9k