Aquaria Neptunia was Namor's cousin (possibly via adoption) and a fellow human/Atlantean hybrid cum mutant. They were very close and hung out all the time when he was a teen and she was a child, but obvs. drifted apart when he started hanging out on the surface all the time. When she hit puberty however, her mutant-hybrid powers kicked in and she became his sidekick Namora, eventually becoming a solo hero in her own right.
Eventually, she chose to retire to start a family with her husband, but some creepazoid secretly impregnated her with her own clone, to whom she gave birth and who was named Namorita in honor of her cousin. Namor disappeared soon thereafter. Some years later, Namora's husband died, and she began a romance with the ruler of an Atlantean sub-kingdom...and was poisoned by a romantic rival. Shenanigans ensued, but eventually Namor returned to and re-united with Namorita, and they also became very close.
So, one could argue they have more of a sibling relationship than a cousin one.
Although, you're comment about royalty is not misplaced; I believe Namorita did have an unrequited crush on Namor for a bit, and Namor and Namora had a whirlwind romance that didn't end in marriage only because they found a bunch of creepy eugenicists had manipulated them to produce such a result.
Eventually, he chose to retire to start a family with her husband, but some creepazoid secretly impregnated her with her own clone, to whom she gave birth and who was named Namorita in honor of her cousin.
I... yeah, I get it. Comic books are weird. I think I said as much in the opening post of this thread, heh! Thanks for the info. ;D
I'll be out of the country for a week, so I guess this is a notice that there won't be any more frequent updates for a little while.
That said, perhaps I should whet the appetite a little, and describe some highlights of the next few publication years:
- Super-Villain Team-Up's final story-lines approach, which involve a grand rematch with the Red Skull that far outstrips their previous encounter in terms of quality, and the first comic which speculates on the state of the world if Doom actually won.
- The Phoenix Gambit is next, a two-parter in which Doom guest stars in the pages of Master of Kung-Fu! Intriguing!
- Fantastic Four #196-200, a major event which determines Doom's status quo for literal years to come. Neat!
- Dazzler follows up on the events of Doom's debut issue, bringing back those gems from the pirate days. Interesting!
- An Uncanny X-Men three-parter which introduces Doom to a whole new corner of the Marvel universe. Yeah!
- Doomquest. Iron Man and Doctor Doom in King Arthur's Court - fuck yeah!
- Marvel Superheroes: Secret Wars. Fuck yeah!
That said, perhaps I should whet the appetite a little, and describe some highlights of the next few publication years:
- Super-Villain Team-Up's final story-lines approach, which involve a grand rematch with the Red Skull that far outstrips their previous encounter in terms of quality, and the first comic which speculates on the state of the world if Doom actually won.
- The Phoenix Gambit is next, a two-parter in which Doom guest stars in the pages of Master of Kung-Fu! Intriguing!
- Fantastic Four #196-200, a major event which determines Doom's status quo for literal years to come. Neat!
- Dazzler follows up on the events of Doom's debut issue, bringing back those gems from the pirate days. Interesting!
- An Uncanny X-Men three-parter which introduces Doom to a whole new corner of the Marvel universe. Yeah!
- Doomquest. Iron Man and Doctor Doom in King Arthur's Court - fuck yeah!
- Marvel Superheroes: Secret Wars. Fuck yeah!
This cover feels awfully familiar… Fantastic Four #144 shares an extremely similar design where Doom is pushing a button while looking at a fight scene on a screen. The image is flipped and the button is in another place, but conceptually this comic must've been cribbing from the other, right? (That, or these artists just aren't that creative, and end up treading the same suspiciously specific ground.)
My criticisms for this cover are the same as last time - it gets too cluttered and busy due to the inclusion of this huge frame around the central action. I am not entirely sure why Doom is planning to destroy everyone on screen - the story thus far has set up Attuma as the primary villain, and Doom hasn't had any particularly huge world-conquering plans in play, since he's mostly been dealing with the consequences of his latest defeat. I suppose he might be taking advantage of the situation for his own benefit, though - he does that.
Story Overview
To Stand Alone!
Picking up right where we left off in the last issue, Doom has just defeated Iron Man, and moves on to take out the rest of the Avengers. On a page with an interesting design - if one I've seen before - the edges are dominated by a bunch of little combat encounters between the Avengers and Doom's ragtag team of Atlanteans, while the center of the page is a recap of the ongoing storyline. It's pretty neat.
The result of all those combat snippets is a total victory for Doom and his Atlantean allies, as they dismantle the rest of the Avengers with relative ease. Boy, the Avengers aren't coming out of this storyline with too much dignity, are they? Doom himself defeats Captain America here, while Tamara Rahn takes out Scarlet Witch, Namorita captures the Wasp, and a pair of random side characters I don't even recognize defeat Yellowjacket and the Vision.
In the wake of his grand victory, Doom says if he weren't a modest man, he would take sole credit - but he admits the Atlanteans had some small role to play, as did Namor. After all, the Avengers came to hunt Namor, and walked themselves right into Doom's clutches! He then places Captain America in restraints and interrogates him, and the half-unconscious Captain soon reveals that Attuma is responsible for current events. Namorita isn't remotely surprised by that revelation, and naturally assumes Doom will take care of this matter personally. He is, after all, the only one besides Namor who has a real shot against this rampaging warlord! (Presumably this conviction is based on the events of Super-Villain Team-Up #1-3...)
Over in America, we see Beast flying a Quinjet around with the elderly Whizzer and resurrected Wonder Man on board. The latter summarizes his origins and subsequent death, admitting that he doesn't really understand how he's returned to life. He claims the Living Laser awakened him from his 'zuvembie' state, and until that point he was a dead man. They decide to table the discussion in favor of tracking down a 'homing device' which Beast attached to Tyrak's aerial transport after escaping from the fight two issues back. It should take them right to Attuma...
We switch to the captured Avengers, who have been strapped to a slab by their wrists and ankles. Tamara is watching them, and wonders to herself whether the red-skinned Vision might be another of her extinct race. Evidently she isn't aware he is a robot! She leaves for fear of rekindling false hope, which means the heroes are unsupervised...
The Avengers wake up while they're alone, and Cap observes that the effects of their slave collars have weakened - they were inducing a sort of raging battle-lust, but that has now faded away and cooler heads prevail. Wanda uses a tiny sliver of telekinesis to grab Cap's shield from elsewhere in the room and hover it over to him, but she loses control before she can aim it - Cap catches it anyway, dryly stating that he's had practice. He then bounces the shield off the ceiling and neatly severs the slave collar that holds the Vision.
Unexpectedly, the Vision doesn't use his intangibility to destroy the collars on the other Avengers - instead he ascends straight through the ceiling without saying a word, leaving his friends behind in captivity. Well. Between all the losing and running away, the Avengers aren't really showing their best… Wanda seethes with rage at her husband's actions, but he's gone…
For some reason we next get a title card in the middle of this story, which introduces us to Namor the Sub-Mariner like he's some brand new addition to the cast. I assume the explanation here is that the Sub-Mariner hasn't been in the Avengers comics for a long time, and this is meant to remind readers who don't other comics much. Still, how many readers got to part 3 of this storyline without picking up part 2, which already had an appearance by Namor? Weird.
Namor is heading over towards a secret underwater research base off the coast of Maryland, and loudly narrates how he heard about it from some communist he plucked out of his jet. (Which was pretty silly.) We soon see the research base, which is situated beneath some sort of oil rig. Several divers are experimenting with a 'Chloro-Beam' device, which apparently dramatically increases the growth of plankton. They figure that it could triple the US food supply, by providing an entire new food source that can be grown in the sea. Their cheering is suddenly interrupted, however, by the threatening shouts of Attuma and his men, who have come to raid the place.
Attuma declares that only people who survive a meeting with him can call him by his name - everyone else can just call him Death. For some reason he's taken to wearing the Vision's yellow cape, presumably related to his claim that he saw that hero as symbolic? He commands his underling Lord Arno to kill the researches and take their machine. 'As you command, my Lord,' Arno declares.
In a hilarious twist, it turns out that talking is not a free action, and the researchers have fled while Attuma was busy posturing. Indeed, they are already on their way up towards the surface via a nearby elevator. Attuma instantly blames Arno for this screw-up, claiming that his minion should have preemptively disabled the elevator before the humans could use it. Heh.
Up above, the researches quickly move the Chloro-Beam out of the way, and lock the elevator with a thick metal door designed to withstand high water pressures. Arno blasts through it with his hand-cannon, and is about to take aim at the humans when - impossible! Something super-fast bowls over all of Attuma's men, marking the arrival of the Whizzer!
Beast and Wonder-Man quickly join the fun, and a fight breaks out between the Avengers and Attuma's men, with Beast lamenting the absence of Tyrak - he wanted some payback. Wonder-Man punches Attuma through a wall and out into the open air, where they have a little more room to breathe.
He demands to know where all the other Avengers are, and why the warlord is attacking this sea base. Before he can get an answer, though, one of Attuma's men spots a figure in the sky. Namor has arrived, and he's none too pleased. Attuma decides that his only choice to avoid defeat is to sow confusion, and loudly proclaims the three Avengers to be his allies. Namor… falls for it. Dude, what the hell are you doing?
For some reason Namor decides he'll take out Attuma's 'new allies' first, and starts by punching out Beast and Whizzer with a single blow. Wonder Man muses that he'll have to fight seriously to have a shot at getting through this, and punches Namor clean off the research station. The Atlantean flies back into the fight, but compares the punch to one Thor might've thrown, and is a lot more wary of this new threat. While the Whizzer run in to back up his fellow hero, Beast notices Attuma sneaking off with the Chloro-Beam, and jumps after him into the ocean. Holding his breath, he follows the tyrant to his submarine, parked below…
Namor is convinced he's fighting Quicksilver - the Whizzer's son in this continuity - and starts gloating that the hero might've changed his costume, but he is also slower, less daring. He then starts criticizing 'Pietro' for reverting to his old criminal ways with the Brotherhood of Mutants, and calls him the 'lowest of the low' before slapping him into a wall. Sheesh! Whizzer is spent, his weak heart chugging away in his chest, and Namor finally realizes that he was fighting an elderly man instead of a young superhero with a different costume. Brilliant.
Wonder Man takes advantage of the distraction to pull a huge metal pipe out of the research base for use as a weapon. While Namor slowly recalls the identity of the Whizzer, he's blindsided by Wonder Man slamming him into a wall with the pipe, and then knocking him unconscious with a punch. Damn, this guy packs a serious wallop if he can KO freaking Namor, holy shit! Whizzer mentions how that really was a bit excessive, but at least the fight is done with. Time to go find Attuma again!
Speaking of, Attuma's sub is heading over towards their 'war camp' where Tyrak is being prepared for his glorious transformation - whatever that might be. They only need to make a few more alterations to the Chloro-Beam, and then it's ready for the next night, when Attuma will triumph! Beast watches on from beneath the floorboards, having snuck on board earlier. I'm not sure why the inside of this Atlantean sub is filled with air, when we know their kind can't stay out of water for very long. We've already seen in other issues that their ships are usually filled with water, so I guess this is a matter of plot convenience.
Over on Hydrobase, we see the Vision emerge through a wall. He figures the other Avengers must be worried about his departure, but he's the only one who can save them, and to do that he must make a deal with the devil - Doctor Doom! He approaches the tyrant, who keeps him at gunpoint, and he offers a deal. After a moment, Doom decides to hear him out...
To be continued...
Rating & Comments
I have to say, the storytelling in this crossover is decidedly more involved than literally any story I've covered up to this point, and a hell of a lot more coherent than the Marvel Team-Up one, which largely just consisted of smashing characters together randomly. This story flows naturally, with several different locations and individuals getting panel time, and it never gets boring.
That said, this doesn't mean it's actually a good story. It falters mostly because it relies on some pretty ridiculous plot-points which have no solid justification - idiot-balls, basically. Firstly there is Namor's complete imbecility - he takes Attuma at his word that the three costume-clad heroes he is currently fighting are actually his newest allies. That's… utterly embarrassing, to say the least. Then the Atlantean gets so caught up in beating up a geriatric heart-patient, that he lets his actual supervillain nemesis just sort of wander off with the dangerous MacGuffin. What the hell, hero?
The stupid continues outside the confines of Namor's characterization, however, since there's also the Vision to consider. Vision's actions in this issue are pretty stupid on their face, since they involve him abandoning his allies for no apparent reason in order to strike a deal with Doctor Doom to... do what, exactly? Free the people he could have released right then and there? Defeat Attuma, which he could have done with his Avengers allies? I mean, even if they did need Doom's help, it's not like he couldn't have freed his allies and flown over to Doom. It's not like these were mutually exclusive plans, you know? Vision just decided to act like a total dick...
Doom himself, unfortunately, doesn't get a ton to do in this issue. Sure, he beats up Captain America at the start, but beyond that he's relegated to the sidelines. Whatever setup is happening in regards to him will probably be resolved next time, but I can't really judge this issue based on possible events in a follow-up issue. Thus, I'll give it a nice average 3 stars. This is a decent issue, if unbalanced by the idiocy on display. At least Doom avoided being stupid here, he's still recovering from that bit where he fell off a cliff without a shirt on...
Best Panel(s) of the Issue
I think Namor gets a couple pretty great shots in this issue, particularly his introduction. Indeed, it's good enough that even the editor comments on it!
Most Gloriously Villainous Doom Quotes
"Were I not a modest man, I might take full credit for our victory, Namorita - but clearly you and your friends were of some small assistance."
Doom's Bad Hair Day
This panel is pretty wonky - both characters have some pretty unusual things going on with their legs, with over-sized bulbous calves and weird spread legs that seem awfully unstable to stand on. Attuma also has this weird thing where his right leg doesn't really connect to his hips if you mentally connect the lines there. There's also that cape, which randomly decided to billow straight up in this picture...
Comic Trivia
You might've noticed that mention of 'zuvembie' in this issue, and may have believed it was just a poorly misspelled word. Nope, that's the correct spelling of this weird term! It originates in a work of horror written by Robert E. Howard in 1938, called 'the Pigeon from Hell.' Now, how this relates to comics is interesting in its own right...
See, when the Comics Code Authority was established to censor comics in the wake of a whole bunch of 'protect the children' moral panicking, various elements of horror were banned outright. Early comics tended towards horror almost as much as they do towards superheroes in these days, so it makes sense that it'd be the focus of censorship. In this code, zombies were banned alongside a whole range of other things like depictions of black magic and demons.
While the code became more lenient around the 70's, it still banned terms like 'zombie' because they weren't considered a classic monster from literature like the vampire or the werewolf. Now, comics could show zombies and other undead, they just couldn't call them that. As such, Marvel started using 'zuvembie' instead of 'zombie' to circumvent the ban. Eventually the Code was changed again to allow 'zombie' once more, and the alternative was quickly abandoned.
Nowadays, only Deadpool still uses it on occasion. Figures it'd be him.
Well, I admit, this is not where I thought this storyline was heading! I'm not entirely sure how a plot involving Attuma mutates into Doctor Doom and the Vision duking it out with the Avengers, but I presume those pesky slave collars have something to do with it. Maybe Vision could have removed them last issue, when he had the opportunity? Nah…
It's fun to see a full-on brawl involving Doom on here, and it kind of paints him as a pretty formidable threat if they need a complete team of high profile Avengers to take him on! Granted, Tyrak managed to disassemble this team by himself, so they're not exactly in great form. Also Doom already knocked out Iron Man and Captain America in the previous two issues, so it's not that far-fetched...
Story Overview
The Private War of Doctor Doom!
A promising title, that's for sure! It's actually the name that this entire storyline is filed under, even though it doesn't make a ton of sense for the rest of these issues. I suppose they just randomly picked one of the titles, since there was no overall name to start with, and they went with the most interesting one? Doesn't really matter, but it's still odd.
The story starts with an instant replay of last issue's final panels, including rehashing the dialogue between Doom and the Vision. This time, however, their conversation continues. Vision recounts the events of the previous issues, then poses a simple question: if Attuma's minion Tyrak was capable of defeating the Avengers single-handedly, why didn't Attuma send him to Hydrobase? The reason is simple, he claims: Namor would have recognized Tyrak as Attuma's lieutenant, and probably escaped to hunt down his boss. The Avengers were convenient catspaws, but instead of the expected protector of the island, Namor, they ran into Doctor Doom!
Doom questions Vision's choice to leave his fellow Avengers locked up, and asks for a rationale. Vision explains that he suspects Attuma has discovered the means to create an army of warriors like Tyrak, and that while Doom might hold out the longest against such an onslaught, eventually even Latveria would fall. Doom acknowledges this, and asks the Vision to follow. As they walk, Vision reflects that he left the Avengers locked up because their emotions would likely have led them to attack Doom, which would make this entire strategy unviable. As an android, no pesky emotions got in his way. Well - except for his love of Wanda. Or what he thinks is love. Someone call up Commander Data, we need a consult!
Switching to the oil rig, we see Wonder Man and the Whizzer helping up Namor, who's coming around from unconsciousness with probably yet more brain damage and an increased risk of random amnesia. The Whizzer has worked with Namor before in the Golden Age, so those get along fine - and Namor is quite forgiving of the man who punched him out, reasoning that Wonder Man's strength will be of great use to them.
They jump on board the Quinjet, briefly pausing at Beast's disappearance - perhaps he was captured by Attuma…? Their question is swiftly answered when the radio activates, and Beast starts quipping about the way he entered Attuma's flagship. ('Ver-r-ry carefully.') He notes that Attuma is heading for 'home base', and the rest decide to follow, suspecting that's also where the rest of the Avengers are being held. Namor's not hopeful for their rescue, however…
Doom has released the Avengers from captivity since last we saw them, and they're celebrating the lack of slave collars. Iron Man is a bit worried about his armor - it's seriously damaged from his run-ins with Tyrak and Doom, and he hasn't had an opportunity to fix it. Wanda tries to make up with the Vision, but the android goes full emotionless machine on her. Yellowjacket muses that with Wonder Man back from the dead - the man who lent his mind to the android, so to speak - he must be feeling distinctly artificial…
Doom and Iron Man consider a map of the Atlantic Ocean, a rather large area to cover in search of Attuma's ship. Doom has a handy means of tracking it, which Iron Man has overlooked - namely the continuous signal which controls the now-useless slave collars! Still, they have to be quick, since Attuma will doubtlessly check up on those collars, and will deactivate them if he notices they've been removed - and he'd doubtlessly accelerate his plans…
A thousand miles away, Attuma's ship arrives at his home base, a complex of high tech buildings on the seafloor. Right when he wants to send a signal to his teammates, Beast is spotted by a guard, and he ends up in a tussle with a nameless grunt, who knock him unconscious with a blast of their electrified staff. Attuma decides to have a little fun with the spy, and figures a slow death will give them some sport. I don't feel particularly bad about this, because the Beast is an annoying and useless character in these issues, spouting dumb lines while constantly getting beaten up for his trouble - or running away and relying on elderly people with heart problems to fix his problems. Bleh.
As Attuma's ship enters an underground dome, the Quinjet bearing Namor, the Whizzer and Wonder Man hovers above the water, waiting for a signal. Namor gets impatient and jumps out into the water, and Wonder Man follows with a rebreather, figuring that he'll be needed if Namor is going to blatantly tip their hand like this. They swim down towards the bottom, though Wonder Man can't possible keep up with the Sub-Mariner, and lags behind.
That's probably a good thing, as Tyrak ambushes Namor within the mysteriously air-filled dome. Strangely, there's some sort of continuous beam of energy pouring down on the villain - that ray, naturally, is the stolen Chloro-Beam, retooled to somehow enhance Tyrak's power!
The monstrous minion manages to take out Namor with a single strong hit, and his unconscious body is quickly brought to Attuma, who gloats at this victory. Wonder Man worries that it's all up to him now - with Beast and Namor out of the running, he's the last Avenger left!
Not so fast! Up above, the Whizzer is surprised by the sudden approach of an ungodly fast plane - it's the Avengers, and Doctor Doom! He's baffled at this combination, but there's no time to explain matters: there's Avenging to be done! As the ship starts blasting apart Attuma's defenses, we get an explanation for its appearance: it's an Atlantean ship from Hydrobase that belongs to Namor, and Doom has modified it so that it can use his personal force field! Now, guided by his iron hand, it cuts a swathe through the enemy until they reach the dome's airlock.
Here, for once, we get an explanation for the presence of air: it's a storage site for equipment too sensitive to be exposed to seawater. Thank you, writers! Still makes no sense when this has never been an issue for Atlantean technology before, but okay...
The Avengers crash into the dome, and take quick advantage of the fact that the Atlanteans aren't used to fighting in air. Iron Man blasts some snipers with his repulsors, Cap throws his mighty shield around, and the Vision gets in between enemies and waits for them to kill each other by shooting through his insubstantial body. Whatever works, right? Scarlet Witch, Yellowjacket and the Wasp all contribute smaller amounts, but ultimately they have the enemy on the run… when Tyrak shows up.
Tyrak has roided up quite a bit, and manages to smack around Cap, Iron Man and the Vision with the same vicious slam. Ouch! Wonder Man watches from the sidelines and realizes he's needed - he punches Tyrak in the face, and manages to actually stun the giant long enough for the other Avengers to regroup and join him. Wanda, Yellowjacket and the Wasp team up to blind Tyrak, which allows Wonder Man and the Vision to set up their grand combo attack - a synchronized super-punch that knocks out the enormous Atlantean in one final blow!
With Tyrak down for the count, the Avengers head for Attuma… only to find the supervillain already defeated next to the unconscious bodies of Beast and Namor. It turns out that Doom took the Chloro-Beam (or more generically 'cell stimulator') while the rest of them were fighting. He then begs not to be hit - which is pitiable enough that Vision rips his cape off the villain's back and dons it again, and tell him to crawl away before he does something regrettable. The Avengers then head off after the Chloro-Beam machine, figuring Doom didn't take the gadget to do the world any good.
Before Attuma can take advantage of the Avengers' rather lax attitude towards actually imprisoning the enemies they defeat, Namor comes by to stop the Atlantean from firing on the departing Quinjet. Namor punches him across the room, declaring that he will not spare the tyrant!
Back at Hydrobase, we see Doom carrying the Chloro-Beam around, and Tamara and Namorita are hot on his heels, demanding to know where the Avengers are. Doom knocks them aside with a single blow for their questions, calling them insolent wenches in the process.
Charming. Doom moves on, narrating to himself that he took the device because the government failed to see the potential within it - but Doom will reverse engineer it, and discover its secrets…
'...And rule the world!' Beast completes the thought as the Avengers enter, for once using an existing open window rather than violently creating one. Doom immediately takes out Beast with a meaty 'Wok!' (I cannot contain my excitement at seeing Beast get beaten up again!)
With the element of surprise gone, the rest of the Avengers suddenly find themselves in a pickle. Doom reminds them that he won handily last time, and he'll just do it again - his force field is still strong enough that none of the Avengers can breach it, including Iron Man and his repulsors.
While the Avengers are driven back, the Vision sneaks in through the wall, and uses his phasing powers to mangle the Chloro-Beam's circuitry, rendering it utterly useless. Doom is enraged by this trickery and declares that he shall see the Vision unmade - but then he blasts off from Hydrobase with his jetpack, as his only reason for staying was destroyed. It's a little weird to see him flee, since Doom was clearly winning the fight - but if the writers remembered their continuity, they might have mentioned that Doom has technically been fighting without chest armor for several issues. That seems a legitimate reason to regroup, I should think!
The Avengers wind down from all the violence, and Wanda tries to talk to Vision, who is still not back to his normal personality. Captain America walks back into shot, declaring that he had something to investigate - which will apparently be covered in Super-Villain Team-Up #11, two issues down the line. We'll see, I guess!
Rating & Comments
Here we have a somewhat competent finale to a somewhat competent four-parter - and though we finish with a bit of an anticlimactic whimper, at least most of the plot threads that were set up also get tied off at the end. Attuma, much like in the first arc of Super-Villain Team-Up, gets defeated entirely off-screen, while his second-stringers put up a far more convincing fight. Indeed, the rematch with Tyrak is the highlight of the issue, even if it doesn't seem to progress Vision's personal storyline at all, when you really expect it should. After all, he just synchronized attacks with the man whose brain patterns he shares!
While some plot threads are finished off decently, others are less than satisfying - particularly the one regarding Beast. The X-Men regular ends up running around a lot for several issues, but doesn't contribute a whole lot to what actually happens. I suppose he fetches Wonder Man who ends up contributing to Tyrak's downfall, but his time spying on Attuma's ship didn't amount to anything, and he basically never got a hit in. Also, despite having good reason to want to take down Tyrak, he doesn't actually add anything there, either.
Namor's main contribution, meanwhile, is to clean up after the Avengers are gone, which... yeah. How far our former Super-Villain Team-Up co-star has fallen...
Doom, meanwhile, gets some weird treatment in this issue. For the first half he's basically a protagonist, though beyond augmenting Namor's ship I can't really tell what he's contributing to the proceedings. He's mostly just there to be a chauffeur.
Then about five pages before the end, the writers realize that Attuma is a pathetic excuse for a supervillain, and he's quickly ditched so that Doom can take center stage as a far more competent threat. One who, in fact, seems to have a pretty fair shot at taking out the entire Avengers lineup in a straight fight, something which the characters even seem to acknowledge in-story. He gets treated like quite the potent threat - and, indeed, he takes out every Avenger he comes across in multiple issues, outside this final confrontation. If only Thor or the Hulk were there, they might have had a bit more luck...
The sudden villain switch is so eleventh hour that I'm not sure what to think about it. After several issues of being a side-character, Doom's sudden promotion to primary villain is interesting in a sense, but also kind of anticlimactic for the ongoing story - it reads like an unrelated tale was grafted onto one that lacked a good finale. Eh, I'm not going to score this any higher than an average three stars for a number of reasons, but that's probably the main one. If you're gonna do a four-parter with Doom as the final boss, maybe set it up earlier than page ~15 of the final issue...
Best Panel(s) of the Issue
I think I'm going to go with the windup punch for Tyrak's downfall - it's a neat panel which mirrors Wonder Man and the Vision on both sides. Also Tyrak looks better when you can't see his silly blue face or sunglasses...
Most Gloriously Villainous Doom Quotes
"I defeated you the last time you dared attack me - this time shall be no different! Safe behind my force-field, I will pick you off one-by-one!"
"Doom will live to see you uncreated! All of you shall know Doom's vengeance!" Doom's Bad Hair Day
I'm not sure what's going on with his eye in this panel, but it looks like Doom may have had a stroke...
Doom-Tech of the Week
Doom enhanced the Atlantean Submarine to the point that it effortlessly cut through a base which uses similar technology. That's really everything - he never did get an opportunity to make something out of that Chloro-Beam...
060: Super-Villain Team-Up #10 - Sign of the Skull
Well, for once it's not Doom who is looming over everything like a giant! I'm not entirely sure why Doom would bother beating up Cap when there's a giant Nazi to punch, and the same goes for Cap times a thousand. Still - it's an entertaining image that draws the eye, which is everything a cover is supposed to be! It's anyone's guess what this cover actually means, but I presume Red Skull is the puppeteer setting up a conflict between Cap and Doom somehow...
To comment on a bit of minutiae I noticed, the Red Skull is called the 'mightiest master of menace' on this cover. That's puzzling, since 'Master of Menace' is much more readily identifiable as a description of Doctor Doom, particularly back during issues of Astonishing Tales. Did the Red Skull steal our man's fancy supervillain descriptor? How terrible rude! It's a great reason to beat him up, I'd say - that and the Nazism, and the monstrous crimes, and all the rest of it. But mostly for stealing Doom's cool titles.
Story Overview
Part 1: The Sign of the Skull
We open this multi-parter with Captain America invading the Latverian Embassy in New York, dodging laser blasts from robotic suits of classic knight armor and smashing them to smithereens with his shield, all the while surrounded by high art and fancy candelabras. What an opening! The captions tell us that we'll get explanations for the lead-up later, so we'll put a pin in that…
Cap, it seems, has been gathering clues about some mysterious force manipulating events across the last few issues, and suspects a nemesis of his is involved. (I wonder who?) He's left an envelope for the Avengers with all the information he's gathered - insurance in case he doesn't return - but he intends to face this foe by himself first! Which is an utterly dumb idea, especially when Cap suspects a cooperation between Doom and said foe. He's got quite a fight on his hand trying to beat either one alone, and the Avengers just got beat up by one of them, Cap included!
Anyway, his suspicions bore fruit at the Hydrobase last issue, when Cap spotted something hovering outside - a spy ship whose pilot took a suicide pill the instant he was captured. Although the ship was clearly Doomtech, the pilot wasn't one of Doom's men - and he carried an ornate scepter with an embedded IFF device. That piece of evidence brought Cap here, to the Latverian embassy, where he is determined to get some answers. He smashes through a gold-plated door with his shield, and is nearly cut in half by a falling axe - a routine so cliché that even Cap is a little incredulous. From off-panel, a voice agrees with him: the axe isn't really a threat, but it is amusing, and isn't that enough?
Doom shows up lounging on his fancy 'D'-emblazoned throne, elaborate goblet of wine in hand, ominous red eyes glowering down on the hero. He really does love this particular reveal, doesn't he? Cap is surprised to find him there, and Doom idly wonders if he wants a glass of wine, or if he's here for business.
In response, Cap gets weirdly defensive about their recent combat encounter, claiming that the Avengers came out on top in that fight, despite winning only by technicality - I guess the Avengers' recent habit of losing has gotten to him. He demands an explanation for the scepter he found - it seems a spectroscopic analysis found it to be mind and fabricated in Latveria! Doom isn't amused by Cap's demands, and reminds Cap that he's defeated greater beings than him - the Fantastic Four, the Silver Surfer, and indeed the entire Avengers lineup as recently as last story arc! Cap wonders why Doom doesn't attack him, and despite Doom's protestations that he could easily do that, the hero quickly surmises that Doom is surprised by the scepter. This means Doom isn't working with Cap's nemesis, which has disturbing implications.
Cap hands over the scepter to the tyrant, who studies its features in detail. Not that you need a lot of it to get the gist - there's a big swastika on top, which is embossed with the snarling face of the Red Skull. That rather explains what's going on, doesn't it? 'Again he takes advantage of my absence,' Doom observes darkly, referencing Astonishing Tales #4-5. 'By my sainted mother, it shall not be!'
Part 2: While Atlantis Sleeps
We next switch over to Namor, who's inspecting the hole torn in Atlantis' defenses back in Super-Villain Team-Up #5, when Doom forced the Sub-Mariner into a promise that bound him into servitude. Namor still doesn't know that Doom is alive, which is sure to make things interesting! When he's inspecting the stasis pods that hold his comatose people and lamenting his lot for the nth time, a tremor threatens their safety, and he quickly sets off to track down the source of the sudden quakes.
What he finds is a whole complicated operation of men and machines that are cleaning up Atlantis debris in search of some type of ore - they're not paid to pay attention to the architecture they're destroying in the process. These men are dressed in purple and under the command or Orbiter - these are the same mysterious spies that have popped up in a few Super-Villain Team-Up issues before this. Namor attacks them, and the purple-clad men are surprised to see him there, since they were convinced he was caught up fighting Attuma someplace else. Their information is behind the times, as it has been on several occasions - for spies, they're pretty bad.
Namor gets blasted by a laser-tank, and retaliates by picking up a thirty-ton submarine bulldozer and flinging it through the water to crash into pieces against Atlantis' force-field. Whoa! He keeps smashing the huge machines until he finally captures one of the pilots and demands answers. The man admits he's working for Orbiter - he's just a miner who was hired anonymously. He only knows that his employer hails from a third world country called Latveria!
Over in said country, we visit the Shroud and the fake Doctor Doom, who is actually Rudolfo Fortunov, the deposed crown-prince (or 'Rudy' to perpetual annoyance the Shroud.) They hurry over towards the throne room, while Doom's forces are busy following fraudulent orders to escort the Circus of Crime out of the country. Rudolfo takes Doom's mask off for a bit, complaining about the heat and wondering how the real Doom could stand it. In response, the Shroud gloats that Doom could stand a lot of things - except the fall that killed him!
It figures that a bunch of Doom's men burst in right when Rudolfo is without his mask, and they immediately start firing at the impostor in their leader's armor. The Shroud knocks a bunch out with bombarangs while Rudolfo puts his mask back on, but they're well aware that the commotion has alerted the castle's main garrison, and they're about to be in a lot more trouble.
The Shroud quips and gloats about his victory against Doom some more, and Rudolfo gets impatient, reminding the young hero that a lot of men and women have died for the cause of Latveria's freedom, so he shouldn't treat this as a big joke. The Shroud switches topics, noting that Rudolfo's men seem to be looking for serious payback against Doom's followers, and Rudolfo acknowledges this - and he agrees with that blood-thirst. After all they've done, he says, Doom's followers deserve no mercy…
Doom and the Shroud approach the throne room, and Rudolfo decides to role-play his way in: He calls a guard a dolt, takes his gun, smacks him in the face, and then tells his lackey to get lost. The Shroud observes that Rudolfo uses those words as easily as the real Doom would, but the crown-prince just puts it down to good acting. They enter to find Doom's control room, which is rather different than his throne room - but I guess either works. The central seat, unfortunately, is already occupied! The fancy swivel-chair turns around, and in a single blast Rudolfo is laid low! The Shroud, for reasons that I'm sure made sense to him, decides that this is the time to once more gloat about his victory against Doctor Doom! That's getting really obnoxious.
We switch over to Doom's 'D'-branded plane, which is carrying him and Cap over to Latveria at astonishing speeds that rival even the Avengers' Quinjets. Doom dismisses the praise, declaring that like all people, Cap only grudgingly marvels at the least of Doom's genius - laughable! Cap warns of weaponry being launched from the surface - Doom's own weaponry, to be exact! They're heat-seeking drones, and ostensibly can only be launched by Doom, who has the 'Doom-codes' that control them. It seems they've been hacked! Cap grabs the controls for one of the plane's big guns, and starts blasting missiles out of the sky. If only one got through…
Cap does his very best destroying missiles, relying on his experience with anti-aircraft guns during the London Blitz. Doom warns Cap not to live in the past, but the present - just as the hero allows one drone to pass through intact! The Rainbow Missile! This colorful device is the deadliest of all, Doom proclaims, and their only recourse now is speed - Doom needs to outrun his own invention. Their mad dash proves not to be enough, and Doom has a few last moments to curse the ease with which he was defeated before he and Cap are wiped from existence in a cascade of gay energy.
Back in Doom's castle, the mysterious figure that's taken over Latveria reveals himself to be - the Red Skull! Uh, was that supposed to be a mystery all this time? Really? Despite Cap's interest, and the skull-embossed Nazi scepter? And the shadowy outline of a skull-faced man just a few pages ago? And the cover? Come on now. Anyway, Red Skull disabuses the Shroud of the notion that Doom is dead, and the hero immediately decides that maybe taking down Red Skull is more his speed. Skull holds him at gunpoint, declaring that soon he will form a Fourth Reich, and he will be Fuehrer over all! We've been on this ride before, haven't we...?
To be continued… in a story sadly not called 'Salvation - thy Name is Doom!' as announced here.
Rating & Comments
This issue forms the start of a new arc as much as it continues the last one, picking up some narrative threads that I kind of anticipated would get dropped entirely. Honestly, I'm kind of impressed that Super-Villain Team-Up is thus far dominated by a single long storyline, with each short mini-arc taking place within that larger narrative, however flimsy that overall plot might be. Granted, this storyline is overstaying its welcome a bit, but it's pretty unusual for the 1970's, and might be something to keep an eye on going forward. Serialized storytelling in the modern sense started somewhere, after all...
If we focus purely on story, this issue doesn't actually have a ton going on beyond a bunch of set-up. Cap's role is essentially just to inform Doom about the Red Skull's treachery, after which they both head to Latveria. Similarly, Namor is set on the path back to Latveria, presumably to roll back the relocation caused by the recent Avengers crossover, but that's about it. That leaves the Shroud and Rudolfo, who were set up as revolutionaries just a few issues back, but find themselves at the Red Skull's mercy all too quickly in this issue… Still, none of these developments are bad, and there's no particularly egregious decisions here, beyond Cap's weird one to break into the Latverian embassy by his lonesome. Surely Doom has some legal pretext to make this entire scenario unworkable? Otherwise it would certainly have happened before...
Beyond the story, the character interactions in this issue work fine, including a suitably cliché moment where Doom messes with Cap for his own amusement from atop his actual throne. It helps that this issue seems to carry forward the multi-pronged narrative that the Avengers crossover introduced, which makes for a pretty entertaining read. It seems plausible that everyone will converge and we'll return to a single storyline, but we're not there yet. For the moment, we're still reading an ensemble piece. We're also ten issues in, and I'm not sure we've actually seen a 'Super-Villain Team-Up' since the opening story, and Namor and Doom have spent more time fighting than actually working together, despite the cover's insistence that this is a team book...
I'll score this a neat 3 stars for now, and we'll see how the story carries on. I could see that climbing higher, particularly since I've seen the covers that follow this, and they're pretty promising...
Best Panel(s) of the Issue
Gotta love Doom's sense of style, right? The latest throne slouch gets my vote! The big dramatic 'D' on everything is new, I think, and it shows up on his plane too - I guess he got tired of the more abstract designs of Latveria's flag, which seems to change as often as the costumes of his henchmen.
Most Gloriously Villainous Doom Quotes
"Bah! That would be simplicity itself! Here - in my own embassy, surrounded by the fruits of my scientific genius - your life hangs on a thread to be cut short at Doom's command!"
Doom's Bad Hair Day
Doom's face on this screen looks all kinds of wonky, but the weird pupil placement is the worst, with one mysteriously much higher than the first. Bleh!
Doom-Tech of the Week
Firstly there's the Robot-Guard, which is basically just a weaponized medieval knight's armor. Secondarly there's the Heat-Seeking Drones, and of course the dreaded Rainbow Missile!
I mean, how personal is 'I suspect the Red Skull and Doctor Doom are secretly teaming up', really? Seems like the kind of problem you'd fetch the Avengers for...
I mean, how personal is 'I suspect the Red Skull and Doctor Doom are secretly teaming up', really? Seems like the kind of problem you'd fetch the Avengers for...
Fair enough, though I generally figured Cap to have a little more foresight. I suppose it could just be that 70's Captain America isn't quite like his later incarnations, which is entirely plausible. Maybe he was more of a loose cannon in this run?
I forget is this red skull the second most infamous one or one of the later ones from after world war II but before the second one was revived to spread his evil once more?
I forget is this red skull the second most infamous one or one of the later ones from after world war II but before the second one was revived to spread his evil once more?
Oh yeah, now we're getting some good stuff! A full-on Doom vs. Red Skull duel in which Namor randomly crashes through windows, and Captain America declares him Earth's last hope! I kind of wonder if I should be keeping a counter for all the times Doom does something really heroic like save the planet - even if it's only because of Star-Lord's logic ('Why would I want to save the galaxy? Because I'm one of the idiots that lives in it!') Maybe balance it out with a counter for all the times he does a fair job at threatening the planet? Would that be a… counterbalance? Heh. I mean, saving the Earth and almost beating up the Fantastic Four aren't really proportionate, right?
I am a little unsure why this cover calls this a 'last stand in Latveria', but perhaps it's referencing Rudolfo's second rebellion. Does Doom even know that's going on there, or is he flying blind into a full-on double coup? Jeez, Latveria really does go to hell in a handbasket the instant he takes his eyes off it, doesn't it?
Story Overview
Part 3: My Ally, My Enemy!
The story opens with the Shroud facing off with Red Skull and his goons, accompanied by a recap of events of the previous issue. Like usual, he's crowing about his victory against Doctor Doom, despite learning that it was a false victory mere panels ago. The Shroud manages to kick Skull in the face, and the Nazi decides he will humiliate the hero for this, like he will his arch-nemesis Captain America! The Shroud gets a bit insulted by Red Skull badmouthing Cap, which allows a random goon to somehow subvert his enhanced super-senses and clobber the hero over the head with the butt of his pistol. Pathetic.
Skull glorifies in his victory, and Rudolfo reluctantly wonders whether Doom could be of use here. Red Skull dismisses this idea, recapping Doom's fall at the Rainbow Missile last issue. He continues, however, claiming that the missile did not kill Doom's plane. Instead we see it blazing down from the sky, on fire, headed for a 'fate worse than death.' Skull then declares that even if Doom survives, he'll only discover that his dreams of world domination have already been achieved by another! It will be done using one of Doom's own grand inventions, the Hypno-Ray satellite! Built according to plans stolen from Doom, with resources mined from Atlantis, it was assembled in space using Doom's own technology. When activated, every unshielded mind below will fall under the sway of the Red Skull! (I'm guessing this satellite is based on the Vibro-Bomb from Fantastic Four #143-144.)
Switching now to the crashing Doom-Plane, we see Doom and Cap eject from the vehicle as it comes apart around them. Cap is relieved that they're okay, but Doom is less pleased, asking the hero if he realizes what's been done to them by the Rainbow Missile. All around them, gigantic plants and insects dominate the view, which rather explains what's going on. Red Skull has turned Doom's final punishment from Astonishing Tales #5 back on Doom, and shrank him down to lilliputian proportions! Cap and Doom are the size of field mice now, but at least they landed near Doom's castle, which should have the technology to return them to normal proportions.
As soon as they take a few steps, the mysterious green log they'd been standing on suddenly rears up, revealing itself to be a common garden snake! Normally a nuisance, it's now a deadly threat, and it wraps its suddenly gargantuan coils around Doom and prevents him from using his suit's defensive weaponry. Cap tosses his shield and lodges it in the snake's mouth before it can bite Doom, and the tyrant gets enough wiggle room to hit the creature with his energy blasts, freeing himself from its grasp.
Doom thanks Cap for his assistance, and actually brings up the prospect of a team-up, something which Cap categorically rejects on the basis that he'd be used like Namor was. He'd sooner team up with Satan, Cap claims, and Doom responds to this declaration by promising that Cap wouldn't even notice the difference between the Dark Lord and Doom. Uh… is that supposed to be a good thing?
They quickly move on, and soon arrive at the dry moat channel that rings around Doom's castle, and the climb of a few yards is converted to a huge distance equivalent to hundreds of feet. As Cap reaches the bottom, however, they're suddenly confronted by the next of Red Skull's traps - he's opened the floodgates, allowing water to spill in. Doom is still some ways up the side of the moat and probably safe, but Cap is caught full-force by the tsunami and swept away…
Overhead, Namor comes sweeping into the story. The castle's guards have no particular orders regarding the Sub-Mariner, but figure that their primary goal is murder, so they might as well get started. Namor avoids their gunfire and demands to speak with their master. The Red Skull teleports in to ask for an end to the senseless violence - after all, Doom was deposed, and though they've been enemies in the past, he now extends the hand of friendship. Namor is skeptical about the word of a Nazi, but the Red Skull deduces he's present because of the excavations in Atlantis, and teleports them both to the throne room for an explanation.
It seems the Shroud and Rudolfo are still laying on the ground there, and Skull claims they are monarchists who attempted to stop the introduction of democracy. Uh, really? The Shroud swiftly points out that this isn't exactly a Nazi thing to do, citing Hitler by name, and wonders why on earth an Invader like Namor isn't beating up the actual Nazi war criminal at his side! The Red Skull smacks the Shroud in his face for his words, while Namor just kind of stands there and wants to have words.
In the moat, we find Cap sinking, drowning. Doom is right behind him, his sealed armor supplying him with oxygen - it seems he's even upgraded it to recycle carbon-dioxide, so he no longer has to worry about running out. He might've let the hero drown some other day, but Cap saved him from the garden snake with his shield, and so he owes the man a debt of honor.
Dragging the hero from the water into the sewage ducts beneath the castle, he explains that these parts of the castle are so old and cramped that there's no surveillance equipment down there which the Red Skull might use. Cap complains that the moment Skull finds out about their survival, he'd just have to send out guards with fly swatters - he finally knows how Yellowjacket must feel!
The two track through the bowels of the castle, at one point overlooking the cells of Doom's dungeon, and Doom actually explains that his own father was once locked up here, before Doom became Lord of Latveria - he's referencing back to Fantastic Four Annual #2 there. Now, Skull has locked up the most loyal of Doom's servants in these cells, including Boris. Cap is surprised to recognize genuine concern for Boris in Doom's demeanor, and isn't sure what to do with the realization that one of the forces which shaped Doctor Doom is love for his subjects…
Moving on from that little scene, they soon arrive at the throne room, where they witness the previous scene between the Red Skull and Namor. The Shroud continues that encounter by telling Namor about the Hypno-Ray satellite. Doom realizes the implications immediately, recognizing his own hand in the design. He also knows that Skull cannot allow Namor to live with such knowledge, which spurs Doom into action - he flings himself into the room. One wonders whether or not there's still some small part of Doom which cares for the Sub-Mariner, or why would he even bring that up?
Doom makes his way across the room, minute yet majestic, and promptly starts blasting away at the Red Skull, who's still occupying Doom's throne. Namor is puzzled at what's going on, and Doom declares his presence. 'I am Doom, my once-ally!' Doom declares. 'Doom, alive!' Skull is annoyed by the energy blasts, but they're attenuated by the miniaturization so they don't do much damage.
He starts firing back with his own laser pistol, which has a rather bigger impact, and then reaches down and grabs Doom around his midsection like he's a doll. This… doesn't make much sense, given the previously established size difference. Someone who is twice the size of a human hand would never fit through the air ducts, or be dwarfed by a garden snake...
Even while caught in the Red Skull's grasp, Doom has an ace left to play - that is, if Namor still obeys him. He calls out to the Sub-Mariner, explaining that Skull seeks to enslave everyone with the Hypno-Ray, and if Namor helps return Doom to his normal size so that he can stop this plan, he will in return cure the comatose Atlanteans! Namor acknowledges that Doom is no liar (which is patently untrue) and despite the Red Skull's attacks he manages to hit a big red button, which immediately reverts Doom and Cap to their normal size. Doom actually does a dramatic growing uppercut as he embiggens, knocking Red Skull right off his feet!
I have to note that Doom still technically has Namor enslaved at this time, and could easily have commanded his oath-bound servant to do this thing without promising to solve one of the man's greatest problems. It's not like he's unaware of this, either - he explicitly relies on the presumption that Namor will still obey him. So… why did Doom do this? Why does he genuinely offer a boon which he dangled in front of Atlantean faces only a few issues back like a carrot on a stick? Is this part of some greater scheme, or is Doom actually doing a good deed, even if it's embedded in his usual villainish habits?
Red Skull isn't quite down for the count after that punch, and declares that he just has to reach the throne to activate the Hypno-Ray, and power will be his! Cap gets in his way, figuring he'll just have to take down every single goose-stepper in his nemesis' service, if that's what it takes to keep the world safe. Distracted by his old enemy, Skull is surprised when Doom throws himself into the fight as well, out to get revenge for all the indignities he suffered.
Red Skull manages to kick him away, claiming he's beaten Doom on his own ground before - which is a blatant lie, as Doom completely dominated him in their first encounter. The Shroud interrupts to try and strangle the Red Skull, figuring he's as evil and deserving of death as Doom. For his trouble, he gets used as a human projectile and tossed at Doom.
The Shroud then decides this is a great time to start a tussle with Doom, since he figures that he'll use the Hypno-Ray just as ruthlessly as the Red Skull might. Cap intervenes, knocking the Shroud away from Doom and explaining that regardless of his future intentions, Doom is on their side right now. (His explanations also involve a few punches. 'Murica!) The Shroud is aghast, declaring that he's looked up to Cap all his life, and now he's siding with Doom?
In the confusion, the Red Skull has reached the throne, and activates a force field that protects him from the heroes trying to stop him. Nice job, guys.
Nearby, a pain-wracked Rudolfo drags himself across the floor. He's decided that Doom's tyranny could be fought, while Skull would rob them all of their free will, so he has no choice but to support the lesser evil! (Nobody tell him about the Vibro-Bomb!) He uses the teleporter from earlier in the story, and beams the Red Skull away from the throne to some other location - anything's better than the throne room with the fatal button, right?
As things calm down, the Shroud worries that Rudolfo might be dying, which Doom claims is unfortunate - but their first concern should be to find the Red Skull.
They quickly trace the villain's location - only to discover things are worse than they thought! The Red Skull is now on the Moon! Indeed, he's been teleported to his Lunar Stronghold, from where he can manually override his satellite, and it's been redesigned so that no other hand but Skull's can control it! Time for a final showdown!
To be continued… in spaaace!
Rating & Comments
This is a pretty fun continuation of the storyline from last issue, and everyone acts reasonably competently here - except for the Shroud, of course. This time the story is split into two neat halves, with the Red Skull spending most of his portion gloating and messing with the Shroud and Namor - honestly he's on recapping duty for a lot of his speaking scenes, but he does get to actually do stuff in the second half of the issue. Namor is a bit weird in how readily he considers teaming up with a Nazi - as the Shroud points out, the Invaders actually fought Red Skull before. I suppose he'll team up with anyone if it gets him what he wants...
The Shroud's bit of complete idiocy in this issue is, for once, not an Idiot Ball! That would entail a character making a wildly out of character stupid decision for the sake of plot, which happens often in comics (and media in general, to be honest.) In this issue, the Shroud does indeed make a terrible decision which basically grants the Red Skull a temporary victory - but the comic has also spent several issues building up the image of Shroud as an overly cocky brat of a superhero, who is obsessed with defeating Doctor Doom to the point that he can't shut up about his alleged achievement. In other words, exactly the kind of character who would start punching his nemesis when the opportunity arises, even if it's to everyone's overall detriment. Maybe he and Infinity War's Star-Lord could share a beer over this particular character flaw…
The most entertaining part of the issue is diminutive Doom and his pocket-sized pal Cap teaming up to reach the castle. Their joint assault on the local wildlife is fun, and it leads directly into Doom displaying his particular brand of honor. Here, Doom saves Captain America's life, in direct response to Cap saving Doom's mere minutes before. Although he's certainly capricious, Doom isn't without his good side, and this is demonstrated once more when Doom's genuine care for his people - particularly his old friend and chief aide Boris - is recognized by Cap as they trek through the dungeons. It's a brief moment in a story otherwise less concerned with Doom than the Red Skull's crazy schemes, but it is there...
This comic explains what those spies and strange events in previous issues were about, by the way - they were foreshadowing the changed status quo in Latveria. The mysterious 'Orbiter' is revealed to be the Red Skull, which makes sense. After all, the Hypno-Ray satellite is in orbit, and presumably Red Skull teleported on board on occasion from the Moonbase that's revealed at the end of this comic. The mysterious shadowy client that Doom contacted while imprisoned in Hydrobase was thus also Skull, abusing his anonymity to leech some Doom-tech away, which is presumably how he got the expertise to hack into the stuff and lock Doom out. Anyway, Skull's henchmen were basically perpetually behind the times across those issues, failing to grasp what was going on with Namor, and only sheer dumb luck allowed their leader's plans to stay under wraps for so long... It seems Doom isn't the only supervillain who should be looking for an upgrade in minion quality.
No particularly egregious problems mar this issue - it's a pretty normal entry with a few standout moments - that growing uppercut in particular is pretty satisfying. I'd give it three-and-a-half stars, but since I don't do halves… three it is! Let's hope the next issue is as awesome as its cover promises, and ends this three-parter in a satisfying way. Doom vs. Red Skull… in spaaaace!
Best Panel(s) of the Issue
I think I'm gonna go with Doom's glorious growing uppercut for this one - it's a fun moment!
Most Gloriously Villainous Doom Quotes
"The first of our foe's unwitting guardians has fallen! This round, my dear Captain America, is ours! Can you imagine what miracles we could accomplish - your combative skills and my genius? I see an alliance far mightier than that which I now share with the Sub-Mariner!"
"I have suffered great indignities from you, Skull! The royal personage of Doctor Doom has been abused! But now Doom will be revenged, cur - by tearing you apart with my own armored hands!"
Doom's Bad Hair Day
For a single panel, the Shroud dons full blackface - or at any rate he forgets he's normally got a bare Batman chin going on! (He's normally got a Batman everything going on, honestly.)
Doom-Tech of the Week
The Hypno-Ray is technically Doom's technology, even if the Red Skull ultimately built the thing. Between the Vibro-Bomb and this thing, he's been on a mind control bender of late...
Shroud seems to be a Batman who's traded sight for (supposed) super versions of other senses and bought of his unwillingness to use guns with, uh... everything else except stupid amounts of luck and a snazzy cloak.
Shroud seems to be a Batman who's traded sight for (supposed) super versions of other senses and bought of his unwillingness to use guns with, uh... everything else except stupid amounts of luck and a snazzy cloak.
He's a Batman clone in terms of origin story, costume design, that sort of thing... but his character is completely different. Honestly every issue has just further underlined how he's an irresponsible, reckless idiot - none more than this issue, and the next one. The writers got around to retooling him afterwards, both in terms of character and in terms of powers, but for the moment this is what we have to work with.
This cover is just all kinds of awesome, and also utterly ridiculous. It features Doom fighting the Red Skull, on the Moon, while the latter is flying around on Earthworm Jim's pocket rocket and wearing Psy-Crow's spacesuit. Doom casually tanks a huge explosion that rips up his cloak, and raises a fist in challenge. And, as if to answer my question about the stolen 'Master of Menace' title, the comic now applies the name to both villains. Thus, I'm interpreting this issue as a contest for the ownership of the title! There can be only one Master of Menace, and he does not share power!
This comic's title is getting progressively less accurate as we go along, by the way. Namor and Doom teaming up mostly counts as a 'Super-Villain Team-Up', even if Namor is more of an anti-hero than a villain. But then there's a span of issues in which Namor is enslaved to Doom - which you can't call a team-up. Now we've arrived at issues actually staring several Super-Villains, but they're doing the exact opposite of teaming up… and recently Doom has teamed up with Captain America and the Shroud, who are as far from a villain as you can get, outside certain storylines that shall remain nameless! (Hail Hydra?) Maybe the publishers should have reconsidered the naming of this comic book - but we're already most of the way through this run, so it's a bit late to complain now. Also this got published more than forty years ago, so there is that.
Story Overview
Death-Duel!
This comic ditches the act structure that the last two issues seemed to be going for, but it wasn't terrible important to begin with. Interestingly the first page still labels this a story featuring Doom and Namor, even if the cover begs to differ. We see Doom's spaceship lifting off from Latveria, and on board are… Doom and the Shroud? Really? Doom tells the new hero that it'll be his responsibility to ensure that the Hypno-Ray cannot fire, while Doom heads over to the Moon to take down the Red Skull personally.
Captain America calls in from the surface, explaining that he knows the alliance with Doom is one that will fail the instant Red Skull is defeated - and that's why he's sent the Shroud along as insurance. That doesn't explain why he personally decided to stay on Earth, though, since it's his nemesis who is threatening everything! Cap then interrogates Namor, asking why the Atlantean seems so uninterested in helping to save the world. He gets a laconic answer - Namor doesn't think the ray will affect him or the other submarine people, and he doesn't really care what happens to the surface population. He's just waiting for Doom to finish up, so the tyrant can come cure the Atlantean people like he promised.
Doom ejects the Shroud into space near the Hypno-Ray satellite, explaining that he doesn't dare blow the thing up for fear of activating it ahead of schedule - if it fired, not even Doom's own shields would hold back its rays. (One wonders why Red Skull emphasized 'unshielded' minds last issue, if this is the case…) He claims that the Shroud is Earth's last hope should Doom fail, and he should take out the ray if it threatens to fire. The Shroud wonders whether he's Earth only hope, considering Doom might choose to use the ray himself...
Doom spends a little time reflecting on his previous encounter with the Red Skull as he flies towards the Moon. He declares that this 'fleshless crimson cur' has been beaten before, and so will be beaten again! After all, he cannot let this Nazi threaten a world which will one day be Doom's!
On the Moon, the Red Skull is busy putting on his space-pants one leg at a time. He's anticipated Doom's arrival, and has carefully prepared himself for direct combat so that this time he is ready!
One of his minions isn't so confident, worrying about the consequences of Red Skull losing, something that the villain categorically dismisses as a possibility. Even defeat is just a springboard for a new plan, Skull explains, as he recaps the events which happened in the last few issues. There's also confirmation here that buying Doom's weapons from the black market allowed Skull to extrapolate his technology, including the shrinking technology in the Rainbow Missile. In any case, there's only thirty minutes left until the Hypno-Ray fires. (I guess that long charge-up sequence is a holdover from the Vibro-Bomb too…)
Before we move on, Red Skull turns to the minion who brought up the possibility of losing, and decides to make an example out of him. He puts on Chopin's Funeral March, then takes a smoke and blows in the poor man's face. The minion pretty much instantly dies to the Red Skull equivalent of Joker Gas, his face left as little more than a misshapen skull.
Done with this little diversion, Skull turns his attention to the approaching craft that carries Doom, and fires off a flurry of hunter-seeker missiles. Doom's ship doesn't actually have any defenses since it was built purely for speed, so Doom intends to outrun the weapons. He's too close to the lunar surface to avoid the craggy mountain that looms up ahead, though, and must rely on desperate measures. He seals his armor, activates his internal oxygen supply, and bugs out at the last possible moment, flying away by using his belt-mounted jetpack. 'Doom comes... bringing death!' he announces.
Red Skull has put on the rest of his space outfit, which naturally includes a swastika-emblazoned chest-piece and a bulbous Buzz Lightyear helmet. With twenty-five minutes left on the clock he departs from his moonbase to face off with Doom, flying into combat on the back of a rocket-sled. Doom is quickly outmatched in speed, and when he tries to unseat the Red Skull with his energy blasts, it's revealed that the Nazi is using Doom's own force fields against him. Skull switches over to yet another technology stolen from Doom, and catches the Latverian with his own stun-mines, throwing him off his feet and shattering his jet-belt!
Back in orbit, the Shroud waits around for his cue, tasked with destroying the Hypno-Probe if it looks to be firing. He gets impatient, however, and decides he has a better idea - he's going to try and sabotage the device! He reels himself in with a magnetic boomerang, and uses his 'mystic senses' to see the wiring beneath the surface of the satellite. His messing with the ray's internals, however, causes exactly the issues that Doom had already foreseen - the device swings into position to target a place on the globe below, and gets ready to deploy early! The Shroud realizes he can sense power building inside - and he's the one who set it off! He cries out for help from Doom of all people, but gets no response…
Down on the Moon, Doom regains his focus, but his belt-jets and blasters were damaged from the stun-mines, so he's in trouble. Skull wonders if he sees fear in his enemy's eyes, but Doom dismisses the very idea, declaring that fear is for lesser men. As Skull swings by on his rocket-sled, Doom suddenly unfolds a progressive knife and plunges it into the bottom of the transport, destroying it utterly with a single slice.
Doom theorized that even if Skull was using a cheap knock-off version of his force fields, they probably didn't protect the belly of his ride. As Skull falls down towards the Moon's surface, he realizes in horror that he's headed straight for another threat - the same stun-mines he'd just used against Doom! They explode in his face, cracking his helmet and shattering his reserve oxygen tanks. There's total silence on the airless Moon… except for the radio, which relays Doom's cackling laughter.
Elsewhere, we see Captain America, who has fetched a spaceship from S.H.I.E.L.D. - one which is woefully slower than Doom's. For comparison, Doom reached the Moon fifteen minutes earlier, while Cap is just now reaching orbit. He flies over to the Hypno-Ray, and discovers that it's been torn apart by some massive internal feedback. He discovers the Shroud floating nearby, and quickly tractor-beams him on board - but the Shroud is unresponsive.
What happened, exactly? We never did see the outcome of that storyline... Cap theorizes that the Shroud forced the ray away from the Earth, and in the process took a faceful of the mind-control rays himself. He sets off to take the new hero to a hospital, declaring that as soon as he's done with that, he's heading over to give Red Skull what-for!
Back on the Moon's surface, Doom is still occupied with beating up the Red Skull, smacking his fellow villain around with his iron fists and declaring that Skull's thin, cracked helmet is all that stands between him and suffocation.
Skull declares he'll carve Doom's armor off his misshapen flesh, and Doom gets rather offended that a skeletal freak would insult his physical appearance. Which, honestly, he's kind of right? This Nazi kind of looks like a boiled potato… Skull takes advantage of the distraction and slashes at Doom with the same weapon that took down his rocket-sled just moments earlier - an 'ionic blade' that also shoots energy blasts. The hit manages to land, and air starts escaping from Doom's armor - an immediate crisis he's forced to deal with in the middle of combat.
Skull lashes out with the razor-sharp blade, and Doom employs his suit's temperature control to freeze the escaping air into a plug of ice, then uses his free arm to divert a lethal stab away from him. Next, he forces the blade to unleash its energy blast, which destabilizes a nearby cliff and catches the Red Skull in a rock-slide. Kicking away the knife before Skull can get at it again, Doom declares total victory!
Red Skull isn't done yet, though, and announces that Doom came without servants, but he has many - and even now they approach! Doom isn't impressed by the new arrivals, however, and turns to the new minions with an air of command. He simply asks them if they will die with their Master, or serve Doom instead. Cowed, the lackeys immediately agree to switch allegiances, much to the Red Skull's ire. Doom takes off with his new followers in tow, leaving the Red Skull to die among the lunar rocks, his last oxygen quickly running out as he cries out orders to his traitorous underlings.
As he flies back towards the Earth on board one of Skull's ships, Doom decides it's high time for an undisturbed nap. His dreams… will be of peace.
Rating & Comments
This issue is a big ol' battle between two powerful arch-villains, and not a whole lot more than that - nothing particularly weighty happens in terms of plot or character development, it's just people punching each other on the Moon. Though I reckon this battle is the definitive word on who can call themselves the 'Master of Menace' going forward. Suck it, Nazi!
Honestly, I kind of think Red Skull should have realized he was picking a fight he couldn't win - but I suppose his ego is almost as large as Doom's own. Let's be real, a red-faced Nazi is just not very threatening compared to a heavily armored wizard-king, and most of Skull's tricks in this battle were just stuff he'd stolen from Doom to begin with. Perhaps the Red Skull should have reconsidered the wisdom of facing Doom while relying on Doomtech, since he's taken down with his own weapons in the end, which are turned against him by the man who invented them. There's a lesson to be learned in that, I think.
The side-story in this issue is Shroud being an irresponsible reckless idiot, and getting himself hurt trying to fix his own mistake. Since we've already established that the newbie hero has this as a huge character flaw, it makes total sense - but it does make him an enormous liability. He risks the safety of the planet twice in as may issues by going against direct instructions from much more experienced allies, which seems like the kind of thing they'd warn you against at superhero school. Maybe he should spend a little time in the My Hero Academy universe? For all his claims of being a superhero, he's way too immature for such a responsibility - and he openly ignores advice from Captain America, who's been beating up bad guys since WW2! Including the guy they're fighting right now!
I should note that the 'Doom and Namor' claim on the opening page is a giant stinking lie - the fish-man only shows up in like two panels, both of which are just there to establish that he's taking the escape hatch from this plot and heading home. The cover's claim of a Doom and Red Skull comic is accurate - but it's certainly no team-up. Well, at least we got a Death-Duel… although I'm confident the Red Skull will swiftly save himself from certain death by suffocation. Just a guess!
Best Panel(s) of the Issue
I like this panel on the opening splash page - it's a neat shot of Doom and the Shroud from below, with the former turning some big dial while the Hypno-Ray hangs in the background, clearly visible through the ship's windows.
A close second is this similar panel, which depicts Doom ejecting the Shroud into orbit.
Most Gloriously Villainous Doom Quotes
"Gloat while you can, you fleshless, crimson cur! I have beaten you once, and will do so again! For I cannot let you threaten a world that will one day be Doom's!"
Red Skull: "Is it fear I see in your eyes, von Doom?" Doom: "No, madman! Whatever you may see there - it is not fear! Fear is for lesser men, Skull! Never for Doom!"
Doom's Bad Hair Day
A couple times it looks like Doom has suddenly let himself go - especially around the head area. He almost looks more like the Juggernaut than himself in this panel!
Comic Trivia
Although there is no explicit confirmation within this specific story, a later comic confirms that Rudolfo Fortunov died as a consequence of the injuries he suffered in this arc, and this issue is where we last see him alive. It's unfortunate that he was reintroduced with a more balanced personality, only to die at the hands of the Red Skull before his second rebellion has ever finished… The writers, it seems, shared that particular opinion. We'll see what comes from it soon! Dramatic foreshadowing!
The fate of the Shroud is left vague after this appearance, until an issue of Spider-Woman eventually brings him back as a guest-star. It seems Cap's guess was correct, and the Shroud did indeed put himself in the way of the Hypno-Ray's beam, absorbing its power instead of letting it hit the planet below. Genuine self-sacrifice to subvert a villainous plan? He is a superhero after all! Anyway, it seems it took some time for the Shroud to get back on his feet, and he was never quite the same. Neither were his powers. For unclear reasons (namely retcons) he gained access to some Peruvian Darkness Powder, and can now steep entire areas in darkness, which doesn't affect him at all since he doesn't use his eyes anyway. (I believe there is some Darkforce connection there, which is another can of worms.) He's still kind of a pushover though, since Spider-Woman takes him down in his first return issue with a lucky shot to the face. Ouch!
The Red Skull's return from this defeat is never really explained, as far as I can tell… he just shows up again back on Earth to have adventures in silly rubber masks, choosing not to mention that time he got humiliated on the Moon. Ah well.
Doom-Tech of the Week
Firstly there is the Doomship, Doom's ultra-fast spaceship that far outstrips the abilities of even the best S.H.I.E.L.D. has to offer. The Stun-Mines were also Doom's creation, as were the Ionic Blades that Red Skull and Doom both use to cut effortlessly through solid steel...
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063: Super-Villain Team-Up #13 - When Walks the Warlord!
I guess Doom got jealous of Red Skull's version of this cover three issues back, and after his latest shrinking episode he wanted to feel like a giant again? Well, here you go, another version of giant Doom looming over everyone, like the good old days!
Namor is back on the cover, and he's apparently back in the team-up, and this time they're facing off against yet another Atlantean warlord. Does Namor have any other enemies except a bunch of his own people gone rogue? I guess Attuma just wasn't cutting it anymore after two effortless off-screen defeats in a row, so it's time for Warlord Krang to shine! ...Hold on, isn't Krang that brain thing in the belly of a giant dumb robot from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Yup, it seems Google agrees with me. Honestly I think I would have preferred that crossover...
Story Overview
When Walks the Warlord!
The issue opens with a very brief recap of the previous issue - the Red Skull was defeated, but in order to secure that victory, Doom swore to cure the Atlantean people of their malady. Doom is speeding through the water in a craft of his own design, and Namor readily admits it's faster than any Atlantean or surface vessel, a demonstration of Doom's genius. Doom seems to realize that Namor isn't sure whether he can do as he promised and cure the Atlantean people, and reminds Namor that he's already cured the Sub-Mariner's own problems, so he can surely fix this, too.
Doom is referring here to Namor's inability to stay out of water for any reasonable period, which Reed Richards previously fixed with a generally disliked costume change. If you recall, Doom challenged Reed to repair Namor's vest after he broke it back in Super-Villain Team-Up #5, and Reed failed to rise to the occasion, which lead directly into Namor becoming Doom's functional slave. Namor was left taking regular antidotes of Doom's design to avoid the symptoms of his ailment, an insurance policy on Doom's behalf - but that entire storyline was ignored after Attuma and the Red Skull showed up to interrupt that plotline. To tie up loose ends, the writers ensure that Doom cures Namor permanently as part of his deal to cure the Atlanteans in general, and he never again needs an antidote after this. (Or, indeed, Reed's dorky vest.)
Doom and Namor approach sunken Atlantis, but the sleeping city seems quite awake as they're suddenly shot at. It seems the place has been taken over by a gang of scum and villainy - rejects of Atlantean society, Lemurians, remnants of the armies of other warlords like Byrrah and Attuma, and even surface-men!
Namor rushes in, smashing the giant cannon that just shot at him with extreme prejudice, and demands to know what degenerate they follow now. Warlord Krang immediately announces himself, threatening the comatose citizens of Atlantis with death, if Namor does not surrender. His voice, the captions claim, cracks with the madness of many defeats - he's crazy enough to carry out that threat.
Doom sees an immediately problem with this situation - if Krang kills the Atlanteans, they can't be cured anymore! Then he'll never be able to fulfill his oath! Doom doesn't really care for these people, but he has given his word, so woe betide anyone who stands in the way of what his honor demands! (It seems, in this, Namor and Doom are very much alike.)
Krang recaps his last encounter with Namor, who wonders why the warlord would ever destroy that which he wishes to rule - if he put the people of Atlantis to the sword, he'd have nothing. Enraged, Namor smashes into the assembled gang, declaring that prophecy foretells of rebirth, not destruction - that whether Namor lives or dies, Atlantis will rise again! The suddenness of the attack forces Krang to gather his troops together to face off with the Avenging Son, which leaves room for someone else to… slip away.
Doom departs from his submarine, and quickly makes his way towards the suspended animation chamber. He's curious about the prophecy Namor spoke of, but willing to put it off for another time. Honor, and an oath fulfilled await!
Namor breaks through wave after wave of Krang's subjects, and he rips apart the very ground under Krang's feet, such that minions start fearing his unstoppable rage. Krang starts insulting Namor's parentage, which really doesn't calm things down any - the prince just gets more pissed, declaring his intention to spill the warlord's blood to avenge this insult.
Doom has arrived, and studies the unconscious thousands of Atlanteans. Others have sought a cure, he recounts, including Dr. Henry Croft of Hydrobase, and Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four - and they failed. But none of them are Doom. He raises an iron fist and launches four small projectiles from his fingers, which embed themselves into the suspended animation chamber and release a violet mist. He looks on, then, as the process begins - which will either make him the saviour of a race - or a man without honor!
Elsewhere, Namor is utterly routing the last of Krang's forces, dominating them with his strength to the point that they flee from him in terror. Krang himself is on the retreat, but he's kept a secret weapon to himself - something he fished out of the depths. It's the Horn of Proteus, the very horn used in Fantastic Four #4 to summon the monster Giganto! (You may recall the Spidey Super Stories version of this story, which I've already covered.) Krang blows into the horn, but no sound emerges - after all, it is not meant for human or Atlantean ears… The fight goes on, unaware of the threat that approaches…
Or the glory that is achieved nearby. Within the halls of Atlantis, comatose citizens start to wake, and they make their way back into the city. Lord Vashti, member of the council of Elders, meets Doom outside the stasis pods, and asks if he brought the Atlantean people back to life. Doom greets him by name, and agrees that he is responsible - but right now more important things are going on. Namor fights for the realm as they speak, alone! Vashti immediately commands the revived Atlanteans to come to their prince's aid!
It's right then that the seafloor begins to buckle, and Krang's forces fear it's Namor's doing - but then a huge hulking figure heaves itself upright. Namor cries that Krang has doomed them all, and perhaps the world, by summoning a blasphemous horror from the bottomless depths, an enormous creature of mostly a bulbous head and three-fingered hands, with purple eyes and rock-like skin. It promptly starts destroying the place, and is far too mighty for anyone to control. Krang helplessly stutters that he never expected this. Namor muses that it's not even really a sea creature, since it predates the existence of seas! Namor tries to hold it back by himself, but falters - meanwhile Krang is beset by his own dissatisfied forces.
It's then - by the first light of morning, on the third day - that cheers and battle-cries resound. It's the rebirth of a nation - the Atlanteans arrive to back up their Avenging Son!
Namor, caught up in the monster's grip, suddenly recognizes his Elite Guard on approach, and realizes that Doom has kept his oath. Atlantis lives! He manages to break free from his confinement, and uses the exhilaration of the moment to unleash his full might against the horror, creating a maelstrom in his wake that drags the monster back towards the abyss from whence it came. As he rushes back to Atlantis, he witnesses his people destroy the last of Krang's forces. But where is Krang?
The Warlord has wandered off to find Doom, who gloats that in reviving the Atlanteans, he's inadvertently destroyed the warlord's dreams of conquest - such a pity, isn't it? Krang, incensed by the surface-dweller that ruined his plans, demands that Doom take up arms against him, to see if he can measure up against someone trained in all the arts of war. Doom is not amused by the presumption that he is untrained, and blocks the first sword thrust easily.
As the duel progresses, he declares that as the sovereign monarch of Latveria, he has faced off against the best swordsmen - the fencing masters of the crowned heads of Europe - first as a student, then as a master! Doom disarms Krang in this underwater duel, and holds his sword to the Atlantean's throat. Krang proclaims that he too is royalty, so he can only be exiled, not executed! Doom says that if he were Namor, he might be swayed by that logic - but he is Victor von Doom. Krang screams in horror, but Doom merely shocks him unconscious, leaving his fate to be decided by Namor.
As the Atlantean people purge the last of the villains out of their city, Namor tells Doom that the celebrations are soon beginning, and everyone's been told that Doom is the one they should thank for their revival. Doom wonders if Namor will do any of the thanking himself, but the Sub-Mariner reminds him that this was all part of a bargain struck between them. Doom was merely fulfilling an oath. The tyrant departs, declaring their alliance ended, and tells Namor to go his subjects, for they expect their prince. Namor does so, declaring the prophecy of Atlantis' rebirth fulfilled in front of his cheering subjects. Imperius Rex! Hail Atlantis!
As Doom leaves, he reflects on the similarities and differences between him and Namor. He once thought them much alike, but he now sees that he was wrong. Though they're both monarchs with the power to influence history, Doom's power is derived from strength, from an iron will - while Namor's stems from his people, their trust, their faith in him. Their love, even. Doom admits that he doesn't understand this strength, but he cannot deny its power. He muses that in the future, their paths will doubtlessly cross again - but whether as friends or foe, nobody can say. For now, Doom walks alone once more!
Rating & Comments
This would have been a great finale for the entire series, I think, as it finishes up several early plot-lines of Super-Villain Team-Up and even hearkens back to the Giant-Size issues before that. After half a dozen issues in which Doom treated Namor as a slave, it's sort of surprising to see that the Sub-Mariner readily slips back into the uneasy alliance from the early issues here. Indeed, Doom does much the same, seemingly regaining respect for Namor as a fellow ruler. I suppose it's a bit of a retcon on the part of the writers, as this entire issue seems more like a sequel to Super-Villain Team-Up #1-3 rather than anything that's happened since.
I'm intrigued by Doom in this issue, since his honorable persona is on full display. His promise to Namor wasn't exactly a binding contract, but Doom is treating it almost as seriously as Namor did his own oath - and I kinda wonder if that's why. Doom has shown a certain fondness and respect for Namor in the past, and he seems to show it in this issue as well, so perhaps this dedication to his promise is a reflection of their relationship. Doom doesn't care for the Atlantean people, sure, but he does care what Namor thinks of him. On some level, he even envies the Atlantean prince - for having the genuine love of his people, at the very least.
Namor, incidentally, is a complete beast in this comic. Whereas he was beaten up by a trio of semi-incompetent villains back in the early issues of this comic, here he's almost single-handedly beating up entire legions of scum and villainy, overpowering Krang's forces with such effectiveness that they're already retreating before the cavalry even shows up. Hell, the giant city-stomping monster that gets summoned is defeated by Namor alone, basically doing the Flash's whirlwind running thing underwater! Couple this with his victorious return as the leader of a revived people, complete with 'Imperius Rex!' and this is a great return to form for the character.
Which leaves Krang… who is kind of a disappointment, honestly, although he still put up more of a fight than Attuma ever did. He gets his moment to shine when he tracks down Doom for a no-holds-barred underwater sword fight - and then the sword-master gets utterly trounced. Doom apparently has a Batman-like array of random skills he's quite excellent at, since as far as I'm aware he's only ever wielded one sword before - and it was decorative. At least it makes sense that someone half-stuck in the middle ages would take up fencing… I can only imagine what those lessons were like, for either party.
Let's be honest here, this was a clean-up issue for the writers, who didn't want to leave a mess in case their title was cancelled. It doesn't mean it's bad, however, as there's a certain satisfaction in seeing all these plot holes filled in and dangling plot threads tied up. I can't dismiss the coolness of this issue, however - Namor is a complete badass, Doom saves an entire species through his genius, and then he beats a trained warlord in a sword fight, underwater. Four stars!
Best Panel(s) of the Issue
The arrival of the 'blasphemous horror from the bottomless depths'™is my favorite image of this issue, though it's not my favorite moment. I think you can guess what that is. I also quite like the Imperius Rex image of Namor, already shown up above.
Most Gloriously Villainous Doom Quotes
"Whatever transpires here, Doom has given his word! Woe betide Krang, if he interferes in that which my honor demands I do!"
Doom's Bad Hair Day
This panel of Doom gives him a bizarre mouth - it's pretty jarring, really.
Note that whenever we get a close-up of Doom's eyes in this issue, you can tell there's uneven scar tissue around them. It's subtle here, but this issue has several more noticeable instances elsewhere. It really depends on the artist whether or not Doom's scarring is severe or invisible through his mask's eye-holes. Thus far I think context clues suggest Doom looks pretty ghastly, at least judging by people's reactions to him. I'm curious to see how often the issue comes up...
Comic Trivia
Here we wish a fond farewell to our good friend Namor the Sub-Mariner, whose stint as Doom's ally was quite rocky from the start. Although Doom's prediction from the Giant-Size issues turned out to be correct - sooner or later they'd betray each other - they both did get something out of the association. Whether or not they'd ever admit as much is another question, of course...
While Doom lost out in terms of comic appearances in the wake of this series' cancellation, Namor would continue to show up in a bunch of different titles for years to come, most notably in the Invaders and Defenders, as well as stray issues of Fantastic Four and Doctor Strange. Eventually, years down the line, he'd get another solo series, and as far as I'm aware Doom never shows up in it.
Whether Doom and Namor will ever team up again, anywhere? Who knows, really? It'll be interesting to find out...
Doom-Tech of the Week
I have to mention Doom's Bubble Ship, which is both incredibly fast and very eco-friendly, as it converts water pressure into propulsive power somehow. It's tragic that, like so many inventions, it doesn't show up outside this one issue. The sheer number of revolutionary vehicles that Doom has invented could surely fill a museum… There's also the Atlantean Cure which Doom threw together in a hot minute after several of the planet's smartest people failed to make any headway at the same feat. Achievements like these really showcase that Doom's high opinion of himself isn't all talk.
064: Super-Villain Team-Up #14 - A World for the Winning!
I really like this cover! Doom looks pretty great in this pose, and he seems less overly bulky than usual, probably because there's less emphasis on his armor. The billowing cloak is great, and the legion of subservient superheroes on all sides prostrating themselves before him… well, what's not to like? I mean, I'm not sure how any of this relates to a sudden random team-up with Magneto of all villains, but I suppose we'll find out soon enough…
This is Doctor Doom's final storyline in Super-Villain Team-Up, and it's one half of a two-parter. Later, the unrelated title Champions had to pick up the slack and close out the story - which is a bit of an ignominious way to end things, since the previous issue served as such a natural capstone already. From what I understand, the intent was to turn Super-Villain Team-Up into a more general team-up book for Doom, switching out Namor for different characters… but that never came to fruition. Instead the title spent a few more issues on a story featuring the Red Skull, and was then summarily cancelled. The concept was revisited eventually, but it'd take quite a few years...
Story Overview
A World for the Winning!
We open in Latveria, which is enjoying an enforced celebration of Doom's recent victories against Rudolfo's second rebellion and the takeover of the Red Skull. Magneto is there for some reason, and is really annoyed that nobody is paying any attention to him. It seems that revelry and rejoicing is mandatory lest the people invoke the wrath of Doom, and not even the Master of Magnetism can get a word in edgewise.
Magneto is soon halted by an officer on horseback, who holds him at swordpoint and declares that Doom wants a smooth procession, and his idleness is a sign of discontent. Discontent, it seems, is a capital crime. Magneto gets pissy and tosses the man and his horse through the air with his powers, and this disruption leads some Latverians to rush off to warn their master. Magneto decides to wreck some more stuff for good measure, destroying a giant statue of Doom and letting the chunks rain down on the panicking crowds below.
Figuring he's had his fun, he then uses a 'magnetic bridge' to walk through the air towards Doom's castle. Inside that castle, we see that Doom is once more playing with his giant chess set - he's monologuing to a model figure of Reed Richards, lamenting that his greatest accomplishment is unknown to the world at large. I figure he's talking about the cure of the Atlanteans here, which understandably mostly affects the submarine world, not the surface. His victory tastes hollow, he says, and Doom is bored!
At that precise moment, Magneto crashes into the room. Honestly, Doom takes the interruption rather well. Magneto starts recapping his recent history - apparently it includes reaging from child form and possibly getting beaten up by the X-Men - but Doom isn't even paying attention. Instead he wearily considers one of his model chess pieces, a little figurine of Valeria that's conspicuously wearing a crown, and thinks of better days.
Finally, Doom just asks Magneto why he's come. The answer is pretty obvious: he's here for a Super-Villain Team-Up! Together they could subjugate the world! Doom picks up a chess piece that depicts his own royal personage, and declares that Magneto is a fool. After all, the world is already Doom's!
The Master of Magnetism thinks Doom has gone a little loony, equating control of a tiny kingdom in the mountains with world domination. He points out that he doesn't mean mere political power, but global rule! Doom agrees with that definition, and opens a nearby window to reveal his secret weapon: neuro-canisters containing a gaseous substance that makes anyone who breathes it subservient to Doom. He's on the mind control train again, it seems. This time is different, however. Doom wouldn't explain his masterstroke if there remained the slightest chance of affecting the outcome - he released that gas into the atmosphere thirty-five minutes ago!
Seeing Magneto's disbelief, Doom invites the mutant to move against him. Magneto calls him mad, but his muscles rebel, and he cannot stay on his feet. Against his will, he is forced to kneel! Doom then commands Magneto to destroy himself, and the mutant starts attracting all the weapons in the room towards himself with his magnetic powers. At the last moment he's permitted to save himself, but the message is clear. Doom controls who lives and dies - Doom commands all.
Next, we learn that Doom's boredom stems from the fact that he now rules the world - but nobody knows it! That was why he was feeling sorry for himself earlier. His triumph came too easily, and what he truly craves is a challenge. A challenge that Magneto might provide. Doom pours some wine, and proposes a toast to Magneto, who readily accepts the offer for some reason (I assume he was commanded to drink it.) The beverage contains a sedative which knocks Magneto out, but it also holds the cure to the mind control gas. The mutant's mind is now once more his own, and their game is ready to begin. The prize to be won is the very world itself…
Hours later, we see Magneto breaking into Avengers Headquarters, ostensibly to seek aid - but he doesn't exactly make himself clear, so the Avengers instantly assume he's there to take over, and fly into action.
Scarlet Witch immediately rips apart the floor with a hex bolt and causing a bunch of pointless collateral damage - I guess this is just her thing. Magneto quickly cancels out the threat of Thor, Captain America and Iron Man - all of which have obvious metal implements to manipulate.
He then forms airtight spheres of metal around Yellowjacket and Wasp, congeals the synthetic blood in Vision's veins to disable him, and reverses Wonder Man's blood-flow to harm him. That leaves the Beast to finally get a hit in, though it doesn't do much. Magneto declares that this fight is just playing into Doom's hands, and the Avengers pause to consider what that might mean. It seems that Magneto was holding back with his attacks, since he didn't actually injure anyone, and he even left air inside the spheres around the tiny Avengers. Maybe he's telling the truth...
Magneto quickly recounts the events in Latveria, and explains that he found himself waking up in a windswept plain after he was drugged, with Doom's laughter still ringing in his ears - although it sounds more like a slogan from the 90's. 'Doom rules! Ha ha ha!'
He then decided he would find others whose power equaled Doom's, free them from his control, and use them to destroy him! The Avengers are unconvinced by the claim that they're all under mind control, but that's when Doom shows up in holographic form, mocking Magneto's attempts at gaining allies and asserting his control over his slaves. He commands the Avengers to kneel… and they do. Doom decides he'll permit Magneto an ally, though - if he can free one of the Avengers from his control, Doom will permit them to remain free. Only one, though…
Unexpectedly, Magneto grabs what he describes as the weakest Avenger of the bunch - the Beast - and drags him along with his magnetic powers. He commandeers a Quinjet and flies off, then considers his options. Way back in continuity, Magneto had the ability to influence minds by manipulating the flow of iron-laden blood in the brain. He hasn't used that ability in ages, but he figures he could use a similar approach to counteract Doom's chemical control. With great strain he manages to isolate the controlling compound in Beast's brain, and he wakes up free. Magneto quickly explains what's going on, and Beast reluctantly goes along with it, recognizing Doom as the far bigger threat…
They quickly fly their Quinjet over to the usual suspects, checking the Baxter Building and the X-Mansion for allies, but it seems nobody's home. In fact, both of these teams are busy having adventures elsewhere, as recounted in other comic books. They then head over towards Los Angeles, since there's a new team of heroes they haven't checked in with - the Champions! As they approach their headquarters, however, it becomes clear that Doom has prepared for this scenario. He's made the Avengers call up the Champions, and warn them that Beast turned traitor and joined up with Magneto. Uh-oh!
To be continued…
Rating & Comments
Alright, I admit that the premise of this story is intriguing, even if it's kind of nonsensical. Magneto randomly wanders into Doom's castle with a desire to team up, only to discover his goal of world domination was already achieved, and being the Overlord turns out to be dreadfully boring! Having Doom's plan succeed off-panel without anyone even being aware is pretty interesting, if terribly silly. There's interesting places to take that premise (and I'm sure we'll get to those in the future) but this one doesn't really explore any of those.
I think we get an interesting look into Doom's psychology in this issue however, since we finally get a glimpse of what he's like when he gets everything he ever wanted. Doom manages to achieve his dream, the domination of the world, so you'd expect him to be jubilant. You'd think he would use his newfound control to achieve whatever else he wants. Instead he stews in his castle, bored out of his mind. Without anyone to show off his genius to, or challenge him, what's the point of it all? Doom soon engineers the circumstances of his own defeat, creating a foe who might topple his reign. It seems he does this purely because he cannot live without an element of risk in his life - total control sucks the excitement out of everything. I really wonder if Doom will drop his focus on mind control after this, a thematic constant among his last few villainous schemes. Clearly it doesn't agree with him…
It's interesting to note that Doom treats Magneto as a game piece in this story, which fits in with all the chess imagery. Doom sets up a proxy chess battles to alleviate his boredom - we've seen him do this before when he challenged his own creation, the Prime Mover robot, using real people as pieces. Back then he used robots to manipulate Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. - this time he uses mind-controlled superheroes, but the premise is the same. I presume this tendency to delegate world-conquering while Doom watches from afar is what eventually develops into his Doombot tactics - he's always had a certain fondness for monitoring situations from his control center, and this is just the next step. Doom is a pretty literal Chessmaster...
I'm not sure what to think of this incarnation of Magneto, as he comes across as hotheaded and kind of dumb, rushing into situations without really thinking them through. His desire to randomly team up with Doom also kind of came out of nowhere, especially since I'm more used to him being a bit of a mutant supremacist who wouldn't consider human allies. Magneto at least gets to show off his power when he disassembles the Avengers in their own home, basically keeping them on the back-foot the entire time, only getting blindsided by Beast - it seems this is the first time Magneto sees him while blue and furry. There hasn't been a straight-up Doom vs. Magneto confrontation yet, so I'm curious what the Master of Menace can do against the Master of Magnetism, especially since he is wearing a set of metal armor. I imagine it will involve reversing the polarity of the neutron flow, as per Doctor Who...
As a finale of Super-Villain Team-Up, this issue fails to live up to the name just as much as all the rest - even if Magneto is trying his hardest to fulfill the titular promise, it's just another villain vs. villain dust-up in the end. It also fails as a finale by finishing the series on a cliffhanger, just so people have to pick up an unrelated team book to see how things end up. They really should have just ended things on the previous issue, I think that would have been neater. It's made even worse by the fact that the series was revived for three more issues, which makes all the 'final issue' notifications here blatant lies. Worse still, one of those issues was just a bunch of Astonishing Tales reprints, which surely pleased nobody...
I debated whether to give this issue two stars or three, but there's enough fun moments to excuse an average rating, even if the story is dumb. I can't say I'm as optimistic about the conclusion of this particular story, though...
Best Panel(s) of the Issue
I like the panel of Doom playing with his fancy chess set - this comic actually contains a bunch of them. I'm not sure what to make of the fact that Doom and Valeria share a color with the Invisible Woman and Spider-Man, though. Wishful thinking on Doom's part? (Also, it figures that Doom would aim his complaints at Reed Richards, even in absentia...)
I also like this panel of Magneto in the Latverian countryside, dramatically exclaiming his superiority in front of a windmill. Maybe it's just that I'm Dutch and it feels like home?
Most Gloriously Villainous Doom Quotes
"Ah, Richards... A jest most cosmic has been played upon you, yet you know nothing of it! And therein lies the rub, my malleable opponent. For though Doom has accomplished what lesser men dare not even dream of - my greatest triumph remains... unknown! My conquest has a bitter taste! My victory remains hollow - and Doom is bored!"
"Rule a world? Magneto... you are a fool! I am Victor von Doom, man - and this world is already... MINE!!"
Doom's Bad Hair Day
I noticed that Magneto's helmet carried a bright orange emblem in this issue - which promptly turned red a few panels in. It also shifts around a fair bit during the issue, briefly turns purple along with the rest of the helmet, and other shenanigans. Suffice to say the artists didn't really pay too much attention on this one.
Comic Trivia
There's an interesting bit of trivia attached to those three extra issues of Super-Villain Team-Up which follow this one, which were randomly put out in the years after the original run of the series was released. The revival and annual publication of the series was actually part of legal maneuvering on Marvel's part, in order to keep competitor DC from trademarking the term 'Super Villain' as in 'Secret Society of'. To achieve their ends, putting out an annual publication was enough, and that's what they did. By the second year the legal tussle was resolved, and the series was promptly cancelled for good...
Well, technically there was another issue in 1982, which would have been #18, but the series was renamed 'Super-Villain Classics', and the debut story was just a bunch of reprints about Galactus. That series never even made it to a second issue...
Doom-Tech of the Week
Naturally the Neuro-Canisters which contain Doom's mind control gas must be mentioned - although technically the Neuro-Gas itself is the more impressive accomplishment here. It managed to spread worldwide before anyone even discovered it exists, apparently, so this is the most efficient world-conquering I've ever seen...
Ugh, I don't care for this cover at all, and not just because there's a distressing lack of Doctor Doom. Magneto's helmet looks completely off-model and the little winged crest on the front has changed colors again, I'm pretty sure his entire lower leg has been dislocated from the knee-joint, and the rest of the page is a chaotic mess. I also don't really care for the text bubbles here, since they kind of just narrate an explanation for what's going on - something that's traditionally done inside the story. I'm a little curious about the 'carnage in the capital' subtitle, since the location was specified as Los Angeles only a panel or two ago…
By the way, it's a bit rich to claim that there's a 'surprise guest star' in this book, when the end of Super-Villain Team-Up #14 announced the inclusion of the Incredible Hulk already. So for who is this a surprise, exactly? Those few people who picked up the second half of a crossover story without ever reading the first…?
Story Overview
A World Lost!
The story picks up where we left off, with Magneto lamenting that he chose the Beast as the one Avenger he could free from Doom's mind-control. The Champions face off with what they perceive to be a pair of villains, but they're not too optimistic about their chances. Their lineup consists of the Black Widow, Darkstar, Ghost Rider, Hercules, Angel, and Iceman - not a team I would have ever cooked up, as I'm not sure what common interests all these characters might have. That said, they're quite ready to throw down, and we jump right into a fight scene on the roof of Champions headquarters.
Naturally, Ghost Rider opens up with some hellfire, but that is easily deflected by Magneto's shields. Magneto uses some metal girders from the Champions' base to tangle up Hercules and Angel, and then attempts to reason with them - a lot sooner than with the Avengers, he's learning! He explains that Doom has control of everyone through his Neuro-Gas, a story which is immediately disbelieved on the basis that the Avengers warned them Magneto would bring it up.
Magneto gets annoyed at this, and uses his powers against Hercules, forcing the hero backwards so hard that he digs a trench into the roof. Iceman faces off with Beast but is hesitant about using his powers on an old friend, although he finally goes through with it only because Black Widow orders him, and tosses Beast off the building.
It's here that Hercules digs himself out of the hole that Magneto put him in, and notices that Iceman has turned his back on the villain. To protect his ally he punches Magneto aside, magnetic shield and all, and the villain is flung off the building and down towards the streets. Beast has saved himself from falling by grabbing onto a flagpole, which Ghost Rider promptly fries with some hellfire. As they descend towards the street and have a moment to themselves, Beast wonders how they're ever going to team up to take on Doom, but Magneto is more interested in taking down Hercules than any sort of team-ups.
Their argument is interrupted when a nearby car radio announces that 'his majesty' Victor von Doom is visiting Washington D.C. and that President Carter will be in attendance. Magneto gets pissy that Doom is amusing himself with fawning politicians and belittling their conflict by ignoring him entirely, and decides he's spent enough time trying to find allies. He flies off to take on Doom by himself, though he does drag Beast along for the ride inside a magnetic sphere. The Champions are left behind to save themselves.
The Champions, naturally, aren't too keen on letting them get away. Black Widow suggests they ready the 'Champscraft', which is a horrible name for a vehicle, but Darkstar has a more direct way to follow Magneto - she engulfs everyone in her power and a dark sphere hurls itself after a magnetic one.
Three thousand miles away, we see Doctor Doom in the White House, where half a dozen officials are showering him with praise, and a stereotypical representation of President Carter claims he's downright honored to hand over his office, in a bit of dialogue that's overflowing with a remarkably heavy accent. Doom is appalled, commanding silence - he isn't sure whether all this ceaseless jabbering is the result of his Neuro-Gas, or just these people's own self-interest. At least in Latveria he knows why his people follow him - fear!
Doom makes his way outside and is promptly greeted by the Hulk, who plummets out of the sky in front of him. Naturally the Secret Service are quick to try and protect the new President, much to Doom's increasing annoyance.
The Hulk, naturally, is also under the control of Doom, and has arrived here at his command. The creature isn't sure why he's following Doom, and gets a pithy response: 'Your is not to reason why, yours is but to serve me - or die!' Is that a Tennyson reference I spy? Anyway, the scene is interrupted by yet more people falling out of the sky - Magneto and Beast have arrived!
Doom is quick on the uptake, and sends out the Hulk to fight for him. Magneto restrains the monster with the cannon of a nearby tank, but that's only a temporary solution - especially since the Champions arrive via Air Darkstar right that moment, complicating matters further. The heroes are not entirely sure what's going on, or which side the Hulk and Doom are on, but they get involved anyway. Magneto then tosses the Hulk into Hercules, who promptly get into a fistfight - they have a history together.
Doom then controls the rest of the Champions to focus on Magneto - except for Ghost Rider! Yes, it seems that Johnny Blaze is not under Doom's control, and the fiery hero quickly realizes that Magneto and the Beast were speaking the truth all along, especially when he sees his teammates acting like robots. Unlike the others, he's a supernatural creature who doesn't breathe - so he never inhaled Doom's Neuro-Gas to begin with! Ghost Rider and Beast start dismantling the random army grunts that Doom has dragged into the fight.
Iceman soon attempts to disable Ghost Rider for his 'betrayal' of the Champions (and Doctor Doom.) Beast then gets dragged off by Angel, while Magneto tangles up Darkstar and Black Widow with some of the scenery, finally leaving him to face off with Doom, one on one.
Magneto claims that his natural power and Doom's technological might are evenly matched - but there's more than one way to end this. He uses his magnetism to toss a tank at Doom, who deflects it with his built-in force-field. Around them the battle continues, with Champions fighting other Champions, the Hulk beating up Hercules, and Beast desperately calling out that Doom is the real enemy - Doom! Magneto finally does the logical thing and tries to crush Doom inside his armor, only for Doom to reverse the pola- seriously? I was making a freaking joke! So, yes, he does the Doctor Who thing and turns the magnetic power back on Magneto, who gets his ass flung out of the panel.
A bunch of random White House staffers try to attack Ghost Rider, who is smart enough not to unleash his power on them - even if the 'Ghost Rider' side of him wants to murder them all. Beast is still hanging onto a flying Angel and finally smashes his old teammate in the face, after which he drops onto Doom with a jaunty cry of 'Hiya, Doomsy!'
Doom, utterly incensed by this affront, turns to kill Beast - only for Ghost Rider to get in the way and shove a fistful of fire into his face. Hah! It takes Doom a brief moment to realize that his mask - his face - is suddenly covered in actual hellfire, and he starts blasting Ghost Rider away even as he burns. He's forced to ditch his face-plate to get some air, but without the air-filters installed in his mask he's taking in the same Neuro-Gas that has everyone else enslaved to his will. Whoops.
I presume the heat was the reason he ditched the mask rather than the stated lack of air - it's well established that Doom carries a self-contained oxygen supply. Anyway, Doom soon dons his cooled mask again, but the damage is done, as everyone is suddenly waking up from the mind-control. The Hulk promptly escapes, and Magneto soon does the same - he's still a villain, after all. He might have saved the world, but it's still something he covets for himself…
As Magneto yeets himself into the sky, the Neuro-Gas once more overtakes Beast, and it seems he forgets all about his brief alliance with the Master of Magnetism. The gas is still in the air, it seems, still subjugating people to Doom's will - including Johnny Blaze, now that his transformation has reversed. But what is Doom's will? It seems exposure to his own gas has driven Doom insane, as he is ranting and raving at nothing, caught up in a loop of commanding and awaiting commands, desperately asking himself why he does not command himself…
Rating & Comments
This issue was a tiring slog of cluttered fight scenes, and not a whole lot else - a waste of paper. It doesn't help that a fair few of the panels here are just characters swinging away against mono-colored backgrounds, which doesn't really impress me. The first conflict with the Champions is a pointless bit of filler, only there to drag the Champions along to the actually important fight scene. That one, for some reason, takes place on the White House lawn - although you can barely tell after a few panels. I presume this setting was chosen just so the writer could make fun of President Carter's accent for a panel or two. Riveting.
The overall plot of this story arc doesn't really make sense, either. Magneto freeing Beast last issue was implied to be part of a larger plan, but the Beast never really does anything important here - he just spends his time fighting random side-characters. His attempt to contact the X-Men failed, his bid to contact the Champions backfired, and it's Ghost Rider of all people who ultimately ensures victory - a character who was revealed to be free of mind control mere pages before that became plot-relevant. Magneto and Beast got damn lucky that they ran into the solution to their problem by complete accident, huh? The presence of the Hulk was also completely asinine - he was brought in only so Hercules had someone to punch!
Putting all that aside, the worst part of the issue is definitely that nonsensical ending. Why on Earth would it matter whether Doom is exposed to the mind-control gas? How much more mind-controlled by Doctor Doom could you get than literally being the mind of Doctor Doom? Jeez! This method of defusing Doom's plan makes no sense to begin with, but it's made worse by the fact that it didn't even work! The ending makes it clear that the Neuro-Gas still remains in the atmosphere, and people are still getting brainwashed into subservience to Doom, it's just that nobody's at the figurative control panel anymore. Even if we go with the implication that Doom is caught in a mental loop due to his exposure, it's only a matter of time before the minute dose of gas that Doom breathed in will lose its effectiveness. He did, after all, put his filtered mask back on. Wouldn't he just regain control of everyone when he gets his marbles back, thus recreating this same situation?
Incidentally, is anyone ever going to remove that mind-control gas out of the atmosphere? It seems that the only people who knew about it were Doom, Magneto, Beast, and Ghost Rider - and since the gas apparently scrubs people's memories of what they did while not under the influence, only Magneto is in any position to correct matters. Is he going to do that? Let's just say that I'm pretty confident the entire plot-line will never be mentioned again...
By the way, it's funny that I'm apparently so in-tune with Doom that I can predict his technobabble solutions, but I suspect the phrase I picked is just that terribly cliché. Get some better writers, Marvel! (It was Bill Mantlo? Well, can't say I'm shocked.)
Best Panel(s) of the Issue
I really quite like the panel of Doom blasting Ghost Rider while his face is on fire. Hah!
Most Gloriously Villainous Doom Quotes
"SILENCE! Cease your incessant jabbering - all of you! Never in Latveria did I have to put up with such insanity! There my subjects obeyed me out of fear! Here I cannot tell whether you obey because of my Neuro-Gas, or out of your own revolting self-interest!"
Comic Trivia
It's perhaps unsurprising that one failing comic book, Super-Villain Team-Up, chose to end its run in with a crossover in the pages of another failing comic book. I'm guessing the idea was to shore up the failing numbers of one with the remnants of the previous title - but it didn't work. Champions would get only one more issue after this one, which technically means these two books have exactly the same amount of publications to their names. I dearly hope that the average quality of Champions was higher than this wreck of a story, because I'm not sure it could get much lower...
Doom's Bad Hair Day
There's this panel, where the colorist screwed up and made Doom's mouth green - or maybe he just has spinach stuck in his teeth?
Hah, I did wonder what on Earth someone was smoking when they put this group together. Like, I can get teaming up some of the ex-X-Men together again, and I could kinda see Hercules as the funny guy to fill out the team... but Ghost Rider? Black Widow, too? Darkstar...?
Hah, I did wonder what on Earth someone was smoking when they put this group together. Like, I can get teaming up some of the ex-X-Men together again, and I could kinda see Hercules as the funny guy to fill out the team... but Ghost Rider? Black Widow, too? Darkstar...?
It was originally supposed to be about Angel and Iceman hanging out together and traveling around America, with Black Goliath joining them later. But Black Goliath became unavailable, and Len Wein insisted the team needed at least five characters, with Hercules, Black Widow, and Ghost Rider chosen to fill the slots of "tough guy", "female" and "guy with his own book" respectively. Darkstar "joined" later, and by "joined" I mean started hanging out with them--she was never officially a member, which is somehow the most Champions thing of all.
066: Marvel Comics Super Special #1 (September 1977)
Cover
Alright… this is a weird one, as you can probably already tell. We've arrived at a promotional issue that stars a bunch of musicians from a rock group as characters - which is nothing new, really, for comic books. Plenty of real people showed up in their own comics at the time, and there's a lot of really bad comics around to demonstrate that. (What come to mind for me are Mr. T's comic books.) I'm fairly confident that most of those other comics aren't canon, however. Yes, it seems that this thing is in continuity. It features actual characters from the mainline Marvel universe, including Doctor Doom - for some ungodly reason. Thus I'll have to cover it here, instead of in the alternate Doom section where it probably belongs.
Here I could perhaps start on a ramble about what it was like back in the days when Kiss was big, to inform the younger generations about what us old fogeys used to like… but honestly Kiss predates me by more than a decade, and all their big stuff happened before I was even a toddler. Thus I have only a vague awareness of the group, some notions that there was a guy with a freaky long tongue involved, and can name like two of their songs? And that's because they were used in movies and such, not because I ever owned any of their records (a concept which itself was already old by the time I started to care about music…) I admit, I'm rather hypocritical since I own quite a few Queen albums from the same era, but there you go!
Since this is technically the section about the cover, I suppose I should comment on that… It's the band. It's just a picture of a bunch of people dressed up in silly costumes and crazy masks - so it's pretty much par for the course for a superhero comic. I'm sure I've seen Wolverine show up with fewer clothes on than these guys, and Spider-Man regularly pulls poses that makes your spine cry, so Kiss isn't really that remarkable! (And the guy with the long tongue? One word: Venom.)
Story Overview
Chapter 1: KISS!
After a few pages of interviews we start this comic with a brief biography of Doctor Doom, which summarizes the events Doom's origin in text form - a promising start. After a splash page featuring the band in full regalia, we then catch up with a teenage Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, who are heading for a rendezvous with some friends at 'playland'. Gene complains that he's been told to sell his comic book collection, to grow up and ditch his childish fantasies, and he considers whether that's really what adulthood is about. Paul says that just what 'they' want you to think - he sees a future for them as superstars, rather than boring accountants or whatever - so who cares if other people think they're nerds? Gene points out that even he can't deny that people think they're too old to read comics books, and he ditches his issue of Conan into a trashcan.
As they round the next corner, they're stunned by the scene they've stumbled onto: In the middle of the sidewalk a blind, balding elderly man dressed in a stray rags and a bright yellow t-shirt that says 'Play hard, play fair, nobody hurt' is fighting with half a dozen goons. The attackers are apparently there to find some sort of 'box', which the man resolutely refuses to give up. As soon as Gene and Paul show up, however, the old man turns towards them and tosses said box, declaring that the 'flaming youths' should embrace their destiny. 'For within yon box reside thine own selves', as he puts it. Paul catches the thing, and the two immediately run off.
A few blocks away, teenagers Peter Criss and Ace Frehley - the remaining members of the band - are playing at the Playland arcade pinball tables. Gene and Paul rush into the room and immediately toss the mystery box over to their friends, telling them to stash the thing, before they jump inside a photo booth to hide. Soon the thugs follow them inside the arcade, lead by a scruffy-looking figure called Fringe. Unfortunately, space-case Ace starts treating the box like it's the Ring of Power and he's Gollum - he begins complimenting its looks, stroking it, shaking it so he can hear the rattling inside. Which would be fine, if he didn't hold the thing up for everyone to see. He's soon spotted by Fringe and pals, and Peter drags Ace with him into the same photo booth where their friends are already hiding. It's getting crowded in there!
Gene is annoyed that they still have the box with them, when he told them to stash it. They don't have a lot of time to consider the matter, though, because Fringe starts threatening them from outside the booth, and all his fellow goons start pulling out knives and… a set of nunchucks? Okay. Ace is less interested in their imminent death than finding out what's in the box, and he opens it. The teens are mesmerized by the contents, which turns out to be three wooden figurines and a black star - personal totems.
Just as Fringe is about to rip open the booth and come after the quartet, smoke starts pouring out of it, and the thugs are briefly convinced the teens set the thing on fire. Then something weird slithers out of the smoke - some kind of snake? Suddenly the entire photo booth explodes in a flash of lightning, and the four members of Kiss arrive in full costume - the four teens have transformed!
The snake turns out to be Gene's elaborate boot, and it can apparently bite people. He jumps out and starts breathing fire to melt everyone's knives, drawing attention by sounding like a bulldozer crossed with a dinosaur while doing it. In the confusion Peter - who has become rather feline - jumps on one of the other thugs with his enhanced agility, while Paul spots the guy with the nunchaku and hypnotizes him with intense grief over the death of Bruce Lee. (Whatever works, I guess.) Ace simply taps a guy on the head and in a flash he's knocked unconscious. The four quickly decide it's high time to hit the road, and with but a gesture they suddenly vanish into thin air…
Fringe is left behind in their wake, beaten half-unconscious. He mumbles an explanation of what happened into his communication wristwatch, and he gets a swift answer - emphatic disapproval. As in, the watch promptly vaporizes Fringe to ashes for his failure!
The four teens rematerialize a mile away from where they left, along the shores of New York with the Statue of Liberty in the background. It seems one of Ace's powers is teleportation! The four spend a moment marveling over their transformations and their new powers. Paul points out something that's weird: the Moon! It's fully lit up - which is rather unusual, given that it's actually supposed to be New Moon that night! As the others banter about their new looks, the Moon seems to fall out of the sky and grow larger and larger. Soon the pockmarked sphere lands nearby, revealing it not to be the Moon at all, but a spaceship - or more precisely, a ship of state!
There's a flourish of horns, and a royal entourage of gypsy maidens departs from the ship, scattering delicate flower petals across the ramp that leads outwards. They're dropped there so their master can trample them with his iron boots - for he is none other than the masked monarch of Latveria, Doctor Doom!
Doom exits his ship with his cloak majestically flowing behind him, and declares that he has the answers the four seek about their mysterious transformations - for they were achieved with magical energies that rightfully belong to him. Thus, the vessels of this energy must now become the property of Doctor Doom as well! (Did he say 'vessels' or 'vassals'?) The object which changed them is the Box of Khyscz, and it was one of the implements of sorcery that Doom should have inherited from his mother upon her death. There were some among his gypsy tribe who did not trust Doom with such power, however, and during his travels in Tibet they stole the box from his possessions, and one of the tribe's mystics fled to the United States to keep it safe. These days he works as a street musician by the name of 'Dizzy the Hun' - the blind man from before!
The ruffians that attacked, then, were in Doom's employ - which explains why one of them got vaporized for his trouble. Gene muses that he can see where this is going - to their subjugation in Latveria, naturally. He figures that Doom knows a lot about the psychology of power, but as much as he'd want to study at the man's feet, it's clear that a fight is brewing. It's right about then that Doom's gypsy maidens suddenly reveal that their flower baskets contain something more: enormous guns! Doom commands them to fire, and Gene obliges by breathing fire all over the women, revealing them to be robots in disguise! They're factory girls - cold and heartless, like some waitresses Ace knows. As the fight progresses, Doom simply leaves - he gets back on his ship and flies off.
A crowd is starting to gather, and the four aren't too keen on trying to explain what just happened, so they take the Ace teleportation express to a new location. This time the world evaporates entirely, and the four find themselves in an inter-dimensional void, which is conveniently enough room for a bunch of full-page images of each of the band members, with Gene getting a full page spread to himself…
Meanwhile, at the Daily Bugle - yes, really - J. Jonah Jameson is incensed that he got scooped by another newspaper, and commands his employee Peter Parker to get some more photographs of those 'glittery goons' before a competitor does. Peter slings off into the city as Spider-Man, but naturally his search is fruitless - but it does bring him near the Baxter Building. Inside, the Fantastic Four observe some pictures from the fight with Doom, and Sue is convinced they're evil from their appearance. Reed warns against judging by appearances (which plenty of people have done with Ben, after all.) Ben himself thinks they look cuddly. Heh. Johnny soon enters, announcing that they have the Avengers on the phone…
The Vision is calling, it seems, because Doctor Doom was involved - and he is the Fantastic Four's arch-foe. The Avengers are as in the dark as anyone, and while they called in an emergency session to deal with the arrival of a bunch of new superpowered weirdos, they're forced to just wait and see what develops next like the rest of the world. Yellowjacket figures they've got one option left, and he calls up Doctor Strange, who knows something… but advises the Avengers to stay out of it. Doctor Strange, it seems, is playing host to Dizzy the Hun! He observes the four members of Kiss in a crystal ball, and notes that their dimensional journey is almost at its end - which means it's about time he informs the Defenders about what's going on!
In the parlor of Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, the Defenders have already gathered - but they decide not to interfere with ongoing events. Doctor Strange perceives that they would only disrupt the mystic forces at play, and the four youths must face their trials alone - they will emerge wiser and stronger from the experience… if they emerge at all!
Interlude: Air Latveria
Probably the best thing about this comic is this ad, honestly. It's the only way to travel...
Chapter 2: Precisely as Hot as Hell!
After a bunch of interview material, articles, and that fantastic ad for Air Latveria, we eventually return for the second part of the comic's actual story. Two members of Kiss finally emerge from the Stygian void, only to find themselves in… heaven? Yup, it comes complete with a bearded elderly dude with wings, an archangel, who is there to welcome the two to their everlasting reward. If that wasn't enough, they're also surrounded by little cherubim and - naturally - a bunch of buxom women.
Paul is pretty happy with their new situation, but Gene Simmons gets annoyed instantly. He's warned that the cherubim are armed and vigilant -and they're not allowed to leave. Suspicious. Ever proactive, Gene blasts the little angels with his fire breath, revealing them to be little demons all along! He then turns around and bathes the archangel in flames as well, revealing him to be… Mephisto!
All around them the landscape is altered to reveal that it's actually hell. Jagged stalactites replace billowing mist, sulfur replaces lovely perfume, and the well-shaped ladies… well, they're gnarled hags, Succubi. Gene demands to know why Mephisto tried to entice them with such cheap tricks, when his command in hell is absolute. He sends his apparently sentient snake-shoes to attack Mephisto, who answers that the souls who serve him best are the ones who serve him willingly. He explains that he sought to tame the four, to turn them into household pets, and they were fools to turn down the pleasures he offered, illusory though they were. While Paul turns the Succubi into slugs with his powers, Gene declares that no matter what Mephisto does, he'll remain this contentious - because he wants to savor his new power, and it's far better to dominate on Earth than serve in hell.
Amused by the man's audacity, Mephisto decides to let the two go, so he's spared the task of trying to subjugate them. Who knows, perhaps Gene will be a seasoned slayer of souls by the time they meet again… He then teleports them away.
Chapter 3: The Andromedia Hustle!
The other two members of Kiss appear in the middle of a disco populated by furries - they're all anthropomorphic animals of some description, some with their faces colored white. They're in space, it seems, on board of a space station. They're not actually that concerned about this situation, and start looking for someone cute to dance with.
Peter, being rather feline, soon discovers a furry that's just his type - a cat-girl named Mandu. They dance, they touch, they purr. When the dance is over, it's clear they're the hit of the evening, and they wander off together. Ace overhears a literal fatcat mention that Mandu is the queen of 'Big Leo', and that means Peter isn't long for this world. Uh-oh!
Mandu drags Peter to a table so they can sit out a song, and she invites him to stay on the space station. Peter then claims it's not in the stars - he's got another gig on another world, and he has to see it through. They are soon joined by Big Leo - a giant lion-man, naturally, as well as the rest of his crew. Ace arrives to back Peter up, and he gets ganged up on by Leo's entourage, while Leo goes to crush Peter's wrist. The cat-like superhuman frees himself with his agility, however, and follows it up with a kick to the face - which leaves Ace enough time to free himself and lock the lion down with a force-field.
Mandu is quite impressed by Peter's victory, but it is short-lived. Big Leo starts cutting his way out of the force-field with his weaponized walking stick, after which Peter disarms him, destroying the stick before it can do any damage. He follows it up with some face punches - enough to knock the lion unconscious. They then wish Mandu goodbye, as Ace whisks them away to somewhere else, again.
Chapter 4: See Latveria and Die!
Finally reunited, the four find themselves high up in the mountains. And not just any mountains, for these are the Latverian Alps (which apparently exist) as revealed by Dizzy the Hun, who has followed them all the way here. Naturally, he's still dressed like a crazy homeless person. He reveals that the temptations they've faced were meant to teach them all some lessons - a cosmic school of hard knocks. But while they learned of their powers, Doom has learned things as well - namely that their life force is bound to the box of Khyscz, and thus he must either enslave them or kill them to gain that power for himself. The four youths decide that they'll take on Doom, but Dizzy warns them that brute force will not be enough to defeat him - he has genius and experience on his side, after all, and an iron will…
Soon the welcoming party arrives, a chanting progression of Gregorian monks in robes. 'Peace be with you, Outlanders,' the monks announce. 'Eternal peace!' They throw their hoods back to reveal the heads of robots, their eyes glowing for a moment before beams of pink energy start scouring the landscape. (Too much of it is dangerous!)
Gene tosses one of the robots into the air and blasts it apart with his fire breath, Ace vibrates one to pieces, while the others use less… esoteric methods. As they take down the last of the robots, Gene spends some time laughing, and Dizzy tells him to stop gloating so much. Suddenly the ground shakes under their feet, and a huge pair of lips sprouts from the mountain below. The lips pucker and start inhaling, sucking the youths closer to it. Three of the four are dragged in, but Paul seems immune to the attraction - and he soon realizes that fighting against the pull makes it stronger. It's works by Devil's Snare logic! Paul uses his hypnotic powers to make Peter and Gene calm down, and the trap is defused…
Before the four can catch their breath, however, they're suddenly teleported away again - this time to some floating rocks in the middle of a bizarre multi-coloured dimension. They're not alone, either - Doctor Doom is there, and he smacks Paul across the face with an iron hand. Gene tries to attack Doom, but he discovers that the villain's armor is electrified. Peter gets blasted aside with little effort, and Doom doesn't take much longer to disable Ace either. He declares that the power of Khyscz is wasted on children like them, and starts calling them names - imbeciles, incompetents, adolescent, atavistic - and Ace thinks that's going rather far. Surely even Doom was a child, once?
For a moment Doom hesitates, apparently surprised by the off-the-wall comment, and Paul takes advantage of the moment to employ the power of his Black Star, which enhances emotions. Doom stands immobile, flooded by emotion, and cries out as the past replays in his mind. He sees images of his dying father. Mankind did this! They killed his father, lynched his mother, hounded his gypsy brethren - drove him into a metal shell! They forced him to choose between subservience and sovereignty. One option that was degrading but safe, and one fraught with peril…
Suddenly Dizzy the Hun crashes back into the scene, declaring that Victor knew even as a child that the dangers must be met, the questions asked, if one was to actualize their potential. Doom became all that he could be, Dizzy claims, so would he deny these youths the same privilege he enjoyed? Doom hesitates, but decides that yes, he totally would! He lunges at Paul, but Gene has had time to recover and blasts Doom back with fire.
Dizzy then tells Doom to lay off, since if he really wanted these four dead, he would've killed them already. Doom tells the man not to preach, as the 'Victor' he knew perished long ago, and Doom knows what he feels, and what he wants. Dizzy asks whether Doom's father would have approved of such things, since he was a physician after all - a healer. Doom explodes in rage at the invocation of his father, and threatens to kill the gypsy mystic - but he can't do it. This man tutored his mother in the mystic arts, and spoke the eulogy over her grave. He can't bring himself to do him harm. But… he can still banish him from Latveria! Him, and his four new charges! Dizzy thanks Doom, and tells him that he's won more than he thinks, that day.
Ace takes the group out of there, teleporting them all back to New York. As soon as they arrive, however, their costumes vanish and they all revert to street clothes. Dizzy announces that they've survived their baptism of fire - and now it's time to put their tokens back in the box. Those things will make them kings of the night-time world, but they must live the daytime normally - but with the same courage for exploration. One of the teens wonders why it's called the box of 'Kiss', and another points out that it'd be a pretty cool code word for their new identities. This is a job for… KISS!
Rating & Comments
For what it is, this comic is surprisingly solid - the art is pretty good all-around, the characters are decently well-defined and distinct, and they're all sufficiently over the top to fit in with all the other crazy super-characters that already inhabit Marvel. The story is merely serviceable, and basically a bit of a whirlwind tour of random locations, with teleportation used so that the story can avoid the tedium of proper scene transitions, but it all fits together reasonably well. The little tour of the Marvel Universe in the middle of the story was probably pretty welcome to people who don't read a ton of comics - between Spidey, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers and the Defenders, surely a few of those faces must've looked familiar!
The four members of Kiss are depicted with their over-the-top rock persona converted into superheroes, and those changes generally work well enough, since the results are all pretty distinct. From what I understand those personas were inspired by comic books in the first place, so it's a pretty natural fit! I do think the team's a bit uneven, though - Gene Simmons gets to be the action-packed badass with fire breath and monstrous demonic roaring who basically takes on every threat in the book, and even his shoes get in on the action. In comparison, the others get less to work with - Peter mostly just does cat pounces, Paul gets vaguely defined emotion-influencing powers of some description that are useful all of twice, and Ace, as already established, is basically playing chauffeur for most of the issue. I imagine the band members are already used to playing second fiddle to the front man, though.
Dizzy the Hun is a bizarre character that gets inserted into Doctor Doom's continuity here, and he apparently never leaves - even though he doesn't really show up again after this. Somehow, he's still a canonical element of Doom's backstory. Dizzy is later confirmed to have been a member of Doom's tribe of Roma, the Zefiro, and he served as a mystic teacher to Cynthia von Doom - way before he got a silly nickname and started street busking in a lamentable loincloth-shirt combination. I don't know if I care for this addition to canon, but I suppose it's more information than we had before…
Doom's brief appearance in the first half of this issue is a bit puzzling, as he approaches the main characters to explain the box of Khyscz and lays a claim on it - only to ditch some random robots on the team while he scampers off back to Latveria. I'm not sure what the reason was for his elaborate entrance, or why he immediate departed again - presumably he planned to gauge the various superpowers the four had gained, but why would he show up in person if he was just going to watch from afar anyway? In any case, his second appearance towards the end is the more impactful of the two, and quickly establishes him as a superior threat, before turning the battle more emotional rather than physical.
I have to say, using emotion control to force someone to relive the torturous death of their entire family and the persecution of their people, in order to get them to empathize with a bunch of random teenagers who lucked into superpowers, doesn't seem like the greatest idea. (Or, indeed, the most virtuous of acts.) Doom rightly doesn't really see the equivalence between his history and these four punks, and it's only Dizzy's personal connection to Doom that stays the tyrant's hand. I like that - Doom doesn't just randomly chicken out because he was reminded of his youth, which is where I briefly dreaded the story was going. Doom remains Doom, even in this oddball corner of the Marvel universe.
Although this comic isn't exactly a technical masterpiece, I have to admit that it's not half-bad. It hangs together with convenience and handwaving, but I've seen a lot worse in normal, non-promotional comic books featuring regular superheroes. Also, I gotta give this comic a leg up for that neat Air Latveria ad! Three stars... but let's not to do this again, you hear?
Best Panel(s) of the Issue
This comic has plenty of pretty fun art - it's well-drawn for the most part. That said, I'll go with the Doctor Doom one for obvious reasons - in this case his glorious introduction early on, with his robot gypsy maidens showering his path with flower petals. Neat!
There's also this, which is the other half of the cover - actually, it's what's printed on the back of the comic. So, Doom is technically on the cover!
Most Gloriously Villainous Doom Quotes
"Th-they killed... my father...! They - the world - mankind! They killed my father, lynched my mother, hounded my gypsy brethren! They drove me - into this metal shell! And they forced me to choose between subservience and sovereignty! The first was degrading but safe - the latter fraught with peril…"
Comic Trivia
This comic is infamous for a publicity stunt involved with its printing - each of the members of the band donated some blood, and this was mixed in with the red ink for the comic publication. This apparently did really happen, and there's pictures and documents attesting to this fact. Now, there's persistent rumors that the ink in question was accidentally used on a batch of Sports Illustrated rather than the actual Marvel Super Special #1 comic… but who knows?
This incarnation of Kiss actually shows up again in a sequel story in Marvel Super Special #5, but that's about it. Note, however, that this is not the only comic about the band - far from it! Aside from a handful of other Marvel appearances, Image Comics would eventually pick them up for a full 31-issue run, in Todd McFarlane's Kiss: Psycho Circus. After that followed a 13-issue Dark Horse series simply named Kiss, a 10-issue Platinum Comics series called 'Kiss 4K', and even a 4-issue run by Archie Comics. As we speak, eight issues have been released of IDW Publishing's Kiss series, and Dynamite Entertainment is working on something too. That's a lot more than I expected, honestly, even this long after the band's heyday!
Doom-Tech of the Week
I suppose the Factory Girls and Robot Monks kind of count, though they're more general outgrowths of Doom's interest in robots rather than specific inventions. I don't think we've ever seen him use either of these themes for his minions, though - they're generally menacing guards rather than something seemingly benign.
