As a breather after Secret Wars, and to honor the very much missed Peter David, let’s take a look at a very unique alternate version of Doctor Doom.
X-Factor v3 #44 (2009)
written by Peter David
pencils by Valentine De Landro & Marco Santucci
cover by David Yardin
Sorry Monet, you got the cover but since you’re not in this plot you’re not showing up in the review.
Jamie Madrox and Layla Miller have been stuck in a different plot from the rest of the team: they’re currently in an alternate future, working with Future Cyclops and his daughter. We’ll meet them properly soon, but the important thing is that since Reed Richards is dead in this future, Madrox has someone else in mind to send them back home.
They eventually find Doom, of all places, in Detroit.
Layla is very acquainted with this future, having grown there: we will soon see she already knows Doom personally.
X-Factor v3 #45 (2009)
written by Peter David
pencils by Valentine De Landro & Marco Santucci
cover by David Yardin
You’re also not in this review, Shatterstar.
Doom has been entertaining himself playing the piano, but he’s not above meeting new people. Also he’s started using the “royal we”.
You might have noticed that Doom is shockingly polite to the servant who just criticized his piano skills. Possibly because of his age: this is set 80 years in the future.
But make no mistake: this is a very doomy Doom.
Madrox and Layla are accompanied by Ruby, the future daughter of Cyclops.
She’s implied to be the daughter of Emma Frost (although it’s not stated outright); we will see that she has a unique combination of her parents’ powers.
I’m just glad she’s not the millionth carbon copy of Jean or Cable.
Peter David slips in an easter egg by having Ruby curse by saying “shock you”: that was the fake swear word of Marvel 2099, which David was obviously familiar with considering he wrote Spider-Man 2099.
And we’re not that far off: obviously this isn’t the same timeline, but since this is set 80 years after 2009 we’re in 2089.
Although, as a MASSIVE Doom 2099 fan, I have to say that Doom 2089 is quite the downgrade.
However this is when this version becomes unique among Doom variants: first of all his mind is not all there anymore.
But more importantly, what we saw earlier is just how Doom sees himself. Other people have quite a different view.
The fact that Peter David never got to write a proper Doctor Doom story is a tragedy, because this story makes me believe he TRULY got the character.
There’s also something incredibly sad about the idea of Doom refusing to accept he’s becoming senile and continuously isolating himself from the world until he’s a husk of his former self.
I mean, even if Doom IS a monster, you can’t help feel at least a bit sorry for the guy.
But somewhere, deep in that brain devastated by age, there is still Doom.
He’s also quite fond of Layla. Could it be that he sees a bit of Valeria Richards in her?
The villains of the story… they’re not really relevant to Doom so I won’t waste too much time on them… are keeping tabs on Madrox.
Take a moment to appreciate that at this point Doom is a broken man with no power, no allies and no technology and who barely knows who he is, and he’s STILL considered a major threat.
X-Factor v3 #46 (2009)
by Peter David & Marco Santucci
cover by David Yardin
Girls, there’s no need to fight, you’re not in this review either!
Layla Miller is complicated to say the least. Doom knows her because he’s already met her in HIS past, which is HER future (we’ve actually already seen that).
Despite his fondness for her, Doom still has a pathological need to assert dominance.
Roby wants to intervene, but Madrox figures out that the strength is all in Doom’s mind.
Which is fine, because Doom’s mind is what they came here for.
Although he can’t remember the first thing he needs to tell them, he’s eager to share the second.
And now you’re imagining Doom with dreadlocks. You’re welcome.
The concept requires knowledge of how time travel works in the Marvel Universe, and Doom provides a quick summary. You can’t change history with time travel, because you just create an alternate timeline if you try.
Unless you are FREAKING DOCTOR DOOM and you’re able to invent a device that can help you completely bypass the laws of time!!!
The only drawback is that only cyborgs can use a Doomlock™.
As for the other thing Doom wanted to tell them…
…watch out for Sentinels!
However before the Sentinels can do anything, they’re sent back in time (to fight X-Factor in the present) by Ruby’s boyfriend, the time-hopping former supervillain Fitzroy.
You’re excused to use your last name as your supervillain name it’s something like “Doom” or “Kraven”. If your name is Trevor Fitzroy, come up with SOMETHING!!!
X-Factor v3 #47 (2009)
by Peter David & Valentine De Landro
cover by David Yardin
Why are you surprised, Madrox? This is an X-Men future, of course mutants are dead!
Doctor Doom triumphantly returns…
…to his van.
There’s a reason why Fitzroy is here: he’s from the future AND he can time travel.
Or rather, he will. Eventually.
Ruby is much older than she looks, so having her date a future supervillain who she KNOWS will become one is a bit weird.
Doctor Doom, living thesaurus.
X-Factor v3 #48 (2009)
by Peter David & Valentine De Landro
cover by David Yardin
Will you people stop trying to get in this review!?
Future Cyclops is understandably not very fond of the idea of teaming up with Doctor Doom, but in true X-Men fashion he’s incredibly hypocritical.
The younger generation is not very impressed by Doom.
Future Cyclops, on the other hand, has some words for Doom.
Surprisingly, Doom doesn’t!
Yeah, uhm, when DOCTOR DOOM is being quiet, THAT’S when you should be scared.
And that was just Doom fidgeting to pass the time!!!
Doom’s latest lab is not exactly world-class.
Madrox suspects that the Doomlock™ is behind one of the villains that have been plaguing X-Factor in the present. More on that later.
X-Factor v3 #49 (2009)
by Peter David & Valentine De Landro
cover by David Yardin
This scene doesn’t even happen in the book: the cast in the present and the one in the future don’t meet.
After Madrox helps the future mutants fight some Sentinels, he realizes that he’s one of the reasons this future is in ruins.
We’ll return to this soon, but first let’s check with Doctor Doom and Mr. Clops.
Cyclops has picked up on something from the previous issue: if Doom created the Doomlocks™, how could anyone have access to it? Turns out that it’s through one of the minor villains of this plot, who we saw earlier (in scenes I didn’t show) order the Sentinels to attack.
Well, Doom works in mysterious ways.
However, he’s not AS senile as we’ve been lead to believe.
See why I said that it’s a shame Peter David never got to do a proper Doctor Doom storyline?
I mean… it’s hard to argue with his logic these days.
With Doom’s work complete, and with Future Cyclops disappearing not raising any red flags, the Doomlock™ can be summoned back.
Said Doomlock™ is part of Cortex: a duplicate of Madrox turned into an evil cyborg.
He’s been fighting X-Factor in the present in parallel to this plot.
Reason #2089 why you should never, under any circumstances, underestimate Victor Von Doom.
X-Factor v3 #50 (2009)
by Peter David & Valentine De Landro
cover by David Yardin
As to be expected, this is the issue where the entire team is rebuilt. Kind of.
Cortex is quite a handful, since he’s been given a bunch of powers.
He also kills Fitzroy. On the plus side, this means he won’t grow to be a supervillain.
On the other hand, this breaks Ruby’s heart.
Her powers are interesting: her body is a giant living ruby crystal (which is why she doesn’t age anymore), and like her father she has optic blasts… which are completely black.
I’ve said it many times: Doctor Doom’s superpower is the ability to rationalize ANYTHING into making him right.
He’s also brainwashed Future Cyclops into becoming his minion. That’s what he gets for his Cable cosplay!
Layla’s superpower is that she can resurrect people… but there’s a catch: you come back alive but without your soul. Presumably, this is how Fitzroy becomes a villain.
And just as Cortex is about to kill Madrox, Fitzroy shows up to save the day.
Not something that happens frequently to people whose power is to suck life energy to create time portals.
This is when Madrox learns about Layla’s power.
Just in time for Doom’s last act in this timeline is to send them back in time.
Madrox is reunited with X-Factor…
…while Layla is sent further back, in order to meet her younger self from the beginning of the series. That’s who she was narrating the events of these issues.
This is the closure to a long-running mystery: the origins of Layla’s ability to “know stuff”.
She knows because she experienced the next 80 years and eventually traveled back in time to give those memories to her younger self.
I’m not sure whether Doom gave her that device or if she got it in the past 80 years, but at any case it’s implied that Doom sent her back…
…because he remembered that his younger self will eventually be her mentor a couple of issues later.
Peter David stated that he had plans to use Cortex again, so that might be why Doom is presumably still alive at the end of the story. Alas, he never got around to tell that story.
Did any of this show up in continuity?
Surprisingly considering how useful it can be to time travel plots, to my knowledge the Doomlock™ has never been explictitly mentioned again.
However both 2011’s “Namor: The First Mutant #11” and 2024’s “Venom v5 #36” feature technology taken from alternate Doctor Dooms that seems to work in the same way but without the limitation of requiring a cyborg.
Does it stand the test of time? N/A
I skipped waaaay too much stuff to give a proper score for the issues as a whole.
The Madrox storyline is an easy 9/10 for me: it’s an interesting and nuanced plot with a very unusual but well-thought-out Doctor Doom. Although the finale felt rushed, possibly in order to end with issue 50.
And, well, I’m a sucker for time travel plots and time paradoxes.
The parts in the present that I didn’t cover are what drags it down for me, as I didn’t find a few of these plots particularly interesting. Cortex is also disappointingly one-note.
This is not the only “old Doctor Doom” story, but it really stands out. Just how senile is this Doom anyway? Is it possible that he faked most of it, or was it just a matter of having a few moments of lucidity here and there?
He’s still an outright villain, but the tragedy around him is effective: everyone is still in awe of his reputation of a larger-than-life figure, and you feel everyone being uneasy around him even when he’s barely aware of his surroundings.
David also gives us some insight on how Doom sees the world, which I thought were pretty spot-on for the character. I would have paid any price for a Peter David run on Fantastic Four.
Crazy tech
The Doomlock™ is probably in the top five most impressive technologies Doctor Doom has ever created. That’s not the ONLY way to alter history at Marvel, but all other methods either involve powerful magic or cosmic power sources.