FANTASTIC FOUR vol.4 #9 (2013)
by Matt Fraction & Mark Bagley
This is currently the most recent revisitation of Doom’s origin… kind of.
We begin with a flashback of when Doom and Ben Grimm, a.k.a. The Thing, were attending college together.
When Ben goes to a party, he discovers that Doom didn’t just spill normal paint on him.
Reed has the obvious question in mind: what?
To investigate, Ben and some other friends sneak into Doom’s lab where he’s going to carry out his famous experiment.
Before leaving, he discovers that Doom has used the paint to create all sorts of weird magical symbols all over the place… and then ruins one of the symbols.
Back in the present, the Thing is narrating all of this to Reed to explain that he thinks that his interference with the experiment might have been what caused it to blow up.
They travel back in time to witness the experiment and see if the Thing’s theory is correct or not… and they’re not alone.
These Dooms (invisible to the one carrying the experiment) also watch Reed warning Victor about the experiment.
Reed and the Thing are also here… but the two groups can’t see each other.
Reed only wants to double check Doom’s equipment, but the Thing has another idea.
Which leads to the Thing preventing the birth of Doctor Doom!
Victor is even able to identify him with an extremely Doom insult.
The other Dooms are not happy about this. Hilariously, they talk over each other while they attack the Thing, because ALL of them have to make a speech about it!
But Victor has to be the center of attention at all times.
“Can’t a guy have an origin story in peace?”
Reed tries to warn Victor about what this experiment is going to cost him, but he won’t listen.
We don’t get a clear answer whether the Thing’s interference with the magic symbols had anything to do with the failure of the experiment. According to Victor it doesn’t, but he’s hardly a trustworthy narrator.
Still, the Thing can’t help feeling responsible.
Reed tries to reassure him that there was nothing that either one of them could’ve done to save him, “because Victor is insane”.
And Doom is inevitable.
Doom significance: 0/10
Victor witnessing all of this doesn’t change the past because it just creates an alternate timeline. The Thing feeling responsible for Doom is a good idea, but Reed shoots it down so much that it won’t matter.
Silver Age-ness: 0/10
Naturally. Honestly it would feel out of place for a 2013 story.
Does it stand the test of time? 10/10
A reminder that this category is not about the quality of the comic, just how easily it can be redone today. And it’s so recent that it’s a no brainer.
It’s not a bad story, even if it’s a little too aggressive in defending the Thing… despite some nominal attempt to leave some doubt. Reed’s thesis is interesting, considering he blamed himself for Doom’s origin for years it makes perfect sense that he would eventually rationalize it as not being entirely his fault. The art is a treat, every occasion to have Bagley drawing is a plus in my book.