After the Marvel Adventures breather, let’s resume the Doctor Doom retrospective with the prologue to an event that will see him take center stage: the 2015 Secret Wars.
New Avengers vol3 #24 (2014)
by Jonathan Hickman & Valerio Schiti
cover by Gabriele Dell’Otto
Thanos looks like he’s lost some weight, but he’s still as intimidating as always.
Since it’s been a while and this is a VERY complex storyline, a bit of a recap doesn’t hurt.
The Illuminati discovered that the only way to avoid the cosmic cataclysm called Incursion to destroy the universe was blowing up the Earth of another universe… and when they refused, Namor took it upon himself to do it. Which caused him to be expelled from the Illuminati…
…and join the Cabal, the Thanos superteam of evil insane villains.
We begin the story proper with Namor having dinner in Latveria, where Kristoff is also present.
Namor is a bit annoyed that Doom is putting on the usual show without a sense of urgency, despite the serious situation.
Notice the subtle touch of magic on the candles.
Namor also complains about the absurd abundance of food at the table, which turns into a philosophical discussion because that’s what happens when Doom has a full stomach.
This is a FASCINATING examination into how Doom sees his role as a king and as a symbol.
But it also highlights why Namor was one of the VERY few people Doom was able to connect to.
Namor is here because his relationship with the Cabal is not working AT ALL.
The problem with the logistics of the Incursions is that you don’t have to destroy just one Earth to save your own universe… you have to keep destroying new ones, forever.
And since the Cabal is led by Thanos, he relishes in the constant genocides.
This is weighing heavily on Namor, who is sure the Cabal will soon figure out his reluctance to be in the team. So he shows remarkable vulnerability in calling for Doom’s help.
And DOOM REFUSES.
This is an utter rebuttal of Namor’s actions is absolutely brutal, and I love everything about this.
This shows Doom has a higher moral ground than Namor, but he’s also so unbelievably petty that he’s perfectly willing to let countless worlds (and possibly his own universe) perish… because he’s angry Namor betrayed their bromance.
We will see that Doom is several steps ahead of the heroes in all of this, but even if that wasn’t the case… yes, I accept that he’s just THAT petty.
But the main reason why he refused to help Namor, other than to make him suffer, is that Doom is already working on his own plan to stop the Incursions.
Specifically, he’s now employing the Mad Thinker…
…to study the fragments left behind from the previous Incursion…
…and trace the origin of the event itself!
And he also has the Molecule Man as an ally. He’s going to be ESSENTIAL to this storyline.
New Avengers vol3 #26 (2015)
by Jonathan Hickman & Kev Walker
Doom also teams up with Valeria Richards, because he might be a dick towards Namor but he has a soft spot for his goddaughter.
I think one of the reasons why he values her is that Valeria has absolutely no problem telling him exactly what she thinks.
In this case in particular, she’s convinced that Doom can’t win against the Incursions… but it doesn’t mean he has to lose.
She’s at least more stable than Molecule Man, who is… really not all there.
Which is surprisingly consistent for how he’s been written after Secret Wars II: the more powerful he is, the more insane he gets.
New Avengers vol3 #27 (2015)
by Jonathan Hickman & Szymon Kudranski
This is an odd team-up to be sure. Doom is his usual grandiloquent self…
…and Molecule Man is currently insane.
New Avengers vol3 #27 (2015)
by Jonathan Hickman & Kev Walker
Time to retcon the Beyonder AGAIN? Well no, that’s just a red herring: he’s not even in the story.
Molecule Man has taken Doctor Doom back to the dimension linked to his origin story (thanks to the whole Beyonder stuff from Secret Wars II).
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this place, and it’s usually when the journey ends…
…unless you’re Doctor Doom.
The Illuminati have handled the Incursions so poorly that, according to Bearder Reed Richards, the entire multiverse has already been reduced to just TWELVE universes!!!
Things are so bad that even Reed has no plan.
(that’s Captain Marvel by the way, in one of her most atrocious looks ever)
The story ends with Hank Pym returning from a multiversal trip where he was looking for Rabum Alal… the big bad guy behind all the Black Swan stuff on New Avengers… but instead finding something much more important.
Specifically the Beyonders, the race of uber-omnipotent beings behind the original Beyonder.
The following issue (where Doom doesn’t show up) attempts to explain what the Beyonders are, and… well it’s complicated, but all you really need to remember is the original Beyonder was just a child compared to them.
The Beyonders are in fact so mind-bendingly powerful that they obliterated countless Celestials…
…and freaking Eternity, which is worrying because the dude is literally the incarnation of the universe.
Most impressively they killed the Living Tribunal! If you don’t know about Marvel cosmogony… the LT is basically God’s second-in-command.
Is it really any wonder that even Reed Richards is at a loss at this point!?
Next time: Doctor Doom will fight those things.
Doom significance: 4/10
Issue 26 is the only one truly significant for Doom’s plan, and issue 24 has the best character exploration.
Silver Age-ness: 0/10
Definitely not.
Does it stand the test of time?
Issue 24: 8/10
Others: N/A
Issue 24 is the only one where I’ve discussed the vast majority of the issue, so it wouldn’t be fair to score the others.
So first of all: that dinner scene is one of the best interaction Doom and Namor have ever had, and it tells you SO much about both of them. Absolutely amazing character work.
In general I found the whole super-plot about Incursions and Beyonders to be very interesting (then again I’m a sucker for cosmic plots)… but the series does have its fair share of problems.
The artwork is VERY inconsistent, and Hickman is juggling too much stuff: a lot of plots jump from issue to issue, because in the meantime he has to deal with OTHER subplots… I didn’t even get the chance to talk about the fact that nearly the entire population of Wakanda is slaughtered in this period (!!!) of of a whole intergalactic war that is going on in the background, between this and the other Avengers series. AND in parallel there’s also a war with the Ultimate Universe coming up!
Hickman seems to be writing more for the trade paperback than for a monthly title, as it’s easy to lose track of so much stuff.
Admittedly every single issue begins with a two page recap of the key plot points, but even that has to leave stuff behind.
Hickman also does a good job at truly selling you how much the odds are overwhelmingly stacked against the heroes. A bit too well, in fact, as the constant dread gets old after a while.
Still, if you’re just following the Doctor Doom stuff, issue 24 is highly recommended. You can simply skim through the others.
It was a Doombot all along
Doom certainly wouldn’t let the pleasure of schooling Namor to a robot, and this version of Molecule Man absolutely would notice the difference.
Crazy tech
We can all agree there is no way the Mad Thinker would be able to figure out the multiverse plot without a heavy dose of Doom technology, right?