The last two Doctor Doom stories have been really bad, and we’re about to start a long stretch of connected stories of very uneven quality.
So as a digression let’s have a look at some issues of the criminally underrated Dwayne McDuffie run of Fantastic Four, even if it’s technically an alternate Doom.
Fantastic Four #551 (2008)
by Dwayne McDuffie & Paul Pelletier
cover by Michael Turner
Turner’s artwork is better known for its fanservice, so of course Invisible Woman has to develop stretching powers to show both the front and the back.
We begin with an extended sequence set in the future, where Doctor Doom escapes from his prison.
Which doesn’t seem to be very interesting to Future Reed Richards.
Once we move to the present day, we see that Future Namor and Future Black Panther have traveled back in time…
…accompanied by Future Doctor Doom, who wastes no time antagonizing the Thing.
One of the things I enjoy about how McDuffy writes Reed is the way he uses to demonstrate his intelligence: he’s constantly one or two steps ahead of everyone, but unlike other writers McDuffy tends to give him a realistic reason for knowing things.
Future Doom’s technology being slightly(citation needed) based on Reed’s is going to be a plot point soon.
While this is not technically the first time the team meets Doom after Fantastic Four #508, it is the first time Susan has the chance to talk to him… and understandably she doesn’t believe his word.
Even if Reed calls back to Fantastic Four Special #1 (also by McDuffie).
Susan voicing the feeling of every single comic book reader whenever Reed ends up trusting Doom.
Namor and Black Panther claim that they came to the present to stop Reed from doing something horrible. Love how Reed initially dismisses the very idea, but immediately takes it into serious consideration.
The proof of Reed’s future acts lies in one of McDuffie’s creations: the laboratory where Reed keeps his best I’m-totally-not-going-crazy ideas.
This was McDuffie’s way of redeeming Reed after he was written HORRIBLY during Civil War.
He revealed that the ONLY reason Reed supported the superhuman registration was because his calculations showed it was the only way to prevent a terrible future.
Moving back to that for a second: in his first issue, McDuffie absolutely NAILED the main reason why Reed’s characterization during Civil War didn’t work.
It still doesn’t work 100% with everything he did during Civil War, but the idea that Reed Richards invented psychohistory because he was inspired by Isaac Asimov is incredible.
Maybe I should’ve waited a little longer before reading Foundation… I read it when I was 8 and didn’t invent a new branch of science.
But back to the story I’m supposed to cover: only Susan knew about the existence of this room (she discovered it in McDuffie’s first issue), but in the future it’s common knowledge.
You’re not doing a great job looking sane, Reed.
So what happens in the future? Nothing particularly bad, it seems.
Well… for most.
Reed takes the news in serious consideration…
…and BLOWS NAMOR’S HEAD OFF.
Honestly, this should go a long way towards making Doom accept him.
Fantastic Four #552 (2008)
by Dwayne McDuffie & Paul Pelletier
cover by Michael Turner
I’m not complaining about a cover that includes Doctor Doom, but maybe focus on the important scene?
To prove he’s not crazy, Reed also BLOWS OFF BLACK PANTHER’S HEAD.
Reed would make an amazing serial killer, wouldn’t he?
Except obviously Reed didn’t really kill anyone… those are robots.
A testament to how funny McDuffy can be, and how we are so accustomed to bad Fantastic Four writing that I can see this being real in another run.
As for how Reed knew: remember when I said that Future Doom’s tech being based on his own would be a plot point?
Doom admits he took the robots with him to gain the trust of the FF, but he unleashes all the badly written Reed stories to demonstrate he’s been out of character.
The most painful thing is that Doom is not lying here. AT ALL.
The Thing is so angry at Future Doom for telling like it is, that he begins a fight that lasts several pages.
It’s well-drawn and well-choreographed, but it’s the weakest part of the storyline because it doesn’t naturally flow from the previous scenes.
Future Doom is not a fan of it either, but that’s a given.
He also might be projecting juuuuust a bit.
The rest of the FF show up to help, but this Doom has DECADES more experience fighting them.
Specifically, fighting the Future Fantastic Four, who show up to save their younger counterparts.
Fantastic Four #553 (2008)
by Dwayne McDuffie & Paul Pelletier
cover by Michael Turner
If it wasn’t for Future Reed’s beard, I would wonder if these were the Future Fantastic Four or if it’s just the weird way Turner draws them.
McDuffie goes into the nitty gritty of Marvel’s time travel rules, which supposedly make it impossible to change history. Tell that to the editors.
But if that’s the case, what are Future Doom and more importantly the Future FF doing here?
This is complicated by the fact that Reed’s reputation in the present day is at its lowers point. Notice Future Thing referencing the events of Secret Invasion: that hasn’t happened yet.
Present Susan, however, calls bulls#it on Doom’s claim that Future Reed will be a tyrant.
McDuffie treads a fine line here between making Susan too naïve or too trusting of Reed and drawing on her knowledge of her husband. I think he manages because Susan does acknowledge that there ARE scenarios where she believes Reed would cause the end of the world… but to claim that Reed becomes a super-tyrant is another thing.
But Doom has one last card to play: ask the Present FF to stop the Future FF from taking him back to his prison.
And Reed accepts, mostly because otherwise the story would end here.
It’s an entertaining fight, with the Future FF utterly dominating their younger versions…
…until both versions of Susan remember that Doom is the real villain here, and they stop the fight.
This goes back to discussing how time travel works in the Marvel Universe; not only you have to avoid creating alternate timelines, but if you DO manage to change history it might correct itself on its own anyway.
If I’m not mistaken, this is kind of similar to how time travel worked at DC during the Silver Age before the classic rules were established.
THAT is why Future Doom went to the past: to cause a big enough change to make sure the future he’s from doesn’t actually happen.
As for the WHY, however… he hasn’t exactly told the truth. Reed Richards does create the closest thing possible to a utopia.
That rubs Doom the wrong way because HE should’ve been the one to do it.
And so we end with Future Doom being sent to a universe where all the heroes are dead, so that he’ll be able to turn THAT timeline into a utopia.
The Future Fantastic Four go back home; for now their future is supposed to be the real one, but they acknowledge that it’s far from a sure thing.
And so the McDuffie run ends with the question: how many people do you really need to change the world?
Maybe it’s a bit cheesy, but it’s a fitting run for a great run that doesn’t get the attention it deserves.
Doom significance: 0/10
Naturally, for an alternate reality version. I definitely wouldn’t mind seeing this Doom again.
Silver Age-ness: 0/10
Not really.
Does it stand the test of time? 10/10
Let’s start with the bad stuff. The Thing’s first fight with Future Doom comes out of nowhere, some of the infodumps could’ve been shorter, the covers suck, and the design of Future Susan is uninspired. Everything else? I love everything about this storyline.
McDuffie absolutely nails Reed and Susan, and his Doom is amazing. The deep dive into temporal mechanics could’ve been “inside baseball stuff”, but even if you’re not massively into time travel stories like me, I think it’s still throughly enjoyable.
Man, the FF have undergone too much abuse in recent years. I wish Marvel would go back to basics. I think Richard Donner’s “verisimilitude” policy is responsible for this ultra-serious stuff.
Pretty disingenuous of Doom (and forgetful by McDuffie, the writer) to suggest that Doom would be happy with the world being a paradise if only he were given credit for it. He pretty much had done that in Emperor Doom, and he still felt unsatisfied with the situation.
Doom would definitely get bored of that utopia, sure, but he would still try to conquer it first.
After all, even after Emperor Doom, he’s still going around trying to conquer the world. Doom’s gotta Doom.