Before we tackle Onslaught and Heroes Reborn, there’s still one bit of housecleaning on the Doctor Doom retrospective… which doesn’t actually feature Doom.
Silver Surfer vol3 #106 (1995)
by Mike Lackey & Tom Grindberg
Well… at least the artwork is better than last time, but it’s not much of a praise.
This is not a good period for Silver Surfer. Not only because his stories aren’t very good, but because he’s suffered a long string of tragedies like losing his home planet Zenn-La AGAIN.
So when he comes across an alien planet ravaged by pollution and social unrest, he spends the first few pages endlessly monologuing how bad society is and how his phenomenal cosmic powers can’t possibly help anyone.
Yeah, stuff like that is why I’m in the minority of readers that couldn’t stand Surfer’s original Stan Lee series. And I really, really like Silver Surfer as a character, but man can he get preachy.
Even when a ship from Earth approaches, his first reaction is to point out Earth is a “war-loving planet”.
In the previous issues, Silver Surfer had asked Galactus to take away his powers, because he couldn’t bear that responsibility anymore.
His request was refused because… well, why should Galactus CARE about his feelings!?
But whoever is on the ship knows all of that.
You know who’s on the ship because I’m reviewing the story, but come on, why keep it a secret? Would ANYONE be fooled by this?
It’s QUITE impressive that he was able to track down Silver Surfer all the way from Earth.
Marvel is always incredibly vague about his space geography, but Surfer is so stupidly fast this might as well be the other side of the Universe!
While it’s still supposed to be a secret to the readers, Silver Surfer KNOWS this is Doom.
And yet he accepts to give him his powers!!!!!!
Ugh. Give me the Starlin or Englehart Silver Surfer, or even the Ron Marz Silver Surfer, any day of the week over this moron.
And so Doom’s machines absorb Surfer’s powers. He still looks like that because, you know, branding.
If I were him I would’ve asked to get my genitals back, though.
Come to think of it, even the Silver Surfer from Spidey Super Stories isn’t THAT dumb!!!
(I should probably cover some of these some day)
Silver Surfer vol3 #107 (1995)
by Mike Lackey & Tom Grindberg
Dammit, I have to admit it. This is a cool cover.
One of the conditions for taking away Surfer’s powers is that Doom would make sure the inhabitants of the polluted planet wouldn’t suffer anymore.
So naturally Doom BLOWS UP THE PLANET.
Now that he has Surfer’s powers, Doom reveals that he’s not Doctor Doom at all… it’s actually a Cosmic Doombot, sent into space with the sole purpose of stealing cosmic powers.
Look, I don’t care if the characters point out that Silver Surfer has been acting like a complete moron the entire time. It’s still stupid!!!
Sure there is precedent in the classic Fantastic Four #57, but Silver Surfer is not supposed to be THAT naïve anymore. Especially since now he KNOWS Doctor Doom.
Also: Cosmic Doombot was actually built just a few months after that story, so I guess we’re technically looking at a plan devised by Silver Age Doom.
As dumb as Silver Surfer is being written, and as bland and badly drawn this story is… Cosmic Doombot is great!
He definitely has Doom’s sarcasm.
One thing that doesn’t really add up is the fact that Cosmic Doombot has some alien henchmen working for him. Why can’t he just build some robots?
There is a reason why Surfer is still alive, though: Cosmic Doombot needs him to learn how to use the surfboard. Not sure why he can’t just use his new cosmic powers to create one if he wants to surf THAT badly.
Surfer then FINALLY manages to do SOMETHING. It’s not much, but still!
While the artwork is… well just look at that… I have to praise the design of the damaged Cosmic Doombot. It’s quite creative and very, very creepy.
Cosmic Doombot is quite an interesting case among the few Doombots that achieved full sentience.
Unlike Mechadoom he still wants to consider the plans of the original Doom, although he does have a superiority complex by virtue of being a machine.
Until he snaps and goes full Ultron. You never go full Ultron!
And so Cosmic Doombot blows up his own ship, sentencing Silver Surfer to die in the vacuum of space.
Silver Surfer vol3 #108 (1995)
by Mike Lackey & Tom Grindberg
“Doom Boom”? Seriously, THAT is what you want on the cover!?
After spending some panels talking about how awesome he is, Cosmic Doombot decides to return to Earth to destroy the Fantastic Four. Not knowing that Reed was still considered dead at the time of publishing.
However he didn’t consider that the son of the original Captain Marvel is a supporting character in this period, still going by the codename Legacy and still wearing his horrible original costume.
Yes, Silver Surfer, you were indeed a fool. Or as we say on Earth A FREAKING IDIOT.
“Legacy” sits this one out, being too tired after re-powering Surfer, so he doesn’t get added to the count.
Cosmic Doombot is ALREADY next to Earth, proving he really didn’t need to worry about the surfboard.
Having spent two whole issues doing basically nothing, Silver Surfer goes a liiiiitle overboard in this rematch.
He even snaps the robot’s neck (!!!!) but obviously even that isn’t enough to kill him.
No, to do that he has to become a vacuum cleaner. (????)
It does make a certain amount of sense to consider Surfer’s body as a battery for the power cosmic…
…although I prefer Peter David’s take on the subject.
And so Silver Surfer learns a valuable lesson: maybe he wouldn’t suck if we went back to DO SOMETHING INSTEAD OF JUST ANGSTING ALL THE TIME.
There were easier ways to learn that lesson, Surfer.
Doom significance: 0/10
I don’t think Doom ever learns that his creation came close to delivering him the Power Cosmic.
Silver Age-ness: 0/10
Even with a direct link to the Silver Age… no. Just no.
Does it stand the test of time? 4/10
Ugh, this is a TERRIBLE Silver Surfer. His angst is an integral part of the character, but this is way too much. Not to mention he’s just so dumb in this!!! Giving his powers to Doom at this point is just completely inexcusable. And while Surfer has snapped plenty of times and has killed multiple people before (even without the whole Galactus thing)… it seems completely out of character for him to be so bloodthirsty. On top of it all, the artwork ranges from barely passable to just bad.
Having said that, it’s not a complete loss. Cosmic Doombot still has enough of the charisma of his creator to be very entertaining, plus there are a couple of badass quotes from him.
Destroy the FF! : 53
The whole reason why Cosmic Doombot was sent into space in the first place.
Supervillains created by Dr. Doom: 18
Just like Mechadoom, this Doombot is distinct enough to count.
Times Doctor Doom has gained ultimate power: 6
This does NOT count because it’s explicitly a Doombot, so the total stays the same.
Crazy tech
Cosmic Doombot has technology capable of tracking down Surfer anywhere in the universe!!! Particularly impressive since apparently this robot has been build only a short time after Doom’s first encounter with Surfer, so this is technically old technology for him.