AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #349 (1991)
by David Michelinie & Erik Larsen
Doom has only a cameo in the first part, but for the plot to be understandable I have to cover a few things first.
Notice that the cover doesn’t even try to hide that Doctor Doom is in this, even though it’s supposed to be a surprise on the last page.
The old man on the cover is cat burglar extraordinaire Black Fox.
He’ll eventually become a surprisingly complex character in the PHENOMENAL 2019 Black Cat series, but his main gimmick so far has been that Spider-Man always lets him go because he pities him.
Right at the start he steals a “somewhat valuable” jewel…
…but his real target is the diamond he steals immediately after that: it’s so valuable that he can safely retire. Spider-Man catches him in the act… and then lets him go because he’s an old man, which is exactly how every interaction between the two has ended so far.
You know where this is going, right? Black Fox just returned a fake.
After a lot of subplots, soul-searching and fanservice…
…Spider-Man catches the Black Fox before he can sell the diamond.
And he’s far from the only one to do so!
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #350 (1991)
by David Michelinie & Erik Larsen
Anniversary issues of Amazing Spider-Man are typically a big deal. Issue 50 is the famous “Spider-Man No More!” story, issue 100 is where he gets six arms, issue 150 is the first Clone Saga, issue 200 is when he faces the burglar who killed Uncle Be, issue 250 was the final confrontation with Hobgoblin (or at least it was presented as such), issue 300 was the debut of Venom… and in issue 350, the big deal is that he faces Doctor Doom.
Well, it’s the big deal for me. Did anyone actually believe the cover’s claim that he would meet Uncle Ben?
But why would Doctor Doom would be interested in a petty thief like Black Fox?
Well, at least we get a very entertaining fight out of it. I’m not a huge fan of Larsen’s work on the series, but he does a GREAT job at selling this action. Doom blasts Spidey so hard that he moves the panel!!!
Doom even brings out one of my favorite gadgets, the Molecular Expander™.
As for why Doom wants Black Fox: in case you missed the previous issue’s reference to the museum holding jewels from royal families… it belonged to Doom.
Unfortunately for him Black Fox doesn’t have the jewel anymore. He manages to escape when Spider-Man takes on Doom directly.
Black Fox’s 2019 reinterpretation on the Black Cat series as literally the best thief in the world felt like a retcon to some… but even back in 1991 he had technology able to jam DOCTOR DOOM’s sensors!!!
Now you might be wondering: why would Doom care that much about a jewel? Sure, he’d want to punish anyone stealing from him, but it’s not like he seriously cares about…
Got to love Doom’s casual reference to murdering his employee. Because come on, that’s the only thing that could’ve possibly happened there.
What follows is a surprisingly brutal fight where Spider-Man is really, really, REALLY outmatched.
Spider-Man’s way of talking his way out of being brutally murdered is just brilliant.
Black Fox is not a complete idiot, so the very first thing he does the next day is buy back the jewel that Doom wants… or at least information of who has already bought it.
Spider-Man, on the other hand, hallucinates a heartfelt conversation with Uncle Ben…
…and he passes out.
That’s because Doom beat him up so badly he gave Spider-Man a concussion!!!
While Spider-Man is far from being one of Marvel’s powerhouses, it’s still quite impressive that facing Doom a second time is treated as a suicide move both by him and his wife.
When Doctor Doom gives you 24 hours, that means 24 yours.
NOT 24 hours and one second!!!
Turns out that Doom’s jewel has been purchased by a bunch of cultists that rely on both science and technology!!!
This comes completely out of nowhere, but it’s not even in the top ten weirdest thing that happened to Spider-Man lately.
Case in point: these guys want to return from space a swarm of carnivorous insects that were exiled by a god in a previous Spider-Man story. You can’t make this stuff up!!!
Well technically everything about Spider-Man is made up, but you know what I mean.
So Spider-Man and Black Fox team-up to fight these cultists and prevent them from summoning the swarm.
Black Fox is definitely a fun character to have around. Seriously, how can you not root for this guy?
The 24 hours are up, so Doom arrives… but NOT for a team-up!
Doom’s presence attracts the attention of the cultists, so Spider-Man is able to retrieve the jewel.
That ties up things nicely. Black Fox’s “I’m just an old man” even works on Doom… to an extent.
This is a GREAT Doctor Doom moment, for several reasons. It shows he legitimately doesn’t care about wealth, it shows him having the moral high ground (how rare is that!?), and it has him effortlessly crush a diamond with one hand!
Doom leaves, and so we end with Spider-Man finally arresting Black Fox because his conversation with the Uncle Ben hallucination made him realize he was going soft because the old thief reminded him of his uncle.
Doom significance: 0/10
Arguably the “anniversary issue” with the least impact. Issue 400 was the death of Aunt May (which was retconned, but it’s still deservedly remembered as a fantastic story) and issue 450 doesn’t technically exist because the series was re-numbered.
Silver Age-ness: 5/10
Techno-cultists showing up out of nowhere, anyone?
Does it stand the test of time? 8/10
This is a pretty solid story, and a very entertaining one. A lot is going to depend on whether you like Erik Larsen’s artwork; this is his last issue, by the way, replaced by Mark Bagley from #351.
Spider-Man talk with Uncle Ben is sweet, even though we don’t really learn anything new and it’s ultimately pointless since it’s just a hallucination… honestly the story would’ve worked much better if Spider-Man just realized on his own why he was going easy on Black Fox.
Doctor Doom is great in this! He’s a real force of nature, and the story really does a good job at painting Spider-Man as doomed during their fight… pun intended. But his weird sense of honor is also in full display, as is his hypocritical pride.
It was a Doombot all along
As fun as it is to imagine the real Doom taking a personal interest in Black Fox, it’s possible this was just one of his robots.
Times Doom has saved the world: 6
That swarm that the cultist want to bring back is no joke! They were so dangerous that even the freaking Avengers couldn’t really stop them and had to exile them into space.
While it’s not his primary goal, Doctor Doom is instrumental in preventing the cultists from summoning the swarm again, so I’m counting it.
Crazy tech
One of the most effective shows of how much super-strength the armor gives to Doom, and obviously let’s not forget the always appreciated use of the Molecular Expander™.