This is a very good illustration of Doom's main, overwhelming flaw - his ego. Even if he DID become a hero, he could never become the sort of ultimate hero that would give his life for the cause, because in his mind, that would be doing the world a greater disservice than any villainy could ever do. 'Cause he's DOOM, dammit, and therefore must be the BEST HERO EVER! It's interesting in that he's not so much concerned for his life or his soul here, as he is for the world itself - by his way of thinking, leaving it without a Doom is many magnitudes worse than leaving it with a Valeria, no matter how much he loves her. To his mind, this isn't selfishness, it's altruism. It would never cross his mind that the world managed to get along perfectly well without him for so many years - he's here now, and he can't do such a terrible thing as to deprive it of his magnificent self at this point. 'Twould not be Doomly! To his credit, though, he DOES then spend years trying to get her back - and who knows, he might succeed. He IS Doom, after all. Go get 'em, Doomy! We're all cheerin' for ya!