X-Men vol3 #16 (2011)
by Victor Gischler & Jorge Molina
It was only a matter of time before we had a team-up between Doctor Doom and Magneto, but who would’ve expected it would be when BOTH are part of a superhero team?
After the Future Foundation finds something unexpected in the Berdmua Triangle, the X-Men get visitors. At this time, the X-Men were based on an island called Utopia.
Doom always knows how to make an entrance.
That’s because the FF also picked up a distress message from Lee Forrester, a former Cyclops love interest that also interacted with Magneto back in the day.
Cyclops is currently in a relationship with Emma Frost. If you’re keeping score, she’s currently one of the good guys.
To give you an idea of the revolving door of X-Men membership: currently in their ranks they have TWO former members of the Cabal (Emma and Namor) AND a former member of Acts Of Vengeance (Magneto).
The X-Men agree to help the Future Foundation, but there are some understandable tensions considering the current members.
I like how everyone acknowledges that this is weird.
Lee Forrester’s ship is currently trapped in another dimension, which is why the X-Men need the FF to rescue her. In contrast, the X-Men are basically here just because they know her.
And they end up crashing into a dinosaur island in the other dimension.
The Thing and Wolverine should team up more often, they have excellent chemistry.
With the teams now stranded, Cyclops takes the lead…
…which Doom does NOT appreciate!
To be fair, Cyclops’s plan was terrible: yes Dr. Nemesis is a super-genius, but you assign him and not DOCTOR DOOM to work on dimensional travel???
Shut up Emma, at least Doom hasn’t stabbed his own team in the back!
Yet.
This dimension is inhabited by an ancient civilization that is being attacked.
After Wolverine, the Thing and Pixie deal with the invaders, turns out this is also a team-up with the last character you expected to see: Skull The Slayer.
Who the Thing knows because, thanks to Marvel Two-In-One, the Thing has met EVERYBODY.
X-Men vol3 #17 (2011)
by Victor Gischler & Jorge Molina
I’m not too familiar with Skull The Slayer, but evidently he’s not famous enough to warrant being mentioned on the cover.
Skull The Slayer’s thing was that he was a soldier stranded in another dimension thanks to the Bermuda Triangle, so it makes sense to bring him here: a billionaire hired him and Lee Forrester to explore the place.
I don’t know why, but I get the feeling Emma and Susan don’t like each other very much.
Not a surprise: aside from their hair and their current choice of a white costume, these two have basically nothing in common.
This part of the team finds the billionaire, who is interested in getting rich from the local resources while not giving direct answers about Lee Forrester’s current status.
The local king is not an X-Men fan.
The aliens are pretty tough, managing to take the heroes out with not much effort.
I just love how casual the FF are about this whole thing. This is basically Tuesday for them.
How insufferable you have to be to force Reed Richards to boast? He never does it, but Nemesis is just irritating enough.
This place is getting a bit too complicated.
However Lee Forrester is here in her Shanna The She-Devil cosplay to save the day.
At this point you might be thinking: everyone is keeping busy, but when is Doom going to do anything?
You mean to tell me we have two experienced superhero teams here and NOBODY THOUGHT TO KEEP AN EYE ON DOCTOR DOOM???
X-Men vol3 #18 (2011)
by Victor Gischler & Mirco Pierfederici
cover by Mike McKone
What did you expect, Cyclops???
Doom’s plan is to return to Earth with the entire alien army, but there’s a catch: the portal is going to need a massive power source that is apparently nowhere to be seen.
The power source is apparently the alien’s king ability to merge with the island.
If only they could find a way to use fanservice as a power source, they’d be fine.
The plot is a little more complicated than it needs to be, with multiple alien races around, but the Thing has no problems following.
If you want truly insufferable, Cyclops, just wait for Doctor Doom to save the day.
Is Dr. Nemesis the first super-genius to get under Reed’s skin? He typically gets along with everyone. Heck, part of why Doom detests him is that Reed gets along with everyone!
The alien king learns the heroes are attacking his base. You just know Doom is itching to put him in his place for talking to him like that.
While the king goes to fight Wolverine and the Thing, Doom is the one to face Magneto.
Turns out that Doom did not, in fact, betray the heroes.
X-Men vol3 #19 (2011)
by Victor Gischler & Jorge Molina
We’ve reached the end of the storyline.
It’s been a fun romp, but THIS is what we were promised by the first cover: real interaction between Doctor Doom and Magneto.
Doom would like me to point out that he’s consistently been the only character in full control of the situation from the second they landed.
As far as I know, this issue is the last appearance to date of Lee Forrester. She probably knew there was little chance of returning because she’s REALLY trying hard to be the next Shanna!
Apparently all it took a regular person to become a full superhero was being stranded in another dimension for three years.
They rescue Susan, who is NOT happy about being kidnapped for the hundred millionth time.
And not a moment too soon, because the alien king now has control over the newly built dimensional gate.
Notice that Doom just HAS to slip in an insult against Reed even in the middle of his act!
The king doesn’t buy Doom’s story, but that’s exactly what Doom predicted.
All the heroes attack the king, but he’s extremely tough. Time for Doctor Doom to be the leader!
Said plan involves slingshotting a spell into the king’s mouth!!!
My theory is that Doom could simply throw the spell, but he’s showing off.
This works, and Doom recovers the magic orb that gave the king his powers.
Doctor Doom with a device that grants the power of a whole planet, what could POSSIBLY go wrong?
Oh so NOW you’re keeping an eye on him?
In the end they decide that the orb will stay in this dimension, together with Skull The Slayer and Lee Forrester.
As mentioned, this is Lee Forrester’s last appearance to date.
She’s kind of important for Cyclops’s history, so of course he BARELY interacted with her.
And we close the issue with Doom boasting that he’s a better nemesis-turned-superhero than Magneto.
Victor might have changed clothes, but he’s still Doctor Doom.
Historical significance: 1/10
It’s kind of the epilogue to Skull The Slayer. Who is such a minor character he MIGHT never be brought back.
Doom significance: 0/10
He got to show off. A good day for him, but nothing exceptional.
Silver Age-ness: 3/10
That’s far from the weirdest dimension we’ve seen.
Does it stand the test of time? 7/10
A fun romp that could’ve used some trimming. There are way too many characters busy doing stuff that ultimately doesn’t matter, and the lore about the other dimension is unnecessarily complicated.
The interaction between characters is what saves it, but there really should’ve been more of it.
I know basically nothing about Skull The Slayer, but Lee Forrester is barely recognizable… not that sue was a terribly complex character to begin with, but she feels generic here.
Also you have NAMOR in the team and you don’t bring him along in an adventure in the Bermuda Triangle with the FF and Doom? WHY???
It was a Doombot all along
Between the presence of Magneto and the use of magic, definitely not.
Times Doom has saved the world: 17
A bit of a stretch perhaps, but the king WAS extremely powerful and had a whole army… not sure if they could’ve defeated all other Earth superheroes, but without Doom the X-Men and the FF would probably not have survived this one. So I’d say it counts.
Crazy tech
Surprisingly nothing stands out.