Fantastic Four #566 (2009)
by Mark Millar & Bryan Hitch
At first glance, a cover where Doctor Doom is kneeling before someone other than himself immediately tells you something is wrong.
This WILL make sense at the end of the storyline, however.
We begin with Reed Richards being called to investigate the dead body of a Watcher found on a beach. It’s not THE Watcher, but it’s still a big deal.
It won’t be important until later in the storyline.
That will be important later. Right now the focus is on Doom’s return to Latveria.
Doom sure feels like celebrating. This is probably the entire population of Latveria gathered in one spot.
The people seem genuinely happy to see him back, but Doom’s gotta Doom.
This is paving the way for “Doom’s master”, who I guess is the cause of global warming.
Considering his future attitude towards his “master”, it’s weird to see Doom acknowledging him so publicly. Still, any chance to see him around children is always great to sell his underlying creepiness.
After a few pages dedicated to Fantastic Four subplot, “the master” arrives.
The “master” is going to be called the Marquis of Death from now on, while his apprentice is just “The Apprentice”.
The Marquis of Death has a rather forgettable look. He’s just a zombie with a cape.
The Apprentice, on the other hand, looks awesome!
The Marquis is here to ask his pupil a few questions…
…and Doom is not going to like the answer.
So the Marquis sets him on fire.
Fantastic Four #567 (2009)
by Mark Millar & Bryan Hitch
The cover is supposed to represent the defeat of the Fantastic Four next to the mask of their worst enemy, but all I can think of is “just kiss the mask already”.
Doom is not impressed.
Then we jump FIVE YEARS LATER with Doom having turned Earth into an utopia, after defeating the Marquis of Death without the death of any Latverian.
Sounds legit.
We’ve seen scenarios like this one before. But what’s interesting is to see Doom erecting a monument to Reed Richards, who we’re told died in the attack.
You’ve already figured out that none of this is real, but I think it’s still a fascinating look inside Doom’s head. For all his hatred against Reed, he REALLY craves his respect and approval.
He also imagines himself marrying Susan. This won’t be the last time this fantasy comes up; I don’t think he’s really in love with her, but he’s definitely jealous of Reed having such a meaninful relationship.
All of this was to show Doom a life where he’s finally happy… only for the Marquis of Death showing up to destroy his fantasy. None of this was real.
Not content with shattering Doom’s dream, the Marquis then proceed to NUKE LATVERIA with a massive energy blast.
The Marquis is not done! He’s a reality warper, and he directs his nastiest attacks at Doom.
This culminates by going back in time millions of years…
…and FEEDING DOCTOR DOOM TO ANCIENT SHARKS!!!
And that’s how we end, with the Marquis of Death ready to take on the Fantastic Four.
Doom significance: 5/10
The storyline will be largely ignored and partially retconned. But I’m still giving it a decent score by how memorable the ending will be, and it’s very linked to #567 in particular.
It’s not helped by being right in the middle of Dark Reign, because it results on Doctor Doom being dead on the pages of Fantastic Four and very well alive everywhere else.
Comics, everybody!
Silver Age-ness: 0/10
Definitely not.
Does it stand the test of time? 8/10
The Millar run is ultimately pretty forgettable, and like I said nothing related to Doom really sticks. But these two issues are still solid stories. There’s a couple of minor hiccups: Doom bowing before his “master” is given context as a sign of respect and not submission, but it’s still jarring to see him talk about him in public. Especially since Doom knows the Marquis is a complete monster.
The fantasy sequence doesn’t overstay its welcome; it’s rather brief and doesn’t insult the reader’s intelligence by pretending it’s the real deal. While certainly reminiscent of other “Doom has won” scenarios, it does add a few minor touches that set it apart.
The Marquis himself is easily the part of the storyline that misses the mark; I will talk about him more next time, but ultimately he amounts to nothing and is just very generic.
That’s not a problem here, however: the dread surrounding his arrival is very well handled. Again, it won’t amount to much and it will be a bit of a letdown, but that’s a fault of the next issue and not really these two.
It was a Doombot all along
Considering the way Doom will eventually return, there’s absolutely no way this is a robot.
Times Doom has died: 1
Doom SEEMS to die here, but it’ll be later retconned to him surviving through other means. So he’s still at having died once.
Crazy tech
None of the technology Doom created to fight the Marquis of Death is real, so nothing this time.