\Let’s conclude the Marvel Adventures detour with a bunch of miscellaneous appearances.
Avengers & the Infinity Gauntlet #1 (2010)
written by Brian Clevinger & Lee Black
pencils by Brian Churilla
cover by Humberto Ramos
Take a wild guess which storyline is being adapted.
After Thanos assembles the Infinity Gauntlet and snaps half of the universe out of existence, a bunch of heroes gather to figure out what happened.
Uhm, maybe you should have asked Mr. Fantastic, because Susan is way off here.
The core of the Milky Way is 26,000 light-years from Earth, which is 152 quadrillion miles.
Interestingly, that’s 245 quadrillion kilometers… which is much closer to Susan’s number, so maybe the calculation was made in metric?
Being in the Marvel Adventures category, this series is a bit more tongue-in-cheek than what you’d expect.
And then Doctor Doom crashes the party.
Naturally everyone gangs up on him… with little effect.
Everyone blames Doom for the disappearance of the heroes, but he has a point: why would he stop at the Fantastic Two?
In fact Doctor Doom is not here to fight the heroes, but to help.
Unironically one of the best Doctor Doom panels ever conceived.
Susan OBVIOUSLY doesn’t trust Doom, but he makes a compelling argument for why he has to be on this mission. Which boil down to:
A) “I’m very useful”
B) “Make me”
So the heroes agree to have Doctor Doom join their team…
…as well as US Ace: the Marvel Adventures version of US Archer, of all people.
I’m going to have to do a retrospective on US Archer at SOME point, aren’t I?
Avengers & the Infinity Gauntlet #2 (2010)
written by Brian Clevinger & Lee Black
pencils by Brian Churilla
I did mention this wasn’t taking itself seriously.
The list of people that Doom tolerates calling him “Vic” is very short.
Yes, I will definitely have to review the US 1 series. It’s set BEFORE Ulysses begins driving his truck in space and yet it’s SOMEHOW more unhinged.
Considering Doctor Doom was reportedly influential in the creation of Darth Vader, you might be mistaken for him being a fan of Star Wars.
In my headcanon, the fact that he’s a Star Trek fans also applies to the regular continuity.
Despite the lighter tone, this is a legitimately badass moment for Doom, being the only one to figure out why the Skrulls are now at war with each other.
But don’t get the wrong idea, this is still a very silly story.
Now I really want a story where Doom has to eat at a truck stop.
The heroes then get tangled in the fight between Ace and his nemesis, Baron von Zeppelin.
Who yes, WAS in the original series.
Doom is not a fan.
Avengers & the Infinity Gauntlet #3 (2010)
written by Brian Clevinger & Lee Black
pencils by Brian Churilla
Not gonna lie, I never thought I’d see the sentence “Doom does not mop”.
With that taken care of, time for something more important: lunch.
Well Doom does have a complicated relationship to his mother, so it’s not unreasonable this could happen.
After a couple of detours where Wolverine has to kill some space crows… as you do… they eventually find Thanos.
Notice Doom is the only one who already knows who he is.
You have to love how Doom’s idea of teamwork is “I do everything and you watch”.
But thanks to the Infinity Gauntlet, it’s not even a fight.
Avengers & the Infinity Gauntlet #4 (2011)
written by Brian Clevinger & Lee Black
pencils by Brian Churilla
Nobody is surprised that Doom was already after the Infinity Gauntlet.
Spider-Man tries to trick Thanos into fighting them without the gauntlet, and apparently we have an untold story in this continuity.
In the main retrospective you’ve already gained infinite power FOURTEEN TIMES, Doom.
Spidey can sleep easy.
Thankfully for the universe, the Infinity Gauntlet has control over time, space, soul, mind, reality and power… but not trucks.
Which US Ace can control telepathically.
And THAT was all they needed to take off the Infinity Gauntlet.
This is a genuinely terrifying possibility…
…almost as terrifying as Miss Marvel’s face.
Obviously Doom immediately tries to get the Gauntlet for himself…
…and HE DOES.
Too bad it doesn’t work.
Because that was just a Doombot.
Yep. We’ve been following a Doombot the entire time.
However Spider-Man gets the Gauntlet…
…to erase the whole story.
I’m not a fan of using that kind of reset button, but this time it matches the easygoing tone.
Does any of this show up in regular continuity?
Not really in the main continuity, but if you want a Hulk wearing an Infinity Gauntlet…
Silver Age-ness: 10/10
SPACE TRUCKERS!!!
Does it stand the test of time? 7/10
It’s extremely goofy and wouldn’t work anywhere else. Here it does have SOME redeeming qualities, and I can’t hate on a series that gives us both US Ace and a memorable Doctor Doom meme.
Number of superheroes who have fought Dr. Doom: 23
I’m adding Miss Marvel since she tries to prevent Doom from getting the gauntlet. Wolverine, Spider-Man and Hulk were already in the count.
But you also have a few heroes that try to stop Doom after he shows up at the beginning of the first issue: Speedball, Black Panther, Sleepwalker and I assume the last one is Sentry.
Other blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameos include Punisher, Daredevil, Nightcrawler and Misty Knight (who is not named, but who else has that hair without a costume?)
Black Widow & the Marvel Girls #2 (2010)
by Paul Tobin & Jacopo Camagni
cover by Salva Espin
I had no idea this series existed. Wild that we have what is essentially “Black Widow Team-Up” BEFORE the Avengers movie. It lasts 4 issues.
I wonder what is supposed to be the selling point.
Wasp was initially Giant Girl in this continuity, but now she’s switched to her mainstream identity.
As the series lead, Black Widow is in full “I’m the only competent character here” mode.
The cover and the artwork might make you think this is just fanservice, but there IS a story here that involves Doctor Doom playing international politics…
…and a surprisingly complex view of propaganda.
You’d think at least Black Panther would see this coming a mile away.
Still, the idea that Doom’s tech (or Vision for that matter) can be shut down THIS easily bothers me.
The Avengers have to leave Latveria in such a hurry that they leave Black Widow and Wasp behind.
They even get a Doombot out of it!
Black Widow is just insufferably smug in this. And not in a fun Doctor Doom way.
The girls eventually catch up with the Avengers and deliver the Doombot.
Does any of this show up in regular continuity?
Nothing comes to mind.
Silver Age-ness: 6/10
Today you couldn’t get away with disabling a Doombot THAT easily.
Does it stand the test of time? 4/10
The premise is interesting, but then it’s completely squandered by focusing on a Black Widow that is way too insufferable. The artwork was also more distracting than anything.
There IS more than just fanservice here… but not much of it is worth it.
Number of superheroes who have fought Dr. Doom: 26
Adding Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Thor
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man vol2 #15
by Paul Tobin & Rob DiSalvo
cover by Patrick Scherberger
This version of Spider-Man has been lackluster when it comes to the Doom fights. Will this get any better?
This one has Doctor Doom threaten to blow up New York.
This series is more notable than the previous one for attempting something new: Spider-Man has a regular ally that is unique to this continuity. That would be Chat, a mutant with the ability to speak to animals, and who knows Peter is Spider-Man.
Not the best rendition of Doctor Doom, but Spider-Man feels in-character.
Spidey is employing the old “lure the villain out of the civilian population”, but Doom anticipates him.
Not the most dignified Doom fight ever.
But that was just a Doombot! An attempt to save face, or was it always part of Doom’s plot?
Nah, this isn’t a smart enough story for that. As proof: a dog foils the plans of Doctor Doom.
Historical significance: 0/10
Understandably forgotten.
Silver Age: 10/10
The dog saves the day!
Does it stand the test of time? 0/10
Spider-Man’s relationship with his not-quite-sidekick Chat is great. Doctor Doom feels more like he’s the stereotypical bad guy out of the Spider-Man cartoons of the 70s and 80s.
I’m not counting Chat as a superhero because, while she has powers, she never takes another identity and never fights crime directly.
Marvel Adventures Super Heroes vol2 #17 (2011)
by Paul Tobin & Ronan Cliquet
cover by Barry Kitson
Last entry! Will Black Widow still be insufferable?
This is already a long review, so let’s just skip to the point where Black Widow gets to Latveria.
It’s a rather complex spy story, but all you really need to know is that she’s been tasked with recovering a different spy that Doctor Doom has been trying to capture.
She just dares Doom to get public with his plans…
…and I guess that he’s so impressed by her brazen courage that he calls the whole thing off.
She is NOT happy to have been told Doctor Doom was involved at the very last second!
Historical significance: 0/10
We’re at the end of the Marvel Adventures line.
Silver Age-ness: 0/10
Not really.
Does it stand the test of time? 7/10
The fact that we never learn why Doom wanted to get that spy is both the strongest and the weakest part. It’s great because it enhances the secret, but on the other hand there isn’t much to this story.
Number of superheroes who have fought Dr. Doom: 26
Hawkeye is on the cover because he has a completely unrelated story, so he’s not in the count.
Overall, both Marvel Age and Marvel Adventures where quite disappointing.
I can only recommend the Doctor Doom And The Masters Of Evil masterpiece and the cute Power Pack miniseries.
You can skip everything else without missing much.
But this extended tangent gave us THIS panel, so it was worth it.