We are almost done with the parts of “Acts of Vengeance” with any relevance to Doctor Doom. In fact we only have 3 full issues to cover, plus a bunch of smaller appearances that I’m covering with this very quick overview.
Daredevil #275 (1989)
by Ann Nocenti & John Romita Jr.
If the Punisher went above his weight class fighting with Doom for the crossover, Daredevil goes overboard by going up against Ultron.
I’m not entirely sure what Doom wants to prove to Kingpin. “You’ll never be as good as killing people as an indestructible murderbot?”
Doom’s involvement in the story is relatively minimal; I don’t even think Daredevil ever learns that he was the one to rebuild Ultron, who at this point was presumed to have been destroyed.
Doom knows a thing or two about reprogramming Ultron, considering he does it in Secret Wars, but this time he outdoes himself by merging ALL of Ultron’s previous 12 personalities together.
This means that this version of Ultron is insane. Well, MORE insane than the typical genocidal killing machine: the entire time he’s having arguments with the voices in his head.
That’s all Doom does the entire issue, so I won’t cover the rest. I highly recommend it, though: the Ann Nocenti run is definitely an acquired taste, but this two-parter is the most accessible.
Plus it knows it’s completely bonkers!
The fact that Ultron-13 is constantly fighting himself makes it credible that Daredevil is able to survive the encounter. And he also has the help of Gorgon and Karnak of the Inhumans: they’re already part of the superhero count since they show up in the continuity insert World’s Greatest Comics Magazine, but I’m glad they’re still counted in the original continuity (thanks to the fact that Ultron-13 is technically working for Doom this issue).
Next!
INCREDIBLE HULK #363 (1989)
by Peter David & Jeff Purves
Doom sends Thor villain Grey Gargoyle against the Hulk, who is still in his grey “Joe Fixit” era.
That’s probably 99% of the reason why he’s chosen as the villain.
Amusingly, Doom puts himself in a win-win scenario here: Grey Gargoyle’s real identity is a sculptor, so if Hulk kills him Doom can increase the value of the art he owns.
Not much else to say. The story is very enjoyable, but I get the distinct feeling Peter David didn’t like the premise of Acts of Vengeance if Hulk’s dialogue is expressing his thoughts.
Perhaps the Leader didn’t join the Prime Movers because Peter David was against the idea? Food for thought.
Next!
WOLVERINE vol.2 #19 (1989)
by Archie Goodwin & John Byrne
Nothing to see here, Doom shows up in a single panel and doesn’t even get a line. No wonder he sends Doombots for this stuff!
John Byrne’s art is utterly unrecognizable when inked by Klaus Janson.
Next!
MUTANT MISADVENTURES OF CLOAK & DAGGER #9 (1989)
by Terry Austin & Mike Vosburg
Yes, that’s seriously the complete title of this series. And it’s one of the most random covers I’ve seen in a while.
Doom’s involvement is again minimal: he’s the one to supply technology to the new Jester, who is also creating his own team of randomly assembled villains.
There’s a strange example of cross-continuity as Jester meets Typhoid Mary just before she goes to talk with Doom about her encounter with Power Pack. That story is next on the schedule because it’s worthy of a close examination.
Doom wasn’t kidding about providing high tech weapons to Jester because he gives him the Hulk robot (!!!!) he last employed in Hulk #350.
Doom was probably high as a kite when he installed “improvements”, though.
The story does have a little significance for the crossover. Jester didn’t know that Cloak & Dagger are now heroes (they originated as Spider-Man foes and have a low profile, so I buy it) and he makes the mistake of namedropping Doctor Doom.
This is referenced in later parts of the crossover as the moment the Avengers learn Doom is involved.
No wonder Doom wanted to have as little to do with this story as possible.
Next!
FANTASTIC FOUR #336 (1990)
by Walt Simonson & Ron Lim
Could the Fantastic Four miss the crossover? Well they almost did.
That’s because Walt Simonson is now the writer, and he doesn’t seem to care about the main plot of Acts of Vengeance. Instead he’s basically the only one to focus on the secondary plot (which is so in the background in most stories that I’ve barely mentioned it so far): an early version of the Superhuman Registration Act.
If I had my doubts about Peter David not liking the concept of swapping enemies, I’m sure Simonson is making fun if it by having a bunch of second-rate (even third and fourth-rate in some cases) show up as cannon fodder… to be defeated mostly OFF-PANEL while the adults discuss serious issues.
Turns out these losers have been unleashed by Doctor Doom using a mind-control device, and the Fantastic Four trace him at the end of the issue.
The fact that Doom wouldn’t want any other villain to fight the Fantastic Four checks out, though.
Not that it matters, because Doom doesn’t even care about this cameo enough to show up in person.
Doom significance: 0/10
Even with the extremely minor impact of Cloak & Dagger, I lumped these together for a reason.
Silver Age-ness: N/A
Does it stand the test of time? N/A
Since I’m only covering Doom himself and he only shows up for a couple of panels, I don’t think it’s fair to give a score in these categories. As a reader I highly recommend Daredevil and Fantastic Four, though.
It was a Doombot all along
There can be some doubt about the one rebuilding Ultron, but the others are 100% Doombots for sure.
Supervillains created by Doctor Doom: 11
Ultron-13, at least in this incarnation, is different enough from the regular Ultron to count.
Crazy tech
The device used to gather the villains to send fight the Fantastic Four is too reminiscent of the one used in Fantastic Four Annual #3, so it doesn’t count. So I’m going with the fact that Doom managed to fuse TWELVE different Ultrons into a single mind! Yeah, it was completely insane, but that’s something.