Doomwar #2 (2010)
by Jonathan Maberry & Scot Eaton
cover by John Romita Jr.
This miniseries has great covers, but this one has a very distracting perspective that ruins it.
Also: this scene does not happen in the story.
In the ending of the previous issue Shuri murdered the head of the Desturi, the xenophobic group that staged a coup.
Turns out that she slaughtered the entire council (!!!), something that Nightcrawler is NOT okay with.
It should be noted that T’Challa is okay with this. Shuri is normally depicted as WAY more extreme than him in this period, but he’s dangerously close to her position now.
Meanwhile, Doom is at the very last lock he needs to open to gain access to the Vibranium vault.
Storm can’t help him anymore, not even with him threatening T’Challa’s mother.
It’s very jarring to see Doom with a regular handgun! If he was holding the regular one that he typically carries around and NEVER uses, it would be one thing! But it’s clearly a modern gun.
Doom is showing an unprecedented level of respect for T’Challa. He’s always respected him as a person, but now he’s even going as far to say that they’re “perfectly matched”.
HUGE compliment from Doom.
And for once, I have to say that Doom is kind of right for calling out T’Challa for being too arrogant for his own good… seriously, his ego during the Hudlin run was as bad as Doom’s.
Who of course has never had any trouble with his own ego.
This is why I love this miniseries. The fight between Doom and Black Panther isn’t really about who can fight better: it’s a contrast of minds and philosophy.
Also: THIS is what really sets apart Doctor Doom from most supervillains. Even with his gigantic ego, he’s not above losing a specific fight as long as he can win the war.
(he also always loses the war in the end, but that’s another thing)
Meanwhile, the Wakandan Civil War is in its most brutal phase.
Shuri is enjoying this a little too much, to the point that it’s starting to creep out the heroes.
Nightcrawler is one thing, but when FREAKING WOLVERINE is worried that you’re going too far, that’s a red flag!!!
Since Storm is no help, Doom is studying the last lock on his own. And it comes with a riddle.
In a surprisingly subdued scene, Doom reflects on this without saying much.
I especially like the splash page which juxtaposes his reflection with the war, without a single word.
Nightcrawler continues to argue with Shuri about her bloodlust. It’s a nice contrast between the two: he’s thinking like a hero…
…and she’s the heir of an absolute monarchy with a shockingly militaristic mindset.
I kind of miss this version of Shuri: her post-movie characterization is fine, but her being a borderline psycho was very unique.
By now T’Challa has reached the Vibranium vault, with Doom holding a still powerless Storm hostage.
So Doom issues his ultimatum: it’s either Storm or the Vibranium.
It’s a very tense scene, with T’Challa willing to sacrifice her to save his country.
But don’t worry about her: Doom doesn’t really need to kill her…
…because HE ALREADY WON.
Yep! That’s right: Doom stole all the Vibranium from the vault BEFORE T’Challa came to Storm’s rescue.
The only reason he threatened her was to show off!!!
We will learn next issue exactly how Doom bypassed the “purity test” of the vault, and it will be a great character moment.
But even without it, in this issue Doctor Doom has already shown how he’s still…
PURE.
UNADULTERATED.
BADASS.
Doom significance: 3/10
As per the previous issue.
Silver Age-ness: 0/10
Nope!
Does it stand the test of time? 10/10
I swear that I’m trying my best to keep my Doom bias in check.
I don’t love this miniseries just because Doom is at his coolest, but because everything connected to his plan makes perfect sense AND because it’s an amazing contrast between him and Black Panther.
T’Challa is the hero, but the more the war continues the more he’s using tactics normally associated to villains. And the way Shuri is not even considering the rebels as true Wakandans, or even as real people, is fascinating.
It was a Doombot all along
We will learn next issue why this absolutely MUST be the real deal.
Crazy tech
Nothing stands out this time. In fact, his victory has nothing to do with either technology OR magic this time!
I’ve been thinking about Doom’s scars lately, and I have a bit of a theory.
This doesn’t pertain to the current storyline which is one of my favs. The TPB is on my shelf. (Yes, for once, I am reading about a story I’ve actually read. Rediscovering the details is just as fun as the new-to-me stuff.)
Anyhow, Doom’s scars:
Since the scars are demonic in origin couldn’t they appear differently to some than others? This would solve the actually horrific vs. minimal that Doom overreacts about debate. And it kind of works.
When Stan Lee and Jack Kirby are the first to see Doom’s face way back in FF#averylownumberIforget they react violently, because they thought him up and had decided his face is horrific. So that’s what they saw. Byrne imagined a man more mentally scarred than facially so that’s what he showed us in his stories. (That was Byrne right?)
Most of the characters that do see Dooms face in different are already scared of him/know he’s evil, so they see something appropriately scary/evil.
Who knows what Doom himself sees in the mirror. Perhaps it’s different every time, each more terrifying than the last.
Or maybe it’s the demonic equivalent of a frat boy who passed out at a party…all penises and vulgarities. Actually, that might be the worst of all. I think I could walk around in public with nasty face scars if I had them. No fun, but people mostly get that. Walking around with dicks and swears all over my face? No thank you very much. It’d all mask all the time lol. Mirror Smash!
Yes it’s not entirely impossible that the scars are magical, to the point of being completely different depending on the observer.
Now that I think about it, I don’t think we ever see a magic user react to his scars. Certainly not Doctor Strange, at least in the stories I’ve read.
A Doom parody that isn’t actually scarred but just has obscenities on his face sounds like a perfect Deadpool story, though 🙂
I can’t say I like this much. Granted, it’s mostly a great treatment of Doom (with the odd exception, like his uncharacteristic holding of hostages at gunpoint) but, as almost always, this comes at the price of making the other major characters look terrible. In this case, T’Challa has lost all agency, he’s just reacting to Doom’s moves; Shuri has gone from reserved genius to bloodthirsty berserker; and of all the women of Marvel to be reduced to Damsel in Distress status, Ororo would be among the least likely for me.
Mileage may vary of course, but T’Challa has a whole journey throughout this miniseries that I think works, in particular as a contrast to redeem him from the awful portrayal of the Hudlin run.
And I wouldn’t characterize Shuri as a reserved genius before this run.
I do agree that Storm is in the damsel in distress situation for too long. She does get a moment next issue, though.