Ah, Chris Claremont. The last time he wrote Doctor Doom he did a good job, but nothing really spectacular. Let’s see how he handles his second attempt, while also juggling his dear X-Men and his first big work on the Fantastic Four.
I’ll just say upfront that I’m not the biggest Claremont fan and that I despise 95% of everything he did in his Fantastic Four run in the late 90s… which is a shame because he writes them extremely well this time around!!!
Also, one last thing: as usual, since this is a Doctor Doom retrospective I am mostly going to focus on him and much less on the various subplots.
FANTASTIC FOUR vs X-MEN #1 (1986)
by Chris Claremont & Jon Bogdanove
We are off to a great start with a great cover. Too bad the actual Doctor Doom doesn’t show up throughout the entire story!
The cover scene is from a nightmare that Franklyn Richards is having. Which is a problem because some of his dreams end up becoming real, and this one includes his father Reed killing the entire Fantastic Four and the X-Men.
Reed Richards, father of the year.
Thanks to Franklyn’s dream, Susan has found a diary that has very damning evidence against Reed. We won’t find out immediately what it is, but it’s very bad stuff.
Meanwhile, the X-Men are in a really rough spot. Without going into the details, the worst part is that Shadowcat (who you might know better as Kitty Pride) can’t control her intangibility powers and is slowly fading out of existence.
In this period Magneto was the leader of the team (yes, seriously) and he assumes that Reed is not going to help Kitty just because he’s Magneto.
Reed agrees to help, and She-Hulk tags along since she’s been following the law aspect of Magneto’s new status quo. A nice touch: see the body language of the Torch as Magneto is… I dunno, is he sleeping? He’s from the 30s, comic book rejuvenations notwithstanding.
Following the revelations from the diary, Reed is unsure about… well just about everything, really.
Maybe because of all that is going through his head, he gives the bad news that he can’t do anything to help Kitty.
Then a big dumb fight ensues, because comics.
FANTASTIC FOUR vs X-MEN #2 (1986)
by Chris Claremont & Jon Bogdanove
Now THAT is a cover!!!
Highlights of the FF vs X-Men fight include the Human Torch accidentally burning Storm…
…Rogue absorbing the Thing’s powers with some beautiful writing…
…and Wolverine kicking Reed in the face.
I don’t know why the Fantastic Four are having this much trouble.
And that’s when Doctor Doom shows up, thanks to a robot he conveniently infiltrated into the X-Men’s temporary base, offering to cure Kitty.
I’m sure there are no ulterior motives.
I get that the X-Men have to deal with the idea that Kitty might die from this, but still I feel the level of aggression against Reed is extremely unwarranted.
I could understand if he refused to help, but come on, this is unnecessary melodrama.
The FF have something else to take care of, because now we find out what’s in Reed’s diary: the fact that he deliberately transformed the team.
This is a great scene, enhanced by the great artwork which does a fantastic job at setting the mood with all the shadows.
But, as much as it’s very enjoyable… this doesn’t make much sense to me.
Because Reed doesn’t remember writing much of the diary!
And yeah, I guess he could be lying… but come on, everyone is WAY too quick to assume Reed knew the team would develop superpowers and has been hiding the truth for years!
I would completely understand the Thing going this hard against Reed without giving him the slightest benefit of the doubt… in the 60s. But at this point in the late 80s? Really?
And even excusing the Thing, the rest of the team reacts as if they had been waiting for years for something to confirm their suspects!
How bad are things when DAZZLER is the only person reasoning!?
FANTASTIC FOUR vs X-MEN #3 (1986)
by Chris Claremont & Jon Bogdanove
This would’ve been another great cover, but the X-Men having Doom’s mask over their costumes makes it way too silly for my tastes.
We finally get some Doctor Doom scenes, starting with him curing Storm from the serious burns that she got from the Human Torch.
Note that this is apparently technology that he could easily share with the rest of the world if he actually cared.
He might get a bit cranky if the X-Men keep triggering his robot guards by sneaking out of Castle Doom without permission.
But no, Doom is remarkably calm about this. Possibly because he’s trying to impress Storm.
The entire X-Men part of the plot centers around Kitty Pride, but she’s been completely absent so far. This is when she re-enters the story… by deciding that she would rather kill herself than having the X-Men owing a debt to Doctor Doom!!!
But she’s saved by Franklin in one of the most heartwarming moments ever.
So heartwarming that I’m not going to dwell on the fact that we have half a dozen pages of a naked fourteen year old girl. (at least I think Kitty is that age, from a comment she makes the following issue)
Also: I can never get enough panels where Doctor Doom shows up with his cape hiding the armor in shadows.
In contrast to his first scene in the first issue, Reed demonstrates he CAN be a good father when we see him tell a goodnight story to Franklyn and using his powers to narrate it.
That’s a side of Reed that we don’t see often, but I still think Susan was WAY too quick to believe the diary over her husband’s words.
Another moment I really enjoyed: the Thing staying up all night to drown his sorrows in a bar… with everyone being worried about him potentially trashing the place, right until the moment he leaves.
Rescuing a woman and her daughter from a fire reminds him that being the Thing does have its positive side.
Great stuff with the Human Torch as well: getting his powers is the best thing that ever happened to him, but if he were to boast about it he would be considered a jackass.
Contrast all this soul-searching with Doctor Doom talking about his favorite subject: himself.
FANTASTIC FOUR vs X-MEN #4 (1987)
by Chris Claremont & Jon Bogdanove
Are we absolutely sure Franklyn is not Mephisto’s son?
Considering that in this era Franklyn’s powers mostly manifest in his sleep, it leads to a very interesting observation.
During the travel, the Human Torch narrates to She-Hulk some new details about the history between Doom and Reed.
This an interesting addition to Doom’s origin: this is the first time we get to see the two interact while they were in college together.
Moments like these are why I hesitate to give full credit to stories that show the two of them not even interacting, like Byrne’s extended version of the origin.
The idea that Reed is after knowledge for its own sake while Doom is only after power is often repeated by Doom himself. It’s kind of an oversimplification for Doom, but it’s a nice shorthand.
I feel like we should’ve spent more time more about the fact that Reed doesn’t remember what the diary says.
I have to praise the artwork again: Doom hasn’t really done anything nefarious up to this point, but his mere presence constantly keeps everyone on edge.
In fact, the first time we see him lose his temper is when Magneto threatens to sabotage Kitty’s cure by recklessly using his powers!
So you have been told that using your powers risks killing Kitty. If you are Magneto, what do you do when the Fantastic Four show up?
Assume they’re here to cause Kitty’s death and use your powers AGAIN!!!
Seriously, Doom might be way too full of himself, but this is 100% on Magneto!!!
See, this kind of thing is exactly why I always have a hard time liking Claremont’s X-Men: they’re judgmental a-holes!!!
Seriously: Doom is doing this because it makes him look good? Yeah, sure, but HE’S STILL TRYING TO SAVE YOUR LIFE!!! Which currently is mostly in danger thanks to Magneto!!!
But on the OTHER side of the spectrum, they are ALSO being uncompromising jerks to the Fantastic Four!!!
You can never win with these guys, can you!?
Can someone please knock some sense into the X-Men!?
Thank you.
It takes THE FOUR YEAR OLD KID to get everyone start acting like adults!!!
Note that Kitty was technically wrong: while Doom DOES consider blaming her death on the FF’s interference, he’s not focusing on placing the blame.
Yeah the fact that saving a life is secondary to looking good is bad, but Doom comes off as surprisingly decent to me.
Everyone suspected Doom was involved with the diary plot, right?
Considering how both hero teams have acted so far, I can sympathize with Doom’s smugness.
He even manages to smile with his mask!
However Reed spots an error in Doom’s machinery, and abruptly stops the procedure.
Hands down the best moment of the entire series.
I especially like that both immediately go into business mode. Plus Reed’s explanation is not just straight technobabble but it actually makes sense!
Even Doom is not blaming Magneto for his machine’s failure.
As much as I have defended Doom’s actions so far… this is unquestionably rotten behavior.
HOW WAS HE NOT YOUR FIRST SUSPECT FROM THE BEGINNING!?
Reed manages to stabilize Kitty’s condition, who will slowly get back to her normal state.
Doom is STILL uncharacteristically chill about all this.
The OTHER highlight of the series is the fantastic interaction between Doom and Susan.
Also note that he doesn’t lie. Not even once.
I don’t know, Susan. Did you REALLY win this one?
Doom significance: 6/10
This doesn’t have any real consequences, but it’s notable for clearly establishing that he didn’t just run into Reed a couple times in college.
Silver Age-ness: 3/10
From the general “let’s fight first and figure out a reason why later” mentality.
Does it stand the test of time? 8/10
For all my complains about the X-Men behaving… well like the X-Men, this is an extremely solid story with good writing and great artwork. Even Claremont’s tendency to over-narrate is somewhat under control here. What hurts the story in my opinion is that the X-Men are just unlikeable and unreasonable here, as per their 80s standards. I could forgive that, but the Fantastic Four going THAT hard against Reed strains credibility.
It was a Doombot all along
There’s nothing to prevent this from being either the real Doom or a robot.
Destroy the FF! : 46
One of the few times where he’s not trying to kill them, but just to crush their spirits.
Number of superheroes who have fought Dr. Doom: 59
Remember that I don’t count the heroes that only MEET Doom. Since nobody actually fights him or even his robots, the count does not increase.
Crazy tech
Doom has a machine that can cure even the most severe burns in a few minutes. Too bad he doesn’t feel like sharing.