!Disclaimer!: Assumptions made. This is me taking game details and mine/other's ideas and splicing them together. You don't have to believe anything I say here, this is pure speculation on my end. However, I do encourage people to share their thoughts on this, just please be respectful!
Spoilers for Doom 2016, Doom Eternal, and Doom the Dark Ages
When I first became interested in DOOM early this year, I went looking around to read about the lore/story line of the games. This was BEFORE I played any of the games. I held out on buying 2016 and Eternal 'til they went on sale. I have since played both.
In that search, I found This Post on reddit. Below is the text copy/pasted to save you a click.
Hugo Martin in an interview stated, "Davoth is like the Doom Slayer of his world, but unlike Doom Guy, Davoth failed to save his people. Now you have humans looking up to the Slayer like he is a God..."
What did Davoth fail to save his people from? Why would Hugo Martin imply that Davoth was a savior who failed, when the Maykrs claimed that Davoth was "harming and abusing the humans of Jekkad."? We know the Doom Slayer prevented the consumption of Earth. Was there something else that was consuming Jekkad that started this whole problem? Just where exactly do these Wraith and their Crystal ship actually come from?
I think the suffering of the humans on Jekkad in the early days sounds much like the struggle that the Night Sentinals claim to have had. The Night Sentinals turned away from the Wraith because they felt abandoned due to the hardships they had. They wondered why would a caring God allow death and despair? Davoth wondered the same thing, which is why he sought out Immortality and that's what allegedly started this whole thing. Perhaps this is why Davoth modeled the Maykrs after the Wraith, and this made the True God of the true realm of creation furious so he Imbued a Seraph with enough power to defeat Davoth and take the title "The Father"...
Come to think of it, didn't they do the same with Doom Slayer...
This confused me, rightly so, when I first found it. Who were the Wraiths, who was Davoth, the fuck was Jekkad, so on and so forth.
Lets look at some things now that I've played the games.
First up is Hugo Martians statement, "Davoth is like the Doom Slayer of his world, but unlike Doom Guy, Davoth failed to save his people..."
Based on the codexs, we can answer "What did Davoth fail to save his people from?"
Davoth sought eternal life for the people of Jekkad. But what would cause a decline in the population of Jekkad? Just make merry, fuck, and repopulate, right? Or, hell, do some mitosis or whatever. Even then "his people" couldn't just be a handful of souls, could they? So what was causing Davoth's most favored creations to not just die but die out? The DOOM Wiki puts this perfectly, "Davoth knew that he himself was not mortal, and feared the possibility of his beloved people's extinction, leaving him alone in an empty realm."
Could he not simply create more of his people? Or, "Was there something else that was consuming Jekkad that started this whole problem?", the User speculated. Perhaps something more ancient than Davoth. Perhaps whatever created him?
In Davoth's search to find how to make his people immortal, he created the Maykrs. The User did bring up a good point, "Perhaps this is why Davoth modeled the Maykrs after the Wraith". They do look awfully similar in their cephalopod-ic ways. A common trope in western biblical stories of hubris is the attempt to recreate an image of a god. Could Davoth have created the Maykers as his servants to spite his own gods?
Why spite his gods? Why spite the creators whom gave him a whole realm- Two realms even if we're counting Urdak!
"The Night Sentinals turned away from the Wraith because they felt abandoned due to the hardships they had. They wondered, "why would a caring God allow death and despair?" Davoth wondered the same thing, which is why he sought out Immortality and that's what allegedly started this whole thing."
Why was Davoth given immortality when he himself could not bestow such a thing? Why was he made to witness the death of all he loved over and over again? Perhaps because he wasn't truly their creator.
"According to Maykr history, the original Dark Lord was an immortal being once known as Davoth, created by the Father to rule over his first deliberate creation, a realm called Jekkad." - DOOM Wiki
What if Maykr history isn't entirely untrue and neither was Davoth's monologue? What if the Father represents Two beings: both the being that over saw the Maykrs and Davoth's Creator?
Looping back to Davoth spiting his gods with the creation of his own servants, The Father operates a role as the leader of the Maykrs. One could rightfully assume the Father was Davoth's right hand in Urdak. Who better to oversee Davoth's "divine" creations and their extremely important mission than the most faithfully re-created image of his own creator? A creation made to love him as his own creator had not.
"Why would a caring God allow death and despair?" and thus Davoth made a god who did care. A god who was nothing like his own. A God who loved like he loved. Only issue is that Davoth's creation loved more than him and his people.
"The Father saw the future of this endeavor, that Davoth and his people would never cease in their search, regardless of the cost. Foreseeing that this ambition would someday threaten all creation and how Davoth would someday seek to challenge his creator himself, the Father sealed off Jekkad from all other realms." - DOOM Wiki
The Maykr-Father knew Davoth would challenge whomever created him. And it would be a battle that would hurt- even destroy- all of the realms. That's why the Maykr-Father attempted to shut off Jakkad and trap Davoth. The Maykr-Father knew Davoth's pain, knew his suffering and empathized with it.
"While Samur Maykr begged the Father to destroy the Life Sphere containing Davoth's essence, he refused, as Davoth was still his own favored creation." - DOOM Wiki
He still loved Davoth. And that act of losing the one who not only created him but loved him so wholly drove the Maykr-Father to retreat from the physical realm.
Now, I wont touch too much on why/how the Maykrs are able to reincarnate, but I'd like to believe it's a method of memory transference. A new vessel grown from flesh and enhanced with machines (Just like so many demons hmm?). Pop the memories in and BAM good to go. The Luminarium the Maykr-Father was placed in could be a factory of sorts, providing the grown vessels. This could very well be the "secret of immortality" the Maykrs discovered and hid from Davoth. "-the Luminarium, which served as a temple for Maykrs to seek answers and resurrecting the Maykrs from the process of Transfiguration." - DOOM Wiki
"-the Father's essence was stolen by Samur and taken to the Temple of Souls, as he had been tasked to do so by the Father in case Hell ever became a threat to Urdak again. This caused the Luminarium to cease to communicate and disrupted the cycle of selecting Khan Maykrs, allowing the latest Khan Maykr to hold the title indefinitely."- DOOM Wiki
With the Luminarium down, the Maykrs couldn't be reborn. Neither could Davoth have physical form. If the denizens of Jekkad invaded Urdak and took over the Luminarium, they could be reborn a hundred times over. They would never die and Davoth could finally wage his war against his uncaring gods.
Since Davoth however is not merely memory, but a power created by ancient gods, he still had influence to whisper as a ball of energy. Even the Maykr Father could not commune on his own, needing the Luminarium or the programming of VEGA to do so:
"Samur used the secrets of Maykr technology to transfer the Father's mind into a complex AI known as VEGA so that he could continue to exist among his creations and safeguard them against Hell while obscuring himself from the Dark Lord" -DOOM Wiki
Now, how about a summary of what you just read?
Davoth was created by another, higher power, presumably the Wraiths. This is why he is immortal and can influence others even as only his essence. Davoth hated the apathy of his creator-god towards him and his creations. Thus he made the Maykr race to search for a way to achieve immortality. The Maykr race is a direct insult to his creator-gods, made in their image but made to care for and obey Davoth.
The Father refers to both Davoth's creation known as the Father to the Maykrs and Davoth's own creator. The Maykr-Father is the purest image of Davoth's creator-god and so made the head of the entire Maykr race as well as being Davoth's right hand. Knowing and loving Davoth as the Maykr-Father did, he knew of Davoth's pain and suffering from the apathy of his creator-god.
The Maykr-Father knew that in search of immortality, Davoth would stop at nothing to obtain it and would eventually lash out at his creator-god. Thus, for the safety of the Maykr race he was created to oversee and for all other realms, the Maykr-Father used the knowledge of immortality and ripped Davoth's life-energy from him and imprisoned him. The Maykr-Father, made to love Davoth, could not destroy him.
The Luminarium is the Maykr's secret to immortality. There they are reborn/reincarnated. The Maykr-Father's energy is stored there for a time and is eventually stolen away by Samur thus rendering the Luminarium useless for both the Maykr's and the potential invasion of Hell Denizens.
Okay, got all that? Lets continue.
What evidence do we have of the Wraith's being the gods who created Davoth? Well, none. Technically.
It's been established in Doom the Dark Ages that the Wraith are from another realm called the Cosmic Realm. Why they fled the Cosmic Realm is currently unknown.
What we do know is that the Wraith's ship known as the Cosmic Spear or World Spear bisected primordial Argent D,Nur. From there we have the folklore-history of the Argent. The Wraiths are believed to have terraformed the planet and brought life to Argent D'Nur, including the Argenta themselves.
Assuming this is true, the Wraiths can create life. Maybe they created Davoth. Maybe Jekkad's denizens had already begun their war against Davoth's creator-gods and some of the Wraith fled. Once the Wraith were destroyed in Jekkad, there was no way to stop the fall of the realm from paradise as it's denizens became disfigured from the poisoning of Davoth's hatred into his power.
Speculation aside for a second, Check out Davoth's brands/tattoos:
Davoth's Brands/tattoos look an awful lot like Wraith Tentacles and possibly the head/torso of one. Now you could argue the specific reoccurring design of segmented geometric patterns is due to the same production team and artists, BUT it is fun to guess.
Was Davoth branded by his creator? Was he marked as a way of identification? Was it a residual of being touched by the Wraiths? What are the symbols the tentacles seem to be encircling?
In summary, I think there may be a "higher god" than Davoth. Maybe not even a god but a presence above the realms. If not the Wraiths, then what? Is Davoth really the end all be all god of the Modern DOOM Universe? Maybe its Todd Howard in a bathtub geeking on salts. Who knows- not me that's for sure.
Guess we'll have to see what Doom the Dark Ages's DLC tells us and any potential future games.
To you, dear reader, that made it to the end: I am so sorry for this mess of consciousness lmao. Thank you for reading and if you have any thoughts I would LOVE to hear/read them! I'm a big fan of "I don't know" but it's fun to explore topics like this and imagine what the words between the lines say. THANK YOU AGAIN!
Some people may know that Doom (2016) had a board game made after the game’s own design philosophy. In it, a team of up to 4 UAC marines fight against the demonic Invader controlling the demonic horde. In the many cards and mission briefings, the board game has a great deal of flavor text that further fleshes out the world of Doom. Since I have yet to see… well, anyone cover it, I have taken it upon myself to mark down some of the interesting lore given to the demons, UAC, and the wider earth civilization in Doom. This post will focus on lore given from the various cards in the game. The canonicity of this game to Doom (2016)’s story is a bit dubious, so some of this may be overwritten by lore properly given the mainline titles. Without further ado, let’s dive into some niche Doom lore that nobody’s ever heard of!
1. Armor
In the game, all marines start with a standard deck of 4 cards, plus 4 each for their 2 primary weapons. One of the default cards is Armor. Its flavor text reads “A proprietary design based on the Praetor Suit. The UAC tactical armor system provides superior protection and a modular HUD that interfaces with a variety of weapon systems.” It is interesting to note that this means the UAC was able to glean some useful information from analyzing the Praetor suit.
2. Reposition
In addition to armor, every marine gets 2 copies of Quick Shot, whose flavor text is the same as the weapon’s in game codex entry, and 1 copy of Reposition. Reposition reads “Every UAC employee is provided a standard UAC EM (Energy-Matter-Gel) Sidearm upon promotion to Tier 2. This sidearm is reliable and effective at short range.” This card alone paints the UAC as more of a military company than energy production, indicating a heavily armed workforce.
3. Static Rifle
Some of the primary weapons in this game come from Doom (2016)’s multiplayer mode. One of these is the Static Rifle, a weapon that fires more powerful shots while moving. It’s two cards in game, “Charge” and “Discharge” read as follows: “Eschewing traditional ammunition, the Static Rifle builds power through constant motion. While idle, a government mandated safety mechanism disperses excess power” “The Static Rifle stores and amplifies kinetic energy through an Argent process for an incredibly powerful, high-precision energy blast.” Not much to note here.
4. Burst Rifle
Another weapon from the multiplayer, the Three Round Burst card reads “A selective-fire battle rifle equipped with a reciprocating barrel assembly. Approval for Burst Rifle Assignment requires a training course, two written exams, and a live-fire interview.” The level of training needed for this is insane. With that roster, you’d expect it to act like the BFG 9,000.
Fireteams
While this could fit into the mission briefing section, there isn’t as many cards with lore that isn’t already covered in Doom 2016’s codex, so I opted to include it here. The game features various specializations dictated by which fireteam you’re playing as. While the individual specialization cards aren’t given additional lore, the Fireteams are, so I’ll get started with the first one.
5. Fireteam Claymore
“Known for their reliability, Claymore is a well-established squad with a pristine record. An ideal choice for any combat assignment.” Nothing to say here.
6. Fireteam Halberd
“Halberd Agents are subjected to constant teamwork simulations until hey operate as a well-oiled machine. Halberd agents have the highest survival rates in the UAC.”
7. Fireteam Javelin
“Javelin began as an experimental training program for unique skills and weapon specialists. Javelin operatives are often given unusual clearances.” like a fucking burst rifle.
8. Fireteam Khopesh
“The UAC will occasionally employ mercenary teams like Khopesh. Those who exceed expectations are offered lucrative employment packages in the UAC security corps.” This is the first we hear of independent military contractors in all of Doom, and this idea will be alluded to further in the mission briefings.
9. Fireteam Scimitar
“Exclusively hired from military veterans, Scimitar operatives are disciplined soldiers with unmatched effectiveness.” This further alludes to possible military conflicts not involving demonic hordes invading Earth and mars.
10. Fireteam Tomahawk
“Often deployed in hazardous environments, the pathfinders of Tomahawk squad are well regarded as an adaptable, all-terrain engagement team.” I suspect that, if these fireteams are canon, they are the soldiers who accompanied Samuel Hayden into the Kadinger Sanctum to retrieve the Doom Slayer’s sarcophagus.
Well, that’s it for now. I’ll make an additional post soon covering the mission briefings. Believe me, that one will be juicy. See ya then!
Hm. I wonder. I wonder what mental illness could cause nightmares and issues that can not be helped by conventional therapy and treatments. It's not like doomguy has trauma or anything. It's not like doom 64 has a chunk of story telling about his trauma or anything.
It's not like he screams from the divinity machine flashback or anything.
It's not like he hallucinates Daisy or anything.
It's not like he hallucinated screams while tethered in TDA or anything.
It's not like even before the teleportation to the kreed ship made him visibly brace, even under mind control or anything.
It's not like he literally KILLED HIMSELF or anything.
God some Doom fans are fucking insufferable. The number of people refusing to acknowledge that doomguy has some form of trauma, mental illness, or PTSD is genuinely insane. I suppose it comes with "No, he's a big macho man, he can't have trauma." Like oh my fucking god I cannot keep having this conversation. That man is mentally fucked why do people refuse to accept that.
Started playing Doom: The Dark Ages — not gonna lie, out of the trilogy, I think this one has the worst-written codex entries. Most feel like AI-generated word salad, and the entries are rather short. That being said, I do like the information that can be found within — especially the bits about young Prince Ahzrak.
With Davoth sealed away as a life sphere atop Ingmore’s Sanctum, Hell is left without a Dark Lord. So, naturally, the seat of power becomes a revolving door for demons to fight over. It appears an elder council and high priests now take the primary reins, supporting or degrading a candidate as they see fit to guide and rule Hell.
Ahzrak was born in one of Hell’s lowliest citadels, yet he possesses both ambition and strategic intellect — qualities not found in Hell’s previous, more barbaric rulers. The King of Hell rules through fear, and so the Slayer naturally stands opposed to Prince Ahzrak, even beyond the age-old conflict between man and demon. Ahzrak seeks total dominance, and the Slayer makes that impossible.
I haven’t finished the game yet, but I like this lore so far — especially the idea of Whiplash demons being wardens and assassins who serve the High Priests, creating a barrier between Ahzrak and those who would do him harm. Or how the Cyberdemons of this era are mythic horde-masters whose lineages trace back to Jekkad, the First World and Hell’s heart. They serve Ahzrak not only out of tradition, but also because he crippled them to eliminate any chance of rebellion.
Doom Eternal was already so expansive, so I can excuse the lack of depth here. I’m just so used to having a lot to read — content that tries to squeeze out as much detail as possible without sounding overdone or repetitive.
Doom Guy and the Dark Lord are one in the same. Through watching the people he loved die, with no hope of immortality. The Dark Lord made himself a multi-person being. His desire to love his people and not allow them to be corrupted broke of into Doom Guy. His lust for killing demons and saving those who fell to corruption is the same fire The Dark Lord felt to keep his people pure, even if mortal.
