Just like with the cameos, there are surprisingly few continuity inserts that are set in the 80s.
I’ve already covered the Deadpool one as an appendix to Secret Wars, so this leaves just a couple of cameos and just one full story.
SHE-HULK vol1 #10 (2005)
by Dan Slott & Paul Pelletier
The entire issue is dedicated to Titania’s origins, and so includes the backstory of how Doom found her and Volcana when he gave them superpowers.
It’s a very good story and an interesting insight into Titania, but we’re here for Doctor Doom and unfortunately there’s nothing else to see about him.
You should definitely check this one out if you like Titania.
FEAR ITSELF: THE WORTHY #1 (2011)
by Jen Van Meter & Clayton Henry
Once again the focus is on Titania, and once again a flashback to the same exact moment.
Even less stuff about Doom, though. And it’s a four page story, just skip it.
FALL OF THE HULKS: ALPHA #1 (2009)
by Jeff Parker & Paul Pelletier
This is a story about the Intelligencia, a team of villainous super-geniuses that have formed a loose alliance behind the scenes from the Silver Age onwards.
The full membership is on the cover: the Leader is, ehm, its leader. Plus we have a whopping three Fantastic Four villains (Red Ghost, Mad Thinker and Wizard), M.O.D.O.K. and Ant-Man villain Eggman.
Doom is not exactly a member, and this story explains why.
We begin with the Intelligencia stealing information from the Eternals, of all people.
The story is narrated by the Leader himself, which has some interesting insights on how he views fellow supergeniuses.
The Intelligencia has been gathering information from all around the planet, and while Doctor Doom is not a proper member he’s the one providing a place where to store all of this.
One of the retcons provided by the Intelligencia concept, other than the fact that these evil geniuses knew each other all along, is that they are constantly saving other members AND other supervillains. It’s a neat concept but basically nothing will come out of this.
It’s not very clear from this comic WHEN the Intelligencia was formed, though it’s implied it was in the Silver Age. However Egghead dies in an Avengers story from 1982, placing most of what comes next in the 80s.
While the Leader treats the Intelligencia as equals… he doesn’t seem to be serious about it, but that’s how he acts… Doom doesn’t hide his superiority.
Also, remember how the members of the Intelligencia need each other to stay alive? Doctor Doom is NOT in that category!
Egghead’s place in the team is taken by M.O.D.O.K.
The comic actually does a good job with the continuity inserts, but Jeff Parker seems to forget that Doom has already met M.O.D.O.K. in Sub-Mariner #49.
I also don’t care for the idea that the Intelligencia meddled with the Venom symbiote. Venom already has a crazily convoluted backstory, he doesn’t need more.
After a bunch of different plots that have nothing to do with Doctor Doom, we jump to the then recent past, when Doom contacts the Leader to gloat about the fact that Hulk was just shot into space by the Illuminati (basically the good guys version of Intelligencia).
At this point the Leader has switched to the look he had in the Peter David run of Hulk.
After years and years of scheming, Intelligencia exploits the chaos of Civil War to steal the final parts of the information they’ve been looking for.
Doctor Doom is pleased… to kick the Intelligencia out of Latveria!
The rest of the team makes a last ditch effort to defeat Doom, but the Leader is smart enough to realize they have no chance… and just leaves, effectively disbanding the team.
We then have an epilogue where the Leader and M.O.D.O.K. create Red Hulk. We don’t learn what was so important in the information stolen by the Intelligencia.
Doctor Doom and the Leader will face off in the pages of Hulk shortly thereafter, but that’s waaaaaay ahead in the retrospective.
This was actually well done! I’m a fan of all these supervillains… well, minus Egghead… and I have to say they were all handled rather well.
While I could’ve done without the Intelligencia retcon, I didn’t mind how it was used.
And it’s great to see Doctor Doom still being on top of the supervillain food chain, even when he’s dealing with a a team like this.
Nothing worthy to add to the usual categories, this time around.