Mars (aka Risi Soru or the Red Planet) is the fourth planet from the sun in the Solar System.
Doom[]
Doom's action takes place on Phobos and Deimos, the two moons of Mars, although in the introductory story the protagonist is initially stationed on Mars itself. No action takes place on Mars itself.
Doom II[]
According to the backstory the Marine of Doom II stopped an invasion at Mars Base which occurred over the course of a few days. He was the only survivor. He was sent home from Mars on shore leave only to discover that Earth was invaded after his drop pod landed.
Doom 64 Remastered[]
Though not mentioned by name in-game, the installation in Doom 64 Remastered is stated to be on Mars (it was marketed as Phobos in the original release by Nintendo).
- Years have passed since you stopped Hell’s invasion of Earth. Quarantined for humanity’s safety, the UAC research facilities on Mars were abandoned and forgotten...until now.
In the remaster version: Mars Base is visited during the game.
Though in the original manual the installation was described to be 'planetary' base twice (even though other backstories links it to the moon Phobos).
The manual discusses it being location of the classified "Doom Episodes" described as a 'space installation' he once saved, and in Nintendo Power, Our Hero mentions he had returned to the location of his 'first mission' (which technically could be Mars as he was stationed there in Doom 1, but Doom II marine was also stationed there as well). In addition, it refers to 'installations' plural in another secitin which could be a reference to both Phobos and Deimos.
The reference to Mars facilities, could actually be a reference to the Doom II's manual's story, which offered a different 'escape' for the Marine (Doom II), after he fought the forces of hell at the Mars Base itself. Or it could be a reference to Doom 3 (or Doom RPG) events which also chronicled the Mars invasion.
Other earlier backstories/concepts might suggest it's possible even the Moons of Jupiter base visited during TNT:Evilution (which had similal craggy brown mountains). Like the moon of Jupiter (believed to be Io), some of the Doom 64 levels also contain lava.
Whatever the case, the sky in levels of Doom 64 appears to be simply a starlit background, but the first time you get a chance to get outside the base to see the the Terraformer device, you can make out reddish/brown craggy mountains (shadowed in nightly blue) in the distance (perhaps also indicating the possibility of it being on Mars, Phobos, or Io). Interestingly if use noclip on indoor levels only stars can be seen in the skybox (meaning that two different skyboxes are used), the stars are only being to be seen from skylights. Some levels which take place completely indoors and have no skylights have no sky textures at all. Oddly enough the star patterns used in the two sky textures appear to be what would be seen from earth, with Venus seen in the sky, as well as Orion constellation. While a spaceport installation on Earth was attacked in Doom II, its unlikely that it would be the same location, or that earth would need 'terraforming'.
Doom 3 and Resurrection of Evil[]
In Doom 3, the action is set directly on Mars, in the UAC Mars Research Base and Mars City. The player is required to venture onto the barren surface of Mars a number of times during Doom 3, and must fight off demons while topping up their oxygen supply via collectible tanks. Although the planet is portrayed as being realistically inhospitable, a decision was made early on to increase Mars' gravity to match Earth's for gameplay reasons (in reality, Mars has barely 38% of Earth's gravity).
Mars was once inhabited by an advanced civilization that was destroyed by the forces of Hell after creating a teleportation device that led to the opening of a portal into the netherworld. The Martian race, in desperation, sacrificed their remaining population to create the Soul Cube which was then used by their champion in defeating the demons and sealing the portal to Hell. The few survivors left Mars and are implied to have traveled to Earth, where they became the ancestors of modern humankind.
Doom RPG[]
The backstory treats it as a sequel to Doom 1-3 (or at least in the same timeline, the exact order is not clear), it is set in the Mars Outpost the oldest facility on Mars, older than the Mars City.
In Doom II RPG the main characters (a different set of characters from the character in the first game) transfer from Mars to go to the Lunar Outpost.
Deimos is missing from Mars skies which seems to be a nod to the events of the original Doom/Ultimate Doom. However, its orbit can be seen, so its possible its still there, just not viewable on screen.
Doom (2016)[]
By the late 21st century, the colonization of Mars had little appeal beyond exploration for humanity until the discovery of the Argent Fracture, located in Promethei Terra, in 2095 renewed interest in the Red Planet. The Union Aerospace Corporation established an outpost in 2096 to extract the Argent Fracture and began producing Argent Energy, the primary power source for Earth.[1] The UAC expanded the outpost into the UAC Mars Installation located in the Hellas Plain and is the main center of Argent Energy production through the Argent Energy Tower.
The UAC terraformed the Red Planet's surface to have a breathable atmosphere. Other locations on Mars mentioned include Meridiani Spaceport. There is an offworld orbital research station above Mars called the UACSS Picus.
The Argent Fracture and ancient ruins that are founded on the surface of Mars indicate that the Red Planet is connected to the civilization of Argent D'Nur. Artifacts founded by the UAC in the Argent Fracture includes statues related to the Night Sentinels and the Helix Stone.
Doom Eternal[]
In Doom Eternal, it is revealed that the planet used to be habitable, and was colonized by the Bethian clansmen from Argent D'Nur who built the Sentinel City of Hebeth on its surface. Hebeth was renowned for its slipgates that connected the Sentinel Worlds together, but it, along with the rest of the city, was lost at an uncertain time when Mars was rendered uninhabitable and Hebeth sunk into Mars's core.[2]
Despite this, the slipgate to Sentinel Prime still functioned well after the city collapsed. This gate became crucial to the Doom Slayer's efforts, as he needed to reach Sentinel Prime where Deag Grav was located. Since there was no other way to reach Hebeth, the Slayer utilized the BFG-10000 and fired it at Mars' surface, breaching the crust and exposing the planet's core.
Mars continued to break up well after the BFG was fired, and although there are no mentions of its current status, it is presumed that the planet broke apart.
Trivia[]
- Mars depiction in Doom (2016) has several references to Doom 3 (though they are technically different universes), which include ancient ruins and evidences of a prior civilization founded on the planet, Site 1 and Site 3, and an easter egg of a Soul Cube.