Winter Soldier #5 (2012)
by Ed Brubaker & Butch Guice
cover be Lee Bermejo
Completing the Winter Soldier mini-saga.
Last issue, Lucia Von Bardas managed to enter Doom’s secret base. It is quite telling that Red Ghost is still so in awe of Doom’s technology, considering Doom’s feud with the Intelligentsia team of evil super-scientists.
But we’re mostly dealing with the revelation that Doom programmed his Doombots with the launch codes of the Latverian nuclear arsenal.
Nick Fury does have a point. Why DID Doctor Doom program the Doombots with the launch codes?
I’m joking: Doom actually DOES have a reason which we’ll discuss later.
But first he must deliver one of his best burns.
Nick, that’s a pretty weak answer considering YOU constantly employ robot duplicates of yourself!
Doom is going to jump directly into the Latverian base by modifying the teleporter that Reed Richards gave to S.H.I.E.L.D.
Doom surely has his own teleportation devices, of course, but why miss on the chance to prove he can improve Reed’s technology?
This is when Doom gives us a reason for having the Doombot carry the codes: the missiles are pointed at Latveria itself, which apparently is still ruled by Kristoff.
I’m not surprised Doom has a backup plan in case Kristoff rebels again, but I am surprised that Kristoff is apparently STILL the ruler of Latveria.
This issue has a cover date of July 2012.
So this was published between FF #16 (April 2012) when Doom was lost into another timeline and Fantastic Four #611 (December 2012) where Doom returns.
I was under the impression that Kristoff gave the throne back to Doom before that, when Doom was healed from his brain damage, but apparently not.
Anyway, the team departs to Latveria.
Which means a big dumb ape fight.
Of course Doom WOULD compare all the superheroes he’s fought to apes.
Winter Soldier manages to handle Red Ghost with extreme ease, considering he doesn’t have powers… I’d say this is less thanks to his super-assassin training and more to his experience as a Golden Age superhero.
While Winter Soldier deals with the other super-assassin employed by Von Bardas, Doom has had enough apes for today.
I find really interesting that all versions of Lucia Von Bardas in other adaptations are blindly loyal to Doctor Doom… with the exception of the original.
Doom lashes out at her in a particularly violent way, ripping off her cybernetic eye.
Even Black Widow was shocked by his brutality, which is saying something considering the stuff she’s seen over the years.
The other assassin lets himself be killed by Winter Soldier. He was also brainwashed from the same program, and it’s not the first time we see other subjects of that program turn suicidal.
Doom is feeling generous today, not complaining about the insults…
..probably because he needs S.H.I.E.L.D. to cover up for him.
It’s a bit weird, considering Kristoff would blindly follow Doom’s orders anyway.
Also in this period Winter Soldier was officially dead, so this neatly preserves the status quo.
In the epilogue we discover that Lucia Von Bardas is still alive and cooperating with S.H.I.E.L.D.
But that’s just to set up the next Winter Soldier storyline.
We’ll see her again in 2017. She sure got off easy considering she NEARLY STARTED WWIII.
Doom significance: 0/10
Potentially significant only for Lucia Von Bardas, but she starts this storyline hating Doom and will return hating Doom, so nothing changes.
Silver Age-ness: 0/10
Even the Red Ghost’s Super-Apes don’t show superpowers, just fighting with guns. So they’re probably different apes.
Does it stand the test of time? 10/10
Since I’m only concentrating on the Doom stuff I’m probably not doing this story justice, but it’s as solid as the previous ones.
My only complain is that the artwork fails to sell Doom’s takedown of Von Bardas: by the way Black Widow reacts, it should’ve looked more violent.
It was a Doombot all along
Considering this was published while Doom was still lost in another dimension and he doesn’t do anything in this miniseries that wouldn’t be above a Doombot… I’d say this is most likely a Doombot.
Crazy tech
Nothing stands out, as Doom is keeping things low-tech. Although Red Ghost is impressed by SOMETHING he sees in the base, whatever that is.