SUPER-VILLAIN TEAM-UP #2 (1975)
Writer: Tony Isabella
Penciler: Sal Buscema
Cover by Gil Kane
The series continues. Will Doom and Namor actually team up this time?
Thanks to his spy drone, Doom has been watching Namor from his pink chair.
Tiger Shark does find the fish drone…
Luckily, Tiger Shark isn’t very bright.
However Doom remembers what he told himself last issue:
And without saying a single word (!!!) Doom leaves Latveria to rescue his ally.
Doom reaches Hydrobase, and we have a panel-by-panel parallel to what happened to Namor.
The difference is that Doom tanks the base’s defenses with a little help from continuity.
He then faces Dr. Dorca’s Octo-Meks ™ piloted by Atlantean soldiers.
Not only Doom is like “are you seriously using robots against ME?”, but he has even more continuity on his side!
The Instant Hypnotism Impulser ™ is aaall the way back from Fantastic Four #40.
And this, by the way, is why Doctor Doom is the f###ing best:
Doom is loving this, by the way.
One of the civilians is understandably worried about Doom arriving on Hydrobase, thinking he’s here to conquer them.
“Even a man as powerful as myself would be a common fool not to take advantage of… the element of surprise!”. This is really good writing.
The woman is Betty Dean, Namor’s love interest from the Golden Age. She’s among the civilians who were transformed into amphibians, hence the green scaly skin.
Betty’s no-nonsense attitude makes her a really good match to work with Doom, who even goes so far as to call Namor a friend.
Doom’s way to infiltrate Hydrobase is to blast his way through solid rock.
They quickly reach Namor’s prison, where the rest of his enemies are keeping guard.
Nice banter from Dr. Dorcas, who after all is a rather cheap imitation of Doom.
Before the fight can start properly, Dr. Dorcas attempts to kill Namor in cold blood… and ends up shooting Betty instead.
That’s the death of Betty Dean. The brevity of her appearance here doesn’t do her justice: she’s a Golden Age character who was around since 1940!
In a very nice touch, Namor remembers the last words of his wife Dorma and of his father… and sadly notes that Betty doesn’t even get to say anything.
I guess Dr. Dorcas just realized just how much screwed he is.
I mean, you have both Namor AND Doom present… and nobody is saying anything?
Dorcas is SO f##ed.
Historical significance: 7/10
Considering that Bucky has since been resurrected, I suppose Betty Dean is the oldest Golden Age character who is STILL dead. And even if her importance decreased over the years, obviously this is really a very important event for Namor.
Doom significance: 4/10
Having said all of the above, this has very little impact on Doom himself.
Silver Age-ness: 1/10
Namor’s villains are rather stereotypical, but really there is very little Silver Age here.
Does it stand the test of time? 9/10
This is a really solid story. I especially like the use of silent panels to emphasize the gravitas of the situation, but in Doom deciding to rescue Namor and especially in the death scene. Nice dialogue, nice pacing, nice continuity, creative uses for technology and powers… I’m not a big fan of Sal Buscema’s art, especially this early in his career, but he’s pretty good as well.
It was a Doombot all along
I suppose it’s possible that this was a Doombot, but it’s very unlikely.
Take over the world & Destroy the FF!
Nope! Doom is only thinking about helping Namor this time.
Crazy tech
The Instant Hypnotism Impulser ™ has arguably a much cooler scene than its introduction.