Infamous Iron Man #2 (2017)
by Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev
The Thing is not happy to see Doom again, no matter how he looks.
We begin in the Latverian Embassy, which is kind of rare: we typically see the Latverian CONSULATE in New York, while the Embassy is in Washington D.C.
More lessons in Latverian!
“Kremorga” does sound a bit Slavic, but I couldn’t find any inspiration from a real language.
This is kind of on-brand for the Thing.
Who puts a priceless vase in the open like that?
After the death of the Richards family (as far as HE knows), Ben doesn’t give a crap anymore.
Doom is still going after supervillains; this time it’s the Mad Thinker.
He’s surprisingly polite, especially considering I never thought Doom had a high opinion of him.
He’s more in his Mad phase than in his Thinker phase, isn’t he?
Doom takes care of his robot army with ease you’d expect.
I have to say that, with the addition of the cape, the armor DOES manage to be a good mixture of Iron Man and Doom’s looks. Combined with armor’s grey color, aside from the mask it’s slightly more Doom.
After presumably killing the Mad Thinker, Doom leaves without bothering to save a couple of children from one of the surviving robots.
For a minute, at least. Old habits die hard.
Doom then pays a visit to Dr. Perera, who ends up shooting him!!!
Not a big deal for Doom, though.
Love the subtle jab at how expensive his suit is supposed to be.
It is certainly ironic that Doctor Doom, after everything he has done, COULD have died if only she had aimed better.
Also notice that he immediately regrets this moment of humanity and might even be slightly disappointed that she wasn’t scared of him.
We interrupt this almost-date for some clobbering time.
Infamous Iron Man #3 (2017)
by Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev
I know it sound like I’m making fun of it, but take it as a compliment: this armor looks fantastic in the dark.
It would be perfectly in-character for Doom to have never bothered learning the catchphrase.
Never change, Ben, never change.
And then, in a truly bizarre move, we completely skip the fight: we jump to Dr. Perera waking up in a castle.
I like how completely detached Doom’s attempts at empathy can be.
How considerate of Doom.
Well, maybe you can make people stop thinking of you as DOCTOR Doom, but Doom is literally your name so that’s a high bar to clear.
The series FINALLY asks the question everyone had the second this idea was announced: why Iron Man?
Well that clears up everything.
The explanation is given in the side margins of two amazing two-page spreads: they’re at the same time simple sketches AND they hint at something mythical.
Unfortunately, the way the page is structured makes it really hard for me to show the entire monologue without taking up too much space.
But to take the best bits: it contextualizes Doom’s lust for power coming from his harsh childhood…
…up until he became God Emperor of Everything.
And after reaching the absolute pinnacle of his quest for power, finding himself unworthy of the position basically BROKE DOOM.
But if being the villain didn’t work out… what about something else?
Shockingly, Doom puts Stark among the people he considered “his true peers”.
This feels… off to me. Even if Doom has received a lesson in humility, I find it very hard to accept he would have considered Stark an equal.
Respected him yes, but this is too far.
And THAT is the reason why Doctor Doom is now Iron Man: when the position became available, he took it as a sign.
Weird emphasis on the admiration of Stark aside, that’s a good explanation.
But what I love even more is Dr. Perera pointing out the MASSIVE hypocrisy!!!
And THIS is a major reason why I absolutely buy this period of Doom’s history.
He’s not acting like a hero because he cares about the people he has hurt: all he cares about is STILL himself.
The issue started with Doom’s mom overlooking what he’s doing…
…and it ends with her attacking the Thing, who is now looking for clues in Latveria.
Doom significance: 7/10
In a way, this is the epilogue of Doom’s role in Secret Wars.
Silver Age-ness: 3/10
I could see Doom accidentally getting shot.
Does it stand the test of time? 8/10
Still a bit too decompressed for my tastes, Maleev is still a bad fit for the series (even if he does draw a terrific Doom in the shadows), and completely skipping the fight is a huge disappointment considering there’s BARELY any action in this series.
But other than that I really like the journey Doom is taking; keeping him in-character was certainly a challenge, and Bendis was the last writer I would ever imagine being capable of achieving this. BENDIS!!!
At this point I’m convinced that there a Brian Michael Bendis who is a good writer and a second writer with the same name that is a overhyped hack, because I have a hard time believing they are the same person.
