Incredible Hulk #606 (2010)
by Greg Pak & Paul Pelletier
cover by John Romita Jr
Now that he’s done fighting Black Panther, Doctor Doom decides to relax by picking up a fight with Hulk. Or rather, the Hulk picks up a fight with him.
This is part of a VERY long and complex Hulk storyline. The first page provides a neat summary of what you need to know: Bruce Banner has been cured for the hundredth time, and he’s teaching his alien son Skaar how to cosplay as Conan be a hero.
Skipping a bunch of Hulk plots, we then move to Latveria…
…where Doom is attacked by a very angry Hulk.
Doctor Doom is not impressed.
In fact he kicks major Hulk butt!!!
There’s definitely something behind this, because A) the Hulk is not supposed to be around at this time B) he talks about being attacked by someone’s “strongest pawn”.
Doom is then attacked by Skaar, who SPLITS HIS HAND WITH A SWORD.
Skaar might have jumped the gun a liiiiiitle bit attacking Doom on his own.
Even cutting his hand had basically no effect.
We also learn that the “Hulk” that jumped Doom wasn’t the real deal, but the Hulk robot that originated in the original Eternals book and has been lurking around the Marvel Universe ever since. You might remember we saw that one already.
(incidentally, I am planning to review the original Eternals book at some point. The fact that the robot is empowered by Galactus is a later retcon)
Doom also uses magic to revert Skaar to his original form: when he’s not hulked out, he’s just a child.
Perhaps the biggest contribution of this era was to SERIOUSLY hype Bruce Banner as a super-genius. He used to specialize on few specific fields, but now he’s a serious contender for Reed.
I don’t really mind the super-gadgeteering Banner, but the idea that Doom would IMMEDIATELY skip trying to prove his tech is superior is just laughable.
As is the idea that Banner has an off-switch for anyone else’s technology!
Still, Doom WOULD easily win this fight with magic…
…if Banner hadn’t found an interesting way to counteract it.
Remember all the way back to the 80s continuity inserts, when Doom refused to collaborate with the Leader and his Intelligentsia and made fools out of them?
They’re back with a vengeance.
This is an interesting angle that I’m surprised wasn’t tackled earlier: what happens if something takes away Doom’s super-intelligence?
Also, I can buy this working because it’s not just Banner doing this: it took the efforts of a whole team of super-geniuses to come up with it.
So Doom is now stuck having to fight the cosmically powered Hulk robot, without either his brains or his magic to rely on.
Despite the fact that it BARELY ever happens in the comics, Doom shouting “Richards!!!” is such a meme at this point that it’s worth to play with it.
Meh. Doesn’t have the same ring as a “Richards!!!”, doesn’t it?
Incredible Hulk #607 (2010)
by Greg Pak & Paul Pelletier
Following the previous issue, Doctor Doom is now prisoner of the Leader’s Intelligentsia.
The reference to him being “the most fearsome of all the eight” is linked to the “eight smartest people on the planet” idea that was going on at the time.
Wait, that’s supposed to be Latverian? I thought those were magic words!
The Avengers then invade the Intelligentsia base. They try the same Neural Anesthetizer™ on Pym, but at this point he’s taken the position of Scientist Supreme and won’t shut up about it.
Most of the story is about the Avengers teaming up with Banner to deal with the Intelligentsia, who have recruited Red She-Hulk (a transformed Betty Ross).
Hulk vol.2 #20 (2010)
by Jeph Loeb & Ed McGuinness
Yes there were two Hulk books running simultaneously: “Incredible Hulk” focusing on Banner and Skaar, and “Hulk” focusing on Red Hulk (Thunderbolt Ross).
Here’s a trick to tell them apart: “Hulk” is the one that sucks.
The Leader’s plan is basically to steal the brains of all the other super-geniuses. He already has Doom…
…and he captured Reed Richards in a different comic.
He’s using the technology from Fantastic Four #236; that thing sure gets around!!!
Thankfully this is the only part of the crossover where Doom has a role in the Jeph Loeb series.
It’s one of the dumbest series Marvel has ever printed, and not in a “dumb but fun to read” like Dazzler or Jimmy Olsen kind of way.
Dumb as in “I think I just lost a few brain cells” way.
Incredible Hulk #609 (2010)
by Greg Pak & Paul Pelletier
By this point the Leader has captured all the geniuses and trapped them in the Liddleville machine.
Doom is the first one to notice something is wrong.
Kind of ironic to have Doctor Doom making it a point to listen to other people.
Yeah this is a slight downgrade.
Doom is able to resist this illusion because while the Leader has taken away his knowledge of magic spells, he hasn’t removed his affinity to magic.
And thanks to Doom’s tech, Banner is eventually able to break free…
…but he doesn’t want to, because for once he’s found happiness.
Of course Doom can’t fathom why anyone would be happy living a simple life, so he turns Banner’s imaginary human son back into Skaar.
The ensuing fight allows Doom to wake up and steal the intelligence of all other super-geniuses…
…except since he was still under the effect of the Neural Anesthetizer™, he wasn’t smart enough to pull this off.
And that’s all for Doom’s involvement, because he gets sshuuullked out of the comic.
Doom significance: 7/10
While this story doesn’t do a lot with the concept of Doom losing his brains, it’s going to be a big deal in the Hickman run of Fantastic Four.
Silver Age-ness: 7/10
Banner suddenly having those absurd inventions ready qualifies.
Does it stand the test of time? 7/10
The Hulk book by Loeb is an unreadable mess. You have no idea how glad I am that Doom only has a cameo there.
The Greg Pak book, on the other hand, is rather good for the most part. The only real issue I have with it (other than it forces me to read the Loeb book, which is one of the dumbest runs ever) is that it’s so bent on making Banner look cool and awesome that if forces everyone else to play dumb.
I don’t have a problem with Doom falling for the Leader’s trap: we all know that he just can’t help himself whenever he sees the Power Cosmic, but… if he stole what was inside the Hulk robot, why doesn’t he even try to use it!?
You can’t really fault Doom acting dumb for the rest of the story, since he’s quite literally not himself, but it is interesting that he still manages to play a significant part.
I’m not considering this one of the instances when he saves the world, but without his help it’s possible that Banner might not have escaped the simulation.
That being said, the comic barely does anything with the concept of Doom having lost his intelligence. It’s a great angle that at least will be explored a bit in the Hickman run.
Because Doom will get tangled in Fantastic Four plots for a long time, and because the Leader has his own thing with the Hulk, it’s also disappointing that Doom doesn’t get a real rematch with him.
And by the time he meets the Hulk again, so much time has passed that he doesn’t even hold a grudge against Banner!!!
I wouldn’t fault the comic for this if it was out of the writer’s control, but everything about this story makes me think Greg Pak was not interested in following Doom’s plot any further.
It was a Doombot all along
Because of future stories, the one suffering brain drain HAS to be the real one.
Number of superheroes who have fought Dr. Doom: 105
Adding Skaar. A rather weird superhero, but I’d say he counts.
Crazy tech
Doom mostly uses magic, but even after all those years the Liddleville technology is STILL relevant!