Dr. Malcolm Betruger (Doom: Annihilation)

Dr. Malcolm Betruger.

Dr. Malcolm Betruger is the main antagonist of the 2019 motion picture Doom: Annihilation. He is an adaptation of Malcolm Betruger, the villain of Doom 3, and like his namesake, he is an experimental physicist working for the UAC to create a form of teleportation utilizing ancient alien gateways left in various parts of the Solar System. He has studied the gateways for three decades and, just as the film opens, he has finally transported a live human test subject from the Delta Lab in Nevada on Earth to the Martian moon of Phobos, where the UAC maintains a research base. Dr. Betruger is portrayed by actor Dominic Mafham.

Plot

Spoiler Warning: Plot details follow.

As the film opens, a volunteer test subject prepares to enter the gateway as Dr. Betruger and his assistants observe. While the test subject is physically transferred intact, he becomes deranged and begins screaming while black fluid leaks from his eyes and mouth. While later engaged in conversation with Dr. Ahmed Kahn at the Nevada Delta Lab via video chat, Betruger is completely unconcerned with what happened to the test subject, blaming the subject's reaction on anti-depressant medications found in his blood. Betruger insists that the gateways be tested again, against Dr. Kahn's urgings, and that this time he will volunteer as the subject of the experiment himself. Betruger enters the gateway, but there is an immediate malfunction and systems throughout the Phobos base are disrupted. As the power goes out, growling and screaming can be heard.

The arrival of a squadron of space marines who were to be stationed at the base as security becomes a search and rescue mission. After the battles in the maintenance area and arboretum where several marines and civilians are killed by zombified staff, Dr. Betruger is rescued by Harry and brought back to their ship. Betruger is strangely and fiercely adamant that the marines restore power to the base and stabilize its fusion reactor as soon as possible, to the exclusion of all other objectives, insisting that he is on the verge of a research breakthrough that he will not allow to be derailed by any sort of disaster. He clashes with Lieutenant Joan Dark, who is now in command of the squadron after the death of Captain Hector Savage. She wants to immediately evacuate on the ship or, failing that, establish communications for backup and evacuation by other marine forces.

Betruger is confronted quietly by Veronica, who remembers him entering the portal before the base blacked out and wants to know more about what happened. Betruger dismisses her concerns and claims that he does not remember what happened in the critical moments.

After Joan seemingly acquiesces to Betruger's demands in a ruse to re-establish external communications, he guides the marines to the power core. Once there, Bennett Stone begins the process of restoring power, but Betruger begins to berate and verbally attack Joan during the process, rattling off damning quotations from her squad mates which he claims to have read in her personnel file. He then whispers to Veronica that he does in fact remember everything about the base's invasion and stabs her in the back, mortally wounding her. He seals the marines, Bennett, and the dying Veronica into the power core with a number of imps and as a result, most of the remaining marines are killed. Only Joan and Bennett survive, but Veronica reveals what Betruger told her before she dies, and they decide to pursue him to the base's restricted level using Bennett's high-level-access yellow key card.

On the way to the restricted level, Bennett is kidnapped by an imp, and when Joan arrives to confront Betruger, who is now attempting to reactivate the gateway, he first has imp attack her, and then the now zombified Bennett attack her. Joan kills Bennett after failing to reach him through his demonic possession and then turns on Betruger, shooting him. Betruger however rises back up and reveals to Joan that he has been taken over by a demonic infestation in his abdomen, telling her that she cannot kill something that is already dead. He then reactivates the portal fully and shoves Joan through it into Hell. He is not seen again. After Joan arrives on Earth, Dr. Kahn notes the portal is charging up again and believes it is Betruger coming through, not knowing of his demonic corruption. A monstrous growl is heard as the film cuts to black.

Quotes

• "I believe that this incident unfairly judges the result. Despite it all, we teleported a human from Earth to Phobos."
• "We always knew there were going to be some cell reconfiguration issues. We deconstructed a human and reassembled them. I'm not gonna stop just because the subject's fingernails grew."
• "I'm not going to allow bureaucrats that don't understand the science that keeps them alive today determine the science that will keep them alive tomorrow."
• "Now, we've spent decades just trying to figure out what we have, and the amazing thing is, is that the gates predate the pyramids, and yet they won't work unless they're hooked up to technology which we've only just created. So it's as if they knew where we'd be in our evolution when we found them."
• "Don't be ridiculous. This was just a setback... My business is saving humanity. A handful of lives lost is tragic, but, yes, a setback."
• "No, these gates are the greatest discovery in the history of mankind and they will not be sacrificed! I will not allow it!"
• "And your Captain Savage, he asked if Lieutenant Dark was guilty of treason! Treason! Which carries the death penalty."
• "And, Miss Cyr, I remember everything. And you won't be telling a soul."
• "No, I'm sorry. I spent my entire life looking for the new world. I finally found it."
• "Earth was theirs long before it was ours. Language, science, math. They gave us everything. Without them, we wouldn't evolve. They simply want what's rightfully theirs back."
• "I was reborn, Joan. What I thought was punishment, turned out to be my salvation. He gave me a purpose. He showed me the way and he'll do the same for all mankind."
• "You can't kill what's already dead."

Spoilers end here.