SUPER-VILLAIN TEAM-UP #1 (1975)
Writer: Tony Isabella
Pencilers: George Tuska, Bill Everett, George Evans
Cover by Ron Wilson
Doctor Doom gets his own series again… sort of. He’s sharing it with his bro Namor.
We begin with Doom and Namor arguing about their recently established partnership. Predictably Doom starts with boasting his power and his genius, but Namor has a good point: why does Doom need him?
Namor is having doubts about this relationship, and Doom is taking it… well exactly as you’d expect.
They’re definitely in the “it’s not like I like you or anything” stage of their bromance.
But this is where Doom moves past the simplistic portrayal of his latest appearances, and we have some nice introspection on his thought process.
Including a very direct reference to Fantastic Four #116.
Doom is reviewing his battles with superheroes, noting that in addition to the Fantastic Four he’s been defeated by “lesser beings”.
Counting Spider-Man, Daredevil and Quicksilver among those who defeated him is a bit generous, since Doom basically forfeited their fights.
No arguments about Thor and Hulk, though. There’s no argument there, Doom lost pretty decisively.
This is the most complex Doom we have seen so far and I absolutely love it.
“I do not doubt that I can destroy a world alone… but could I rule it?”
That’s when Doom understands what’s been sabotaging his alliance with Namor so far: he has treated him as a pawn, not as an ally.
He also realizes that Namor will need his help SOMEDAY, and so he sends a drone to spy on him.
A rocket-powered fish drone, that is.
We now move to the Namor part of the story, which needs some backstory coming from his series.
He’s going to Hydrobase, an artificial island that was created by a mad scientist who also transformed some innocents into amphibians.
Hydrobase has been taken over by some Atlanteans, who keep the scientists as hostages.
Namor takes care of the Atlanteans rather easy, rescuing one of the scientists. That’s where we learn that the Atlanteans are using the killer robots created by another villain from Namor’s rogue gallery, Dr. Dorcas.
Since Namor and Doom don’t work together in this issue, you might wonder why the series is called “Super-Villains Team-Up”. Well don’t worry, because this is a team-up of Namor’s villains.
We have Attuma (leader of the Atlantean barbarians), Dr. Dorcas (the super-scientist in a horrible green costume) and Tiger Shark (take a guess).
The green-skinned guy is one of the scientists who were transformed into amphibians.
Attuma is partially responsible for the death of Namor’s wife, Tiger Shark killed Namor’s father, and Dr. Dorcas is the one who created Tiger Shark.
We are just missing Llyra (the other one responsible for killing Namor’s wife), and we have the complete set of people who killed Namor’s relatives!
This has the potential to be a very interesting fight, as both Attuma and Tiger Shark are nearly as strong as Namor, but… it feels rather rushed.
Especially because Attuma and Tiger Shark may be incredibly strong, but they’re not exactly bright.
That’s probably why they decided to work with Dr. Dorcas.
And that’s our cliffhanger!
To be continued.
Doom significance: 6/10
Doom doesn’t do much, but it’s a significant step in his character development.
Silver Age-ness: 1/10
Dr. Dorcas is a bit goofy sometimes, but nothing really out of the ordinary.
Does it stand the test of time? 8/10
I’m biased, but Doom’s inner monologue is easily the best part. Nothing terribly interesting happens once we reach Hydrobase, but overall it’s a really solid story.
It was a Doombot all along
Highly unlikely that this is a robot.
Take over the world & Destroy the FF!
Doom is more interested in human relationships than in any of his usual goals, how about that?
Crazy tech
Dr. Dorca’s underwater electrical gun is impressive, but come on, rocket-powered fish drone?