Marvel Double Shot #2 (2002)
by Christopher Priest & Paolo Rivera
cover by Joe Jusko
This is a criminally underrated gem that few people seem to remember.
Such a masterpiece should not have been relegated to an unknown anthology book.
One of the big reasons this is SO good is the artwork. It’s a painted style very reminiscent of Alex Ross on Marvels, and it’s absolutely gorgeous.
It also utilizes an ever more unusual style for the narration. There are no speech balloons or annotations as we’re used to; the text is positioned in a way to allow more space for the artwork, and the person who speaks is identified by the color of the brackets around the text.
It probably wouldn’t work on a typical story, but here it totally fits the tone.
The story begins with Doom attending a state concert in Latveria together with an unnamed “countess”, but it’s the woman playing the violin that catches his attention.
Check out Doom’s official uniform! This is one of his best looks ever.
Doom later confronts the woman, IMMEDIATELY spotting her as a German spy.
Something that rubs Doom the wrong way, because she was underwent surgical reconstruction to look like his long-lost lover Valeria.
Doom takes the opportunity to narrate his past with the real Valeria.
While I adore this artwork, I’m not entirely sold on the closeup of his mask…
…but we get a different shot of his typical style, and it totally works!!!
There’s nothing new about Valeria in his narration, but it’s always nice to get a bit of introspection from Doom.
Unsurprisingly, Doom is on his high horse about this is so insulting for him.
See? Told you the artwork would work with his classic look!
When I said Doom is on a high horse, I wasn’t being metaphorical: he takes the woman on a tour of Latveria on a flying carriage!!!
Remember kids, even Doctor Doom doesn’t drive when he’s had a drink.
If the story ended there, the only highlight would’ve been the artwork. But then the woman points out Doom’s hypocrisy: at this point, does he even know what it means to be a normal person?
She’s very brave. Not very smart, sure, but definitely brave.
Doom even compliments her abilities as a “psychological assassin”. The story is a bit ambiguous whether the spy has been sincere, or if this is part of her manipulation.
Doom will decide her fate at dawn, but the woman is having none of it.
“A maniac so full of himself he can’t even see how pathetically needy he is”… Doom is right, she IS frighteningly good at this.
The artwork makes it look like he hit her with his mask, but we’re later told she just fainted when seeing his true face.
She wakes up the following morning, with Doom being quick to reassure her he didn’t take advantage of her.
Doom is surprisingly okay with her seeing his face AND with the fact that she’ll be definitely report this to her superiors.
He’s SO okay with this, in fact, that he doesn’t seem to care in the slightest about her anymore.
It’s subtle, but he’s probably so much in denial about missing Valeria that he completely disregards anything remotely connected to her.
Also: check out Doom’s breakfast attire!
She is NOT okay.
Doctor Doom doesn’t give the tiniest fraction of a f##k.
She is SO distraught about ruining a potential chance at his redemption that she JUMPS OFF A CLIFF.
Doom’s reaction is absolutely priceless: NOTHING.
Except, at the very end, making himself the center of the story.
Because Doom.
Doom significance: 0/10
We are VERY close to Doom meeting Valeria again, so it’s possible that this is the incident that gave him the idea. Too bad there’s no direct reference to this.
And how disappointing it is that we never saw Doom wear this attire again!?
Silver Age-ness: 1/10
The flying horses out of nowhere are a bit Silver Age, sure, but the psychological manipulation takes the lead over the weirdness. 
Does it stand the test of time? 10/10
This is everything I love about Doctor Doom and should be mandatory reading for anyone writing him. Stellar artwork, top notch insight, perfect atmosphere. The woman’s final suicide feels a bit out of nowhere, but it does fit the sort of fairy tale mood.
It was a Doombot all along
While it’s TECHNICALLY possible for this to be a Doombot… why would you want one of the best written Doom stories of all time star a robot?
Crazy tech
Flying antigravity horses!!!
I’m very excited to see your thoughts on Unthinkable when we get to that story. I’ve loved every moment of the Doom Retrospective. Keep up the good work!
Could Ms. Sutter actually play violin well enough to be a substitute in an orchestra performing at a state function? If so, I wonder why she didn’t choose that as a career instead of being a reporter, which paid her so badly she was willing to have cosmetic surgery and pose as a Russian to pursue a story. I guess she had a calling for journalism.