After surviving one of the worst Doctor Doom storylines ever, he’s quite busy in 2014.
Let’s get through some of the cameos and minor appearances first.
Starting with something I left out.
Marvel NOW! Point One (2012)
by Matt Fraction & Mike Allred
cover by Adi Granov
Technically speaking I should have reviewed this one earlier. This book is a teaser for the relaunch of several series coming out in 2013, which included F.F.
This is the prelude to that series, starting with Ant-Man discussing a real piece of art with his daughter.
And once again Matt Fraction completely misremembers what actually happened when Doom killed Cassie!
Because THIS was the scene where Doom kills Cassie: he’s not even wearing his mask.
Doom DOES say “perhaps they’ll even save me the trouble of having to kill you” in that story… but he’s NOT talking to either Cassie or to Ant-Man!
He says it TO SCARLET WITCH, in a COMPLETELY different context!!!
At this point I’m certain Fraction didn’t even READ Children’s Crusade and was just basing his story on hearing someone talk about it.
That storyline just keeps finding ways to piss me off!
But THIS story features Ant-Man deciding to sneak into an exposition of Latverian art, hiding in the eyelashes of the pink-haired Darla Deering (this is technically her first appearance).
Latverian security is so tight that even microbe-sized invaders are immediately caught!!!
It’s a very short story, culminating in Ant-Man defacing one of Doom’s portraits.
Historical significance: 0/10
Even as Darla’s first appearance, it’s unremarkable.
Silver Age-ness: 0/10
Not really, considering this is a superhero universe.
Does it stand the test of time? 8/10
See, THIS is how you make fun of Doom’s grandstanding. Not whatever the heck Fraction was doing in that crappy storyline.
Marvel Knights: Hulk #4 (2014)
by Joe Keatinge & Piotr Kowalski
I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about the Hulk, but I’ve never heard of this miniseries.
It’s a serviceable Hulk story, where Bruce Banner is manipulated by a woman named Nikoleta Harrow into her feud with M.O.D.O.K.
She ends up transforming into a gamma-powered monster herself, then dies when she’s hit with a gamma explosion at point blank, with just Banner and M.O.D.O.K. surviving.
But we later learn that the entire plot was just a game of manipulation between Doctor Doom and the supervillain Doctor Midas.
Doctor Midas is completely and utterly outmatched in this one.
Doom significance: 0/10
Completely forgotten.
Silver Age-ness: N/A
Does it stand the test of time? N/A
Not a real review, but it’s fine. Nothing groundbreaking, but good artwork.
It was a Doombot all along
It would make Doctor Midas even more ridiculously outmatched if this was just a Doombot!
Superior Foes of Spider-Man #6 (2014)
by Nick Spencer & Steve Lieber
If you’re a fan of Spider-Man’s rogues gallery and of stories of ragtag teams of misfits and losers, this is a HIGHLY recommended series.
One of the McGuffins of the series is a priceless painting that is supposed to be depicting the real face of Victor Von Doom.
The story behind the painting is narrated by Boomerang as an urban legend, so take it with a grain of salt.
You have to admire the fact that even this tongue-and-cheek series sticks to the official Marvel position of not clarifying what Doom’s face looks like.
I question the validity of this urban legend only based on the fact that I’m convinced Doom is physically unable to get drunk, considering how many freaking times we’ve seen him drink goblet after goblet of wine.
Not being able to destroy the painting because it’s still the image of Doom is still a very Doom think to do. But it could also be a Doombot programmed to avoid damaging the real one.
If you hate fun.
Kristoff really sucked as ruling Latveria, didn’t he? What is this, the sixth time we learn someone steals stuff from him?
In the next several issues, the painting goes through A LOT.
We’re not even sure if the painting is legit!
Superior Foes of Spider-Man #17 (2015)
by Nick Spencer & Steve Lieber
Appropriately enough, the plot about the painting is resolved in the last issue.
Boomerang eventually gets his hands on the painting once more…
…only to be robbed by Black Cat…
…and then by the Sinister Six…
…at which point Doom finally shows up to take it back.
Doom significance: 0/10
That painting is probably hidden somewhere in a Latverian dungeon.
It was a Doombot all along
It would be absolutely appropriate for the tone of the series if this was a Doombot and the painting was just a forgery.
Silver Age-ness: N/A
Does it stand the test of time? N/A
Not a real review, but this series is highly, highly recommended. BUY THIS BOOK, it’s one of the best series of the decade. And it’s also hilarious.
A+X #14 (2014)
by Gerry Duggan & David Yardin
This was a team-up book for the Avengers and the X-Men. The backup feature is an adventure by Captain America and Cyclops.
Which is interesting because at this point Cyclops was basically a supervillain, with the heroic position being taken over by his time-displaced teenage version.
Comics, everybody!
The overall plot is about a Skrull invasion, which takes them to Latveria.
I really, REALLY don’t like how Captain America is being written in this one.
I can understand him being unfriendly towards Cyclops, but Cap shouldn’t be THIS relaxed about potentially creating an international incident.
Also I can accept Latveria being an unrealistic mish-mash of various cultures, but it makes NO FREAKING SENSE for its guards to be talking French!!!
The duo infiltrates the laboratory where Doom is running tests on a Skrull prisoner. That’s already bad enough, but Cyclops’s powers have been malfunctioning lately.
I had to double check if this was Steve Rogers, because he looks and acts like U.S.Agent!!!
But nope, this is supposed to be Steve.
Not the highest quality Doombots here.
Then the (allegedly) real Doctor Doom shows up.
But he’s not interested enough in this storyline to bother fighting too much.
Nice job, heroes.
A+X #15 (2014)
by Gerry Duggan & David Yardin
Well that was just embarrassing.
God is this story stupid.
A+X #17 (2014)
by Gerry Duggan & David Yardin
Doom gets involved again in the plot when he invades a ranch holding some Skrull cows… don’t ask… and finds some weird-looking Avengers and X-Men waiting for him.
Doom defeats everyone with such ease that even he doesn’t buy it.
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is where the story turns offensively stupid.
Yes.
NOW.
Because this was just an illusion by a Skrull telepath, helped by Captain America having disabled Doom’s armor.
This is idiotic on SO many levels.
Doom’s resistance to telepathy has consistently be shown to be beyond superhuman, but this random Skrull can do it?
And Captain America has access to a device that can disable his armor so easily???
Doom’s plan all along has been to give his robots shapeshifting powers!!!
Doom then teleports out of his armor. I’m assuming using magic.
The Doombots in the following issue continue to be unremarkable, except for the shapeshifting one (who has rebelled against Doom).
The Stepford Cuckoos… telepathic mutant triplets from the X-Men… participate in the fight, so they’re added to the count. As is Cadre K, a team of six Skrull superheroes.
But I’m not adding the X-Man Tempus, because she shows up after the fight is over and doesn’t fight any Doombots.
Can you blame Doctor Strange for not wanting to be involved?
Doom significance: 0/10
Deservedly forgotten. This is also the last appearance to date of Cadre K, who date back to the year 2000. Having a team of heroic Skrull mutants was a neat idea, but it clearly went nowhere.
Silver Age-ness: N/A
Does it stand the test of time? N/A
Not a real review so no scores. This book was very frustrating: the first story is generally charming, but as you’ve seen the backup feature is horrible.
Only for completionists and people who have no idea of how these characters are supposed to act.
It was a Doombot all along
HE BETTER BE!!!
Number of superheroes who have fought Dr. Doom: 131
Emma Frost is a superhero this week. Adding the three Stepford Cuckoos and the six members of Cadre K, that’s an incredible TEN heroes added by this crappy story.
Crazy tech
Giving his robots the shapeshifting abilities of the Skrulls, SOMEHOW.
Take over the world: 29
Doom’s plan for the shapeshifting technology.
Having witnessed Gerry Duggan’s writing in Krakoa-era X-Men, I noticed that he goes out of his way to avoid established characterization.
And that somehow he brings what should be memorable plots and makes them feel very pedestrian and boring.
His gadgets tend to be surprisingly game-changing yet end up being neglected or forgotten about. A recent Iron Man issue dedicates what feels like half of its pages to establish that exotic metal Mysterium, only obtainable by harvesting in a mystical realm called the White Room, is beyond the means of either magic or technology to defeat in any way, then gives Tony Stark access to a boatload of it so that it can make a decisive difference in the final fights against Orchis… and then we forget about Mysterium entirely.
I just don’t know how come editoral allows that to see print.