After multiple detours, let’s return to the Dark Reign era with Doom’s involvement against Thor.
Thor #600 (2009)
written by J. Michael Straczynski
pencils by Olivier Coipel & Marko Djurdjevic
This is the first time I’m featuring artwork by Olivier Coipel. We’ll see him again on the Legion when I get to the latter part of the reboot sometime before the 24th century.
Being #600 means this is an anniversary issue (although Thor is cheating a bit because it’s counting all the Journey Into Mystery prior to his first appearance), so this will have A LOT of stuff that is completely unrelated to Doctor Doom.
But you do need to know a couple of things on this era of Thor to understand what’s going on:
1) Asgard has been moved to Earth
2) Balder is now on the throne of Asgard
3) Loki was reborn as a woman, and she’s not Balder’s advisor for some reason
4) Odin is missing
5) Thor can once again transform into Don Blake
6) Due to complicated mythological shenanigans, Thor is exiled from Asgard in this issue. That won’t even last until the end of this storyline.
I don’t mind Balder; he’s one of the most boring Asgardians, but he’s very often the only one with a functioning brain so he has his role.
But even he is not immune to the old Asgardian curse of trusting Loki even after he has tried to destroy or conquer the place countless time. The fact that he was reborn with boobs doesn’t make this any less stupid on Balder’s place, no matter how noble he tries to sound.
Asgardian idiocy aside, I really like how Straczynski writes Loki.
For example, she stuck a deal to move Asgard to a different place… it’s not in Oklahoma… but she doesn’t want Balder to know she’s behind this, so she manipulates the common Asgardians to be the ones to move the city to a place where the weather is more to their liking…
…Latveria, as we learn with one of the best Doom glamour shots ever.
Thor #601 (2009)
written by J. Michael Straczynski
pencils by Marko Djurdjevic
Thor doesn’t drag Asgard around on his shoulders as the cover might make you believe, but it’s not outside of the range of possibilities with him.
The issue is mostly about Thor subplots, but the gem is the scene where Doom dines with the Asgardians.
We’ve seen plenty of times that Doom loves a good meal, but I’m shocked by the fact that DOCTOR DOOM USES WIKIPEDIA.
Balder sees right through Doom’s humanitarian façade (told you he’s the only one with a brain).
While this is a good scene, I’m not sold on the idea that Doom starves his people considering how often he talks about hunger being unknown in Latveria.
Unless these servants used to be dissidents, in which case I’d buy Doom giving them just about enough food to survive to teach them a lesson.
Doom’s (and Loki’s) sales pitch is that Latveria is a mountainous country, so the Asgardians should feel at home as much as they would in Scandinavia. And he plays on the fact that Thor, while he was ruler of Asgard, had an uneasy relationship with the United States.
To be clear, Asgard is still technically in Oklahoma. And to test Doom’s disposition, Balder exploits the fact that while Thor is now banished from Asgard he can still go to Latveria.
Told you Straczynski writes a great Loki, because she immediately spins this clear attempt to thwart her attempt to move Asgard into something else.
The master stroke of this issue, however, is how Balder masterfully dodges all the manipulations by pushing the right buttons on Doom.
Unfortunately for Balder, he’s still a novice when compared to Loki.
The issue ends with the Asgardians leaving for Latveria, together with one mortal who has fallen in love with a goddess. It’s been a subplot for a while, and it’s going to be VERY important soon.
Thor #602 (2009)
written by J. Michael Straczynski
pencils by Marko Djurdjevic
I forgot to mention Thor’s hammer gets damaged in this storyline. It gets fixed before it has any impact on the Doom plot.
Dude I get you’re in love, but maybe next time ask before jumping into a magical portal!
Sif is reborn in this issue, which is important because A) other than Odin she was the only Asgardian still missing B) Loki was kind of using her body, so he’s back as a male.
Thor #603 (2009)
written by J. Michael Straczynski
pencils by Marko Djurdjevic
Doom has been mostly in the background so far, but this is where his plot actually starts.
He’s definitely growing impatient. Doom should always get the biggest role!
Loki is basically contracting DOCTOR DOOM to kill Don Blake!!!
In exchange for this little favor, Loki provides Doom a minor Asgardian so he can VIVISECT A GOD.
This is probably Doctor Doom at his coldest ever.
However the mortal discovers these experiments, and he’s murdered by Loki’s goons.
Thor #604 (2009)
written by J. Michael Straczynski
pencils by Billy Tan
Even if this is Thor’s book, he’s not Doom’s actual target…
…that would be the goddess who fell in love with the mortal!
She’s after Loki, but Doom holds no punches against her.
She blasts off the Doombot he sent to greet her, tracking back to its power source.
Not her smartest move.
So here’s why Doom has been vivisecting gods… he’s trying to REVERSE-ENGINEER DIVINE POWER.
As I said: coldest. Doom. EVER.
Meanwhile Donald Blake investigates into the lasers that almost killed him a few issues ago.
Blake was just being a smartass. If you know your worst enemy is in Latveria and you’re attacked by lasers, do you REALLY need an expert’s opinion to confirm Doctor Doom is behind it?
Please tell me the Asgardians are not actually dumb enough to STILL believe Loki!!!
At least Balder is not, although he lets Loki live (I’m not sure whether he can kill him).
There are other more pressing matters to worry about!
So, uhm, Doctor Doom has basically declared war on Asgard…
…which he intends to fight with ZOMBIE CYBORG GODS.
And so we end with Thor FINALLY showing up for his confrontation with Doctor Doom.
And that’s where we stop for now, because the final two issue of the storyline have LOTS of Doctor Doom.
Doom significance: 4/10
For anyone else, going to war with Asgard would be a huge deal. For Doctor Doom, it’s Thursday. It is the culmination of his alliance with Loki during Dark Reign, though.
Silver Age-ness: 8/10
ZOMBIE CYBORG GODS!!! Only avoiding a 10/10 for the horror factor, but still.
Does it stand the test of time? 10/10
I’m not the biggest fan of the Thor runs that go deeply into the mythology, but Straczynski’s is one of the few exceptions.
All Asgardians feel distinct and interesting; he even manages to give depth to Don Blake, something that I would argue even Walt Simonson (despite writing a masterpiece of a run) couldn’t really manage to do.
His Loki is a delight, and while his Doctor Doom is slightly more cruel than how I see him, this is still an incredible and very visceral portrayal.
It was a Doombot all along
We have one explicit Doombot used to absorb the goddess’ energy, but I doubt Doom is using them when dealing with Balder and Loki.
Crazy tech
Doctor Doom VIVISECTS SEVERAL GODS AND TURNS THEM INTO HIS PERSONAL CYBORG ZOMBIE ARMY!!!