Fantastic Four v6 #34 (2021)
by Dan Slott & R.B.Silva
cover by Mark Brooks
Last issue, the Fantastic Four… well the Human Torch really… ruined Doctor Doom’s wedding.
I’m sure he won’t take it personally.
Although he seems to be mostly angry at Victorious.
Too bad this means we most likely won’t ever see Doom’s wedding suit again, because IT LOOKS AWESOME.
But being serious for a moment: Doom isn’t actually angry that she slept with Johnny Storm… it happened before he proposed, and it’s not like he loves her or anything… marrying her is just to make her a queen that can rule while he’s busy elsewhere.
I mean he’s not HAPPY about it, but that’s not his motivation here.
Doom is angry because revealing it during the ceremony made him look like a fool.
Although the embarrassment is limited by the fact that the wedding wasn’t being shown to anyone else: after Susan showed Doom’s face to the whole planet on a live transmission, Doom has become a bit more careful.
And more ruthless, because he orders the death of EVERYONE WHO ATTENTED THE WEDDING.
Don’t be surprised that this means he just ordered the death of some Latverians for petty reasons, that is HARDLY the first time it happens.
Reed… for the smartest man on the planet(citation needed), sometimes you can be irritatingly naïve.
Also, if you thought this would be the start of Victorious understanding what a monster her king is… she’s too far gone.
Yeah I’m afraid that at this point nothing you could possibly show to the Latverians would convince them.
Things are so desperate that even the Human Torch starts acting seriously.
I truly don’t get the hate that Slott gets for this run. Yeah he does take some divisive plot decisions, but you can’t tell me he doesn’t have the voices of the characters.
Namor the Sub-Mariner, Prince of Atlantis, Marvelous Creep Since 1939.
Johnny raises an interesting point that the story doesn’t really answer: why did Victorious wait for the wedding before telling Doom?
I think the most plausible answer is that she was afraid he would kill her, but it’s kind of weird she never bothers to explain.
She still saves Johnny from being blasted by a robot, something that Doom doesn’t appreciate.
Johnny repays the debt by saving Victorious from one of Doom’s own blasts.
The FF get to fight Doom’s latest toy for a bit…
…but the toy overloads, threatening to blow up the whole country. Will Victorious need to sacrifice her life in order to save her people?
Nope!
There is, however, some payback for embarrassing Doom.
Doom’s revenge is absolutely BRUTAL: now Johnny is permanently on fire, unable to turn off his flame, and from his reaction it hurts.
Holy crap that is more cruel than MOST of what he’s tried to do to Reed over the decades!!!
The official Latverian story is that the whole wedding was just a ruse to expose a terrorist attack.
Also, ladies, he is single again!
The artwork has been good but not spectacular, however I really have to praise this panel for how well it sells Victorious’s mental state.
And you won’t be seeing her face for a while, because apparently Doom meant she LITERALLY can’s show her face.
Doom significance: 3/10
This is not the last we see of Victorious, as she will play a part in the final Slott arc and she’s had a few more appearances. It does sign the end of her Doom’s right hand, but she might still be his most trusted lieutenant. Mostly because there aren’t a lot of those still alive.
Johnny will need a few issues before his curse is lifted.
Silver Age-ness: 0/10
Not really.
Will it stand the test of time? 9/10
I would have preferred a bit more insight into why Victorious acted the way she did, but that’s my only real complain.
She remains a tragic figure, hopelessly devoted to a man who has lost all his respect for her and now considers her just a minor pawn.
Doom is both in charge of the situation and completely unhinged in how he intends to keep things quiet, and I always appreciate when Doom’s constrasting strains are in the spotlight.