- Location
- East Coast
There is nothing hypocritical about this at all. Queen is awesome.
And with out of the way--the late, great Steve Gerber wrote this one. It shows.
Doom's Day Has Come! (Let's Read Marvel's Doctor Doom)
- Thread starter Roarian
- Start date
- Comics
There is nothing hypocritical about this at all. Queen is awesome.
And with out of the way--the late, great Steve Gerber wrote this one. It shows.
067: Master of Kung Fu #59-60 - End Game!
- Location
- Netherlands
067: Master of Kung Fu #59-60 (December 1977 - January 1978)
Cover
We've arrived at another two-parter in which one half is almost entirely Doom-less, except for a preview for a follow-up issue. This has become a bit of a theme for Doom, hasn't it? Like similar cases in the past, I'll be covering the contents of #59 before skipping ahead to #60, which contains a lot more of our malevolent monarch. Master of Kung Fu is not really the kind of comic I'd expect to ever feature a character like this, but I can make some educated guesses on how that works from this cover. Chessmaster Doom is on full display there, which reminds me of that S.H.I.E.L.D. storyline which was belatedly revealed to be a Doom plot all along. The well-dressed robot in the back suggests we might be dealing with a similar scenario, so I'm putting my money on 'Doom was bored, and he picked a random superhero to torment just because he could.'
This cover is a bit harder to parse for someone unfamiliar with Shang-Chi's backstory and villain roster, but I'm going to take a wild guess and say the guy with knives for arms is not a good guy. That seems really impractical for day to day life, honestly - how do you pick anything up? Wouldn't you slice yourself open every time you had an itch or something? Anyway, I'm not sure what to think of the lady with the rope either, or the guy with a maces tied into his hair, or the guy with the weird plague doctor mask. I'm guessing this Kung Fu hero's rogues gallery is rather more bizarre than I might've expected!
Doom is doing his usual menacing giant pose, this time over a giant chessboard with people as pawns (Subtle imagery, truly.) I'm not sure if his description as a 'master of macabre villainy' is terribly accurate, though - Doom's villainy has always been pretty straightforward, not really the stuff of horror movies. (Well, maybe Invasion of the Body-snatchers.) I guess he might be turning over a new leaf and trying some new things in this issue? I can only imagine the creepy possibilities of perfectly disguised robot sleeper agents, for example...
Story Overview
My knowledge of Shang-Chi is, shall we say… limited. My knowledge of him in this era of comics? Entirely non-existent. I'm going to muddle through the various references as best I can, but I'm sure I'll run into weird stuff I didn't know - with the first being the prominent inclusion of Fu Manchu in the character's backstory. What? Yes, and I was not actually aware of this, it turns out that the ultra-stereotypical evil criminal mad scientist with the rockin' mustache, famous from various novels and movies, is actually the father of Shang-Chi in this era! It seems he had a comic book incarnation too, which I'd never really considered.
The reason it's not so readily apparent nowadays is, I think, because Marvel got into a copyright snafu over the topic in the early 1980's, and now can't really publish anything which references Fu Manchu directly anymore. Marvel actually has trouble reprinting comics like this because of Fu Manchu's inclusion, which is presumably why I'm working off sub-par scans this time. No digital sources available like with many of the others.
Master of Kung Fu #59 - The Temples of Time
We open the story with our protagonist, Shang-Chi, standing in the middle of an iced-over African savanna - the panels themselves form the shape of the African continent, which is pretty neat. He's wandering around without a care for the cold, seemingly not bothered by the mystery that surrounds him. As he comes across a herd of dying Elephants and Giraffes, he finally realizes something is wrong - isn't it supposed to be warm here? Why isn't he more worried about this? He spots another human being in the icy gale and heads over. The woman in question is pretty morbid, declaring that it's time for everyone to die - the equator has somehow moved, and the Earth is now dying. She proclaims that the 'pyramids' will not work to fix what's going on, and we get a shot of rows of triangular buildings built in the icy wastes.
Descending into one of the pyramids through a portal, Shang-Chi soon witnesses people in tribal clothing work on the futuristic machinery within. The people are attempting to 'recreate the advent' so they can bring back some sort of religious figure who brought bliss and hope in the past, and who apparently knew what this whole apocalypse thing was about. They throw a switch, and on a dais a figure is assembled from particles of light... a man with knives for arms! The dead villain Razorfist has returned, and is immediately worshiped by the tech-priests around him. He turns to one of them and claims he's here to give them his blessing, the sweet dark blessing of death! Shang-Chi cries out in horror...
Only for him to wake up in the present day - or in 1970's Marvel, anyway. Yup, that was all a big fucked up dream sequence. Shang-Chi soon finds that he wandered into traffic in a daze, and he tries to remember what he was doing before that happened. He theorizes that one of his allies, former MI-6 Agent Reston, might have drugged him, but he has no idea what the man's motive might have been. His conviction that it was all a hallucination is rather undercut when Razorfist wrestles himself through the crowd and starts their fight all over again! Huh. What's real and what isn't, exactly…? Shang-Chi knocks out the undead villain, but he has no clue what this all means. In a distant castle, someone declares: 'Your move.' Intrigue!
Shang-Chi's former MI-6 ally Leiko fetches him after the action is over, and takes him to her home to have a bit of a breather. The hero can't grasp how Razorfist is alive again, and seems perpetually shell-shocked by everything that's going on. Leiko treats him for his symptoms, figuring he's coming down with the flu or something, and tells him that rest is what he needs most. Shang-Chi wonders how he could possibly sleep when London is covered in ice? Seamlessly he's returned to his apocalyptic hallucinations, now witnessing the crumbling ruins of the British capital, which rather resemble New York in the movie 'Day After Tomorrow.'
We get some more information on the nature of the apocalypse in this dream world, here. It seems that the entire Earth toppled over sideways! The sudden re-orientation caused the glacial areas of the planet to move, and now huge sections of the world are covered in thick ice while the poles are thawing. The dream abruptly shifts to the North Pole, which melts to reveal a familiar pyramid building beneath the snow. Traveling inside, Shang-Chi and his allies throw the switch that was used to resurrect Razorfist last time.
What appears on the dais now is not a blade-fisted psychopath, but something altogether different. Everyone is instantly blissed out and beyond reason as 'Amar-Tu' appears, a somewhat fiery spirit being who claims that Earth's toppling was a return to its natural state. He says he's returned to bring salvation, to deliver the solution to all misery, pain, suffering, and life. (The solution to life? Uh…) They're all invited into the being's embrace, which they happily accept in their conked out state, after which the joyful aura abruptly turns to senseless despair. In an instant, they've all burned to death… (Knew it!)
Shang-Chi wakes up back in Leiko's home, a scream caught in his throat. He's almost immediately faced with one of his villains again, this time a woman wielding a whip - Pavane. They spar, and he manages to kick her in the face, beheading her and revealing her to be a robotic replica!
In a distant castle, someone declares that the second gambit was nullified, but another claims that they merely misunderstood the first gambit. Hmm. Leiko returns home to inform Shang-Chi that the police learned something startling - the Razorfist he fought earlier was a robot as well! They've barely shared notes on this robot impostor thing when a third attacker crashes into the room, this one lacking even a disguise for its robotic nature. Shang-Chi quickly takes it down, and he and Leiko try to figure out what's going on. One of their foes, Mordillo, used advanced robots sometimes, but he couldn't be responsible since he's dead. The real Pavane might have the connections necessary, but even that's a flimsy scenario. Shang-Chi throws Reston's name into the mix, as the man who likely drugged him on the street and caused him to have all the hallucinations. They're getting nowhere.
Suddenly the defeated third robot speaks up. He flips up his robot mask, and reveals himself to not be a robot. Yes, the one attacker who actually looked like a robot was the only one who was not! Duuuude. Someone's clearly having a laugh.
The man inside the suit is Clive Reston - he was drugged, forced to dose Shang-Chi on that street corner, and later packed inside a fake robot shell to attack his friend. Okay. That's not convoluted nonsense at all. Fortunately Reston knows exactly who got to him, and quickly reveals the identity of their foe. It's the malevolent monarch of a small Eastern-European country… Doctor Doom!
Took a while to get there, but we got there.
The final panel is a complete throwback to the S.H.I.E.L.D. storyline in Strange Tales that I mentioned before, as we observe Doctor Doom and the Prime Mover robot sharing a game of chess with human pieces. I don't think we ever covered that storyline in detail, as it contained only a single panel of Doom. It's covered in the first collection of minor appearances, I believe. Doom claims that his first gambit succeeded after all - but the Prime Mover warns him that their game is not yet concluded.
Master of Kung Fu #60 - End Game
More chess references, huh? Subtle. We open with a splash page of Shang-Chi surrounded by goofy villains, before we turn to the story proper. It seems the Kung Fu hero is on board a plane headed for Latveria, which is piloted by Reston. The drug still hasn't left his system, and he's fading into dreams of frozen hellscapes, and his memories of recent events are fuzzy - he's not quite sure why Leiko didn't come along on this expedition, for example.
Shang-Chi fades into another apocalyptic vision, this time joined by his dead father Fu Manchu, who claims a new springtime has come to China, a time for revivification. They stand on a bluff overlooking a melting ice-field, and Fu Manchu explains that the glaciers have passed on their way to the former equator - the worst is over. China is thawing out again, and spawning new life. Although the scenery below resembles that of Shang-Chi's earlier dreams, there are no pyramids in sight - instead the valley is populated by gigantic eggs, symbols of new life. Fu Manchu explains that China may have fallen, but it is also eternal - they are witnessing the rebirth of old China, now.
Soon one of the eggs cracks open, and out of it crawls a pink reptilian creature. Fu Manchu glorifies China's past as the birthplace of life, and the cradle of art, science, and culture - and all the while the dinosaur keeps growing at incredible speed, soon towering over the humans and developing the frills of an eastern dragon. Fu Manchu then proclaims that like China, he is eternal, he cannot die - and just like China, in a time of rebirth he will gain new sons. New sons who will slay the old… The dragon rears up and blasts fire down on Shang-Chi, who instantly burns to death…
Only to wake up back in the plane, feverish from the drugs. He's woken just in time, as Reston is pitching the plane down to come in for a landing in Latveria. Shang-Chi thinks he has a bit more control over himself - while awake, at least. Reston explains that he should be out of the woods in another few hours, based on his own experiences. For the moment, though, they should focus on breaking into Doom's castle and getting to the bottom of all this. Shang-Chi acknowledges this, but admits he's losing time - he's not sure how they got access to an airplane, for example. Reston waves it off as the benefits of being a former MI-6 agent.
We interrupt this conversation for a spontaneous villain arrival - Shaka Kharn suddenly shows up, the guy with the weird mask from the cover. As another character who should be dead, Shang-Chi figures he's another robot, but that doesn't stop his actual threat level. The robot viciously cuts down Reston where he stands.
Shang-Chi destroys him in retaliation, before rushing over to his fallen friend. Only to realize Reston is also a robot. What? So, was he a robot all along, after all? Was he replaced before he was made out to be a human being disguised as a robot who was poorly disguised as a human being? Tropic Thunder, eat your heart out! How many layers deep does this thing go?
Shang-Chi moves on towards Doom's castle, intent on finding some answers. He discovers that the drawbridge is down, and the door open - and out charges a knight on horseback, intent on skewering him on a spear! Shang-Chi forces the long weapon down into the ground, which unseats the medieval warrior and reveals him to be… the villain Shockwave! But probably just another robot. Still, Shang-Chi is a little more careful here - Shockwave is a living villain, so he might be the real deal. He soon figures that Shockwave is too weak to be the genuine article, however, and destroys this latest robot. He's getting real tired of this.
Walking into Doom's courtyard, the hero is soon surrounded by Doom's minions. Tired and annoyed, he declares that if they attack, he'll assume them lifeless robots and feel no worry about slaying them. The minions, of course, go on the attack - like robots. As he starts to fight back, the drug in his system increases in potency, and he gets flashes from all his previous visions while he makes his way towards the castle, taking out dozens of robots on his way. He makes his way through the doors, only to be faced with yet another one of his old villains. Figures.
This time Shang-Chi is attacked by Shadow-Stalker, the weird guy with the maces in his hair - not the trigger-happy vigilante from Brockton Bay. Shang-Chi has utterly had it at this point, and demands to know where he can find Doctor Doom, since he really doesn't want to fight another robot. When forced into conflict, however, he goes all-out against this latest enemy, descending into a berserk rage until he fatally injures Shadow-Stalker. As he does so, a wall suddenly opens up to reveal Doctor Doom and the Prime Mover behind it, and the former declares he has won, even though Shang-Chi has taken his King… taken his King's life!
Shang-Chi doesn't know what's happening here, and Doom helpfully explains. All that's come before this point was orchestrated by Doom to push Shang-Chi to the breaking point, to confuse him enough that he'd lose all grasp on reality. By convincing him that everything was just an elaborate hoax of robots and illusions, he's made Shang-Chi a murderer! You see, unlike all the rest of the villains he's faced up this point, Shadow-Stalker was the real deal, and he's now dead at the hero's hands!
Horrified, Shang-Chi demands to know what this game was all about, and Doom explains that it was a matter of competition, of pride… of boredom. Of course, he didn't really care to match wits with Shang-Chi, as his intended opponent had always been his father, Fu Manchu. While that man is no longer available, but Doom still really wanted to know how a match between them would have gone, so he was forced to settle for the only person to ever defeat that great villain - his son!
Now that Doom has satisfied his curiosity by coming out the victor, it's time to clean up the board and put away the final pieces. His sense of fair play only extends to the match, so he doesn't mind stacking the odds in his favor - out of the shadows come all the robot villains from before...
The robotic villains attack together, and Shang-Chi is forced to defend himself - but he's pissed off and they're all just robots, so he starts ripping them apart like tissue paper. In the scuffle he tosses a robot Razorfist through the air, and the man's knife-hands cut into the body of the dead Shadow-Stalker… only to reveal its robotic innards.
Doom lied about him being a human being - and thus the game hasn't ended, after all! Shang-Chi accuses Doom of cheating, and the tyrant just calls him a petulant child - then steps into the ring himself, figuring this can be solved through a direct competition, and starts blasting at the hero with finger-lasers.
Shang-Chi avoids Doom's ranged weapons and takes him one in melee combat, kicking and punching him aside until he forces him backwards into a wall of computers - which explode, taking their creator with them! Doom was a Doombot all along! Feedback from the exploding computers destabilize the Prime Mover as well, who topples over… to reveal that he's not a robot, but the real Reston in disguise! (What the fuck, comic.)
Unfortunately the man's affected by the mind-altering drugs and intent on murdering Shang-Chi, who is hesitant about striking his friend. Reston pushes them over towards a window, and out. Shang-Chi figures they'll just land in the moat… but instead they find themselves somewhere else. They're falling! Falling from an ascending rocket that's leaving London! What? Yes, it seems they never did go to Latveria after all, and instead were inside a rocket shaped like the tower chess piece - a fake castle. They fall into the Thames below, where Shang-Chi knocks out the confused Reston and drags him onto the riverbank. It's over… it's finally over!
We get a bit of an epilogue next, where everyone's finally convinced that there's no more robots around, and everyone is who they say they are. It's still going to take some time, it seems, to figure out which things really happened, which were hallucinations, and who was a robot at which time, but they'll get there. What they do know is that the flying tower really did belong to Doctor Doom, as did the estate that Shang-Chi mistook for Latveria. MI-6 found the remains of the Shockwave robot there, confirming at least part of what happened, though nobody's quite sure about the rest.
Shang-Chi is relieved that the drugs are finally wearing off, but he's shocked when he recognizes a nurse that enters his hospital room - she's identical to the woman from his first apocalyptic vision! She's here to bring a get-well present for him, though there's no card with it. Shang-Chi opens the box, only to reveal a miniature chess-set depicting Shang-Chi's defeat, with Doctor Doom's chessman laughing up at him.
At the same time, in Latveria, Doom and the Prime Mover consider the same chessboard, and Doom proclaims that his use of Reston was the final piece in his gambit which ensured victory. As for the nurse - well, she was yet another robot!
Rating & Comments
It's fitting that Shang-Chi was on drugs for the duration of these two issues, because I feel you need to be on drugs to read this stuff. This two-parter is just concentrated absurdity for the express purpose of being completely weird. The majority of both these issues are taken up by visions and nonsensical interactions, not to mention a ton of random robot cameos. And that's not counting the absurd twists which don't really make a lot of sense. This is… a bizarre comic, and I can't imagine it's normal fare even for Master of Kung Fu. The writer, Doug Moench, really wanted to imitate the weirdness of that S.H.I.E.L.D. storyline from Strange Tales, I'm guessing…
Anyway, Doom's plot in these issues is, essentially, to confuse the hell out of everyone involved, and he succeeds at doing that. I'm still not entirely sure how many layers deep the deception went, but it's at least clear that Doom repeatedly dressed up regular people like robots, disguised robots like regular people, and there's a chance that he made a human-like robot dress up like a robot disguised as a human being, all to confuse the protagonist. It's… a mess. Add to this the application of hallucinatory drugs which mix in elements of unreality, and it's a wonder it's possible to make any sort of half-coherent summary of this storyline at all…
The most interesting elements of the story, I think, are those glimpses of the hallucinatory doomed future - a world literally turned on its side, ravaged by a new ice age, bizarre techno-cults, fake messiahs, and the resurrected Fu Manchu and his dragon. Now, this was all a bunch of weird hallucinations so it doesn't amount to anything, but it's a lot more entertaining in its weird than the dead villain robot shenanigans. Those are just lame. Especially when it turns out all the robots are basically made out of cardboard and will fold at the first sign of trouble...
Could anyone explain how the hell Doom won, in the end? Sure, he explains he forced Shang-Chi to be a murderer, but that turns out to be a lie. Shang-Chi then escapes from the tower and even frees his friend in the process, so how exactly did he lose anything but time? Doom claims that using Reston in the end was key to his victory, but the man literally just sat there disguised as the Prime Mover before getting knocked out by Shang-Chi, so what role did he play? This is really confusing, and I'm guessing that's the point. Coherency was clearly an afterthought.
Two stars for incoherent nonsense, even if it has decent art. Can we please, please, move on to something sensible next? Please?
Best Panel(s) of the Issue
I think iced-over London looks pretty neat - a fair few of the hallucination scenes are pretty striking, honestly, if a bit pointless.
There's also this hallucination with the fake deity, who is pretty menacing when he goes all dark side on everything.
Most Gloriously Villainous Doom Quotes
"Competition. Pride. Boredom. You see, I have not really matched myself against Shang-Chi. No, you have merely served as a surrogate for the man who begat you. My real opponent in this match has always been Doctor Fu Manchu. But through deceit, coincidence, fate - and a warping of your own stringent moral code (which your father could never have fairly anticipated) - Fu Manchu is no longer available. A pity, since I have always wondered how I would fare against him. Thus, I have been forced to settle for the only one who has ever defeated him - his son. You."
Doom-Tech of the Week
I suppose the Hallucinatory Drug counts, as it sends Reston and Shang-Chi into bizarre visions and makes them easy to manipulate. There's also the Tower Rocket which ultimately blasts off back to Latveria, though I guess it could just be a regular rocket with a fancy paint job...
Doombot Count: 6
There's a lot of robots in these two issues, but only a single one pretends to be Doctor Doom. The last time we saw a Doombot was back in Fantastic Four #156, which came out in February of 1975, which was a full three years before this issue. It's really interesting to note that across something like fifteen years of comics, counting sixty-seven major appearances, only six of these bots have ever been shown...
Cover
We've arrived at another two-parter in which one half is almost entirely Doom-less, except for a preview for a follow-up issue. This has become a bit of a theme for Doom, hasn't it? Like similar cases in the past, I'll be covering the contents of #59 before skipping ahead to #60, which contains a lot more of our malevolent monarch. Master of Kung Fu is not really the kind of comic I'd expect to ever feature a character like this, but I can make some educated guesses on how that works from this cover. Chessmaster Doom is on full display there, which reminds me of that S.H.I.E.L.D. storyline which was belatedly revealed to be a Doom plot all along. The well-dressed robot in the back suggests we might be dealing with a similar scenario, so I'm putting my money on 'Doom was bored, and he picked a random superhero to torment just because he could.'
This cover is a bit harder to parse for someone unfamiliar with Shang-Chi's backstory and villain roster, but I'm going to take a wild guess and say the guy with knives for arms is not a good guy. That seems really impractical for day to day life, honestly - how do you pick anything up? Wouldn't you slice yourself open every time you had an itch or something? Anyway, I'm not sure what to think of the lady with the rope either, or the guy with a maces tied into his hair, or the guy with the weird plague doctor mask. I'm guessing this Kung Fu hero's rogues gallery is rather more bizarre than I might've expected!
Doom is doing his usual menacing giant pose, this time over a giant chessboard with people as pawns (Subtle imagery, truly.) I'm not sure if his description as a 'master of macabre villainy' is terribly accurate, though - Doom's villainy has always been pretty straightforward, not really the stuff of horror movies. (Well, maybe Invasion of the Body-snatchers.) I guess he might be turning over a new leaf and trying some new things in this issue? I can only imagine the creepy possibilities of perfectly disguised robot sleeper agents, for example...
Story Overview
My knowledge of Shang-Chi is, shall we say… limited. My knowledge of him in this era of comics? Entirely non-existent. I'm going to muddle through the various references as best I can, but I'm sure I'll run into weird stuff I didn't know - with the first being the prominent inclusion of Fu Manchu in the character's backstory. What? Yes, and I was not actually aware of this, it turns out that the ultra-stereotypical evil criminal mad scientist with the rockin' mustache, famous from various novels and movies, is actually the father of Shang-Chi in this era! It seems he had a comic book incarnation too, which I'd never really considered.
The reason it's not so readily apparent nowadays is, I think, because Marvel got into a copyright snafu over the topic in the early 1980's, and now can't really publish anything which references Fu Manchu directly anymore. Marvel actually has trouble reprinting comics like this because of Fu Manchu's inclusion, which is presumably why I'm working off sub-par scans this time. No digital sources available like with many of the others.
Master of Kung Fu #59 - The Temples of Time
We open the story with our protagonist, Shang-Chi, standing in the middle of an iced-over African savanna - the panels themselves form the shape of the African continent, which is pretty neat. He's wandering around without a care for the cold, seemingly not bothered by the mystery that surrounds him. As he comes across a herd of dying Elephants and Giraffes, he finally realizes something is wrong - isn't it supposed to be warm here? Why isn't he more worried about this? He spots another human being in the icy gale and heads over. The woman in question is pretty morbid, declaring that it's time for everyone to die - the equator has somehow moved, and the Earth is now dying. She proclaims that the 'pyramids' will not work to fix what's going on, and we get a shot of rows of triangular buildings built in the icy wastes.
Descending into one of the pyramids through a portal, Shang-Chi soon witnesses people in tribal clothing work on the futuristic machinery within. The people are attempting to 'recreate the advent' so they can bring back some sort of religious figure who brought bliss and hope in the past, and who apparently knew what this whole apocalypse thing was about. They throw a switch, and on a dais a figure is assembled from particles of light... a man with knives for arms! The dead villain Razorfist has returned, and is immediately worshiped by the tech-priests around him. He turns to one of them and claims he's here to give them his blessing, the sweet dark blessing of death! Shang-Chi cries out in horror...
Only for him to wake up in the present day - or in 1970's Marvel, anyway. Yup, that was all a big fucked up dream sequence. Shang-Chi soon finds that he wandered into traffic in a daze, and he tries to remember what he was doing before that happened. He theorizes that one of his allies, former MI-6 Agent Reston, might have drugged him, but he has no idea what the man's motive might have been. His conviction that it was all a hallucination is rather undercut when Razorfist wrestles himself through the crowd and starts their fight all over again! Huh. What's real and what isn't, exactly…? Shang-Chi knocks out the undead villain, but he has no clue what this all means. In a distant castle, someone declares: 'Your move.' Intrigue!
Shang-Chi's former MI-6 ally Leiko fetches him after the action is over, and takes him to her home to have a bit of a breather. The hero can't grasp how Razorfist is alive again, and seems perpetually shell-shocked by everything that's going on. Leiko treats him for his symptoms, figuring he's coming down with the flu or something, and tells him that rest is what he needs most. Shang-Chi wonders how he could possibly sleep when London is covered in ice? Seamlessly he's returned to his apocalyptic hallucinations, now witnessing the crumbling ruins of the British capital, which rather resemble New York in the movie 'Day After Tomorrow.'
We get some more information on the nature of the apocalypse in this dream world, here. It seems that the entire Earth toppled over sideways! The sudden re-orientation caused the glacial areas of the planet to move, and now huge sections of the world are covered in thick ice while the poles are thawing. The dream abruptly shifts to the North Pole, which melts to reveal a familiar pyramid building beneath the snow. Traveling inside, Shang-Chi and his allies throw the switch that was used to resurrect Razorfist last time.
What appears on the dais now is not a blade-fisted psychopath, but something altogether different. Everyone is instantly blissed out and beyond reason as 'Amar-Tu' appears, a somewhat fiery spirit being who claims that Earth's toppling was a return to its natural state. He says he's returned to bring salvation, to deliver the solution to all misery, pain, suffering, and life. (The solution to life? Uh…) They're all invited into the being's embrace, which they happily accept in their conked out state, after which the joyful aura abruptly turns to senseless despair. In an instant, they've all burned to death… (Knew it!)
Shang-Chi wakes up back in Leiko's home, a scream caught in his throat. He's almost immediately faced with one of his villains again, this time a woman wielding a whip - Pavane. They spar, and he manages to kick her in the face, beheading her and revealing her to be a robotic replica!
In a distant castle, someone declares that the second gambit was nullified, but another claims that they merely misunderstood the first gambit. Hmm. Leiko returns home to inform Shang-Chi that the police learned something startling - the Razorfist he fought earlier was a robot as well! They've barely shared notes on this robot impostor thing when a third attacker crashes into the room, this one lacking even a disguise for its robotic nature. Shang-Chi quickly takes it down, and he and Leiko try to figure out what's going on. One of their foes, Mordillo, used advanced robots sometimes, but he couldn't be responsible since he's dead. The real Pavane might have the connections necessary, but even that's a flimsy scenario. Shang-Chi throws Reston's name into the mix, as the man who likely drugged him on the street and caused him to have all the hallucinations. They're getting nowhere.
Suddenly the defeated third robot speaks up. He flips up his robot mask, and reveals himself to not be a robot. Yes, the one attacker who actually looked like a robot was the only one who was not! Duuuude. Someone's clearly having a laugh.
The man inside the suit is Clive Reston - he was drugged, forced to dose Shang-Chi on that street corner, and later packed inside a fake robot shell to attack his friend. Okay. That's not convoluted nonsense at all. Fortunately Reston knows exactly who got to him, and quickly reveals the identity of their foe. It's the malevolent monarch of a small Eastern-European country… Doctor Doom!
Took a while to get there, but we got there.
The final panel is a complete throwback to the S.H.I.E.L.D. storyline in Strange Tales that I mentioned before, as we observe Doctor Doom and the Prime Mover robot sharing a game of chess with human pieces. I don't think we ever covered that storyline in detail, as it contained only a single panel of Doom. It's covered in the first collection of minor appearances, I believe. Doom claims that his first gambit succeeded after all - but the Prime Mover warns him that their game is not yet concluded.
Master of Kung Fu #60 - End Game
More chess references, huh? Subtle. We open with a splash page of Shang-Chi surrounded by goofy villains, before we turn to the story proper. It seems the Kung Fu hero is on board a plane headed for Latveria, which is piloted by Reston. The drug still hasn't left his system, and he's fading into dreams of frozen hellscapes, and his memories of recent events are fuzzy - he's not quite sure why Leiko didn't come along on this expedition, for example.
Shang-Chi fades into another apocalyptic vision, this time joined by his dead father Fu Manchu, who claims a new springtime has come to China, a time for revivification. They stand on a bluff overlooking a melting ice-field, and Fu Manchu explains that the glaciers have passed on their way to the former equator - the worst is over. China is thawing out again, and spawning new life. Although the scenery below resembles that of Shang-Chi's earlier dreams, there are no pyramids in sight - instead the valley is populated by gigantic eggs, symbols of new life. Fu Manchu explains that China may have fallen, but it is also eternal - they are witnessing the rebirth of old China, now.
Soon one of the eggs cracks open, and out of it crawls a pink reptilian creature. Fu Manchu glorifies China's past as the birthplace of life, and the cradle of art, science, and culture - and all the while the dinosaur keeps growing at incredible speed, soon towering over the humans and developing the frills of an eastern dragon. Fu Manchu then proclaims that like China, he is eternal, he cannot die - and just like China, in a time of rebirth he will gain new sons. New sons who will slay the old… The dragon rears up and blasts fire down on Shang-Chi, who instantly burns to death…
Only to wake up back in the plane, feverish from the drugs. He's woken just in time, as Reston is pitching the plane down to come in for a landing in Latveria. Shang-Chi thinks he has a bit more control over himself - while awake, at least. Reston explains that he should be out of the woods in another few hours, based on his own experiences. For the moment, though, they should focus on breaking into Doom's castle and getting to the bottom of all this. Shang-Chi acknowledges this, but admits he's losing time - he's not sure how they got access to an airplane, for example. Reston waves it off as the benefits of being a former MI-6 agent.
We interrupt this conversation for a spontaneous villain arrival - Shaka Kharn suddenly shows up, the guy with the weird mask from the cover. As another character who should be dead, Shang-Chi figures he's another robot, but that doesn't stop his actual threat level. The robot viciously cuts down Reston where he stands.
Shang-Chi destroys him in retaliation, before rushing over to his fallen friend. Only to realize Reston is also a robot. What? So, was he a robot all along, after all? Was he replaced before he was made out to be a human being disguised as a robot who was poorly disguised as a human being? Tropic Thunder, eat your heart out! How many layers deep does this thing go?
Shang-Chi moves on towards Doom's castle, intent on finding some answers. He discovers that the drawbridge is down, and the door open - and out charges a knight on horseback, intent on skewering him on a spear! Shang-Chi forces the long weapon down into the ground, which unseats the medieval warrior and reveals him to be… the villain Shockwave! But probably just another robot. Still, Shang-Chi is a little more careful here - Shockwave is a living villain, so he might be the real deal. He soon figures that Shockwave is too weak to be the genuine article, however, and destroys this latest robot. He's getting real tired of this.
Walking into Doom's courtyard, the hero is soon surrounded by Doom's minions. Tired and annoyed, he declares that if they attack, he'll assume them lifeless robots and feel no worry about slaying them. The minions, of course, go on the attack - like robots. As he starts to fight back, the drug in his system increases in potency, and he gets flashes from all his previous visions while he makes his way towards the castle, taking out dozens of robots on his way. He makes his way through the doors, only to be faced with yet another one of his old villains. Figures.
This time Shang-Chi is attacked by Shadow-Stalker, the weird guy with the maces in his hair - not the trigger-happy vigilante from Brockton Bay. Shang-Chi has utterly had it at this point, and demands to know where he can find Doctor Doom, since he really doesn't want to fight another robot. When forced into conflict, however, he goes all-out against this latest enemy, descending into a berserk rage until he fatally injures Shadow-Stalker. As he does so, a wall suddenly opens up to reveal Doctor Doom and the Prime Mover behind it, and the former declares he has won, even though Shang-Chi has taken his King… taken his King's life!
Shang-Chi doesn't know what's happening here, and Doom helpfully explains. All that's come before this point was orchestrated by Doom to push Shang-Chi to the breaking point, to confuse him enough that he'd lose all grasp on reality. By convincing him that everything was just an elaborate hoax of robots and illusions, he's made Shang-Chi a murderer! You see, unlike all the rest of the villains he's faced up this point, Shadow-Stalker was the real deal, and he's now dead at the hero's hands!
Horrified, Shang-Chi demands to know what this game was all about, and Doom explains that it was a matter of competition, of pride… of boredom. Of course, he didn't really care to match wits with Shang-Chi, as his intended opponent had always been his father, Fu Manchu. While that man is no longer available, but Doom still really wanted to know how a match between them would have gone, so he was forced to settle for the only person to ever defeat that great villain - his son!
Now that Doom has satisfied his curiosity by coming out the victor, it's time to clean up the board and put away the final pieces. His sense of fair play only extends to the match, so he doesn't mind stacking the odds in his favor - out of the shadows come all the robot villains from before...
The robotic villains attack together, and Shang-Chi is forced to defend himself - but he's pissed off and they're all just robots, so he starts ripping them apart like tissue paper. In the scuffle he tosses a robot Razorfist through the air, and the man's knife-hands cut into the body of the dead Shadow-Stalker… only to reveal its robotic innards.
Doom lied about him being a human being - and thus the game hasn't ended, after all! Shang-Chi accuses Doom of cheating, and the tyrant just calls him a petulant child - then steps into the ring himself, figuring this can be solved through a direct competition, and starts blasting at the hero with finger-lasers.
Shang-Chi avoids Doom's ranged weapons and takes him one in melee combat, kicking and punching him aside until he forces him backwards into a wall of computers - which explode, taking their creator with them! Doom was a Doombot all along! Feedback from the exploding computers destabilize the Prime Mover as well, who topples over… to reveal that he's not a robot, but the real Reston in disguise! (What the fuck, comic.)
Unfortunately the man's affected by the mind-altering drugs and intent on murdering Shang-Chi, who is hesitant about striking his friend. Reston pushes them over towards a window, and out. Shang-Chi figures they'll just land in the moat… but instead they find themselves somewhere else. They're falling! Falling from an ascending rocket that's leaving London! What? Yes, it seems they never did go to Latveria after all, and instead were inside a rocket shaped like the tower chess piece - a fake castle. They fall into the Thames below, where Shang-Chi knocks out the confused Reston and drags him onto the riverbank. It's over… it's finally over!
We get a bit of an epilogue next, where everyone's finally convinced that there's no more robots around, and everyone is who they say they are. It's still going to take some time, it seems, to figure out which things really happened, which were hallucinations, and who was a robot at which time, but they'll get there. What they do know is that the flying tower really did belong to Doctor Doom, as did the estate that Shang-Chi mistook for Latveria. MI-6 found the remains of the Shockwave robot there, confirming at least part of what happened, though nobody's quite sure about the rest.
Shang-Chi is relieved that the drugs are finally wearing off, but he's shocked when he recognizes a nurse that enters his hospital room - she's identical to the woman from his first apocalyptic vision! She's here to bring a get-well present for him, though there's no card with it. Shang-Chi opens the box, only to reveal a miniature chess-set depicting Shang-Chi's defeat, with Doctor Doom's chessman laughing up at him.
At the same time, in Latveria, Doom and the Prime Mover consider the same chessboard, and Doom proclaims that his use of Reston was the final piece in his gambit which ensured victory. As for the nurse - well, she was yet another robot!
Rating & Comments
It's fitting that Shang-Chi was on drugs for the duration of these two issues, because I feel you need to be on drugs to read this stuff. This two-parter is just concentrated absurdity for the express purpose of being completely weird. The majority of both these issues are taken up by visions and nonsensical interactions, not to mention a ton of random robot cameos. And that's not counting the absurd twists which don't really make a lot of sense. This is… a bizarre comic, and I can't imagine it's normal fare even for Master of Kung Fu. The writer, Doug Moench, really wanted to imitate the weirdness of that S.H.I.E.L.D. storyline from Strange Tales, I'm guessing…
Anyway, Doom's plot in these issues is, essentially, to confuse the hell out of everyone involved, and he succeeds at doing that. I'm still not entirely sure how many layers deep the deception went, but it's at least clear that Doom repeatedly dressed up regular people like robots, disguised robots like regular people, and there's a chance that he made a human-like robot dress up like a robot disguised as a human being, all to confuse the protagonist. It's… a mess. Add to this the application of hallucinatory drugs which mix in elements of unreality, and it's a wonder it's possible to make any sort of half-coherent summary of this storyline at all…
The most interesting elements of the story, I think, are those glimpses of the hallucinatory doomed future - a world literally turned on its side, ravaged by a new ice age, bizarre techno-cults, fake messiahs, and the resurrected Fu Manchu and his dragon. Now, this was all a bunch of weird hallucinations so it doesn't amount to anything, but it's a lot more entertaining in its weird than the dead villain robot shenanigans. Those are just lame. Especially when it turns out all the robots are basically made out of cardboard and will fold at the first sign of trouble...
Could anyone explain how the hell Doom won, in the end? Sure, he explains he forced Shang-Chi to be a murderer, but that turns out to be a lie. Shang-Chi then escapes from the tower and even frees his friend in the process, so how exactly did he lose anything but time? Doom claims that using Reston in the end was key to his victory, but the man literally just sat there disguised as the Prime Mover before getting knocked out by Shang-Chi, so what role did he play? This is really confusing, and I'm guessing that's the point. Coherency was clearly an afterthought.
Two stars for incoherent nonsense, even if it has decent art. Can we please, please, move on to something sensible next? Please?
Best Panel(s) of the Issue
I think iced-over London looks pretty neat - a fair few of the hallucination scenes are pretty striking, honestly, if a bit pointless.
There's also this hallucination with the fake deity, who is pretty menacing when he goes all dark side on everything.
Most Gloriously Villainous Doom Quotes
"Competition. Pride. Boredom. You see, I have not really matched myself against Shang-Chi. No, you have merely served as a surrogate for the man who begat you. My real opponent in this match has always been Doctor Fu Manchu. But through deceit, coincidence, fate - and a warping of your own stringent moral code (which your father could never have fairly anticipated) - Fu Manchu is no longer available. A pity, since I have always wondered how I would fare against him. Thus, I have been forced to settle for the only one who has ever defeated him - his son. You."
Doom-Tech of the Week
I suppose the Hallucinatory Drug counts, as it sends Reston and Shang-Chi into bizarre visions and makes them easy to manipulate. There's also the Tower Rocket which ultimately blasts off back to Latveria, though I guess it could just be a regular rocket with a fancy paint job...
Doombot Count: 6
There's a lot of robots in these two issues, but only a single one pretends to be Doctor Doom. The last time we saw a Doombot was back in Fantastic Four #156, which came out in February of 1975, which was a full three years before this issue. It's really interesting to note that across something like fifteen years of comics, counting sixty-seven major appearances, only six of these bots have ever been shown...
Doom's win condition is 'successfully totally mess with Shang-Chi, and having something interesting to do with my time'. By that standard, he won, got to watch everyone being horribly confused by the deceptions and hallucinations, and the lingering unreality, and showing how easily he can imitate his villains, mess with his friends and all is probably pretty harrrowing. I do think it is a bit weird about the 'guarenteed my victory' bit.067: Master of Kung Fu #59-60 (December 1977 - January 1978)
Cover
We've arrived at another two-parter in which one half is almost entirely Doom-less, except for a preview for a follow-up issue. This has become a bit of a theme for Doom, hasn't it? Like similar cases in the past, I'll be covering the contents of #59 before skipping ahead to #60, which contains a lot more of our malevolent monarch. Master of Kung Fu is not really the kind of comic I'd expect to ever feature a character like this, but I can make some educated guesses on how that works from this cover. Chessmaster Doom is on full display there, which reminds me of that S.H.I.E.L.D. storyline which was belatedly revealed to be a Doom plot all along. The well-dressed robot in the back suggests we might be dealing with a similar scenario, so I'm putting my money on 'Doom was bored, and he picked a random superhero to torment just because he could.'
This cover is a bit harder to parse for someone unfamiliar with Shang-Chi's backstory and villain roster, but I'm going to take a wild guess and say the guy with knives for arms is not a good guy. That seems really impractical for day to day life, honestly - how do you pick anything up? Wouldn't you slice yourself open every time you had an itch or something? Anyway, I'm not sure what to think of the lady with the rope either, or the guy with a maces tied into his hair, or the guy with the weird plague doctor mask. I'm guessing this Kung Fu hero's rogues gallery is rather more bizarre than I might've expected!
Doom is doing his usual menacing giant pose, this time over a giant chessboard with people as pawns (Subtle imagery, truly.) I'm not sure if his description as a 'master of macabre villainy' is terribly accurate, though - Doom's villainy has always been pretty straightforward, not really the stuff of horror movies. (Well, maybe Invasion of the Body-snatchers.) I guess he might be turning over a new leaf and trying some new things in this issue? I can only imagine the creepy possibilities of perfectly disguised robot sleeper agents, for example...
Story Overview
My knowledge of Shang-Chi is, shall we say… limited. My knowledge of him in this era of comics? Entirely non-existent. I'm going to muddle through the various references as best I can, but I'm sure I'll run into weird stuff I didn't know - with the first being the prominent inclusion of Fu Manchu in the character's backstory. What? Yes, and I was not actually aware of this, it turns out that the ultra-stereotypical evil criminal mad scientist with the rockin' mustache, famous from various novels and movies, is actually the father of Shang-Chi in this era! It seems he had a comic book incarnation too, which I'd never really considered.
The reason it's not so readily apparent nowadays is, I think, because Marvel got into a copyright snafu over the topic in the early 1980's, and now can't really publish anything which references Fu Manchu directly anymore. Marvel actually has trouble reprinting comics like this because of Fu Manchu's inclusion, which is presumably why I'm working off sub-par scans this time. No digital sources available like with many of the others.
Master of Kung Fu #59 - The Temples of Time
We open the story with our protagonist, Shang-Chi, standing in the middle of an iced-over African savanna - the panels themselves form the shape of the African continent, which is pretty neat. He's wandering around without a care for the cold, seemingly not bothered by the mystery that surrounds him. As he comes across a herd of dying Elephants and Giraffes, he finally realizes something is wrong - isn't it supposed to be warm here? Why isn't he more worried about this? He spots another human being in the icy gale and heads over. The woman in question is pretty morbid, declaring that it's time for everyone to die - the equator has somehow moved, and the Earth is now dying. She proclaims that the 'pyramids' will not work to fix what's going on, and we get a shot of rows of triangular buildings built in the icy wastes.
Descending into one of the pyramids through a portal, Shang-Chi soon witnesses people in tribal clothing work on the futuristic machinery within. The people are attempting to 'recreate the advent' so they can bring back some sort of religious figure who brought bliss and hope in the past, and who apparently knew what this whole apocalypse thing was about. They throw a switch, and on a dais a figure is assembled from particles of light... a man with knives for arms! The dead villain Razorfist has returned, and is immediately worshiped by the tech-priests around him. He turns to one of them and claims he's here to give them his blessing, the sweet dark blessing of death! Shang-Chi cries out in horror...
Only for him to wake up in the present day - or in 1970's Marvel, anyway. Yup, that was all a big fucked up dream sequence. Shang-Chi soon finds that he wandered into traffic in a daze, and he tries to remember what he was doing before that happened. He theorizes that one of his allies, former MI-6 Agent Reston, might have drugged him, but he has no idea what the man's motive might have been. His conviction that it was all a hallucination is rather undercut when Razorfist wrestles himself through the crowd and starts their fight all over again! Huh. What's real and what isn't, exactly…? Shang-Chi knocks out the undead villain, but he has no clue what this all means. In a distant castle, someone declares: 'Your move.' Intrigue!
Shang-Chi's former MI-6 ally Leiko fetches him after the action is over, and takes him to her home to have a bit of a breather. The hero can't grasp how Razorfist is alive again, and seems perpetually shell-shocked by everything that's going on. Leiko treats him for his symptoms, figuring he's coming down with the flu or something, and tells him that rest is what he needs most. Shang-Chi wonders how he could possibly sleep when London is covered in ice? Seamlessly he's returned to his apocalyptic hallucinations, now witnessing the crumbling ruins of the British capital, which rather resemble New York in the movie 'Day After Tomorrow.'
We get some more information on the nature of the apocalypse in this dream world, here. It seems that the entire Earth toppled over sideways! The sudden re-orientation caused the glacial areas of the planet to move, and now huge sections of the world are covered in thick ice while the poles are thawing. The dream abruptly shifts to the North Pole, which melts to reveal a familiar pyramid building beneath the snow. Traveling inside, Shang-Chi and his allies throw the switch that was used to resurrect Razorfist last time.
What appears on the dais now is not a blade-fisted psychopath, but something altogether different. Everyone is instantly blissed out and beyond reason as 'Amar-Tu' appears, a somewhat fiery spirit being who claims that Earth's toppling was a return to its natural state. He says he's returned to bring salvation, to deliver the solution to all misery, pain, suffering, and life. (The solution to life? Uh…) They're all invited into the being's embrace, which they happily accept in their conked out state, after which the joyful aura abruptly turns to senseless despair. In an instant, they've all burned to death… (Knew it!)
Shang-Chi wakes up back in Leiko's home, a scream caught in his throat. He's almost immediately faced with one of his villains again, this time a woman wielding a whip - Pavane. They spar, and he manages to kick her in the face, beheading her and revealing her to be a robotic replica!
In a distant castle, someone declares that the second gambit was nullified, but another claims that they merely misunderstood the first gambit. Hmm. Leiko returns home to inform Shang-Chi that the police learned something startling - the Razorfist he fought earlier was a robot as well! They've barely shared notes on this robot impostor thing when a third attacker crashes into the room, this one lacking even a disguise for its robotic nature. Shang-Chi quickly takes it down, and he and Leiko try to figure out what's going on. One of their foes, Mordillo, used advanced robots sometimes, but he couldn't be responsible since he's dead. The real Pavane might have the connections necessary, but even that's a flimsy scenario. Shang-Chi throws Reston's name into the mix, as the man who likely drugged him on the street and caused him to have all the hallucinations. They're getting nowhere.
Suddenly the defeated third robot speaks up. He flips up his robot mask, and reveals himself to not be a robot. Yes, the one attacker who actually looked like a robot was the only one who was not! Duuuude. Someone's clearly having a laugh.
The man inside the suit is Clive Reston - he was drugged, forced to dose Shang-Chi on that street corner, and later packed inside a fake robot shell to attack his friend. Okay. That's not convoluted nonsense at all. Fortunately Reston knows exactly who got to him, and quickly reveals the identity of their foe. It's the malevolent monarch of a small Eastern-European country… Doctor Doom!
Took a while to get there, but we got there.
The final panel is a complete throwback to the S.H.I.E.L.D. storyline in Strange Tales that I mentioned before, as we observe Doctor Doom and the Prime Mover robot sharing a game of chess with human pieces. I don't think we ever covered that storyline in detail, as it contained only a single panel of Doom. It's covered in the first collection of minor appearances, I believe. Doom claims that his first gambit succeeded after all - but the Prime Mover warns him that their game is not yet concluded.
Master of Kung Fu #60 - End Game
More chess references, huh? Subtle. We open with a splash page of Shang-Chi surrounded by goofy villains, before we turn to the story proper. It seems the Kung Fu hero is on board a plane headed for Latveria, which is piloted by Reston. The drug still hasn't left his system, and he's fading into dreams of frozen hellscapes, and his memories of recent events are fuzzy - he's not quite sure why Leiko didn't come along on this expedition, for example.
Shang-Chi fades into another apocalyptic vision, this time joined by his dead father Fu Manchu, who claims a new springtime has come to China, a time for revivification. They stand on a bluff overlooking a melting ice-field, and Fu Manchu explains that the glaciers have passed on their way to the former equator - the worst is over. China is thawing out again, and spawning new life. Although the scenery below resembles that of Shang-Chi's earlier dreams, there are no pyramids in sight - instead the valley is populated by gigantic eggs, symbols of new life. Fu Manchu explains that China may have fallen, but it is also eternal - they are witnessing the rebirth of old China, now.
Soon one of the eggs cracks open, and out of it crawls a pink reptilian creature. Fu Manchu glorifies China's past as the birthplace of life, and the cradle of art, science, and culture - and all the while the dinosaur keeps growing at incredible speed, soon towering over the humans and developing the frills of an eastern dragon. Fu Manchu then proclaims that like China, he is eternal, he cannot die - and just like China, in a time of rebirth he will gain new sons. New sons who will slay the old… The dragon rears up and blasts fire down on Shang-Chi, who instantly burns to death…
Only to wake up back in the plane, feverish from the drugs. He's woken just in time, as Reston is pitching the plane down to come in for a landing in Latveria. Shang-Chi thinks he has a bit more control over himself - while awake, at least. Reston explains that he should be out of the woods in another few hours, based on his own experiences. For the moment, though, they should focus on breaking into Doom's castle and getting to the bottom of all this. Shang-Chi acknowledges this, but admits he's losing time - he's not sure how they got access to an airplane, for example. Reston waves it off as the benefits of being a former MI-6 agent.
We interrupt this conversation for a spontaneous villain arrival - Shaka Kharn suddenly shows up, the guy with the weird mask from the cover. As another character who should be dead, Shang-Chi figures he's another robot, but that doesn't stop his actual threat level. The robot viciously cuts down Reston where he stands.
Shang-Chi destroys him in retaliation, before rushing over to his fallen friend. Only to realize Reston is also a robot. What? So, was he a robot all along, after all? Was he replaced before he was made out to be a human being disguised as a robot who was poorly disguised as a human being? Tropic Thunder, eat your heart out! How many layers deep does this thing go?
Shang-Chi moves on towards Doom's castle, intent on finding some answers. He discovers that the drawbridge is down, and the door open - and out charges a knight on horseback, intent on skewering him on a spear! Shang-Chi forces the long weapon down into the ground, which unseats the medieval warrior and reveals him to be… the villain Shockwave! But probably just another robot. Still, Shang-Chi is a little more careful here - Shockwave is a living villain, so he might be the real deal. He soon figures that Shockwave is too weak to be the genuine article, however, and destroys this latest robot. He's getting real tired of this.
Walking into Doom's courtyard, the hero is soon surrounded by Doom's minions. Tired and annoyed, he declares that if they attack, he'll assume them lifeless robots and feel no worry about slaying them. The minions, of course, go on the attack - like robots. As he starts to fight back, the drug in his system increases in potency, and he gets flashes from all his previous visions while he makes his way towards the castle, taking out dozens of robots on his way. He makes his way through the doors, only to be faced with yet another one of his old villains. Figures.
This time Shang-Chi is attacked by Shadow-Stalker, the weird guy with the maces in his hair - not the trigger-happy vigilante from Brockton Bay. Shang-Chi has utterly had it at this point, and demands to know where he can find Doctor Doom, since he really doesn't want to fight another robot. When forced into conflict, however, he goes all-out against this latest enemy, descending into a berserk rage until he fatally injures Shadow-Stalker. As he does so, a wall suddenly opens up to reveal Doctor Doom and the Prime Mover behind it, and the former declares he has won, even though Shang-Chi has taken his King… taken his King's life!
Shang-Chi doesn't know what's happening here, and Doom helpfully explains. All that's come before this point was orchestrated by Doom to push Shang-Chi to the breaking point, to confuse him enough that he'd lose all grasp on reality. By convincing him that everything was just an elaborate hoax of robots and illusions, he's made Shang-Chi a murderer! You see, unlike all the rest of the villains he's faced up this point, Shadow-Stalker was the real deal, and he's now dead at the hero's hands!
Horrified, Shang-Chi demands to know what this game was all about, and Doom explains that it was a matter of competition, of pride… of boredom. Of course, he didn't really care to match wits with Shang-Chi, as his intended opponent had always been his father, Fu Manchu. While that man is no longer available, but Doom still really wanted to know how a match between them would have gone, so he was forced to settle for the only person to ever defeat that great villain - his son!
Now that Doom has satisfied his curiosity by coming out the victor, it's time to clean up the board and put away the final pieces. His sense of fair play only extends to the match, so he doesn't mind stacking the odds in his favor - out of the shadows come all the robot villains from before...
The robotic villains attack together, and Shang-Chi is forced to defend himself - but he's pissed off and they're all just robots, so he starts ripping them apart like tissue paper. In the scuffle he tosses a robot Razorfist through the air, and the man's knife-hands cut into the body of the dead Shadow-Stalker… only to reveal its robotic innards.
Doom lied about him being a human being - and thus the game hasn't ended, after all! Shang-Chi accuses Doom of cheating, and the tyrant just calls him a petulant child - then steps into the ring himself, figuring this can be solved through a direct competition, and starts blasting at the hero with finger-lasers.
Shang-Chi avoids Doom's ranged weapons and takes him one in melee combat, kicking and punching him aside until he forces him backwards into a wall of computers - which explode, taking their creator with them! Doom was a Doombot all along! Feedback from the exploding computers destabilize the Prime Mover as well, who topples over… to reveal that he's not a robot, but the real Reston in disguise! (What the fuck, comic.)
Unfortunately the man's affected by the mind-altering drugs and intent on murdering Shang-Chi, who is hesitant about striking his friend. Reston pushes them over towards a window, and out. Shang-Chi figures they'll just land in the moat… but instead they find themselves somewhere else. They're falling! Falling from an ascending rocket that's leaving London! What? Yes, it seems they never did go to Latveria after all, and instead were inside a rocket shaped like the tower chess piece - a fake castle. They fall into the Thames below, where Shang-Chi knocks out the confused Reston and drags him onto the riverbank. It's over… it's finally over!
We get a bit of an epilogue next, where everyone's finally convinced that there's no more robots around, and everyone is who they say they are. It's still going to take some time, it seems, to figure out which things really happened, which were hallucinations, and who was a robot at which time, but they'll get there. What they do know is that the flying tower really did belong to Doctor Doom, as did the estate that Shang-Chi mistook for Latveria. MI-6 found the remains of the Shockwave robot there, confirming at least part of what happened, though nobody's quite sure about the rest.
Shang-Chi is relieved that the drugs are finally wearing off, but he's shocked when he recognizes a nurse that enters his hospital room - she's identical to the woman from his first apocalyptic vision! She's here to bring a get-well present for him, though there's no card with it. Shang-Chi opens the box, only to reveal a miniature chess-set depicting Shang-Chi's defeat, with Doctor Doom's chessman laughing up at him.
At the same time, in Latveria, Doom and the Prime Mover consider the same chessboard, and Doom proclaims that his use of Reston was the final piece in his gambit which ensured victory. As for the nurse - well, she was yet another robot!
Rating & Comments
It's fitting that Shang-Chi was on drugs for the duration of these two issues, because I feel you need to be on drugs to read this stuff. This two-parter is just concentrated absurdity for the express purpose of being completely weird. The majority of both these issues are taken up by visions and nonsensical interactions, not to mention a ton of random robot cameos. And that's not counting the absurd twists which don't really make a lot of sense. This is… a bizarre comic, and I can't imagine it's normal fare even for Master of Kung Fu. The writer, Doug Moench, really wanted to imitate the weirdness of that S.H.I.E.L.D. storyline from Strange Tales, I'm guessing…
Anyway, Doom's plot in these issues is, essentially, to confuse the hell out of everyone involved, and he succeeds at doing that. I'm still not entirely sure how many layers deep the deception went, but it's at least clear that Doom repeatedly dressed up regular people like robots, disguised robots like regular people, and there's a chance that he made a human-like robot dress up like a robot disguised as a human being, all to confuse the protagonist. It's… a mess. Add to this the application of hallucinatory drugs which mix in elements of unreality, and it's a wonder it's possible to make any sort of half-coherent summary of this storyline at all…
The most interesting elements of the story, I think, are those glimpses of the hallucinatory doomed future - a world literally turned on its side, ravaged by a new ice age, bizarre techno-cults, fake messiahs, and the resurrected Fu Manchu and his dragon. Now, this was all a bunch of weird hallucinations so it doesn't amount to anything, but it's a lot more entertaining in its weird than the dead villain robot shenanigans. Those are just lame. Especially when it turns out all the robots are basically made out of cardboard and will fold at the first sign of trouble...
Could anyone explain how the hell Doom won, in the end? Sure, he explains he forced Shang-Chi to be a murderer, but that turns out to be a lie. Shang-Chi then escapes from the tower and even frees his friend in the process, so how exactly did he lose anything but time? Doom claims that using Reston in the end was key to his victory, but the man literally just sat there disguised as the Prime Mover before getting knocked out by Shang-Chi, so what role did he play? This is really confusing, and I'm guessing that's the point. Coherency was clearly an afterthought.
Two stars for incoherent nonsense, even if it has decent art. Can we please, please, move on to something sensible next? Please?
Best Panel(s) of the Issue
I think iced-over London looks pretty neat - a fair few of the hallucination scenes are pretty striking, honestly, if a bit pointless.
There's also this hallucination with the fake deity, who is pretty menacing when he goes all dark side on everything.
Most Gloriously Villainous Doom Quotes
"Competition. Pride. Boredom. You see, I have not really matched myself against Shang-Chi. No, you have merely served as a surrogate for the man who begat you. My real opponent in this match has always been Doctor Fu Manchu. But through deceit, coincidence, fate - and a warping of your own stringent moral code (which your father could never have fairly anticipated) - Fu Manchu is no longer available. A pity, since I have always wondered how I would fare against him. Thus, I have been forced to settle for the only one who has ever defeated him - his son. You."
Doom-Tech of the Week
I suppose the Hallucinatory Drug counts, as it sends Reston and Shang-Chi into bizarre visions and makes them easy to manipulate. There's also the Tower Rocket which ultimately blasts off back to Latveria, though I guess it could just be a regular rocket with a fancy paint job...
Doombot Count: 6
There's a lot of robots in these two issues, but only a single one pretends to be Doctor Doom. The last time we saw a Doombot was back in Fantastic Four #156, which came out in February of 1975, which was a full three years before this issue. It's really interesting to note that across something like fifteen years of comics, counting sixty-seven major appearances, only six of these bots have ever been shown...
Also, I kind of felt like Shang-chi got to be really badass in the issue...
- Location
- Netherlands
Yeah, I suppose this is what we'll have to go with. It's odd that I usually kind of like weird fiction, but there's usually a method in the madness, and I can't really find too much of that here. Ah well...
It's a bit unfortunate that the comic pretty explicitly confirms that the robots are pushovers that are much weaker than the people they depict, otherwise Shang-Chi beheading people with a kick is all kinds of badass, not to mention taking on half a dozen of his villains at the same time and using their powers against each other to eke out a win. It is fun how Shang-Chi starts giving fewer and fewer shits as the robots start to pile up, and he's basically a one-man wrecking machine towards the end, just mowing through enemies...
- Location
- East Coast
It was the 70s. Starlin had been receiving rolled joints in his Captain Marvel fan mail, and Master of Kung-Fu was deeply into that section of the Marvel Universe.
068: Fantastic Four v1 #192-196 - Who in the World is the Invincible Man?
- Location
- Netherlands
068: Fantastic Four #192-196 (March-July 1978)
Cover
Today's coverage is a bit unusual, in that technically I'm covering something like five issues at once - but only relatively minor snippets from the first four of them. This is because we're dealing with the build-up to a story arc here, which is spread across multiple issues in little preview scenes. None of the covers contain Doctor Doom, mostly because the man doesn't actually show up much - he's the secret hand in the shadows manipulating events here, and most of his work is done through several associates instead of his personal involvement. With #196 serving as a de facto prologue for the next arc, it seems only proper to cover all the prologue material in one go.
In terms of #196's cover, I can't say I'm a fan. Multi-paneled story-telling covers like this aren't very interesting, and I figure if you need to explain things like these, maybe save it for the inside of the comic book. Also, I really don't think the Invincible Man is an interesting character, and his costume is… less than impressive, to say the least. You can do better, comic book writers and artists!
Story Overview
We start things off with a bunch of prequel material, as I said. The fact that this stuff exists kind of signals that the next arc is going to be a significant one, doesn't it? We should establish, firstly, the status quo. At this time the Fantastic Four have separated - Reed Richards lost his stretchy powers around Fantastic Four #178, and disbanded the team in Fantastic Four #188, and everyone went their separate ways. After this the comic floundered for a while, and what followed were a bunch of really bad stories about the individual members of the team (including a few of the issues I'm covering here.) There were even some reprinted stories to fill in the gaps, which surely pleased nobody. Anyway, we've had previous Doom stories which happened during times when the Fantastic Four were at odds and when they lacked powers, so this feels a bit familiar!
Fantastic Four #192
The first hint of the coming storyline shows up in Fantastic Four #192, during a story involving Johnny Storm becoming a stunt driver and fighting a Texan who can turn into a whirlwind (or something.) I did tell you these were bad comics. We get a one-page cutaway to Reed Richards and his wife Sue, who are currently staying in a hotel. Since Reed can no longer be a superhero without his powers, he's looking through the newspaper for a new job that might catch his interest, and isn't having much luck. The problem is that he's wildly overqualified for everything that's offered in there, and he'd surely quit out of boredom within the week!
Much to the surprise of the two former superheroes, there's a knock on the hotel door - but nobody even knows they're there! Reed hesitantly opens the door, and a man who introduces himself as Arthur Thornhill claims he's there on behalf of his employer, the Cynthian Associates corporation, which has gone through some effort to find Reed. The corporation is interested in employing his services, you see, and are offering a starting salary of $20,000 a week! We don't get to see Reed's response in this issue...
Fantastic Four #193-194
This two-parter's main plot concerns Darkoth the Death-Demon and Diablo, two characters who have their own particular history with Doctor Doom, a fact which actually comes up in dialogue a few times. Although Diablo's plot in these issues does have the ultimate goal of killing Doctor Doom in revenge for getting abandoned in a dead future, his target never shows up in the two-parter, and the Thing and a variety of Fantastic Four supporting cast members defuse the threat before it can get anywhere.
In Fantastic Four #193, there's another one-page cutaway to Reed Richards. It reveals that he has accepted the offered position at Cynthian Associates, and is now working on research in a fancy mansion in upstate New York. He's figured out that the corporation he's joined does work for the government, which explains why they can hand out fat paychecks, but he's not sure why everything he's doing feels like the continuation of someone else's work. It's like he's just providing a fresh viewpoint on another man's ideas, rather than coming up with his own. He laments that he couldn't get a hold of Tony Stark to do a background check on this new job, but the man was busy (fighting villains on the Moon, to be specific.) He's mildly paranoid about all the security cameras, but he figures that's just part of the deal...
We switch over to another view of the same scene, where a man engulfed in shadows is watching Reed on the security footage. Unlike what you might expect, however, the shadowed figure is not a metal-clad tyrant in a green cloak, but a man in a regular suit! The mysterious figure claims that mentions of government work have dampened Reed's suspicions somewhat, since he is a bit of a simple-minded patriot. This is not inaccurate, given what happened with Henry Kissinger only a few issues ago. Besides, Reed never did ask which government would benefit from his work. In the end, the man proclaims, there will be only a single nation - his own! (Okay, he might not be wearing the green cloak, but he's got the voice down!)
In Fantastic Four #194, we get another quick cutaway to Sue Richards, who is trying to call Reed but can't seem to get a connection. Suddenly a man speaks up from off-panel, and claims that the reason she can't get through is that he controls the switchboard! Sue is shocked by whoever the suited man is, exclaiming 'Not you!' We never do figure out what that's about...
Fantastic Four #195
In this issue, the main story revolves around Sue interacting with Namor the Sub-Mariner at a film studio he apparently owns - a throwback to a very early Fantastic Four story. She tries to call Reed again, without much in the way of success, and gets on with her main plot soon enough.
Reed, meanwhile, is still at the Cynthian Associates research facility, and is also trying to call Sue. He wonders why he has not heard from her, but when he receives no answer, he hangs up and returns to his laboratory. One of his co-workers on the 'mystery project,' a Doctor Kaminski, says that he's delighted to be working with 'one of America's most brilliant scientists.' It seems none of the scientists knows the nature of the project, however, because each of them only works on one section of it, and other scientists elsewhere are said to be working on different parts. It's a matter of national security, you see...
Reed declares that some of the micro-circuitry that he has seen has only a limited number of functions, so he has been able to deduce what the project might be - and he doesn't like it! Elsewhere, the project administrator in the nice suit watches Reed on a monitor, and is impressed with his deductive faculties. One of his underlings suggests that Reed is becoming too suspicious, but the man replies that Reed's scientific curiosity is just what they need to perfect the device that will hand him control over Planet Earth!
Fantastic Four #196 - Who in the World is the Invincible Man?
The story opens with a tortured Reed Richards having a nightmare. We see an image of Reed attacking the Fantastic Four with his old stretching powers, including another version of himself. The nightmarish Reed hates the team because they still have their powers, while he lost his own - he can't take the humiliation, so he'll destroy the lot of them!
It's soon revealed that the nightmare isn't natural - Reed has been strapped into a strange device, a hypno-persuader, designed to reprogram his mind. This sounds familiar... From a nearby observation booth, the man in the suit from previous issues commands his servant to increase the voltage on the device. Richards' will must be shattered, he decides, the hero must be under his control! His servant, Hauptmann - that sounds really familiar - is hesitant to increase the dose, since it might just kill Reed outright. 'Do as I demand, dolt!' the shadowed figure commands. 'Or I shall be forced to remove you, as I removed your late and precious brother.' Heeeey, wait a minute! The man explains that he needs Hauptmann for his scientific expertise, and that's why he survives.
He doesn't need loyalty, he declares, but fear, which will keep his servants in line much more easily. He then asks if the required components have been removed from 'Psycho-Man's uniform' to enact their plan, 'Operation Coronation'...
Over in Hollywood, we see what Sue is up to. It seems she's had a long day of movie-making behind her, and she's heading to her hotel suite for a hot bath, her son on her arm. As she enters her room, however, she's surprised to find Ben and Johnny there, who have come to visit her at work. While Ben reconnects with little Franklin, Johnny notices that something's troubling his sister, and asks what's going on. Sue explains that it's been days since she's heard from Reed, and she can't reach him on the telephone - she's worried about him, but she figures heading over there to check on him would make her seem jealous, or foolish. Ben figures he can get through to Reed on the phone, but he needs a little help with the dialing…
Outside Sue's hotel, a figure flies through the air, dressed in garish pink, green, and yellow. He waits around while Sue and the others reminisce inside, and eventually leave the room entirely.
The three leave Franklin behind with babysitter Agatha, then head out to get some dinner. We come back to the three as they are discussing the prospects of reforming the Fantastic Four, as each of them has their misgivings about their current lifestyle. (Given the quality of their most recent stories, I'm not surprised.) They're all on board, but they're not sure how they're going to convince Reed to sign back up - you can't really have a Fantastic Four with just three people, after all!
The three wander down the Hollywood Walk of Fame, checking out some of the stars in the road and making corny 1970's references. Ben even accosts actor John Wayne for an autograph, claiming it for his 'nephew' Ben. He's warned off by a cop, who believes him to be a would-be contestant in 'Let's Make a Deal', which is filming around the corner. Indeed, dozens of people are dressed up as all sorts of things there, including soup cans, teapots, and copies of the TV Guide. Overhead, the green figure is still gliding along, keeping track of the threesome as they head down Vine Street.
They finally end up at a restaurant, where they are immediately seated. Sue marvels at the fact that they were recognized even out of costume (despite the fact that the Thing is not subtle) and the server proclaims that it's his job to recognize celebrities - before addressing them as 'Ms. Dickinson', 'Mr. Hamill', and 'Whatever.' Indeed, the man manages to call them by three other, wrong names before they even receive their food! The amusement is interrupted, however, when Sue suddenly has a strange vision in the middle of dinner - an image of her dead father's face!
Johnny tries to calm Sue down, reminding her that their father has passed away - which is when Ben's soup suddenly starts talking to him. The surface clears to reveal his girlfriend Alicia's face! She proclaims that she can finally see Ben for what he really is. He jumps up, wrecking the table in the process, and Johnny wonders if everyone around him is going crazy. Alicia appears in a flash of light and starts calling Ben a hideous monster nobody could love. Ben begs her to take those words back - she's the only one who ever accepted him for who he is, rocky skin and all, and he can't bear the thought of losing that. In response, Alicia winds back a fist and punches Ben across the room, in a feat of strength that even the Hulk would be hard pressed to match!
Johnny ignites his powers, declaring that this proves she can't be Alicia at all! Yeah, no kidding. The figure lets his disguise fade, revealing the same garish floating figure from before, who now declares that he will murder the Fantastic Four! Johnny isn't impressed by the reveal, noting that the costume the new villain is wearing is the Invincible Man's - something the Super-Skrull once wore when impersonating his and Sue's father. It's clearly just meant to psyche them out. He uses his fire against the Invincible Man, but the power is deflected. Sue quickly gets in the way with her forcefields, and tells the others to get behind her. The villain then uses an eye-beam which cuts right through Sue's protection, hitting them all in the head…
Sue suddenly sees her son Franklin in distress, and is filled with horrified fear. Johnny starts doubting himself, suddenly not sure if he can use his powers at all if there's a risk the Invincible Man might reflect them back. Ben is filled with hatred, and starts smashing everything in sight. Each of them are subjected to intense emotion, which allows the Invincible Man to knock them all unconscious, and float them out of the restaurant. The rest of the guests, it seems, are completely oblivious that a fight even happened, or that three people are now missing.
The Invincible Man floats the three unconscious heroes into an airplane, which then blasts across the entire North-American continent in minutes, depositing them at a mansion in upstate New York. There they're each imprisoned in individual force-fields that nullify their powers. This all seems… rather familiar, doesn't it? Indeed, as the three heroes wake up, they do so in a secret laboratory guarded by strangely Servo-Guard looking robots, and they're met by the suited man, now revealed in full - and he has a rather familiar face - the face of Victor von Doom! He turns to the Invincible Man and removes the villain's mask - only to reveal Reed Richards beneath, still under the influence of the Hypno-Persuader!
The man soon releases Reed from his hypnosis, who immediately demands to know what was done to him. 'Nothing yet,' is the response, 'but I shall…' He gets a bunch of plans shoved into his arms, and is threatened into cooperation. If Reed doesn't help construct this secret project, he will do terrible things to Reed's friends!
Ben tell Reed not to agree to anything, and manages to break free from his imprisonment - only to get shocked into submission through an electronic shackle on his wrist. The Four are then locked up together in an underground dungeon, and immediately start planning their escape. Sue embraces her husband, relieved to know the truth behind his lack of communication, while Ben complains about the shackle that's keeping him from unleashing his power on everything. Ben wonders who their captor is, and Reed says he doesn't know - but he swears he's seen the man before, sometime in the distant past. Johnny tries to escape from his shackle, but activating his powers just sends him to the floor in pain. Reed attempts to think of a way out of their predicament, but nothing comes to mind…
Elsewhere, we get a glimpse of the Doom-ish man in the suit, who acknowledges that Richards' intelligence is staggering. An off-screen figure agrees, but this time he's left absolutely nothing up to chance - his plans cannot fail! That off-screen figure is wearing a metal gauntlet, and is holding a goblet marked with the letter 'D'! Three guesses who that is...
The next day, the suited man and Reed are heading down a corridor, and the former declares that it's good to see Richards has agreed to work with him. Reed notes that he didn't have much choice, and inquires after the man's name - he merely gets told that it's none of his business. They then walk into the 'Inner Complex', which is a mildly psychedelic mirror room that's apparently solar-powered and capable of energizing the entirety of the United States - forever. You need protective goggles to even enter that room, since the intense reflections would drive a man mad. It seems the man in the suit just wanted to show off, since they soon leave again, even as the stranger explains that he has much to discuss with Reed - including a method to return his stretching powers to him!
Back with the other members of the Fantastic Four, Sue figures out how to use her force-fields to break her shackle, then soon does the same for the others. Flexing her powers some more, she then uses them to form a force-field key for the door. They crash through into the hallway next door, which is filled with Servo-Guards, who are suddenly faced with three full-powered superheroes. Suffice to say the subsequent free-for-all is rather one-sided, and the guards get flattened. Ben collapses part of the building on top of a dozen more guards that are rushing in, which allows them to escape.
Rushing along the corridors, Ben proposes he enter the doors first in case something nasty is waiting for them. As they do this, however, they're suddenly faced with a surprise enemy - an enemy who immediately blasts them unconscious with sleep gas! The entire escape was a set-up, it seems, in order to show how truly powerless the three actually are in the grasp of… Doctor Doom!
To be continued...
Rating & Comments
I'm not exactly sure what I expected here, in the first Fantastic Four storyline in several publication years, but it was definitely more than what we actually got. The various prequel snippets don't really amount to much, since they're all basically explained in #196, excluding one scene with Sue which goes without explanation entirely. (I'm guessing it was supposed to be Namor that found her, but the sequel issue doesn't really make that clear.) That leaves the main issue of this recap, which manages to be quite boring and incredibly predictable… and rather dumb besides, especially when it comes to Reed Richards.
Look, the 'foreshadowing' in these issues was about as subtle as a lemon-wrapped golden brick to the face, and it gets really ridiculous towards the end. Everyone and their mother should realize that Doctor Doom is involved from these hints, and also that the man in the suit is somehow another Doctor Doom. This became rather clear from the moment the foe in the shadows started using words like 'jackanape' and 'dolt', and laying claim to his own country. Those are rather diagnostic traits of Doom, I should think. Then he starts using actual Servo-Guards as minions and employs a scientist named Hauptmann - these are hardly subtle indicators either! Thus, when the man finally revealed himself to have Victor von Doom's actual face, I would think the jig was up. He doesn't even try to hide it, either, not even from Doom's nemesis!
Somehow, though, this isn't enough. Reed Richards fails to recognize Victor von Doom despite their shared college history and the decade and change of conflict in costume. How? Never mind missing all the other blatant hints strewn about everywhere, how can you forget the face of someone who became famous for getting it disfigured? Your worst enemy's face, at that? Besides, wouldn't Reed remember Doom's voice…? How does he not connect the verbiage the man uses, the secret underground labs, the actual Servo-Guards, and that face? Is he a complete idiot? I have to assume the Hypno-Persuader wiped his mind of these things or something, otherwise this makes absolutely no sense...
Leaving that aside, the rest of the issue is spent following around a bunch of superheroes on their off-day, and rehashing lame plot-points from 1960's comic books that weren't that interesting when they first showed up, much less now. The 'Invincible Man' turns out to be a pointless bit of dramatics on Doom's part with no particular reason behind it - especially the part that involves stuffing a brainwashed Reed into the costume. I guess Doom got that idea from what he did to poor Reston in the previous issue! Anyway, the only 'clever' idea here is that Doom used some technology from Psycho-Man's costume in order to incapacitate Johnny, Sue, and Ben. It's unclear where he got that bit of tech, though, since he's never faced that character in any of the issues he's appeared in. Eh, whatever. Moving on.
We've covered all the lead-in material now, so next issue should be the storyline proper. Which, hopefully, is a lot better than the set-up - it's been a pretty dismal affair thus far. And that's despite the presence of two Doctor Dooms! How do you even do that?
Best Panel(s) of the Issue
The final splash page is fun - it's an old-fashioned shot of Doom looming over his defeated enemies, a throwback to simpler times. Or maybe that's the case for this entire issue, which could have been published a decade earlier without much difference. Which… isn't really a good thing, but I'm sure we'll discuss that at some other time.
Most Gloriously Villainous Doom Quotes
"This time even Reed Richards will fail. Absolutely nothing has been left to chance. My plans cannot fail!"
Doom's Bad Hair Day
There is this panel of the suited man, which makes him look like Zuko from Avatar - I'm fairly certain that's not intended, however, and it's just a weird and unfortunate shadow that seems to be coming from nowhere. Weird!
Doom-Tech of the Week
It seems Doom reconstructed the Invincible Man Costume, and it has enough strength that it knocked Ben on his ass, even when controlled by a powerless Reed Richards. The Hypno-Persuader is not a new invention, nor is the sleeping gas… but there is the Inner Complex, which apparently has enough power to energize a continent, and madness-inducing reflections on the inside.
Cover
Today's coverage is a bit unusual, in that technically I'm covering something like five issues at once - but only relatively minor snippets from the first four of them. This is because we're dealing with the build-up to a story arc here, which is spread across multiple issues in little preview scenes. None of the covers contain Doctor Doom, mostly because the man doesn't actually show up much - he's the secret hand in the shadows manipulating events here, and most of his work is done through several associates instead of his personal involvement. With #196 serving as a de facto prologue for the next arc, it seems only proper to cover all the prologue material in one go.
In terms of #196's cover, I can't say I'm a fan. Multi-paneled story-telling covers like this aren't very interesting, and I figure if you need to explain things like these, maybe save it for the inside of the comic book. Also, I really don't think the Invincible Man is an interesting character, and his costume is… less than impressive, to say the least. You can do better, comic book writers and artists!
Story Overview
We start things off with a bunch of prequel material, as I said. The fact that this stuff exists kind of signals that the next arc is going to be a significant one, doesn't it? We should establish, firstly, the status quo. At this time the Fantastic Four have separated - Reed Richards lost his stretchy powers around Fantastic Four #178, and disbanded the team in Fantastic Four #188, and everyone went their separate ways. After this the comic floundered for a while, and what followed were a bunch of really bad stories about the individual members of the team (including a few of the issues I'm covering here.) There were even some reprinted stories to fill in the gaps, which surely pleased nobody. Anyway, we've had previous Doom stories which happened during times when the Fantastic Four were at odds and when they lacked powers, so this feels a bit familiar!
Fantastic Four #192
The first hint of the coming storyline shows up in Fantastic Four #192, during a story involving Johnny Storm becoming a stunt driver and fighting a Texan who can turn into a whirlwind (or something.) I did tell you these were bad comics. We get a one-page cutaway to Reed Richards and his wife Sue, who are currently staying in a hotel. Since Reed can no longer be a superhero without his powers, he's looking through the newspaper for a new job that might catch his interest, and isn't having much luck. The problem is that he's wildly overqualified for everything that's offered in there, and he'd surely quit out of boredom within the week!
Much to the surprise of the two former superheroes, there's a knock on the hotel door - but nobody even knows they're there! Reed hesitantly opens the door, and a man who introduces himself as Arthur Thornhill claims he's there on behalf of his employer, the Cynthian Associates corporation, which has gone through some effort to find Reed. The corporation is interested in employing his services, you see, and are offering a starting salary of $20,000 a week! We don't get to see Reed's response in this issue...
Fantastic Four #193-194
This two-parter's main plot concerns Darkoth the Death-Demon and Diablo, two characters who have their own particular history with Doctor Doom, a fact which actually comes up in dialogue a few times. Although Diablo's plot in these issues does have the ultimate goal of killing Doctor Doom in revenge for getting abandoned in a dead future, his target never shows up in the two-parter, and the Thing and a variety of Fantastic Four supporting cast members defuse the threat before it can get anywhere.
In Fantastic Four #193, there's another one-page cutaway to Reed Richards. It reveals that he has accepted the offered position at Cynthian Associates, and is now working on research in a fancy mansion in upstate New York. He's figured out that the corporation he's joined does work for the government, which explains why they can hand out fat paychecks, but he's not sure why everything he's doing feels like the continuation of someone else's work. It's like he's just providing a fresh viewpoint on another man's ideas, rather than coming up with his own. He laments that he couldn't get a hold of Tony Stark to do a background check on this new job, but the man was busy (fighting villains on the Moon, to be specific.) He's mildly paranoid about all the security cameras, but he figures that's just part of the deal...
We switch over to another view of the same scene, where a man engulfed in shadows is watching Reed on the security footage. Unlike what you might expect, however, the shadowed figure is not a metal-clad tyrant in a green cloak, but a man in a regular suit! The mysterious figure claims that mentions of government work have dampened Reed's suspicions somewhat, since he is a bit of a simple-minded patriot. This is not inaccurate, given what happened with Henry Kissinger only a few issues ago. Besides, Reed never did ask which government would benefit from his work. In the end, the man proclaims, there will be only a single nation - his own! (Okay, he might not be wearing the green cloak, but he's got the voice down!)
In Fantastic Four #194, we get another quick cutaway to Sue Richards, who is trying to call Reed but can't seem to get a connection. Suddenly a man speaks up from off-panel, and claims that the reason she can't get through is that he controls the switchboard! Sue is shocked by whoever the suited man is, exclaiming 'Not you!' We never do figure out what that's about...
Fantastic Four #195
In this issue, the main story revolves around Sue interacting with Namor the Sub-Mariner at a film studio he apparently owns - a throwback to a very early Fantastic Four story. She tries to call Reed again, without much in the way of success, and gets on with her main plot soon enough.
Reed, meanwhile, is still at the Cynthian Associates research facility, and is also trying to call Sue. He wonders why he has not heard from her, but when he receives no answer, he hangs up and returns to his laboratory. One of his co-workers on the 'mystery project,' a Doctor Kaminski, says that he's delighted to be working with 'one of America's most brilliant scientists.' It seems none of the scientists knows the nature of the project, however, because each of them only works on one section of it, and other scientists elsewhere are said to be working on different parts. It's a matter of national security, you see...
Reed declares that some of the micro-circuitry that he has seen has only a limited number of functions, so he has been able to deduce what the project might be - and he doesn't like it! Elsewhere, the project administrator in the nice suit watches Reed on a monitor, and is impressed with his deductive faculties. One of his underlings suggests that Reed is becoming too suspicious, but the man replies that Reed's scientific curiosity is just what they need to perfect the device that will hand him control over Planet Earth!
Fantastic Four #196 - Who in the World is the Invincible Man?
The story opens with a tortured Reed Richards having a nightmare. We see an image of Reed attacking the Fantastic Four with his old stretching powers, including another version of himself. The nightmarish Reed hates the team because they still have their powers, while he lost his own - he can't take the humiliation, so he'll destroy the lot of them!
It's soon revealed that the nightmare isn't natural - Reed has been strapped into a strange device, a hypno-persuader, designed to reprogram his mind. This sounds familiar... From a nearby observation booth, the man in the suit from previous issues commands his servant to increase the voltage on the device. Richards' will must be shattered, he decides, the hero must be under his control! His servant, Hauptmann - that sounds really familiar - is hesitant to increase the dose, since it might just kill Reed outright. 'Do as I demand, dolt!' the shadowed figure commands. 'Or I shall be forced to remove you, as I removed your late and precious brother.' Heeeey, wait a minute! The man explains that he needs Hauptmann for his scientific expertise, and that's why he survives.
He doesn't need loyalty, he declares, but fear, which will keep his servants in line much more easily. He then asks if the required components have been removed from 'Psycho-Man's uniform' to enact their plan, 'Operation Coronation'...
Over in Hollywood, we see what Sue is up to. It seems she's had a long day of movie-making behind her, and she's heading to her hotel suite for a hot bath, her son on her arm. As she enters her room, however, she's surprised to find Ben and Johnny there, who have come to visit her at work. While Ben reconnects with little Franklin, Johnny notices that something's troubling his sister, and asks what's going on. Sue explains that it's been days since she's heard from Reed, and she can't reach him on the telephone - she's worried about him, but she figures heading over there to check on him would make her seem jealous, or foolish. Ben figures he can get through to Reed on the phone, but he needs a little help with the dialing…
Outside Sue's hotel, a figure flies through the air, dressed in garish pink, green, and yellow. He waits around while Sue and the others reminisce inside, and eventually leave the room entirely.
The three leave Franklin behind with babysitter Agatha, then head out to get some dinner. We come back to the three as they are discussing the prospects of reforming the Fantastic Four, as each of them has their misgivings about their current lifestyle. (Given the quality of their most recent stories, I'm not surprised.) They're all on board, but they're not sure how they're going to convince Reed to sign back up - you can't really have a Fantastic Four with just three people, after all!
The three wander down the Hollywood Walk of Fame, checking out some of the stars in the road and making corny 1970's references. Ben even accosts actor John Wayne for an autograph, claiming it for his 'nephew' Ben. He's warned off by a cop, who believes him to be a would-be contestant in 'Let's Make a Deal', which is filming around the corner. Indeed, dozens of people are dressed up as all sorts of things there, including soup cans, teapots, and copies of the TV Guide. Overhead, the green figure is still gliding along, keeping track of the threesome as they head down Vine Street.
They finally end up at a restaurant, where they are immediately seated. Sue marvels at the fact that they were recognized even out of costume (despite the fact that the Thing is not subtle) and the server proclaims that it's his job to recognize celebrities - before addressing them as 'Ms. Dickinson', 'Mr. Hamill', and 'Whatever.' Indeed, the man manages to call them by three other, wrong names before they even receive their food! The amusement is interrupted, however, when Sue suddenly has a strange vision in the middle of dinner - an image of her dead father's face!
Johnny tries to calm Sue down, reminding her that their father has passed away - which is when Ben's soup suddenly starts talking to him. The surface clears to reveal his girlfriend Alicia's face! She proclaims that she can finally see Ben for what he really is. He jumps up, wrecking the table in the process, and Johnny wonders if everyone around him is going crazy. Alicia appears in a flash of light and starts calling Ben a hideous monster nobody could love. Ben begs her to take those words back - she's the only one who ever accepted him for who he is, rocky skin and all, and he can't bear the thought of losing that. In response, Alicia winds back a fist and punches Ben across the room, in a feat of strength that even the Hulk would be hard pressed to match!
Johnny ignites his powers, declaring that this proves she can't be Alicia at all! Yeah, no kidding. The figure lets his disguise fade, revealing the same garish floating figure from before, who now declares that he will murder the Fantastic Four! Johnny isn't impressed by the reveal, noting that the costume the new villain is wearing is the Invincible Man's - something the Super-Skrull once wore when impersonating his and Sue's father. It's clearly just meant to psyche them out. He uses his fire against the Invincible Man, but the power is deflected. Sue quickly gets in the way with her forcefields, and tells the others to get behind her. The villain then uses an eye-beam which cuts right through Sue's protection, hitting them all in the head…
Sue suddenly sees her son Franklin in distress, and is filled with horrified fear. Johnny starts doubting himself, suddenly not sure if he can use his powers at all if there's a risk the Invincible Man might reflect them back. Ben is filled with hatred, and starts smashing everything in sight. Each of them are subjected to intense emotion, which allows the Invincible Man to knock them all unconscious, and float them out of the restaurant. The rest of the guests, it seems, are completely oblivious that a fight even happened, or that three people are now missing.
The Invincible Man floats the three unconscious heroes into an airplane, which then blasts across the entire North-American continent in minutes, depositing them at a mansion in upstate New York. There they're each imprisoned in individual force-fields that nullify their powers. This all seems… rather familiar, doesn't it? Indeed, as the three heroes wake up, they do so in a secret laboratory guarded by strangely Servo-Guard looking robots, and they're met by the suited man, now revealed in full - and he has a rather familiar face - the face of Victor von Doom! He turns to the Invincible Man and removes the villain's mask - only to reveal Reed Richards beneath, still under the influence of the Hypno-Persuader!
The man soon releases Reed from his hypnosis, who immediately demands to know what was done to him. 'Nothing yet,' is the response, 'but I shall…' He gets a bunch of plans shoved into his arms, and is threatened into cooperation. If Reed doesn't help construct this secret project, he will do terrible things to Reed's friends!
Ben tell Reed not to agree to anything, and manages to break free from his imprisonment - only to get shocked into submission through an electronic shackle on his wrist. The Four are then locked up together in an underground dungeon, and immediately start planning their escape. Sue embraces her husband, relieved to know the truth behind his lack of communication, while Ben complains about the shackle that's keeping him from unleashing his power on everything. Ben wonders who their captor is, and Reed says he doesn't know - but he swears he's seen the man before, sometime in the distant past. Johnny tries to escape from his shackle, but activating his powers just sends him to the floor in pain. Reed attempts to think of a way out of their predicament, but nothing comes to mind…
Elsewhere, we get a glimpse of the Doom-ish man in the suit, who acknowledges that Richards' intelligence is staggering. An off-screen figure agrees, but this time he's left absolutely nothing up to chance - his plans cannot fail! That off-screen figure is wearing a metal gauntlet, and is holding a goblet marked with the letter 'D'! Three guesses who that is...
The next day, the suited man and Reed are heading down a corridor, and the former declares that it's good to see Richards has agreed to work with him. Reed notes that he didn't have much choice, and inquires after the man's name - he merely gets told that it's none of his business. They then walk into the 'Inner Complex', which is a mildly psychedelic mirror room that's apparently solar-powered and capable of energizing the entirety of the United States - forever. You need protective goggles to even enter that room, since the intense reflections would drive a man mad. It seems the man in the suit just wanted to show off, since they soon leave again, even as the stranger explains that he has much to discuss with Reed - including a method to return his stretching powers to him!
Back with the other members of the Fantastic Four, Sue figures out how to use her force-fields to break her shackle, then soon does the same for the others. Flexing her powers some more, she then uses them to form a force-field key for the door. They crash through into the hallway next door, which is filled with Servo-Guards, who are suddenly faced with three full-powered superheroes. Suffice to say the subsequent free-for-all is rather one-sided, and the guards get flattened. Ben collapses part of the building on top of a dozen more guards that are rushing in, which allows them to escape.
Rushing along the corridors, Ben proposes he enter the doors first in case something nasty is waiting for them. As they do this, however, they're suddenly faced with a surprise enemy - an enemy who immediately blasts them unconscious with sleep gas! The entire escape was a set-up, it seems, in order to show how truly powerless the three actually are in the grasp of… Doctor Doom!
To be continued...
Rating & Comments
I'm not exactly sure what I expected here, in the first Fantastic Four storyline in several publication years, but it was definitely more than what we actually got. The various prequel snippets don't really amount to much, since they're all basically explained in #196, excluding one scene with Sue which goes without explanation entirely. (I'm guessing it was supposed to be Namor that found her, but the sequel issue doesn't really make that clear.) That leaves the main issue of this recap, which manages to be quite boring and incredibly predictable… and rather dumb besides, especially when it comes to Reed Richards.
Look, the 'foreshadowing' in these issues was about as subtle as a lemon-wrapped golden brick to the face, and it gets really ridiculous towards the end. Everyone and their mother should realize that Doctor Doom is involved from these hints, and also that the man in the suit is somehow another Doctor Doom. This became rather clear from the moment the foe in the shadows started using words like 'jackanape' and 'dolt', and laying claim to his own country. Those are rather diagnostic traits of Doom, I should think. Then he starts using actual Servo-Guards as minions and employs a scientist named Hauptmann - these are hardly subtle indicators either! Thus, when the man finally revealed himself to have Victor von Doom's actual face, I would think the jig was up. He doesn't even try to hide it, either, not even from Doom's nemesis!
Somehow, though, this isn't enough. Reed Richards fails to recognize Victor von Doom despite their shared college history and the decade and change of conflict in costume. How? Never mind missing all the other blatant hints strewn about everywhere, how can you forget the face of someone who became famous for getting it disfigured? Your worst enemy's face, at that? Besides, wouldn't Reed remember Doom's voice…? How does he not connect the verbiage the man uses, the secret underground labs, the actual Servo-Guards, and that face? Is he a complete idiot? I have to assume the Hypno-Persuader wiped his mind of these things or something, otherwise this makes absolutely no sense...
Leaving that aside, the rest of the issue is spent following around a bunch of superheroes on their off-day, and rehashing lame plot-points from 1960's comic books that weren't that interesting when they first showed up, much less now. The 'Invincible Man' turns out to be a pointless bit of dramatics on Doom's part with no particular reason behind it - especially the part that involves stuffing a brainwashed Reed into the costume. I guess Doom got that idea from what he did to poor Reston in the previous issue! Anyway, the only 'clever' idea here is that Doom used some technology from Psycho-Man's costume in order to incapacitate Johnny, Sue, and Ben. It's unclear where he got that bit of tech, though, since he's never faced that character in any of the issues he's appeared in. Eh, whatever. Moving on.
We've covered all the lead-in material now, so next issue should be the storyline proper. Which, hopefully, is a lot better than the set-up - it's been a pretty dismal affair thus far. And that's despite the presence of two Doctor Dooms! How do you even do that?
Best Panel(s) of the Issue
The final splash page is fun - it's an old-fashioned shot of Doom looming over his defeated enemies, a throwback to simpler times. Or maybe that's the case for this entire issue, which could have been published a decade earlier without much difference. Which… isn't really a good thing, but I'm sure we'll discuss that at some other time.
Most Gloriously Villainous Doom Quotes
"This time even Reed Richards will fail. Absolutely nothing has been left to chance. My plans cannot fail!"
Doom's Bad Hair Day
There is this panel of the suited man, which makes him look like Zuko from Avatar - I'm fairly certain that's not intended, however, and it's just a weird and unfortunate shadow that seems to be coming from nowhere. Weird!
Doom-Tech of the Week
It seems Doom reconstructed the Invincible Man Costume, and it has enough strength that it knocked Ben on his ass, even when controlled by a powerless Reed Richards. The Hypno-Persuader is not a new invention, nor is the sleeping gas… but there is the Inner Complex, which apparently has enough power to energize a continent, and madness-inducing reflections on the inside.
WRT to Doom's face; why would he remember what Victor looked like before his accident?
At the time, Victor was just some jerk who kept trying to compete with him and who had a a machine blow up in his face after failing to heed Reed's advice. He'd remember what happens, but it's not like this was an important moment in Reed's personal history that he'd remember forever. It's just a weird anecdote he and Ben might discuss when reminiscing about their college years, but has no real affect on him...until after Doom starts coming after his family, at which point he always wears the faceplate.
- Location
- Netherlands
I'll buy that explanation - although I'm not sure how plausible it actually is that probably the smartest person on the planet has a shitty enough memory that he's like '...don't I know that guy from somewhere?' about someone like Doom. In any case, all the other blatant hints are still there, and they're less than subtle by themselves. I don't think lack of personal relevance can justify Reed forgetting about the robots that were repeatedly used to try and murder him, for example! (And how many villains do the FF have, really, who call people 'dolt' to their face?)
True.
But that one point is important, because my headcanon is that Reed has only a vague recollection of meeting Doom in college, and that if Victor didn't keep trying to murder him and his family he wouldn't remember it at all; their "rivalry" was entirely one-sided, with Reed having more important things to do than get into an intellectual dick-waving contest.
For Victor, the day he failed to heed Reed's warning and suffered the consequences was a shattering blow to his ego that had to be avenged at all costs. For Reed it was Tuesday.
...
All of them?
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- Location
- East Coast
Yeah, the late Bronze Age saw a lot of desperate efforts to recapture the old Silver Age magic. This isn't even the worst.
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- Netherlands
I haven't gone back to see which specific issue this reminded me of, but I swear we've had another issue where a weird ghostly enemy that only the FF could see attacked them while they were out doing something TV-related, which seems entirely too similar to be a coincidence. Also a bunch of the other issues I covered here had really stupid A-plots which were basically references to the very earliest Fantastic Four stories, so your point definitely applies there!
I'll grant you that. Though, this arc has a fair bit of 'also this character had a suspiciously similar family member to fill their role' going on, so it might be an explicit choice to include that guy, rather than just a simple reference... You'll see what I mean in the next couple entries. ;D
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069: Fantastic Four v1 #197 - The Riotous Return of the Red Ghost!
- Location
- Netherlands
069: Fantastic Four #197 (August 1978)
Cover
This cover is… spoilery for the contents of the story, but I suppose that was kind of inevitable after the previous issue. It's a decent enough image, I suppose, but the total lack of Doom does it no favors. Also, I'm not sure anyone is excited to see the 'Red Ghost' who I honestly barely even remembered. I'm guessing we'll get a refresher on who this guy is in the comic itself?
Story Overview
The Riotous Return of the Red Ghost!
We catch up with Reed and Copy-Doom next to a fancy spaceship, where the former is confused and suspicious - it seems his captor has spent a lot of money to reengineer the accident that gave the Fantastic Four their powers, all in an effort to make lightning strike twice, and he's not sure why. He's rechecked all the calculations three times and the rocket really does seem like it'll do what it's supposed to do - get him back in those sweet, sweet cosmic rays. Reed asks if he can see his family one more time before he goes, but he gets denied. He can see them after he gets his powers back.
Reed gets into the rocketship, musing that he's considered this method of getting his powers back, but it was far beyond his means - he'd have needed the cash flow of a small country to outfit a ship with all these special modifications. How can his captor afford all this? And why does he look so familiar? He decides to worry about it later, as he has to focus on the mission right now.
Copy-Doom, meanwhile, confers with actual Doom and they soon head off for Latveria - it's time to push forward 'Operation Coronation' and ensure the final destruction of the Fantastic Four, after which Doom will become ruler of the planet Earth! Rasping laughs echo as Doom enjoys the inevitable success of this, his most perfect of plans!
On board the spaceship, meanwhile, Reed observes that nothing has been left to chance - the ship is on a set trajectory, one which can't be altered from inside the vessel, so he can't just fly off. He's also received his old Fantastic Four costume back, which he promptly put on in a fit of nostalgia - and it still feels pretty cozy. Reed is unaware that a strange red mist seeps in from surrounding space, leaking through the metal bulkheads of the ship like they're not even there. Even as it enters, Reed muses that there had to be a missing element to the power-gain of the Fantastic Four - other astronauts have come and gone, and none of them came back with crazy abilities, after all!
Reed busies himself with replicating the circumstances of the crash, and narrowly avoids a problem in the calculations, quickly fixing the problem he found. He tells himself that the timing has to be extremely accurate, before launching a pair of 'adjusting pods' which will alter the cosmic rays around the ship to match the original recordings. It's taken years, but Reed has figured out what made the Four's exposure so unique - it was a combination of cosmic rays, Van Allen Belt radiation, heightened sunspot activity, and an abnormal increase in neutron radiation on top - truly a one-in-a-million shot. Reed gets nervous as the moment of truth approaches. He activates the cosmic ray collector, and is then forced to just sit and wait.
Suddenly the ship starts to glow like it's in a supernova, and cosmic rays slice through Reed like he's not even there - his head starts pounding like it's going to burst - it's exactly like before! Within moments Reed's powers return, and he instantly knows he can stretch again - which is great! Except he soon realizes that with the ship's course preset, he can't turn the ship away from the cosmic bombardment that's getting a little too intense. Well, maybe should have thought of that ahead of time! Reed rushes to the cosmic ray collector and struggles to find the off switch as lethargy sneaks up on him. Blindly he grasps for where he knows the button is, and he manages to hit it just before he falls unconscious…
The moment he conks out, however, the reddish cloud of vapor that infiltrated the ship congeals into a human shape, the shape of the Red Ghost! In recreating the circumstances of the cosmic ray bombardment, Reed has reintegrated the atoms of the only other person who gained powers from the same source as him! (I didn't even know that!)
We switch over to Latveria, where we find that Doctor Doom has imprisoned the other members of the Fantastic Four in specific power-countering devices - but not the same ones from last issue! Ben complains about the 'gizmo' that's keeping him imprisoned, and Doom quickly clarifies that it's a 'power compressor' - the more power he wastes, the stronger it holds him. That's actually the same method he used to keep Ben prisoner back in Fantastic Four #155! Doom is sitting at a grand piano while he says all this, by the way - because of course he is. He tells Ben to be silent while he building to a crescendo - he's playing a piece by Wagner and quite enjoying himself!
He declares that Congreve was correct when he wrote 'music hath charms to soothe the savage breast', since the music has dampened his fury, and he now feels like sculpting. Well, Doom sure is in an artsy mood today! He tells his guards to 'bring in the artist.' That artist, it turns out, is Alicia Masters - Ben's blind girlfriend! Doom declares that she's a brilliant artist - and all such sensitive are welcome in his kingdom! Ben tries to break free and free Alicia from Doom's grasp, but he can't manage it - he also calls him a 'Darth Vader reject', which is pretty ironic.
Doom quickly sums up the traps he's put his captives in, here - Ben is trapped in the power compressor he's already described, while Johnny is kept submerged in water with a breathing tube, and Sue has a power dampener strapped to her head, which prevents her from using her 'underrated talents.' Huh, even Doom can see that people dismiss the Invisible Woman too easily! Anyway, Alicia tries to reassure Ben, telling him that Doom has promised to let them all go. Well, after she finished his statue! A statue, you say? Yes, we get a glimpse of the thing in its unfinished form, and it looks remarkably familiar - if you've been reading this read-through since nearly the beginning.
(Left: Fantastic Four #85, Right: Fantastic Four #197)
The statue turns out to be a representation of Doom wearing the ceremonial garb of Latveria - a gaudy affair with a staff and tall miter, a costume which he also wore back in Fantastic Four #85 for his official state portrait. Hell of a callback! Doom declares that the statue will commemorate his true glory, and after it is finished they will all be free to go - since it will coincide with the moment that Doom takes control of the world! Alicia has only one more step to complete, now - to model Doom's features as they were before the accident that scarred them!
Surprisingly, Doom then takes off his mask and allows Alicia to touch his face, so she can gain an understanding of what she much sculpt - and not for the first time Alicia goes full Counselor Troi as she does this. She admits that she never would have expected, having heard him rant and rave, that Doom's face would indicate that he was a sensitive, strong man - one wracked with a lifetime of pain. She senses a good man in him, but one who's been torn and twisted by suspicion and hatred... Doom jerks away, hastily covering his face with his cloak and declaring that he only allowed her to touch him because she's a blind sculptress - one who could do her work without seeing the ravaged features of his face. He will not let her mock his hideous visage! Doom will not be mocked! I… will have a thing or two to say about that later, I think.
While Ben threatens Doom some more, Sue wonders why he's forcing Alicia to sculpt him a statue. Doom is dismissive about having to explain himself, but he quickly relents - he does like to hear himself speak. He's ruled Latveria for a long time, he explains, and he has taken dirt-farming clods and made them a proud people - all at the low, low cost of their blind obedience. What would ignorant savages know about freedom, anyway? However, due to the Laws of Latveria, it seems his time as monarch is now over! He must abdicate the throne in a ceremony of coronation that is to be held that very week! At that time Alicia's statue will be donated to the United Nation as a commemoration of Doom's years as ruler, after which he will hand the scepter of power… to his son!
It's here that Copy-Doom enters the room, a wide grin on his face. Ah, it's no wonder he resembled Doom so much! This explains why Reed didn't recognize Doom Jr. last issue, too - there's probably only a familial resemblance there, even if the art depicts them as near enough identical. The apple, it seems, does not fall far from the tree, especially since they already share habits like calling people dolts and ordering around Hauptmanns...
Back in space, the Red Ghost is exulting in his restored powers, and dismisses the idea of using his 'Super Apes' again - he can do things by himself, now. He quickly recaps his previous run-ins with the Fantastic Four - in early Silver Age stories, if the monkey thing didn't tip you off - before recalling how Iron Man blasted him into constituent atoms. Since then he's been circling the earth like a vapor, hoping to regain his form - but it hadn't worked until now! Reed wakes up in the middle of his enemy's ranting, and promptly smacks the man across the face with a spiky, stretchy fist. Red Ghost grabs a convenient firearm from somewhere (and even lampshades its presence) and Reed quickly bounces back the bullets, noting that his powers are as powerful as they've ever been - perhaps even more than that!
Reed's fists can't quite get a grip on the Red Ghost, who can go intangible (like a ghost!) The villain dumps a load of cargo on top of Reed, who quickly slithers out from under the mess with his powers. The Red Ghost then threatens to damage the ship, and simply wait for his foe to suffocate while he remains fine - but he gets clotheslined by Reed before he can do it. Red Ghost retaliates by turning part of the floor intangible, and then solidifying it with Reed stuck partway through it, trapping him. As this happens, we see that the ship has veered off course, and is now reentering the atmosphere, bursting into flames at it descends too steeply.
In Latveria, Doom Jr. bursts in to see his father, declaring that they've lost control of Reed's shuttle, and the sensors read two lifeforms aboard! Doom wonders if Reed has lost his mind - doesn't he realize that his ship will be a charred cinder long before he can land it? The remaining member of the Fantastic Four are horrified, and realize that Doom is as shocked as they are!
Back on the shuttle, Reed tries to free himself from the Red Ghost's trap, but his atoms are fused with the ship's bulkheads. He's finally able to wiggle free a little by relying on his costume's unstable molecular structure. The pain is excruciating, but he's slowly able to free himself, slipping out of captivity inch by inch.
The Red Ghost, meanwhile, is using the gun he found to blast apart bits of the ship, totaling the computers so Reed can't possibly save himself. 'Never count out Mister Fantastic!', the hero declares as he enters the cockpit, Gum-Gum Pistoling the man in the face with a 'Thrakko!' sound effect. They tussle, and Reed jumps at the villain, only for the wall to turn intangible in front of him! He tumbles head-over-heels into some oil drums that are inexplicably on board the spaceship - and he's now stuck inside the decompression chamber! Whoops!
Red Ghost soon comes to mock his enemy, explaining that with the computers wrecked, there's no way to open the doors of the decompression chamber anymore, and Reed is doomed to spend the last moments of his life in this room! The ghost then phases out into space, utterly unbothered by the vacuum. Reed is less enthused about his proximity to space, as there's no heating element in the decompression chamber - he's freezing! Not content to give up, however, Reed tries to figure out how to get the door open, and discovers a tiny crack in the door, probably caused by the Red Ghost when he was blowing the hell out of the ship with his gun. It's too narrow a space for Reed to have navigated in the past, he reasons, but with his powers enhanced he manages to make his way through the solid steel door. He rushes towards the destroyed control panels, hoping one particular part is still intact...
Watching the crash from Latveria, Doom admits that Reed's untimely death messes with his plans - he did, after all, have some reason to send Reed up to regain his powers - but there's no changing it now. Sue cries out in horror, praying that her husband will survive the fiery crash of his spacecraft. Soon the craft explodes into fiery chunks - but a small metal canister escapes the flames and descends down to the sea below, only to be picked up by a helicopter within minutes.
It's Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. who opens the canister, releasing the folded-up form of Reed Richards, who used the barely functional radio on board the ship to call for help and then fashioned himself an impromptu escape pod. Fury offers his help with whatever's going on, but Reed says he just wants his old Pogo Plane from storage. He's finally figured out who's behind all this, you see, and this time there's nothing stopping Reed from ending the menace of Doctor Doom forever!
To be continued...
Rating & Comments
This story is a fair bit more interesting than the last, though it is for the most part a Reed Richards story, where everyone else basically plays second fiddle to his return to superheroism. Reed gets pitted against a pretty formidable foe in this issue, mostly due to the unusual environment of their fight. The Red Ghost might not be a terribly dangerous foe in a normal setting, but within a pressurized airship the risk of getting fused into the bulkheads (or through them) makes matters a lot more precarious. Reed didn't have a lot of win conditions, but I suppose surviving the fight to live another day is victory enough.
I have to point out, by the way, that lampshading a plot hole doesn't really fix it - there's no reason why there would be a random firearm on board Doom's spaceship, so it seems kind of silly to just put it in there. Calling it a 'meteor masher' doesn't really change the fact that Doom would be an idiot to arm his foe with a weapon, when the intent of the flight is to return the man's superpowers. That's just inviting Reed to wipe out whoever's at the landing strip, which would probably be a problem!
Doom's part of this comic is relatively brief, but it's fairly significant nonetheless. Aside from the numerous callbacks within this issue - Doom's appreciation of the arts and his fancy ceremonial get-up in particular - there is an intriguing sequence in which Alicia Masters describes what she senses about Doom. Now, while Alicia doesn't actually have powers, she's still established as a very emotionally sensitive and empathetic person who frequently uses her particular gifts to tell what people are really like - and her analysis of Doom is fascinating. She uses the word 'sensitive' to describe him - the same word she used for Ben Grimm, someone else who might not get such a label from his outward behavior. She also says that there's a good man inside Doom, even if he's twisted by suspicion and hatred, and a lifetime of pain. She sees, in other words, a side of him that's hidden beneath the mask…
More interesting by far than Alicia's analysis, however, is Doom's reaction to her words. He flinches away from the description, swiftly covers his face, and interprets it as mockery. It's not precisely the words that he takes umbrage with, however, but the fact that they're an interpretation of his face. Doom cannot grasp that anyone might have anything positive to say about his scarred features, and he rejects the very concept of seeing something that's not hideous in the face that he hides from the world. It's a stark demonstration, I think, of just how much self-hatred Doom harbors over the physical deformity that defined his life. There's a reason this man regularly smashes mirrors after forcing himself to look into them, is what I'm saying…
The final element of Doom's story in this issue concerns his son, but since he doesn't actually get to do much here, and two issues from now there's a story titled 'the son of Doctor Doom', I think we'll leave that topic for another time. That leaves the wrap-up - this is for the most part a somewhat wordy solo issue for Reed, who spends most of the issue just sort of talking to himself. Without any particularly stand-out moments, I'm going to stick this one with a nice round three stars - it's a decent issue of Fantastic Four without any massive problems.
Best Panel(s) of the Issue
That epic extendo-punch that Reed delivers against the Red Ghost deserves a spot here, I think. Thrakko!
Most Gloriously Villainous Doom Quotes
"That is enough, woman! I'll hear no more! I brought you here because you are a blind sculptress - one who could do your work without ever seeing the ravaged features of my face. I'll not have you mock my hideous visage. Do you understand me, woman? Doctor Doom will not be mocked!"
Doom's Bad Hair Day
Something I noticed in this issue is the very pronounced divot at the top of Doom's mask, which seems absent from other depictions in the recent past. It's present in the previous issue, sort of, but Doom only showed up for a single panel in that one - here it's more prominently visible. Is it going to stick around as a new element of his mask's design, or is it just one artist's personal flourish? We'll see.
Fun fact - this issue confirms that Doom does, in fact, have a full head of hair under that mask of his! I've had a conversation or two about this before, mostly because at various points Doom is depicted as bald or so horrifically scarred that his entire head is a mass of scar tissue, rather than him just having a wound on his face and not much else. At this point, at least, he has hair! (Whether or not he has helmet hair is left to your imagination. But he probably does!)
Doom-Tech of the Week
Firstly there's the Spaceship, which is a Doomtech version of the ship that the Fantastic Four used when they got their powers. Then there's the Power Compressor which is the device that's keeping the Thing captive. There's also the Liquid Prison and the Power Dampener which do the same for Johnny and Sue respectively.
Cover
This cover is… spoilery for the contents of the story, but I suppose that was kind of inevitable after the previous issue. It's a decent enough image, I suppose, but the total lack of Doom does it no favors. Also, I'm not sure anyone is excited to see the 'Red Ghost' who I honestly barely even remembered. I'm guessing we'll get a refresher on who this guy is in the comic itself?
Story Overview
The Riotous Return of the Red Ghost!
We catch up with Reed and Copy-Doom next to a fancy spaceship, where the former is confused and suspicious - it seems his captor has spent a lot of money to reengineer the accident that gave the Fantastic Four their powers, all in an effort to make lightning strike twice, and he's not sure why. He's rechecked all the calculations three times and the rocket really does seem like it'll do what it's supposed to do - get him back in those sweet, sweet cosmic rays. Reed asks if he can see his family one more time before he goes, but he gets denied. He can see them after he gets his powers back.
Reed gets into the rocketship, musing that he's considered this method of getting his powers back, but it was far beyond his means - he'd have needed the cash flow of a small country to outfit a ship with all these special modifications. How can his captor afford all this? And why does he look so familiar? He decides to worry about it later, as he has to focus on the mission right now.
Copy-Doom, meanwhile, confers with actual Doom and they soon head off for Latveria - it's time to push forward 'Operation Coronation' and ensure the final destruction of the Fantastic Four, after which Doom will become ruler of the planet Earth! Rasping laughs echo as Doom enjoys the inevitable success of this, his most perfect of plans!
On board the spaceship, meanwhile, Reed observes that nothing has been left to chance - the ship is on a set trajectory, one which can't be altered from inside the vessel, so he can't just fly off. He's also received his old Fantastic Four costume back, which he promptly put on in a fit of nostalgia - and it still feels pretty cozy. Reed is unaware that a strange red mist seeps in from surrounding space, leaking through the metal bulkheads of the ship like they're not even there. Even as it enters, Reed muses that there had to be a missing element to the power-gain of the Fantastic Four - other astronauts have come and gone, and none of them came back with crazy abilities, after all!
Reed busies himself with replicating the circumstances of the crash, and narrowly avoids a problem in the calculations, quickly fixing the problem he found. He tells himself that the timing has to be extremely accurate, before launching a pair of 'adjusting pods' which will alter the cosmic rays around the ship to match the original recordings. It's taken years, but Reed has figured out what made the Four's exposure so unique - it was a combination of cosmic rays, Van Allen Belt radiation, heightened sunspot activity, and an abnormal increase in neutron radiation on top - truly a one-in-a-million shot. Reed gets nervous as the moment of truth approaches. He activates the cosmic ray collector, and is then forced to just sit and wait.
Suddenly the ship starts to glow like it's in a supernova, and cosmic rays slice through Reed like he's not even there - his head starts pounding like it's going to burst - it's exactly like before! Within moments Reed's powers return, and he instantly knows he can stretch again - which is great! Except he soon realizes that with the ship's course preset, he can't turn the ship away from the cosmic bombardment that's getting a little too intense. Well, maybe should have thought of that ahead of time! Reed rushes to the cosmic ray collector and struggles to find the off switch as lethargy sneaks up on him. Blindly he grasps for where he knows the button is, and he manages to hit it just before he falls unconscious…
The moment he conks out, however, the reddish cloud of vapor that infiltrated the ship congeals into a human shape, the shape of the Red Ghost! In recreating the circumstances of the cosmic ray bombardment, Reed has reintegrated the atoms of the only other person who gained powers from the same source as him! (I didn't even know that!)
We switch over to Latveria, where we find that Doctor Doom has imprisoned the other members of the Fantastic Four in specific power-countering devices - but not the same ones from last issue! Ben complains about the 'gizmo' that's keeping him imprisoned, and Doom quickly clarifies that it's a 'power compressor' - the more power he wastes, the stronger it holds him. That's actually the same method he used to keep Ben prisoner back in Fantastic Four #155! Doom is sitting at a grand piano while he says all this, by the way - because of course he is. He tells Ben to be silent while he building to a crescendo - he's playing a piece by Wagner and quite enjoying himself!
He declares that Congreve was correct when he wrote 'music hath charms to soothe the savage breast', since the music has dampened his fury, and he now feels like sculpting. Well, Doom sure is in an artsy mood today! He tells his guards to 'bring in the artist.' That artist, it turns out, is Alicia Masters - Ben's blind girlfriend! Doom declares that she's a brilliant artist - and all such sensitive are welcome in his kingdom! Ben tries to break free and free Alicia from Doom's grasp, but he can't manage it - he also calls him a 'Darth Vader reject', which is pretty ironic.
Doom quickly sums up the traps he's put his captives in, here - Ben is trapped in the power compressor he's already described, while Johnny is kept submerged in water with a breathing tube, and Sue has a power dampener strapped to her head, which prevents her from using her 'underrated talents.' Huh, even Doom can see that people dismiss the Invisible Woman too easily! Anyway, Alicia tries to reassure Ben, telling him that Doom has promised to let them all go. Well, after she finished his statue! A statue, you say? Yes, we get a glimpse of the thing in its unfinished form, and it looks remarkably familiar - if you've been reading this read-through since nearly the beginning.
(Left: Fantastic Four #85, Right: Fantastic Four #197)
The statue turns out to be a representation of Doom wearing the ceremonial garb of Latveria - a gaudy affair with a staff and tall miter, a costume which he also wore back in Fantastic Four #85 for his official state portrait. Hell of a callback! Doom declares that the statue will commemorate his true glory, and after it is finished they will all be free to go - since it will coincide with the moment that Doom takes control of the world! Alicia has only one more step to complete, now - to model Doom's features as they were before the accident that scarred them!
Surprisingly, Doom then takes off his mask and allows Alicia to touch his face, so she can gain an understanding of what she much sculpt - and not for the first time Alicia goes full Counselor Troi as she does this. She admits that she never would have expected, having heard him rant and rave, that Doom's face would indicate that he was a sensitive, strong man - one wracked with a lifetime of pain. She senses a good man in him, but one who's been torn and twisted by suspicion and hatred... Doom jerks away, hastily covering his face with his cloak and declaring that he only allowed her to touch him because she's a blind sculptress - one who could do her work without seeing the ravaged features of his face. He will not let her mock his hideous visage! Doom will not be mocked! I… will have a thing or two to say about that later, I think.
While Ben threatens Doom some more, Sue wonders why he's forcing Alicia to sculpt him a statue. Doom is dismissive about having to explain himself, but he quickly relents - he does like to hear himself speak. He's ruled Latveria for a long time, he explains, and he has taken dirt-farming clods and made them a proud people - all at the low, low cost of their blind obedience. What would ignorant savages know about freedom, anyway? However, due to the Laws of Latveria, it seems his time as monarch is now over! He must abdicate the throne in a ceremony of coronation that is to be held that very week! At that time Alicia's statue will be donated to the United Nation as a commemoration of Doom's years as ruler, after which he will hand the scepter of power… to his son!
It's here that Copy-Doom enters the room, a wide grin on his face. Ah, it's no wonder he resembled Doom so much! This explains why Reed didn't recognize Doom Jr. last issue, too - there's probably only a familial resemblance there, even if the art depicts them as near enough identical. The apple, it seems, does not fall far from the tree, especially since they already share habits like calling people dolts and ordering around Hauptmanns...
Back in space, the Red Ghost is exulting in his restored powers, and dismisses the idea of using his 'Super Apes' again - he can do things by himself, now. He quickly recaps his previous run-ins with the Fantastic Four - in early Silver Age stories, if the monkey thing didn't tip you off - before recalling how Iron Man blasted him into constituent atoms. Since then he's been circling the earth like a vapor, hoping to regain his form - but it hadn't worked until now! Reed wakes up in the middle of his enemy's ranting, and promptly smacks the man across the face with a spiky, stretchy fist. Red Ghost grabs a convenient firearm from somewhere (and even lampshades its presence) and Reed quickly bounces back the bullets, noting that his powers are as powerful as they've ever been - perhaps even more than that!
Reed's fists can't quite get a grip on the Red Ghost, who can go intangible (like a ghost!) The villain dumps a load of cargo on top of Reed, who quickly slithers out from under the mess with his powers. The Red Ghost then threatens to damage the ship, and simply wait for his foe to suffocate while he remains fine - but he gets clotheslined by Reed before he can do it. Red Ghost retaliates by turning part of the floor intangible, and then solidifying it with Reed stuck partway through it, trapping him. As this happens, we see that the ship has veered off course, and is now reentering the atmosphere, bursting into flames at it descends too steeply.
In Latveria, Doom Jr. bursts in to see his father, declaring that they've lost control of Reed's shuttle, and the sensors read two lifeforms aboard! Doom wonders if Reed has lost his mind - doesn't he realize that his ship will be a charred cinder long before he can land it? The remaining member of the Fantastic Four are horrified, and realize that Doom is as shocked as they are!
Back on the shuttle, Reed tries to free himself from the Red Ghost's trap, but his atoms are fused with the ship's bulkheads. He's finally able to wiggle free a little by relying on his costume's unstable molecular structure. The pain is excruciating, but he's slowly able to free himself, slipping out of captivity inch by inch.
The Red Ghost, meanwhile, is using the gun he found to blast apart bits of the ship, totaling the computers so Reed can't possibly save himself. 'Never count out Mister Fantastic!', the hero declares as he enters the cockpit, Gum-Gum Pistoling the man in the face with a 'Thrakko!' sound effect. They tussle, and Reed jumps at the villain, only for the wall to turn intangible in front of him! He tumbles head-over-heels into some oil drums that are inexplicably on board the spaceship - and he's now stuck inside the decompression chamber! Whoops!
Red Ghost soon comes to mock his enemy, explaining that with the computers wrecked, there's no way to open the doors of the decompression chamber anymore, and Reed is doomed to spend the last moments of his life in this room! The ghost then phases out into space, utterly unbothered by the vacuum. Reed is less enthused about his proximity to space, as there's no heating element in the decompression chamber - he's freezing! Not content to give up, however, Reed tries to figure out how to get the door open, and discovers a tiny crack in the door, probably caused by the Red Ghost when he was blowing the hell out of the ship with his gun. It's too narrow a space for Reed to have navigated in the past, he reasons, but with his powers enhanced he manages to make his way through the solid steel door. He rushes towards the destroyed control panels, hoping one particular part is still intact...
Watching the crash from Latveria, Doom admits that Reed's untimely death messes with his plans - he did, after all, have some reason to send Reed up to regain his powers - but there's no changing it now. Sue cries out in horror, praying that her husband will survive the fiery crash of his spacecraft. Soon the craft explodes into fiery chunks - but a small metal canister escapes the flames and descends down to the sea below, only to be picked up by a helicopter within minutes.
It's Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. who opens the canister, releasing the folded-up form of Reed Richards, who used the barely functional radio on board the ship to call for help and then fashioned himself an impromptu escape pod. Fury offers his help with whatever's going on, but Reed says he just wants his old Pogo Plane from storage. He's finally figured out who's behind all this, you see, and this time there's nothing stopping Reed from ending the menace of Doctor Doom forever!
To be continued...
Rating & Comments
This story is a fair bit more interesting than the last, though it is for the most part a Reed Richards story, where everyone else basically plays second fiddle to his return to superheroism. Reed gets pitted against a pretty formidable foe in this issue, mostly due to the unusual environment of their fight. The Red Ghost might not be a terribly dangerous foe in a normal setting, but within a pressurized airship the risk of getting fused into the bulkheads (or through them) makes matters a lot more precarious. Reed didn't have a lot of win conditions, but I suppose surviving the fight to live another day is victory enough.
I have to point out, by the way, that lampshading a plot hole doesn't really fix it - there's no reason why there would be a random firearm on board Doom's spaceship, so it seems kind of silly to just put it in there. Calling it a 'meteor masher' doesn't really change the fact that Doom would be an idiot to arm his foe with a weapon, when the intent of the flight is to return the man's superpowers. That's just inviting Reed to wipe out whoever's at the landing strip, which would probably be a problem!
Doom's part of this comic is relatively brief, but it's fairly significant nonetheless. Aside from the numerous callbacks within this issue - Doom's appreciation of the arts and his fancy ceremonial get-up in particular - there is an intriguing sequence in which Alicia Masters describes what she senses about Doom. Now, while Alicia doesn't actually have powers, she's still established as a very emotionally sensitive and empathetic person who frequently uses her particular gifts to tell what people are really like - and her analysis of Doom is fascinating. She uses the word 'sensitive' to describe him - the same word she used for Ben Grimm, someone else who might not get such a label from his outward behavior. She also says that there's a good man inside Doom, even if he's twisted by suspicion and hatred, and a lifetime of pain. She sees, in other words, a side of him that's hidden beneath the mask…
More interesting by far than Alicia's analysis, however, is Doom's reaction to her words. He flinches away from the description, swiftly covers his face, and interprets it as mockery. It's not precisely the words that he takes umbrage with, however, but the fact that they're an interpretation of his face. Doom cannot grasp that anyone might have anything positive to say about his scarred features, and he rejects the very concept of seeing something that's not hideous in the face that he hides from the world. It's a stark demonstration, I think, of just how much self-hatred Doom harbors over the physical deformity that defined his life. There's a reason this man regularly smashes mirrors after forcing himself to look into them, is what I'm saying…
The final element of Doom's story in this issue concerns his son, but since he doesn't actually get to do much here, and two issues from now there's a story titled 'the son of Doctor Doom', I think we'll leave that topic for another time. That leaves the wrap-up - this is for the most part a somewhat wordy solo issue for Reed, who spends most of the issue just sort of talking to himself. Without any particularly stand-out moments, I'm going to stick this one with a nice round three stars - it's a decent issue of Fantastic Four without any massive problems.
Best Panel(s) of the Issue
That epic extendo-punch that Reed delivers against the Red Ghost deserves a spot here, I think. Thrakko!
Most Gloriously Villainous Doom Quotes
"That is enough, woman! I'll hear no more! I brought you here because you are a blind sculptress - one who could do your work without ever seeing the ravaged features of my face. I'll not have you mock my hideous visage. Do you understand me, woman? Doctor Doom will not be mocked!"
Doom's Bad Hair Day
Something I noticed in this issue is the very pronounced divot at the top of Doom's mask, which seems absent from other depictions in the recent past. It's present in the previous issue, sort of, but Doom only showed up for a single panel in that one - here it's more prominently visible. Is it going to stick around as a new element of his mask's design, or is it just one artist's personal flourish? We'll see.
Fun fact - this issue confirms that Doom does, in fact, have a full head of hair under that mask of his! I've had a conversation or two about this before, mostly because at various points Doom is depicted as bald or so horrifically scarred that his entire head is a mass of scar tissue, rather than him just having a wound on his face and not much else. At this point, at least, he has hair! (Whether or not he has helmet hair is left to your imagination. But he probably does!)
Doom-Tech of the Week
Firstly there's the Spaceship, which is a Doomtech version of the ship that the Fantastic Four used when they got their powers. Then there's the Power Compressor which is the device that's keeping the Thing captive. There's also the Liquid Prison and the Power Dampener which do the same for Johnny and Sue respectively.
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Variant 03: Spider-Man Newspaper Comics (1977-1978)
- Location
- Netherlands
Variant 03: Spider-Man Newspaper Comics (1977-1978)
Introduction
'The Amazing Spider-Man' was a long-running daily soap opera style comic strip, which had story arcs which typically ran for 8 to 12 weeks - or 7 months in one unusual exception. It managed to last from 1977 all the way to 2019, and was one of the longest running and best-regarded comic strips around. Suffice to say it has a hell of a legacy. Stan Lee kept significant creative control over the series from the start, and as a consequence it diverged quite a bit from the mainline comics, which switched control of the character between all sorts of different writers and creators. As a result, the strip has its own original stories and continuity - though it does take inspiration from the real deal on more than one occasion. It's been known to buck trends which are popular in the 616 universe, notably keeping Peter and Mary Jane married after Brand New Day happened. It was, in fact, the only place to read stories about a married Peter Parker for a long time, until the 'Renew Your Vows' continuity was created. Amusingly, the comic did adapt Brand New Day - as a bad dream!
I would have done a deep dive here and cover every significant appearance of Doctor Doom in the newspaper strip, but I ran into the issue of availability - I just don't have a good way to access most of the publication years like I do with mainstream comics. Several of the earliest issues are available due to their inclusion in trade paperbacks chronicling the origins of the strip, but there's nearly thirty years worth of stories that are unavailable to me in any form. If someone happens to have a handy way to read this stuff, do let me know, please? From what I can surmise, I'm mostly only looking for these two arcs:
'Doom's Law' (Including the Origin of Dr. Doom) which ran from 10 December 1981 until 21 March 1982.
'Mary Jane Parker vs. Doctor Doom' which ran from 14 October 1991 until 19 April 1992.
Something to note before we get started - newspaper comic strips, by their nature, have to catch readers up on what's going on from day to day rather than from week to week like regular comic books. This makes things a little awkward to read at times - it's not meant to be consumed in one go, it's bite-sized chunks spread out over multiple days. Much like episodic television series can feel rather stale and repetitive if you treat them like a modern binge-ready series, we have to take into account the type of media we're dealing with in order to give it a fair shake.
The main consequence here is that continuity can get a bit dodgy, with a lot of pages reframing events that have already happened in slightly different ways, all to ensure that all the pertinent information is recapped. Reading the entire story at once gives off the impression that you're repeatedly jumping forwards and backwards in time, and strips sometimes retcon things that have just happened, while at other types they rehash the exact same story beats day after day without progressing at all. At times, some story-lines will even go on pause and forget that time is supposed to be passing, only for them to pick back up as if nothing happened when the writer remembers them. It's frustrating reading when you're used to full comic books, which usually manage just fine with a single recap per issue, and a relatively sensible sense of progression.
Cover
Ye gods, there's no covers here! No covers at all! What a world, what a world!
Story Overview
Doctor Doom: United Nations Speaker! (January 3rd, 1977 – February 27th, 1977)
Interesting enough, the first Doom-centric storyline of the Spider-Man comic strip is also the first storyline they ever printed! Yes, Spider-Man's very first foe in this incarnation is none other than the doomful Doctor himself! This is a bit odd, since while they did have a very early run-in in Amazing Spider-Man #5, Doom is much more of a Fantastic Four and Avengers villain, while Spidey has a huge rogues gallery of memorable foes to pick from without delving into other heroes' stockpiles of baddies. I can't complain, though!
We start on a black-and-white day like any other, namely a dismal and damp afternoon on Madison Avenue. Spidey swings in to grab a newspaper off the racks, surprising the man selling them by dangling his pay down to him by a web. The man is shocked, but Spidey just waves him off - even superheroes need to keep up with the news! That news, of course, is the imminent arrival of Doctor Doom - he's coming to address the United Nations at an anti-terrorism conference. They sure do like variant Dooms addressing the UN, don't they? Despite the fact that as far as I'm aware, this has never been a thing in the actual comics. Spidey figures they're nuts to invite the world's greatest terrorist over to such a gig - and he's sure that J. Jonah Jameson and his Daily Bugle had a lot to do with getting the ball rolling on this.
The reason Jameson would be interested in getting Doom to American shores? So the tyrant can stomp out Spider-Man for him, of course! Spidey swings over to the Bugle and tells secretary Betty that he wants to talk to Jameson, but the man's not in yet. It seems he's stuck in traffic, and Jameson finally decides that he might as well walk to the paper - it'd be faster! He tips his taxi driver a dime, and when he gets a sarcastic thanks in response, he complains that he meant to give a nickel instead. That's wrong with this country, he complains, everyone's always ripping him off! Also the city is bankrupt! The streets are a jungle! You can't see the pollution because of the smog! And there hasn't been a nice day since Herbert Hoover! Yea, this is J. Jonah Jameson alright. He figures things will start looking up when he gets Doom to lean on Spider-Man…
As Jameson enters the paper, he gets warned that he has a guest in his office - and it's not one that sets up an appointment. 'You!' Jameson declares as he finds Spider-Man on his roof. 'You misanthropic masked moron!' Spidey ignores the insults, demanding to know whether Jameson is behind Doom's imminent arrival. Jameson admits it, claiming that they need people like Doom who won't let commie pinkos push them around - he wiped out crime in Latveria! Spidey points out he did that by calling his enemies criminals and having them all shot. Jameson calls him a nit-picker. Heh. Spidey soon departs, and Jameson shakes his fist angrily at the hero as he leaves.
Spidey swings across the rooftops, scaring people below as he goes - a cop takes care of a woman who faints at the sight of the hero's athletic tricks, and he complains that this sort of thing happens every time the wall-crawler is out and about. The mayor, meanwhile, worries that Spider-Man's presence might interfere with Doom's arrival. At a nearby home, Peter's Aunt May and a friend are watching some news coverage of the shocked crowd, and worry about what that 'creature' Spider-Man might do - and if they'll ever find out who he really is. Well, at least it won't be anyone they know... Mary Jane soon arrives, looking for Peter. She's told that he's in midtown - the same place Spidey was spotted. MJ thinks he's pretty great, and says as much - with those biceps, he could menace her anytime!
Here, we get a peculiar bit of time warping, as we see a repeat of the earlier scene where Spidey is leaving the Daily Bugle, but this time with somewhat different dialogue that re-explains the plot-point that Jameson is responsible for Doom's arrival. Actually, we get two repeats of that across two days, which brings the total amount of times this exact moment has been depicted up to four. I know that Marvel made a joke about this exact phenomenon when the newspaper strip crossed over with the Spider-Verse storyline, but sheesh, it's a bit much!
As he ditches his costume in favor of street clothes, Peter Parker reflects on whether or not Jameson is right to call him a menace - maybe he really is a threat to the establishment, to Jameson's idea of law and order. Maybe all his crime-fighting is just an ego-trip. Regardless, Jameson is not the real problem - Doctor Doom is. What will happen when he gets here?
At that very moment Doom arrives in his private jet, and he has Spider-Man on his mind. He likens New York to a gleaming jewel that lightens the portals of liberty - but it's a jewel that has tarnished, like the dream of liberty itself. Only the iron hand of Doom can restore its faded luster, of course! But New York is only the start, as the whole world will be his! As he departs from his plane he's accosted by paparazzi, and Doom declares them all witless dolts - is this how they greet a monarch? Jameson soon arrives with Peter in tow and introduces himself, and the Latverian monarch promises that he'll teach the UN how to stop terrorism - in a way they'll never forget!
As Peter goes to take a picture of Doom for the Daily Bugle, he's blasted off his feet for his trouble - none may take a picture of Doom's visage without his royal sanction! Jameson tries to smooth things over, claiming Peter's just a kid who didn't know any better, and they walk off. Peter figures this is proof enough that Doom is up to no good, but as a king he has diplomatic immunity - nobody can stop him! Nobody, that is, except for Spider-Man! Peter puts on his costume and chases after Doom, intent on warning the UN about this walking time-bomb in their midst. He soon spots a crate that's balancing precariously overhead, though, and figures that's more immediately dangerous. He calls out a warning, but Doom is already there, and blasts the crate to smithereens.
The crowd surrounding Doom is shocked at the laser blasts he shot from his hands, and the monarch simply asks if they thought the armor was for show - then he points at Spider-Man, and accuses him of attacking the Lord of Latveria! He aims the next blast at the wall-crawler, who quickly swings away, wondering how on earth he'll get his warning to the UN now, when people think he's an assassin! As Spidey flees from trigger-happy cops, Jameson and Doom confer, and decide that dealing with Spider-Man might be a nice practical way to prove the merits of Doom's methods in taking down terrorists…
At the UN, meanwhile, people are worried about Doom's arrival, as they've heard that his power is more than human, more than merely mortal!
Jameson meanwhile is still reminding Doom that the Daily Bugle got him his invite to the UN - the monarch simply declares that he goes where he wills. It's about time for the conference on terrorism to start, and Spidey is somewhere else, still fleeing from the police and worrying about what is going to happen next.
The anti-terrorism speech has started, and it's pretty predictable - and uncomfortably relevant in modern politics, unfortunately. Doom declares that the answer to terrorism is naked force, as only the strong can conquer crime! Only raw power can crush the lawless! What Doom has done for Latveria must be done for all the world! Give him complete control of world security, Doom declares, and he will end unbridled terrorism! Terror must be met with terror! He doesn't seek votes, nor request them - he demands them!
I need to take a moment here to mention something that's bugging me. This entire sequence featuring the UN speech, with fanboy Jameson cheerleading and Doom demanding control of other countries - it's pretty much Spidey Super Stories #9 all over again. Like, the parallels are too blatant and obvious to be coincidental. Now, it would make total sense if that comic was an adapted version of this story, simplified for kids. But… that comic was published in 1975, while this came out a full two years later! Surely this newspaper strip didn't actually adapt a plot from the Sesame Street people as their pilot storyline, right? That can't be true, can it? Are both of these comics adapting something else that I haven't even covered, like a television episode?
Spidey arrives at the UN in time to hear Doom threatening the other world leaders, but before he can act on that he's spotted by a police chopper that starts taking potshots at him, still convinced he's an assassin out to start World War 3 somehow, and he swings away. Jameson, meanwhile, is mugging for the cameras and announcing that Doom will put an end to public enemies like Spider-Man. Other reporters are less enthusiastic, noting that the press is on the whole overwhelmingly negative about Doom, and all he stands for. Peter, meanwhile, has gone home in order to prepare for his inevitable run-in with Doom - he's going to have to employ his smarts and scientific skill if he wants to have any chance when faced with Doom's arsenal of weapons!
Peter works all through the night, and creates a new chemical formula - the perfect tool to stop Doctor Doom! But first it's time to take a nap and recharge. His dreams are uneasy, filled with images of Jameson and Doom, but soon enough his alarm rings and he's forced to get up. He fills up his web cartridges with his new formula, then swings off to find his target at the UN building. Spider-Man figures they must've put Doom in one of the best suites, since he is a head of state - but his exploration is cut off when the police helicopter from before appears again to hassle him.
Within the UN building, it seems the meeting from before never ended - but I presume they've reconvened on the next day, or they've really worked overtime. Doom wants to know the response to his ultimatum, and the other world leaders declare his ideas impossible - they can't abolish terorrism by capitulating to greater terror! Doom declares that he is no longer asking permission, and uses his gauntlet to blast the door, trapping the world leaders in the room with him. Which is, of course, when Spider-Man blasts through the window to face the Latverian tyrant, who is all too happy to demonstrate his power by destroying the interloper…
Spidey and Doom face off, while the world leaders attempt to escape but find that the door has been welded shut. Doom soon manages to nail his foe with a hand blast, and knocks him to the ground, where the world leaders quickly check up on him and are relieved to find that he's alive - if nearly unconscious from the blast. In his delirium, Spidey actually goes over the origins of Doctor Doom, recounting his birth as a gypsy, and his ill-fated attempt to contact the netherworld, and his trip to the mountains where he received his iron mask and new identity. As he awakens, Spidey finds that only seconds have passed - but they feel like hours. Doom starts shooting him again the moment he moves, and the hero is only narrowly saved by putting a chair between himself and the lethal blasts. That, obviously, is not a long-term solution.
Spidey plays possum for a bit, allowing Doom to think he's won, and takes advantage of the villain's posturing to web up the eye-holes of his mask. He calls it a 'web facial' which - ew.
Although this does briefly stop him, Doom soon activates heating elements within his armor to melt the webs away. He declares that his body is a 'living arsenal', which is actually used several times as a descriptor of Doom during this storyline - sort of like 'Master of Menace', I suppose, but less alliterative. The melting of the webs actually takes a really long time within the story, since we spend a full two pages just treading water until the story gets going again. Most of that is spent just watching people react to ongoing events, and none of those reactions are remotely surprising.
The conflict at the UN is visible from the outside, it seems, and the news has finally picked up the story of what's going on - there's a strange glow coming from the chamber with the delegates, and nobody can enter since the doors are locked. Spider-Man is believed to be involved somehow, much to Aunt May's horror. She hopes Peter isn't there, and MJ reassures her, telling her that the worst danger Peter has to face is hurting his finger pressing buttons on his camera. Soon enough Jameson is back on television, happily explaining that he is the only news anchor willing to support Doctor Doom against the menace of Spider-Man…
Doom finally escapes from Spider-Man's webs by ripping the weakened strands apart with his gauntlets, and then turns his hand-blasts on the wall-crawler. The moment he fires, however, he suddenly finds his weapons short-circuiting - the result of Spidey's new web formula, which Doom spread everywhere in his attempts to remove it.
Unknowingly, Doom disarmed his own weapons by trying to use them! The tyrant declares that he doesn't need his weapons - he still has his own strength! Spider-Man gets the drop on him and punches Doom across the face, but finds that even with his power hitting solid steel hurts like hell! Doom mocks Spidey for his failed attempt to knock him out, and declares that it's time for the final test: Spider-Man's puny flesh against his own invincible armor - and death to the loser!
Spider-Man leap-frogs over Doom, disturbingly calling him 'Doom baby' as he does this, then using his momentum to fling him across the room. As the delegates in the room realize that Spider-Man is winning the face-off, Doom decides to cut his losses and declares that he'll not sully his hands in combat for those who have so little faith in him. He was only attempting to foster peace, he claims, sulking as he marches off towards home. Jameson wants to know what happened, and Doom declares that he'll let the world wallow in lawlessness - it's the price they pay for tolerating a Spider-Man among them!
Doctor Doom: Professional Gaslighter! (April 10th, 1978 – July 2nd, 1978)
The next storyline picks up after Spidey heads home from a trip to Hollywood, where he had a run-in with Mysterio. As he arrives home and takes a quick swing across town as Spider-Man, he's observed by a most peculiar bird - a mechanical pigeon! We'll be seeing this thing a fair bit during this arc, flapping around the edges as a silent, strafe-shitting observer…
We switch to Latveria, mysterious kingdom in the Bavarian Alps, where Doom is doing his traditional walk around town, while his people avert their eyes and bow as he passes. A small boy refuses, wanting to see the Master up close, and Doom actually takes a moment to address the boy with a kind word, who declares that he knew the Master wasn't as bad people said.
Doom is then approached by a beggar, who promptly gets a steel fist to the face, and is then carried off in chains by the guards. Figures. He takes a moment to enjoy his absolute rule, and declares it will one day apply to all the world! He's then called over by a bald scientist - another Hauptmann, no doubt - who declares that Spider-Man has been spotted!
Doom watches on a tele-screen as one of his robotic servants arrives in Vienna, where it knocks on a door and greets a Dr. Karl Lazlo, who quickly shuts the door in its face. He has no interest in serving the mad monarch, but he doesn't get a choice as the robot punches its way inside. He's then dragged into a car by a second robot, and screams of terror resound in the streets of Vienna. The police are soon in pursuit to prevent the kidnapping, but Doom is prepared - the car sprouts wings and blasts into the sky, leaving the cops helpless to pursue the vehicle as it heads for Latveria. While all this is going on, Peter spends a few hours at the library, chatting with friends and preparing for his exams.
Frustrated by all the studying, Peter decides to get a breather and swing around as Spider-Man for a while. He soon finds himself approaching a bridge, and spots someone standing high atop it, and suspects they may be a jumper. He doesn't notice the mechanical pigeon from before is watching him again… As he approaches, Spidey recognized that the jumper is actually J. Jonah Jameson, and he tries to convince the man to step away from the edge. Doom, meanwhile, uses the pigeon to set off a smoke bomb, hiding the events on top of the bridge from the motorists below. Jameson, it seems, is intent on framing Spider-Man for his murder, and takes a flying leap from the bridge - everyone will think he was pushed!
Spidey realizes that Jameson has gone completely mental, and jumps after the man to save him, although he's hindered by the inexplicable smoke that's spreading below. The moment they enter this fog, Jameson disintegrates into wires and gears - he was a robot replica all along! Spider-Man doesn't see this, however, and plunges through the smoke and into the water below, unaware that there was never anybody to save. He frantically searches the depths for any sign of Jameson, but comes up empty. Distraught, he wonders what on Earth made the man snap like this. His spider-sense then activates and Spidey realizes he's been spotted by some people on the shore, and immediately concludes they must believe he pushed Jameson off the bridge. He swings away, worried about what this might all mean for him…
Peter eventually goes to the Daily Bugle, and is puzzled to find that everything's perfectly normal there. In fact, he's shocked to find that J. Jonah Jameson is in his office, perfectly healthy! He excuses himself, not sure what to think. In Latveria, meanwhile, Doom notes that his new prisoner is the key to his conquest of Spider-Man, and has him retrieved from the dungeons. This man, Karl Lazlo, is apparently one of Europe's most prominent psychiatrists, and he's pretty brave - he says that while Doom flaunts his power, the truly powerful do not need iron masks to instill fear in the heart of their subjects. Doom notes that he doesn't wear his mask for theatrical effect, but for more practical reasons. He then removes it, and we see Lazlo's horrified reaction to whatever lies beneath. Only he has been granted this glimpse of his face, Doom declares, because he'll never be able to tell anyone else… Ominous!
Back in New York, Peter worries about his state of mind, wondering if he's started hallucinating, or if his powers are messing with his mind. He tries to concentrate on his tests, but he keeps thinking of Jameson instead. In Latveria, meanwhile, Doom reassures Lazlo that he doesn't intend to hurt him. The psychiatrist notes that Doom might not intend it, but he can't help himself - and perhaps he can help with fixing that. Find a cure for what ails him? Doom dismisses this idea, then locks Lazlo inside a glass prison and subjects him to a mind probe - a device which will suck every last iota of scientific knowledge from his brain, which will serve as the perfect weapon for Doom to use against Spider-Man…
Peter isn't having a great time - he screwed upon an exam, and when he tries to cool off as Spider-Man, he runs into Doc Ock, a villain that he knows is safely in prison. Is the world going mad, or just him?
Doom, meanwhile, finishes sucking all the information from Lazlo's brain, and in a remarkable bit of keeping the spirit of his word, rather than just the letter, Doom sends the man home unharmed, but without the memories of his time in Latveria. That really is the best possible way that could have ended for the psychiatrist, isn't it? Huh. Doom takes the knowledge he's copied and instills it into one of his robots…
It seems Doom is still thinking of Lazlo's offer to psycho-analyze him, in order to find a peace he's never known. Doom rejects the notion, as he doesn't want peace, but power. The world is mad, while Doom's is the ultimate sanity! Back in the fight with Doc Ock, Spidey suddenly finds the man fading out of existence, until he's alone on the rooftop. Did he imagine it all? Is the spider venom in his blood finally driving him mad? Meanwhile, Doom sends his robot to New York, to finish the job that his holograms started…
Peter takes a moment to unwind, as he's worried about all these hallucinations he's having. He turns on the television and switches to Plot Convenience Channel, as a psychiatrist comes on to comment that Spider-Man obviously never outgrew his adolescent fantasies, and should submit to psycho-analysis to help him before he parts ways with reality entirely. Plagued by sleeplessness, he goes out web-swinging and almost falls to his death when his web-line mysteriously snaps on him. As he gathers his bearings, he's suddenly approached by Kraven the Hunter, another villain that really shouldn't be there…
Kraven traps Spidey in a steel net, who effortlessly breaks through that with his super-strength - his mind might be going, but his body isn't. As this happens, however, the fake Kraven sneaks off and transforms into the mayor of New York, who soon holds Spider-Man at gunpoint. The hero, disoriented by his recent fall and the apparent hallucinations, reaches a breaking point - and in that moment the image of the Mayor disappears. Spidey is now convinced he needs immediate help, and tracks down the psychiatrist he saw on television, Dr. Wynn. She's happy to assist, figuring she'll write medical history, but when she asks for his name Spidey is unwilling to reveal his identity. The Doctor allows this, figuring they should discuss the problem he's having.
Spider-Man explains his recent hallucinations, recounting his vision of the bridge suicide, Doc Ock, Kraven the Hunter, and the mayor of New York. Even as he does so, however, the visions suddenly reassert themselves right in front of him, and Spider-Man is horrified to realize that Dr. Wynn is completely oblivious - they really are all in his head!
He damages a wall trying to get at the villains, and the Doctor warns him that he's growing more violent, and he should watch out for that. He heads home, worried about what'll happen if he goes mad, considering all his power.
As he arrives home, it turns out that Aunt May has come by for a visit, and she's brought pie. Peter, still high-strung, eats rather quickly and claims to have an appointment in a few minutes, much to his Aunt's disappointment. He spots a bit of his costume is showing in a mirror, but when he goes to hide it away he realizes there's nothing there. Aunt May realizes he's tense and nervous, and Peter claims it's just his exams, which prompts her to leave him be - he'd best get a good night's sleep, take his vitamins, and stay out of drafts! As she leaves, Peter worries about himself, fearing what he might do if the madness comes over him again while she's in the room…
Deciding he'll pay another visit to Dr. Wynn, Spider-Man crawls along some walls, only for the mechanical pigeon to appear again. It fires a tiny disc onto his costume, which causes him to go dizzy and lose control of his wall-crawling abilities. As he falls from the sky, he quickly uses his webs and catches himself in a hastily spun hammock. He's too paranoid now, however, to rely on his spider-powers, and decides to stay at street level while he travels to the psychiatrist. He soon finds himself back on the couch, and takes a moment to rest his eyes while the Doctor finishes a phone call.
Spidey momentarily feels dizzy, and then suddenly everything's wrong - everything has flipped upside down, and Dr. Wynn is walking upside-down on the ceiling! The Doctor declares that his spider-identity has taken control, and it sees things the way a Spider would - hanging from the ceiling. The only way to banish this hallucination, then, is to release the spider-identity - to reveal his human self! Spidey declares that he can't, for the sake of his family and loved ones. Wynn tells him that he must think of himself - or does he want to go completely mad? In a panic, Spidey jumps out a window and leaves, too scared to even swing anymore…
Peter, aghast at all the terrible hallucinations that have been plaguing him, decides that if the Spider-Man identity is what's causing his problems, then Spider-Man must die!
He throws his costume in the bin, but hears a clink as he does it. He discovers a peculiar disc attached to the costume, and wonders what it is… He experiments a little, and realizes that without the disc, his powers have returned to their normal strength, and he can once more cling effortlessly to walls and ceiling. The device was planted to shake his confidence in his powers, then - but why, and by who? He decides he'll bring it to Dr. Wynn, to show that there's more going on than him going mad… Doom watches from afar, worried that his disc was discovered, but happy that Spidey's reaction is to head for his psychiatrist, as he'd intended all along. Naturally, when Spidey arrives to show Wynn the device, it's mysteriously vanished - like it was another hallucination!
Back on the couch, Spidey is still reluctant to talk about his real identity, but finally admits that it might be necessary, and starts to take off his mask. Doom wants to savor the moment and steers his remote-control pigeon closer, which triggers Spider-Man's danger sense. While Wynn tries to convince him to take off his mask, Spidey somehow figures out the pigeon is a drone sent by Doctor Doom, and webs it up. Now that the webs have blinded it, the pigeon starts madly flapping through the room, and strikes Dr. Wynn's arm - and it's accompanied by a noise of metal striking metal. The jig is up!
'If you couldn't defeat him as a female, then do it as a robot!' Doom announces, and Wynn reveals herself to be a machine. Spider-Man is relieved that things have returned to normal - a big dumb robot is something he can fight. Doom really had him going there for a while, convinced he was going mad, but it didn't work! They crash through a wall into the 'upside-down room' from before, revealing it to be yet another trick, rather than a hallucination. Spider-Man tries to punch the robot, but much like with Doom himself, his fists are no match for solid steel.
He then crawls up the wall to escape from the bot, only to discover it's equipped with suction pods and chasing after him! His next escape attempt is out the window, but iron bars suddenly descend to cut off his escape route, forcing him to deal with the mechanical man. Doom watches it all from his mechanical bird, and while he would've liked to end things with more… delicacy, he'll savor the results of his conquest either way…
Fighting the robot on the ceiling of the upside-down room, Spider-Man quickly searches the place for some oil, and uses it to slick up the ceiling beneath their feet, causing his foe's suction pads to loosen. The robot crashes to smithereens on the 'ceiling' below, finishing it off. While the Doom-pigeon commands the robot to rise again, Spidey grabs it from the air and crushes it in his grip, silencing the tin bird forever.
Doom decides their battle is over, and he has lost - never has he faced a more worthy foe than Spider-Man! Now, though, it's time to ensure no evidence remains - it would be unseemly for the world to suspect that the Lord of Latveria has known failure, after all. He blows up the pigeon and the broken robot, cleaning the board. Spider-Man, meanwhile, swings away from the fight and figures he's seen the last of Doctor Doom for a while - though he's still a bit paranoid about pigeons...
To be continued… if I ever get access to those stories!
Rating & Comments
It's tough to give a fair rating to these comic strips, since they're clearly not meant to be taken in all at once. They're simplistic, repetitive, and spend entirely too much time hammering in the few basic plot points they have to be enjoyable in a single sitting, which makes them a bit of a slog. That said, they manage to tell nice, coherent stories that you could puzzle out pretty easily even if you missed out on like half the pages, which is probably perfect for a newspaper strip that readers might not catch every day.
The first story I covered here, featuring Doom at the UN building, still puzzles me greatly because of its baffling similarities with that 'Spidey Super Stories' issue I've already covered. There must surely have some good explanation, but I haven't found it yet. That said, this story has a much more elaborate build-up than conclusion, as it spends easily four times as many pages on informing us of Jameson's misguided views and Peter's worry than it bothers to spend on giving a half-decent explanation for Doom suddenly leaving in the middle of the fight. I suppose it doesn't help that the build-up includes stuff like that quadruple shot of Spidey bantering with J. Jonah Jameson as he leaves the Daily Bugle - that's just eating up pages!
The second story is a little odd to me, in that Doom's plan to drive Spider-Man insane doesn't really seem like the kind of villainy he tends to get up to. Kidnapping a psychiatrist to drain the memories from his head? Yeah, that's Doomish enough. Letting him go home unharmed, and then using the memories to construct a psychiatrist-bot? Okay, I can buy that, if he's having a particularly good day. But doing the Mysterio thing and tricking Spidey into thinking he's going mad with weird illusions and tricks? What does he even get out of that? I suppose I'll just have to interpret this as another variation on Doom screwing with random superheroes for the fun of it, like he recently did with Shang-Chi over in the main series. It's interesting to note that Doom stays in Latveria for the duration of this story - he does all his villainy by remote control robot pigeon, which is just kind of adorable.
On the whole, the Doctor Doom displayed in these two issues is relatively similar to his early interpretations in the comics - with one glaring exception. In the Spider-Man Newspaper universe, the Fantastic Four do not appear to exist! The Marvel Universe of the newspapers seems largely confined to Spidey himself and his rogues gallery for many years after its first publication, which means Doom is left without basically any of his usual competitors. Poor thing!
Most Gloriously Reported Doom Quotes
"New York - where the accursed Spider-Man dwells! How like a gleaming jewel it glistens - lighting the portals of liberty! But the jewel is now tarnished - just as the dream of liberty itself! Only the iron hand of Doctor Doom can restore their faded lustre!"
"The answer to terrorism is naked force! Only the strong can conquer crime! Only raw power can crush the lawless! The power is mine! The skill is mine! The resolve is mine! What Doctor Doom has done for Latveria must be done for all the world! Give me complete control of world security, and I offer you and end to unbridled terrorism! Violence is rampant throughout the globe! You have no other choice! Let a vote be taken now! Force must be met with force - terror with terror! I do not seek your vote! I do not request your vote! I demand it!"
"What? You side with him, against Doctor Doom? Then let us now end this charade! I'll not sully my hands in battle for those of little faith! I offered to crush terrorism - to bring peace to the world! Yet you fought me! Let the world wallow in lawlessness! It is the price you pay for tolerating a Spider-Man among you!"
"He dared suggest I submit to psycho-analysis - to help me find the peace I have never known. The fool! I seek not peace - but power! The world is mad! But mine is the ultimate sanity!"
"The charade is ended! Spider-Man still lives! Never have I battled a more worthy foe! But now, I shall ensure that no evidence remains. It would be unseemly for the world to suspect that the Lord of Latveria has tasted failure!"
Introduction
'The Amazing Spider-Man' was a long-running daily soap opera style comic strip, which had story arcs which typically ran for 8 to 12 weeks - or 7 months in one unusual exception. It managed to last from 1977 all the way to 2019, and was one of the longest running and best-regarded comic strips around. Suffice to say it has a hell of a legacy. Stan Lee kept significant creative control over the series from the start, and as a consequence it diverged quite a bit from the mainline comics, which switched control of the character between all sorts of different writers and creators. As a result, the strip has its own original stories and continuity - though it does take inspiration from the real deal on more than one occasion. It's been known to buck trends which are popular in the 616 universe, notably keeping Peter and Mary Jane married after Brand New Day happened. It was, in fact, the only place to read stories about a married Peter Parker for a long time, until the 'Renew Your Vows' continuity was created. Amusingly, the comic did adapt Brand New Day - as a bad dream!
I would have done a deep dive here and cover every significant appearance of Doctor Doom in the newspaper strip, but I ran into the issue of availability - I just don't have a good way to access most of the publication years like I do with mainstream comics. Several of the earliest issues are available due to their inclusion in trade paperbacks chronicling the origins of the strip, but there's nearly thirty years worth of stories that are unavailable to me in any form. If someone happens to have a handy way to read this stuff, do let me know, please? From what I can surmise, I'm mostly only looking for these two arcs:
'Doom's Law' (Including the Origin of Dr. Doom) which ran from 10 December 1981 until 21 March 1982.
'Mary Jane Parker vs. Doctor Doom' which ran from 14 October 1991 until 19 April 1992.
Something to note before we get started - newspaper comic strips, by their nature, have to catch readers up on what's going on from day to day rather than from week to week like regular comic books. This makes things a little awkward to read at times - it's not meant to be consumed in one go, it's bite-sized chunks spread out over multiple days. Much like episodic television series can feel rather stale and repetitive if you treat them like a modern binge-ready series, we have to take into account the type of media we're dealing with in order to give it a fair shake.
The main consequence here is that continuity can get a bit dodgy, with a lot of pages reframing events that have already happened in slightly different ways, all to ensure that all the pertinent information is recapped. Reading the entire story at once gives off the impression that you're repeatedly jumping forwards and backwards in time, and strips sometimes retcon things that have just happened, while at other types they rehash the exact same story beats day after day without progressing at all. At times, some story-lines will even go on pause and forget that time is supposed to be passing, only for them to pick back up as if nothing happened when the writer remembers them. It's frustrating reading when you're used to full comic books, which usually manage just fine with a single recap per issue, and a relatively sensible sense of progression.
Cover
Ye gods, there's no covers here! No covers at all! What a world, what a world!
Story Overview
Doctor Doom: United Nations Speaker! (January 3rd, 1977 – February 27th, 1977)
Interesting enough, the first Doom-centric storyline of the Spider-Man comic strip is also the first storyline they ever printed! Yes, Spider-Man's very first foe in this incarnation is none other than the doomful Doctor himself! This is a bit odd, since while they did have a very early run-in in Amazing Spider-Man #5, Doom is much more of a Fantastic Four and Avengers villain, while Spidey has a huge rogues gallery of memorable foes to pick from without delving into other heroes' stockpiles of baddies. I can't complain, though!
We start on a black-and-white day like any other, namely a dismal and damp afternoon on Madison Avenue. Spidey swings in to grab a newspaper off the racks, surprising the man selling them by dangling his pay down to him by a web. The man is shocked, but Spidey just waves him off - even superheroes need to keep up with the news! That news, of course, is the imminent arrival of Doctor Doom - he's coming to address the United Nations at an anti-terrorism conference. They sure do like variant Dooms addressing the UN, don't they? Despite the fact that as far as I'm aware, this has never been a thing in the actual comics. Spidey figures they're nuts to invite the world's greatest terrorist over to such a gig - and he's sure that J. Jonah Jameson and his Daily Bugle had a lot to do with getting the ball rolling on this.
The reason Jameson would be interested in getting Doom to American shores? So the tyrant can stomp out Spider-Man for him, of course! Spidey swings over to the Bugle and tells secretary Betty that he wants to talk to Jameson, but the man's not in yet. It seems he's stuck in traffic, and Jameson finally decides that he might as well walk to the paper - it'd be faster! He tips his taxi driver a dime, and when he gets a sarcastic thanks in response, he complains that he meant to give a nickel instead. That's wrong with this country, he complains, everyone's always ripping him off! Also the city is bankrupt! The streets are a jungle! You can't see the pollution because of the smog! And there hasn't been a nice day since Herbert Hoover! Yea, this is J. Jonah Jameson alright. He figures things will start looking up when he gets Doom to lean on Spider-Man…
As Jameson enters the paper, he gets warned that he has a guest in his office - and it's not one that sets up an appointment. 'You!' Jameson declares as he finds Spider-Man on his roof. 'You misanthropic masked moron!' Spidey ignores the insults, demanding to know whether Jameson is behind Doom's imminent arrival. Jameson admits it, claiming that they need people like Doom who won't let commie pinkos push them around - he wiped out crime in Latveria! Spidey points out he did that by calling his enemies criminals and having them all shot. Jameson calls him a nit-picker. Heh. Spidey soon departs, and Jameson shakes his fist angrily at the hero as he leaves.
Spidey swings across the rooftops, scaring people below as he goes - a cop takes care of a woman who faints at the sight of the hero's athletic tricks, and he complains that this sort of thing happens every time the wall-crawler is out and about. The mayor, meanwhile, worries that Spider-Man's presence might interfere with Doom's arrival. At a nearby home, Peter's Aunt May and a friend are watching some news coverage of the shocked crowd, and worry about what that 'creature' Spider-Man might do - and if they'll ever find out who he really is. Well, at least it won't be anyone they know... Mary Jane soon arrives, looking for Peter. She's told that he's in midtown - the same place Spidey was spotted. MJ thinks he's pretty great, and says as much - with those biceps, he could menace her anytime!
Here, we get a peculiar bit of time warping, as we see a repeat of the earlier scene where Spidey is leaving the Daily Bugle, but this time with somewhat different dialogue that re-explains the plot-point that Jameson is responsible for Doom's arrival. Actually, we get two repeats of that across two days, which brings the total amount of times this exact moment has been depicted up to four. I know that Marvel made a joke about this exact phenomenon when the newspaper strip crossed over with the Spider-Verse storyline, but sheesh, it's a bit much!
As he ditches his costume in favor of street clothes, Peter Parker reflects on whether or not Jameson is right to call him a menace - maybe he really is a threat to the establishment, to Jameson's idea of law and order. Maybe all his crime-fighting is just an ego-trip. Regardless, Jameson is not the real problem - Doctor Doom is. What will happen when he gets here?
At that very moment Doom arrives in his private jet, and he has Spider-Man on his mind. He likens New York to a gleaming jewel that lightens the portals of liberty - but it's a jewel that has tarnished, like the dream of liberty itself. Only the iron hand of Doom can restore its faded luster, of course! But New York is only the start, as the whole world will be his! As he departs from his plane he's accosted by paparazzi, and Doom declares them all witless dolts - is this how they greet a monarch? Jameson soon arrives with Peter in tow and introduces himself, and the Latverian monarch promises that he'll teach the UN how to stop terrorism - in a way they'll never forget!
As Peter goes to take a picture of Doom for the Daily Bugle, he's blasted off his feet for his trouble - none may take a picture of Doom's visage without his royal sanction! Jameson tries to smooth things over, claiming Peter's just a kid who didn't know any better, and they walk off. Peter figures this is proof enough that Doom is up to no good, but as a king he has diplomatic immunity - nobody can stop him! Nobody, that is, except for Spider-Man! Peter puts on his costume and chases after Doom, intent on warning the UN about this walking time-bomb in their midst. He soon spots a crate that's balancing precariously overhead, though, and figures that's more immediately dangerous. He calls out a warning, but Doom is already there, and blasts the crate to smithereens.
The crowd surrounding Doom is shocked at the laser blasts he shot from his hands, and the monarch simply asks if they thought the armor was for show - then he points at Spider-Man, and accuses him of attacking the Lord of Latveria! He aims the next blast at the wall-crawler, who quickly swings away, wondering how on earth he'll get his warning to the UN now, when people think he's an assassin! As Spidey flees from trigger-happy cops, Jameson and Doom confer, and decide that dealing with Spider-Man might be a nice practical way to prove the merits of Doom's methods in taking down terrorists…
At the UN, meanwhile, people are worried about Doom's arrival, as they've heard that his power is more than human, more than merely mortal!
Jameson meanwhile is still reminding Doom that the Daily Bugle got him his invite to the UN - the monarch simply declares that he goes where he wills. It's about time for the conference on terrorism to start, and Spidey is somewhere else, still fleeing from the police and worrying about what is going to happen next.
The anti-terrorism speech has started, and it's pretty predictable - and uncomfortably relevant in modern politics, unfortunately. Doom declares that the answer to terrorism is naked force, as only the strong can conquer crime! Only raw power can crush the lawless! What Doom has done for Latveria must be done for all the world! Give him complete control of world security, Doom declares, and he will end unbridled terrorism! Terror must be met with terror! He doesn't seek votes, nor request them - he demands them!
I need to take a moment here to mention something that's bugging me. This entire sequence featuring the UN speech, with fanboy Jameson cheerleading and Doom demanding control of other countries - it's pretty much Spidey Super Stories #9 all over again. Like, the parallels are too blatant and obvious to be coincidental. Now, it would make total sense if that comic was an adapted version of this story, simplified for kids. But… that comic was published in 1975, while this came out a full two years later! Surely this newspaper strip didn't actually adapt a plot from the Sesame Street people as their pilot storyline, right? That can't be true, can it? Are both of these comics adapting something else that I haven't even covered, like a television episode?
Spidey arrives at the UN in time to hear Doom threatening the other world leaders, but before he can act on that he's spotted by a police chopper that starts taking potshots at him, still convinced he's an assassin out to start World War 3 somehow, and he swings away. Jameson, meanwhile, is mugging for the cameras and announcing that Doom will put an end to public enemies like Spider-Man. Other reporters are less enthusiastic, noting that the press is on the whole overwhelmingly negative about Doom, and all he stands for. Peter, meanwhile, has gone home in order to prepare for his inevitable run-in with Doom - he's going to have to employ his smarts and scientific skill if he wants to have any chance when faced with Doom's arsenal of weapons!
Peter works all through the night, and creates a new chemical formula - the perfect tool to stop Doctor Doom! But first it's time to take a nap and recharge. His dreams are uneasy, filled with images of Jameson and Doom, but soon enough his alarm rings and he's forced to get up. He fills up his web cartridges with his new formula, then swings off to find his target at the UN building. Spider-Man figures they must've put Doom in one of the best suites, since he is a head of state - but his exploration is cut off when the police helicopter from before appears again to hassle him.
Within the UN building, it seems the meeting from before never ended - but I presume they've reconvened on the next day, or they've really worked overtime. Doom wants to know the response to his ultimatum, and the other world leaders declare his ideas impossible - they can't abolish terorrism by capitulating to greater terror! Doom declares that he is no longer asking permission, and uses his gauntlet to blast the door, trapping the world leaders in the room with him. Which is, of course, when Spider-Man blasts through the window to face the Latverian tyrant, who is all too happy to demonstrate his power by destroying the interloper…
Spidey and Doom face off, while the world leaders attempt to escape but find that the door has been welded shut. Doom soon manages to nail his foe with a hand blast, and knocks him to the ground, where the world leaders quickly check up on him and are relieved to find that he's alive - if nearly unconscious from the blast. In his delirium, Spidey actually goes over the origins of Doctor Doom, recounting his birth as a gypsy, and his ill-fated attempt to contact the netherworld, and his trip to the mountains where he received his iron mask and new identity. As he awakens, Spidey finds that only seconds have passed - but they feel like hours. Doom starts shooting him again the moment he moves, and the hero is only narrowly saved by putting a chair between himself and the lethal blasts. That, obviously, is not a long-term solution.
Spidey plays possum for a bit, allowing Doom to think he's won, and takes advantage of the villain's posturing to web up the eye-holes of his mask. He calls it a 'web facial' which - ew.
Although this does briefly stop him, Doom soon activates heating elements within his armor to melt the webs away. He declares that his body is a 'living arsenal', which is actually used several times as a descriptor of Doom during this storyline - sort of like 'Master of Menace', I suppose, but less alliterative. The melting of the webs actually takes a really long time within the story, since we spend a full two pages just treading water until the story gets going again. Most of that is spent just watching people react to ongoing events, and none of those reactions are remotely surprising.
The conflict at the UN is visible from the outside, it seems, and the news has finally picked up the story of what's going on - there's a strange glow coming from the chamber with the delegates, and nobody can enter since the doors are locked. Spider-Man is believed to be involved somehow, much to Aunt May's horror. She hopes Peter isn't there, and MJ reassures her, telling her that the worst danger Peter has to face is hurting his finger pressing buttons on his camera. Soon enough Jameson is back on television, happily explaining that he is the only news anchor willing to support Doctor Doom against the menace of Spider-Man…
Doom finally escapes from Spider-Man's webs by ripping the weakened strands apart with his gauntlets, and then turns his hand-blasts on the wall-crawler. The moment he fires, however, he suddenly finds his weapons short-circuiting - the result of Spidey's new web formula, which Doom spread everywhere in his attempts to remove it.
Unknowingly, Doom disarmed his own weapons by trying to use them! The tyrant declares that he doesn't need his weapons - he still has his own strength! Spider-Man gets the drop on him and punches Doom across the face, but finds that even with his power hitting solid steel hurts like hell! Doom mocks Spidey for his failed attempt to knock him out, and declares that it's time for the final test: Spider-Man's puny flesh against his own invincible armor - and death to the loser!
Spider-Man leap-frogs over Doom, disturbingly calling him 'Doom baby' as he does this, then using his momentum to fling him across the room. As the delegates in the room realize that Spider-Man is winning the face-off, Doom decides to cut his losses and declares that he'll not sully his hands in combat for those who have so little faith in him. He was only attempting to foster peace, he claims, sulking as he marches off towards home. Jameson wants to know what happened, and Doom declares that he'll let the world wallow in lawlessness - it's the price they pay for tolerating a Spider-Man among them!
Doctor Doom: Professional Gaslighter! (April 10th, 1978 – July 2nd, 1978)
The next storyline picks up after Spidey heads home from a trip to Hollywood, where he had a run-in with Mysterio. As he arrives home and takes a quick swing across town as Spider-Man, he's observed by a most peculiar bird - a mechanical pigeon! We'll be seeing this thing a fair bit during this arc, flapping around the edges as a silent, strafe-shitting observer…
We switch to Latveria, mysterious kingdom in the Bavarian Alps, where Doom is doing his traditional walk around town, while his people avert their eyes and bow as he passes. A small boy refuses, wanting to see the Master up close, and Doom actually takes a moment to address the boy with a kind word, who declares that he knew the Master wasn't as bad people said.
Doom is then approached by a beggar, who promptly gets a steel fist to the face, and is then carried off in chains by the guards. Figures. He takes a moment to enjoy his absolute rule, and declares it will one day apply to all the world! He's then called over by a bald scientist - another Hauptmann, no doubt - who declares that Spider-Man has been spotted!
Doom watches on a tele-screen as one of his robotic servants arrives in Vienna, where it knocks on a door and greets a Dr. Karl Lazlo, who quickly shuts the door in its face. He has no interest in serving the mad monarch, but he doesn't get a choice as the robot punches its way inside. He's then dragged into a car by a second robot, and screams of terror resound in the streets of Vienna. The police are soon in pursuit to prevent the kidnapping, but Doom is prepared - the car sprouts wings and blasts into the sky, leaving the cops helpless to pursue the vehicle as it heads for Latveria. While all this is going on, Peter spends a few hours at the library, chatting with friends and preparing for his exams.
Frustrated by all the studying, Peter decides to get a breather and swing around as Spider-Man for a while. He soon finds himself approaching a bridge, and spots someone standing high atop it, and suspects they may be a jumper. He doesn't notice the mechanical pigeon from before is watching him again… As he approaches, Spidey recognized that the jumper is actually J. Jonah Jameson, and he tries to convince the man to step away from the edge. Doom, meanwhile, uses the pigeon to set off a smoke bomb, hiding the events on top of the bridge from the motorists below. Jameson, it seems, is intent on framing Spider-Man for his murder, and takes a flying leap from the bridge - everyone will think he was pushed!
Spidey realizes that Jameson has gone completely mental, and jumps after the man to save him, although he's hindered by the inexplicable smoke that's spreading below. The moment they enter this fog, Jameson disintegrates into wires and gears - he was a robot replica all along! Spider-Man doesn't see this, however, and plunges through the smoke and into the water below, unaware that there was never anybody to save. He frantically searches the depths for any sign of Jameson, but comes up empty. Distraught, he wonders what on Earth made the man snap like this. His spider-sense then activates and Spidey realizes he's been spotted by some people on the shore, and immediately concludes they must believe he pushed Jameson off the bridge. He swings away, worried about what this might all mean for him…
Peter eventually goes to the Daily Bugle, and is puzzled to find that everything's perfectly normal there. In fact, he's shocked to find that J. Jonah Jameson is in his office, perfectly healthy! He excuses himself, not sure what to think. In Latveria, meanwhile, Doom notes that his new prisoner is the key to his conquest of Spider-Man, and has him retrieved from the dungeons. This man, Karl Lazlo, is apparently one of Europe's most prominent psychiatrists, and he's pretty brave - he says that while Doom flaunts his power, the truly powerful do not need iron masks to instill fear in the heart of their subjects. Doom notes that he doesn't wear his mask for theatrical effect, but for more practical reasons. He then removes it, and we see Lazlo's horrified reaction to whatever lies beneath. Only he has been granted this glimpse of his face, Doom declares, because he'll never be able to tell anyone else… Ominous!
Back in New York, Peter worries about his state of mind, wondering if he's started hallucinating, or if his powers are messing with his mind. He tries to concentrate on his tests, but he keeps thinking of Jameson instead. In Latveria, meanwhile, Doom reassures Lazlo that he doesn't intend to hurt him. The psychiatrist notes that Doom might not intend it, but he can't help himself - and perhaps he can help with fixing that. Find a cure for what ails him? Doom dismisses this idea, then locks Lazlo inside a glass prison and subjects him to a mind probe - a device which will suck every last iota of scientific knowledge from his brain, which will serve as the perfect weapon for Doom to use against Spider-Man…
Peter isn't having a great time - he screwed upon an exam, and when he tries to cool off as Spider-Man, he runs into Doc Ock, a villain that he knows is safely in prison. Is the world going mad, or just him?
Doom, meanwhile, finishes sucking all the information from Lazlo's brain, and in a remarkable bit of keeping the spirit of his word, rather than just the letter, Doom sends the man home unharmed, but without the memories of his time in Latveria. That really is the best possible way that could have ended for the psychiatrist, isn't it? Huh. Doom takes the knowledge he's copied and instills it into one of his robots…
It seems Doom is still thinking of Lazlo's offer to psycho-analyze him, in order to find a peace he's never known. Doom rejects the notion, as he doesn't want peace, but power. The world is mad, while Doom's is the ultimate sanity! Back in the fight with Doc Ock, Spidey suddenly finds the man fading out of existence, until he's alone on the rooftop. Did he imagine it all? Is the spider venom in his blood finally driving him mad? Meanwhile, Doom sends his robot to New York, to finish the job that his holograms started…
Peter takes a moment to unwind, as he's worried about all these hallucinations he's having. He turns on the television and switches to Plot Convenience Channel, as a psychiatrist comes on to comment that Spider-Man obviously never outgrew his adolescent fantasies, and should submit to psycho-analysis to help him before he parts ways with reality entirely. Plagued by sleeplessness, he goes out web-swinging and almost falls to his death when his web-line mysteriously snaps on him. As he gathers his bearings, he's suddenly approached by Kraven the Hunter, another villain that really shouldn't be there…
Kraven traps Spidey in a steel net, who effortlessly breaks through that with his super-strength - his mind might be going, but his body isn't. As this happens, however, the fake Kraven sneaks off and transforms into the mayor of New York, who soon holds Spider-Man at gunpoint. The hero, disoriented by his recent fall and the apparent hallucinations, reaches a breaking point - and in that moment the image of the Mayor disappears. Spidey is now convinced he needs immediate help, and tracks down the psychiatrist he saw on television, Dr. Wynn. She's happy to assist, figuring she'll write medical history, but when she asks for his name Spidey is unwilling to reveal his identity. The Doctor allows this, figuring they should discuss the problem he's having.
Spider-Man explains his recent hallucinations, recounting his vision of the bridge suicide, Doc Ock, Kraven the Hunter, and the mayor of New York. Even as he does so, however, the visions suddenly reassert themselves right in front of him, and Spider-Man is horrified to realize that Dr. Wynn is completely oblivious - they really are all in his head!
He damages a wall trying to get at the villains, and the Doctor warns him that he's growing more violent, and he should watch out for that. He heads home, worried about what'll happen if he goes mad, considering all his power.
As he arrives home, it turns out that Aunt May has come by for a visit, and she's brought pie. Peter, still high-strung, eats rather quickly and claims to have an appointment in a few minutes, much to his Aunt's disappointment. He spots a bit of his costume is showing in a mirror, but when he goes to hide it away he realizes there's nothing there. Aunt May realizes he's tense and nervous, and Peter claims it's just his exams, which prompts her to leave him be - he'd best get a good night's sleep, take his vitamins, and stay out of drafts! As she leaves, Peter worries about himself, fearing what he might do if the madness comes over him again while she's in the room…
Deciding he'll pay another visit to Dr. Wynn, Spider-Man crawls along some walls, only for the mechanical pigeon to appear again. It fires a tiny disc onto his costume, which causes him to go dizzy and lose control of his wall-crawling abilities. As he falls from the sky, he quickly uses his webs and catches himself in a hastily spun hammock. He's too paranoid now, however, to rely on his spider-powers, and decides to stay at street level while he travels to the psychiatrist. He soon finds himself back on the couch, and takes a moment to rest his eyes while the Doctor finishes a phone call.
Spidey momentarily feels dizzy, and then suddenly everything's wrong - everything has flipped upside down, and Dr. Wynn is walking upside-down on the ceiling! The Doctor declares that his spider-identity has taken control, and it sees things the way a Spider would - hanging from the ceiling. The only way to banish this hallucination, then, is to release the spider-identity - to reveal his human self! Spidey declares that he can't, for the sake of his family and loved ones. Wynn tells him that he must think of himself - or does he want to go completely mad? In a panic, Spidey jumps out a window and leaves, too scared to even swing anymore…
Peter, aghast at all the terrible hallucinations that have been plaguing him, decides that if the Spider-Man identity is what's causing his problems, then Spider-Man must die!
He throws his costume in the bin, but hears a clink as he does it. He discovers a peculiar disc attached to the costume, and wonders what it is… He experiments a little, and realizes that without the disc, his powers have returned to their normal strength, and he can once more cling effortlessly to walls and ceiling. The device was planted to shake his confidence in his powers, then - but why, and by who? He decides he'll bring it to Dr. Wynn, to show that there's more going on than him going mad… Doom watches from afar, worried that his disc was discovered, but happy that Spidey's reaction is to head for his psychiatrist, as he'd intended all along. Naturally, when Spidey arrives to show Wynn the device, it's mysteriously vanished - like it was another hallucination!
Back on the couch, Spidey is still reluctant to talk about his real identity, but finally admits that it might be necessary, and starts to take off his mask. Doom wants to savor the moment and steers his remote-control pigeon closer, which triggers Spider-Man's danger sense. While Wynn tries to convince him to take off his mask, Spidey somehow figures out the pigeon is a drone sent by Doctor Doom, and webs it up. Now that the webs have blinded it, the pigeon starts madly flapping through the room, and strikes Dr. Wynn's arm - and it's accompanied by a noise of metal striking metal. The jig is up!
'If you couldn't defeat him as a female, then do it as a robot!' Doom announces, and Wynn reveals herself to be a machine. Spider-Man is relieved that things have returned to normal - a big dumb robot is something he can fight. Doom really had him going there for a while, convinced he was going mad, but it didn't work! They crash through a wall into the 'upside-down room' from before, revealing it to be yet another trick, rather than a hallucination. Spider-Man tries to punch the robot, but much like with Doom himself, his fists are no match for solid steel.
He then crawls up the wall to escape from the bot, only to discover it's equipped with suction pods and chasing after him! His next escape attempt is out the window, but iron bars suddenly descend to cut off his escape route, forcing him to deal with the mechanical man. Doom watches it all from his mechanical bird, and while he would've liked to end things with more… delicacy, he'll savor the results of his conquest either way…
Fighting the robot on the ceiling of the upside-down room, Spider-Man quickly searches the place for some oil, and uses it to slick up the ceiling beneath their feet, causing his foe's suction pads to loosen. The robot crashes to smithereens on the 'ceiling' below, finishing it off. While the Doom-pigeon commands the robot to rise again, Spidey grabs it from the air and crushes it in his grip, silencing the tin bird forever.
Doom decides their battle is over, and he has lost - never has he faced a more worthy foe than Spider-Man! Now, though, it's time to ensure no evidence remains - it would be unseemly for the world to suspect that the Lord of Latveria has known failure, after all. He blows up the pigeon and the broken robot, cleaning the board. Spider-Man, meanwhile, swings away from the fight and figures he's seen the last of Doctor Doom for a while - though he's still a bit paranoid about pigeons...
To be continued… if I ever get access to those stories!
Rating & Comments
It's tough to give a fair rating to these comic strips, since they're clearly not meant to be taken in all at once. They're simplistic, repetitive, and spend entirely too much time hammering in the few basic plot points they have to be enjoyable in a single sitting, which makes them a bit of a slog. That said, they manage to tell nice, coherent stories that you could puzzle out pretty easily even if you missed out on like half the pages, which is probably perfect for a newspaper strip that readers might not catch every day.
The first story I covered here, featuring Doom at the UN building, still puzzles me greatly because of its baffling similarities with that 'Spidey Super Stories' issue I've already covered. There must surely have some good explanation, but I haven't found it yet. That said, this story has a much more elaborate build-up than conclusion, as it spends easily four times as many pages on informing us of Jameson's misguided views and Peter's worry than it bothers to spend on giving a half-decent explanation for Doom suddenly leaving in the middle of the fight. I suppose it doesn't help that the build-up includes stuff like that quadruple shot of Spidey bantering with J. Jonah Jameson as he leaves the Daily Bugle - that's just eating up pages!
The second story is a little odd to me, in that Doom's plan to drive Spider-Man insane doesn't really seem like the kind of villainy he tends to get up to. Kidnapping a psychiatrist to drain the memories from his head? Yeah, that's Doomish enough. Letting him go home unharmed, and then using the memories to construct a psychiatrist-bot? Okay, I can buy that, if he's having a particularly good day. But doing the Mysterio thing and tricking Spidey into thinking he's going mad with weird illusions and tricks? What does he even get out of that? I suppose I'll just have to interpret this as another variation on Doom screwing with random superheroes for the fun of it, like he recently did with Shang-Chi over in the main series. It's interesting to note that Doom stays in Latveria for the duration of this story - he does all his villainy by remote control robot pigeon, which is just kind of adorable.
On the whole, the Doctor Doom displayed in these two issues is relatively similar to his early interpretations in the comics - with one glaring exception. In the Spider-Man Newspaper universe, the Fantastic Four do not appear to exist! The Marvel Universe of the newspapers seems largely confined to Spidey himself and his rogues gallery for many years after its first publication, which means Doom is left without basically any of his usual competitors. Poor thing!
Most Gloriously Reported Doom Quotes
"New York - where the accursed Spider-Man dwells! How like a gleaming jewel it glistens - lighting the portals of liberty! But the jewel is now tarnished - just as the dream of liberty itself! Only the iron hand of Doctor Doom can restore their faded lustre!"
"The answer to terrorism is naked force! Only the strong can conquer crime! Only raw power can crush the lawless! The power is mine! The skill is mine! The resolve is mine! What Doctor Doom has done for Latveria must be done for all the world! Give me complete control of world security, and I offer you and end to unbridled terrorism! Violence is rampant throughout the globe! You have no other choice! Let a vote be taken now! Force must be met with force - terror with terror! I do not seek your vote! I do not request your vote! I demand it!"
"What? You side with him, against Doctor Doom? Then let us now end this charade! I'll not sully my hands in battle for those of little faith! I offered to crush terrorism - to bring peace to the world! Yet you fought me! Let the world wallow in lawlessness! It is the price you pay for tolerating a Spider-Man among you!"
"He dared suggest I submit to psycho-analysis - to help me find the peace I have never known. The fool! I seek not peace - but power! The world is mad! But mine is the ultimate sanity!"
"The charade is ended! Spider-Man still lives! Never have I battled a more worthy foe! But now, I shall ensure that no evidence remains. It would be unseemly for the world to suspect that the Lord of Latveria has tasted failure!"
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070: Fantastic Four v1 #198 - Invasion!
- Location
- Netherlands
070: Fantastic Four #198 (September 1978)
Cover
Ah, we meet again, cover which features Doctor Doom watching other people on a monitor! At least this incarnation is moderately more interesting by including a bunch of superheroes in glass tubes, and a kind of hilarious expression on Doom's face. I'm… not sure how Doom's rigid mask is supposed to be making that particular movement, actually. This isn't a particularly great cover, mostly because it's clearly a somewhat lame attempt to recapture the Silver Age, but I'll take what I can get...
Story Overview
Invasion!
Reed Richards is speeding towards Latveria in his old Pogo Plane, an airplane that lands vertically on its tail like a classic Sci-Fi rocket. He's beating himself up for not connecting the dots sooner - who would have the genius to create the designs he was working on at Cynthian Associates, the money to finance his space trip, and the ability to capture the Fantastic Four so easily? Only Doctor Doom, of course! And he's played into the tyrant's hands like an idiot… but no more! This time only one of them will walk away from their confrontation alive!
Reed flies in under the radar, and starts making his way towards Doom's castle, taking advantage of his enhanced powers to swing across huge distances, hover down by forming his body into the shape of a parachute, then turning into a ball and bouncing the rest of the way. For some reason Reed has decided to bring a full backpack along with him, even including a rolled up mattress. Is he planning for a slumber party at Doom's?
He tries to sneak past some robot guards, but his attempts to jam their signals fail, and a bunch of unusual red-and-gold robots on wheels come to attack him. Reed is surprised to find they've been upgraded with advanced lasers - the Latverian monarch must be expecting trouble, or why else would he go through the expense of making them?
It's here that Reed considers all the bits and pieces he's learned so far, and tries to figure out how they fit together. This must all have something to do with why Doom kidnapped the Fantastic Four, Reed reasons, and why he gave Reed his powers back. There's also that strange device he had scientists develop - what's that about? And, of course, there is that mystery lieutenant of Doom's whose face Reed can't seem to place. Who is that, anyway? It seems that Reed still hasn't connected those particular dots!
His musing is interrupted when, during an attempt to deactivate a robot, he triggers some anti-tampering technology and gets blasted to hell, landing in a nearby pond in a tangle of elongated limbs. He bobs around for a bit, unconscious, until someone finds him and drags him out, declaring that he'll be brought to their leader…
Doom, meanwhile, is giving the rest of the Fantastic Four a guided tour of his castle, marveling at all the art treasures he has on display in every nook and cranny, all of them helpfully 'liberated' from the common rabble, who thought that the mindless masses should have access to such greatness. Ben wants to know what became of Alicia, and Doom explains that she's still working on his statue, to be presented to the United Nations when Doom hands over control of Latveria to his son. He takes a moment to enjoy the festivities outside, where his people are debasing themselves in his honor, then has a bunch of them punished for not smiling correctly. 'I insist my subjects be happy, one way or another!'
Ben soon tries to break free from his shackles, but with each step more and more electricity flows through them, and he's finally blasted unconscious for his trouble. Sue and Johnny proceed to threaten Doom, but the tyrant isn't too impressed. He then tells his son to secure the prisoners and bring Alicia to him - he's feels in the mood to pose!
Reed, meanwhile, has been taken to an underground grotto, where a number of armed men are waiting for him to revive. As soon as he does, he demands to know who they are, and they're revealed to be members of the Latverian Underground, the same rebel group that twice led an insurrection against Doom. One rebel, wearing an over-sized cybernetic eyepiece on his scarred face, introduces himself as Zorba, leader of the Latverian freedom fighters.
He also reveals that less than fifty members of the Underground remain, but they still seek to replace Doom with the heir to the rightful ruler, the late Rudolfo! (This is, in fact, the first confirmation that he did indeed die after that previous appearance in Super-Villain Team-Up…) Zorba also informs Reed that right now the rebellion finds itself in dire straits, as Doom intends to pass on his crown to a new threat - his own son!
Back with Doom, we see Alicia working on his statue, while he taunts the three captive heroes some more. For unclear reasons Doom is not wearing his mask here, and has exposed his face for all to see - and Ben even comments on how ugly he is.
Interestingly, this panel got a fair amount of backlash when it was first published, since readers quickly noted that Doom had never actually shown his scarred face to the Fantastic Four before, and this throw-away panel seemed like a poor way to handle a moment that should presumably have some significance. It turns out the writers and artists never really considered this, and they hastily retconned the moment, declaring that despite what the panel might show, the Fantastic Four didn't actually see Doom's scarred face in this issue. It's… a solution, I guess? Incidentally, the few glimpses of unmasked Doom we get suggest he is balding, which would function as a sort of intermediate between a completely bald Doom and versions of him with a full head of hair. Someday they'll figure out which to stick with, I'm sure…
Doom's son enters and proclaims that it's time for the transference, and his father declares that he was waiting for the machines to be completed, and instructs Alicia to finish her work. He then gets some Servo-Guards to take his prisoners to the transference chamber as well, before finally putting his mask back on. 'He has worn it for so many years, yet it still feels like a cold, dark prison.' The heroes are put into a bunch of transparent globes on a huge machine, knocked unconscious for the procedure.
Doom's son, meanwhile, has undressed and donned a motion capture suit - or maybe he's cosplaying Sting as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen?
The device, it seems, is intended to steal the powers of the Fantastic Four and give them to him - he's been preparing for this from the moment of his birth! Doom laments the loss of Reed Richards - not just because he couldn't steal that hero's powers too, but also because he wanted to humble the man for his arrogance, and have him watch as Doom became ruler of the world! His death soured the sweetness of Doom's triumph - but it will not cheat him of his final victory!
Reed, very much alive, is helping Zorba and pals stage an attack on Doom, but isn't too happy with their plans of a direct attack. Instead he proposes that they climb an unscalable mountain - a prospect which doesn't impress Zorba, who knows what those words mean. Reed then shows off a little, throwing his own arm like a lasso and forming a makeshift bridge with his body. Thankfully the enhancement of his powers allows him to get all the rebels up with only minor pain in his shoulders, rather than the full-body agony he would have been in before. One of Doom's flying spy drones passes by, and Reed quickly flattens his body to blend in with the mountainside and hide the rebels from view - strangely enough, it works! I guess rocks are blue in Latveria!
The group quickly moves on before any more drones might spot them, and arrive at the moat that surrounds Doom's castle. Reed is worried about what might be happening to his family, but he's committed to helping Zorba and his crew, now, and quickly squeezes through the gap between the gate and the wall, entering the castle. He tricks a guard by disguising himself as a bright blue carpet, then wraps himself around the man and demands to know where the drawbridge controls are. The man breaks instantly, and Reed soon tracks down a control room, where he knocks everyone out and flips the lever that allows the rebels entry.
Interesting, there's a bunch of little snippets across this comic which feature Doom's guards as they go about their daily lives - they talk about how boring their job is, warn each other about not admitting that too loudly, they share stories about their children, complain about their fellow guards, and even psyche themselves up about a possible promotion. It's interesting to see this kind of humanizing at a time when the artists have chosen to revert their looks to more robotic affairs like the earliest Servo-Guard appearances. I'm still not clear, by the way, whether or not any of these are meant to be robots, or just people in robot-like costumes. Then again, I don't think Stan Lee ever knew that either...
The rebels rush in, and Zorba declares that if God is with them, Latveria will soon be a democracy again! I have to wonder whether the man has ever looked into the history of his own country. Doom's predecessor, after all, was himself a tyrannical despot who abused the Roma who lived in his country, and who hunted down Doom's family for the crime of not curing his dying wife's disease. As far as we've seen, the country has never been a democracy for as long as it's existed. Besides that, Zorba already claimed he wanted to put power in the hands of Rudolfo's heir - which would mean another King of that very dynasty!
As they move further into the castle, a sliding door suddenly cuts off their escape, and gas starts flooding into the enclosed chamber. Zorba tells Reed to get out while he still can, and take down Doom for them - but Reed quickly snatches up the rebel leader and drags him along. Zorba is horrified that he left all the others to die, but Reed points out that Doom probably used knockout gas rather than something lethal, since he likes to interrogate his prisoners before he kills them. Zorba worries that he's wrong and has led his men to their deaths, but Reed impresses upon him that they still have a chance - Doom can be defeated!
At that moment the two are spotted by a familiar balding scientist, Hauptmann! Reed recognizes him as the brother of the previous Hauptmann. Zorba recognizes him for another reason, as this was the man, he proclaims, who experimented on his eyes and blinded him on one side! When he tries to attack Hauptmann in revenge, however, Reed quickly snatches the man out of the way and demands his cooperation. Hauptmann claims he hates Doom for what was done to his brother, but he's too weak to rebel on his own. Now, though…
We switch back to Doom, who is playing the Appassionata Sonata by Beethoven on one of his fancier pianos. Actually, what he's playing is a sonic keyboard, certainly a reference to the Hyper-Sound Piano that cost the previous Hauptmann his life. The original version of that might actually be what Doom was playing in the previous issue, come to think of it! Hauptmann runs into the room to warn him of the Underground's invasion attempt, but Doom is too caught up in his concert to bother with such trifles. Hauptmann then declares that a few have escaped the gas traps, and Doom turns to him - before blasting him with sleeping gas from his fingers! He's seen through the man's flimsy disguise, he declares, just as it's revealed that Hauptmann was really Reed Richards, employing his stretching powers in a rather novel way. It wasn't good enough, however, and the hero falls unconscious...
It seems that Doom really did believe that Reed had died in the shuttle crash, but then the hero attempted to infiltrate Doom's castle, and from that moment onwards he's been under constant surveillance. As for the guards he so easily defeated along the way? Yeah, they've been destroyed - Doom does not suffer incompetence. (The word 'destroyed' doesn't really clarify whether they were people or robots, does it?) The monarch has some Servo-Guards drag Reed into the power transference machine, figuring his original plan can now go forward after all, to grant all the powers of the Fantastic Four to his son: Victor von Doom, the Second!
Well, I mean, Doom would name his son after himself. Who could have expected anything else?
To be continued...
Rating & Comments
This comic is odd, in that it treats Reed Richards like an action hero rather than his traditional role as the brains of the operation. His enhanced powers keep getting brought up, and they're used in a variety of new and inventive ways - although it does kind of erase any distinction between his superpowers and those of Plastic Man, his counterpart at the Distinguished Competition. Using stretching powers to camouflage a bunch of people or to copy the physical appearance of another person are both kind of a… stretch. Heh. The former honestly feels like it's treading on Sue's territory a bit too much, and the same goes for his newfound ability to form his fists into spiked maces - physical strength is Ben's domain, after all.
Doom's part of this issue has a few nice quotes, but is otherwise underwhelming - there's basically just a bunch of bantering while the Fantastic Four get loaded into the power transference machine, and nothing notable really happens. Nothing, at least, which wasn't already telegraphed in the previous issue. It doesn't help that Doom comes off as a bit out of character in this issue, between walking around with his face uncovered in the presence of his enemies, and his dumb plan to empower his son with superpowers. It seems unreasonable to me that Doom would consider trusting someone else with superpowers again, after that very idea already backfired on him with the Doomsman. Twice, even! Coming off his ill-fated team-ups with Namor, Doom's constant refrain has been to rely only on himself, to stand alone, so why would he start doling out trust now? Especially to people who stand a lot to gain from his losses… Another criticism I have here is that Doom's son basically lost all agency the moment his father became part of the story...
The return of the Latverian Underground is an interesting development, though I'm a little puzzled why the writers decided to kill off an established character like Rudolfo, only to then introduce a very similar one in Zorba, who plays pretty much the same role. Why not stick with what works? Since I already know the fate of this character, I believe that keeping Rudolfo in this role would have led to a more satisfying overall character arc, though I suppose you could just read these two people's journeys as two halves of the same story. That said, the Underground looks kind of wimpy in this issue, since they basically all get taken down by a single trap, right as they enter Doom's castle. Could've gone better...
This issue isn't anything too exciting, but it isn't terrible either… I'll give it a middling score to reflect that. Thus far, this self-proclaimed 'greatest F.F. epic of all' isn't really impressing me with its grand narrative, but I guess we still have a few issues to go. It may still find a way to be interesting!
Best Panel(s) of the Issue
I quite like the opening shot of the Pogo Plane - it's a vintage bit of Fantastic Four tech based on the real 'Convair XFY Pogo' airplane. The real thing actually looks crazier than the comic book interpretation, believe it or not, go check it out!
Most Gloriously Villainous Doom Quotes
"Gaze in abject awe, my fallen foes. Is not my castle a veritable museum? Everywhere about you are magnificent art treasures. Would you believe their previous owners allowed the mindless masses to stare at them? Such art is meant to be seen by greatness alone!"
"Look at those mindless cretins, prancing like headless chickens. It does a monarch's heart proud to see his subjects so willing to debase themselves at my command. Guards! They are not smiling the way I demanded. Punish them as an example to all of Latveria's citizens. I insist my people be happy… one way or another."
"I feel in the mood to pose."
"A pity Richards had to die! But perhaps it is fate that the powers of my greatest enemy could not be harnessed by me, the only mortal who was Richards' better. More's the pity - I wanted Richards humbled. I wanted to end the arrogant way he has always treated me - ever since our days in college! But more… I wanted him to see me declared ruler of the world! His death soured the sweetness of my triumph. But it will not cheat me of my ultimate victory!"
Doom's Bad Hair Day
I figure I could make this a cover-Doom appearance again, but there's another bit of weirdness I wanted to point out - the artist repeatedly makes it seem like the eye slits in Doom's mask are either too thin to accommodate his eyes, or placed in the wrong position for his face...
And occasionally, of course, forgets to color them entirely...
Doom-Tech of the Week
Ben's Wrist Shackles appear in place of the Power Compressor from the previous issue - a solution to keeping the Thing captive without literally tying him to one location. The Power Transference Device is also shown here, and it's a big ungainly behemoth of a machine. The Flying Eye-Spy might count, but I feel like we've seen something similar before somewhere...
Cover
Ah, we meet again, cover which features Doctor Doom watching other people on a monitor! At least this incarnation is moderately more interesting by including a bunch of superheroes in glass tubes, and a kind of hilarious expression on Doom's face. I'm… not sure how Doom's rigid mask is supposed to be making that particular movement, actually. This isn't a particularly great cover, mostly because it's clearly a somewhat lame attempt to recapture the Silver Age, but I'll take what I can get...
Story Overview
Invasion!
Reed Richards is speeding towards Latveria in his old Pogo Plane, an airplane that lands vertically on its tail like a classic Sci-Fi rocket. He's beating himself up for not connecting the dots sooner - who would have the genius to create the designs he was working on at Cynthian Associates, the money to finance his space trip, and the ability to capture the Fantastic Four so easily? Only Doctor Doom, of course! And he's played into the tyrant's hands like an idiot… but no more! This time only one of them will walk away from their confrontation alive!
Reed flies in under the radar, and starts making his way towards Doom's castle, taking advantage of his enhanced powers to swing across huge distances, hover down by forming his body into the shape of a parachute, then turning into a ball and bouncing the rest of the way. For some reason Reed has decided to bring a full backpack along with him, even including a rolled up mattress. Is he planning for a slumber party at Doom's?
He tries to sneak past some robot guards, but his attempts to jam their signals fail, and a bunch of unusual red-and-gold robots on wheels come to attack him. Reed is surprised to find they've been upgraded with advanced lasers - the Latverian monarch must be expecting trouble, or why else would he go through the expense of making them?
It's here that Reed considers all the bits and pieces he's learned so far, and tries to figure out how they fit together. This must all have something to do with why Doom kidnapped the Fantastic Four, Reed reasons, and why he gave Reed his powers back. There's also that strange device he had scientists develop - what's that about? And, of course, there is that mystery lieutenant of Doom's whose face Reed can't seem to place. Who is that, anyway? It seems that Reed still hasn't connected those particular dots!
His musing is interrupted when, during an attempt to deactivate a robot, he triggers some anti-tampering technology and gets blasted to hell, landing in a nearby pond in a tangle of elongated limbs. He bobs around for a bit, unconscious, until someone finds him and drags him out, declaring that he'll be brought to their leader…
Doom, meanwhile, is giving the rest of the Fantastic Four a guided tour of his castle, marveling at all the art treasures he has on display in every nook and cranny, all of them helpfully 'liberated' from the common rabble, who thought that the mindless masses should have access to such greatness. Ben wants to know what became of Alicia, and Doom explains that she's still working on his statue, to be presented to the United Nations when Doom hands over control of Latveria to his son. He takes a moment to enjoy the festivities outside, where his people are debasing themselves in his honor, then has a bunch of them punished for not smiling correctly. 'I insist my subjects be happy, one way or another!'
Ben soon tries to break free from his shackles, but with each step more and more electricity flows through them, and he's finally blasted unconscious for his trouble. Sue and Johnny proceed to threaten Doom, but the tyrant isn't too impressed. He then tells his son to secure the prisoners and bring Alicia to him - he's feels in the mood to pose!
Reed, meanwhile, has been taken to an underground grotto, where a number of armed men are waiting for him to revive. As soon as he does, he demands to know who they are, and they're revealed to be members of the Latverian Underground, the same rebel group that twice led an insurrection against Doom. One rebel, wearing an over-sized cybernetic eyepiece on his scarred face, introduces himself as Zorba, leader of the Latverian freedom fighters.
He also reveals that less than fifty members of the Underground remain, but they still seek to replace Doom with the heir to the rightful ruler, the late Rudolfo! (This is, in fact, the first confirmation that he did indeed die after that previous appearance in Super-Villain Team-Up…) Zorba also informs Reed that right now the rebellion finds itself in dire straits, as Doom intends to pass on his crown to a new threat - his own son!
Back with Doom, we see Alicia working on his statue, while he taunts the three captive heroes some more. For unclear reasons Doom is not wearing his mask here, and has exposed his face for all to see - and Ben even comments on how ugly he is.
Interestingly, this panel got a fair amount of backlash when it was first published, since readers quickly noted that Doom had never actually shown his scarred face to the Fantastic Four before, and this throw-away panel seemed like a poor way to handle a moment that should presumably have some significance. It turns out the writers and artists never really considered this, and they hastily retconned the moment, declaring that despite what the panel might show, the Fantastic Four didn't actually see Doom's scarred face in this issue. It's… a solution, I guess? Incidentally, the few glimpses of unmasked Doom we get suggest he is balding, which would function as a sort of intermediate between a completely bald Doom and versions of him with a full head of hair. Someday they'll figure out which to stick with, I'm sure…
Doom's son enters and proclaims that it's time for the transference, and his father declares that he was waiting for the machines to be completed, and instructs Alicia to finish her work. He then gets some Servo-Guards to take his prisoners to the transference chamber as well, before finally putting his mask back on. 'He has worn it for so many years, yet it still feels like a cold, dark prison.' The heroes are put into a bunch of transparent globes on a huge machine, knocked unconscious for the procedure.
Doom's son, meanwhile, has undressed and donned a motion capture suit - or maybe he's cosplaying Sting as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen?
The device, it seems, is intended to steal the powers of the Fantastic Four and give them to him - he's been preparing for this from the moment of his birth! Doom laments the loss of Reed Richards - not just because he couldn't steal that hero's powers too, but also because he wanted to humble the man for his arrogance, and have him watch as Doom became ruler of the world! His death soured the sweetness of Doom's triumph - but it will not cheat him of his final victory!
Reed, very much alive, is helping Zorba and pals stage an attack on Doom, but isn't too happy with their plans of a direct attack. Instead he proposes that they climb an unscalable mountain - a prospect which doesn't impress Zorba, who knows what those words mean. Reed then shows off a little, throwing his own arm like a lasso and forming a makeshift bridge with his body. Thankfully the enhancement of his powers allows him to get all the rebels up with only minor pain in his shoulders, rather than the full-body agony he would have been in before. One of Doom's flying spy drones passes by, and Reed quickly flattens his body to blend in with the mountainside and hide the rebels from view - strangely enough, it works! I guess rocks are blue in Latveria!
The group quickly moves on before any more drones might spot them, and arrive at the moat that surrounds Doom's castle. Reed is worried about what might be happening to his family, but he's committed to helping Zorba and his crew, now, and quickly squeezes through the gap between the gate and the wall, entering the castle. He tricks a guard by disguising himself as a bright blue carpet, then wraps himself around the man and demands to know where the drawbridge controls are. The man breaks instantly, and Reed soon tracks down a control room, where he knocks everyone out and flips the lever that allows the rebels entry.
Interesting, there's a bunch of little snippets across this comic which feature Doom's guards as they go about their daily lives - they talk about how boring their job is, warn each other about not admitting that too loudly, they share stories about their children, complain about their fellow guards, and even psyche themselves up about a possible promotion. It's interesting to see this kind of humanizing at a time when the artists have chosen to revert their looks to more robotic affairs like the earliest Servo-Guard appearances. I'm still not clear, by the way, whether or not any of these are meant to be robots, or just people in robot-like costumes. Then again, I don't think Stan Lee ever knew that either...
The rebels rush in, and Zorba declares that if God is with them, Latveria will soon be a democracy again! I have to wonder whether the man has ever looked into the history of his own country. Doom's predecessor, after all, was himself a tyrannical despot who abused the Roma who lived in his country, and who hunted down Doom's family for the crime of not curing his dying wife's disease. As far as we've seen, the country has never been a democracy for as long as it's existed. Besides that, Zorba already claimed he wanted to put power in the hands of Rudolfo's heir - which would mean another King of that very dynasty!
As they move further into the castle, a sliding door suddenly cuts off their escape, and gas starts flooding into the enclosed chamber. Zorba tells Reed to get out while he still can, and take down Doom for them - but Reed quickly snatches up the rebel leader and drags him along. Zorba is horrified that he left all the others to die, but Reed points out that Doom probably used knockout gas rather than something lethal, since he likes to interrogate his prisoners before he kills them. Zorba worries that he's wrong and has led his men to their deaths, but Reed impresses upon him that they still have a chance - Doom can be defeated!
At that moment the two are spotted by a familiar balding scientist, Hauptmann! Reed recognizes him as the brother of the previous Hauptmann. Zorba recognizes him for another reason, as this was the man, he proclaims, who experimented on his eyes and blinded him on one side! When he tries to attack Hauptmann in revenge, however, Reed quickly snatches the man out of the way and demands his cooperation. Hauptmann claims he hates Doom for what was done to his brother, but he's too weak to rebel on his own. Now, though…
We switch back to Doom, who is playing the Appassionata Sonata by Beethoven on one of his fancier pianos. Actually, what he's playing is a sonic keyboard, certainly a reference to the Hyper-Sound Piano that cost the previous Hauptmann his life. The original version of that might actually be what Doom was playing in the previous issue, come to think of it! Hauptmann runs into the room to warn him of the Underground's invasion attempt, but Doom is too caught up in his concert to bother with such trifles. Hauptmann then declares that a few have escaped the gas traps, and Doom turns to him - before blasting him with sleeping gas from his fingers! He's seen through the man's flimsy disguise, he declares, just as it's revealed that Hauptmann was really Reed Richards, employing his stretching powers in a rather novel way. It wasn't good enough, however, and the hero falls unconscious...
It seems that Doom really did believe that Reed had died in the shuttle crash, but then the hero attempted to infiltrate Doom's castle, and from that moment onwards he's been under constant surveillance. As for the guards he so easily defeated along the way? Yeah, they've been destroyed - Doom does not suffer incompetence. (The word 'destroyed' doesn't really clarify whether they were people or robots, does it?) The monarch has some Servo-Guards drag Reed into the power transference machine, figuring his original plan can now go forward after all, to grant all the powers of the Fantastic Four to his son: Victor von Doom, the Second!
Well, I mean, Doom would name his son after himself. Who could have expected anything else?
To be continued...
Rating & Comments
This comic is odd, in that it treats Reed Richards like an action hero rather than his traditional role as the brains of the operation. His enhanced powers keep getting brought up, and they're used in a variety of new and inventive ways - although it does kind of erase any distinction between his superpowers and those of Plastic Man, his counterpart at the Distinguished Competition. Using stretching powers to camouflage a bunch of people or to copy the physical appearance of another person are both kind of a… stretch. Heh. The former honestly feels like it's treading on Sue's territory a bit too much, and the same goes for his newfound ability to form his fists into spiked maces - physical strength is Ben's domain, after all.
Doom's part of this issue has a few nice quotes, but is otherwise underwhelming - there's basically just a bunch of bantering while the Fantastic Four get loaded into the power transference machine, and nothing notable really happens. Nothing, at least, which wasn't already telegraphed in the previous issue. It doesn't help that Doom comes off as a bit out of character in this issue, between walking around with his face uncovered in the presence of his enemies, and his dumb plan to empower his son with superpowers. It seems unreasonable to me that Doom would consider trusting someone else with superpowers again, after that very idea already backfired on him with the Doomsman. Twice, even! Coming off his ill-fated team-ups with Namor, Doom's constant refrain has been to rely only on himself, to stand alone, so why would he start doling out trust now? Especially to people who stand a lot to gain from his losses… Another criticism I have here is that Doom's son basically lost all agency the moment his father became part of the story...
The return of the Latverian Underground is an interesting development, though I'm a little puzzled why the writers decided to kill off an established character like Rudolfo, only to then introduce a very similar one in Zorba, who plays pretty much the same role. Why not stick with what works? Since I already know the fate of this character, I believe that keeping Rudolfo in this role would have led to a more satisfying overall character arc, though I suppose you could just read these two people's journeys as two halves of the same story. That said, the Underground looks kind of wimpy in this issue, since they basically all get taken down by a single trap, right as they enter Doom's castle. Could've gone better...
This issue isn't anything too exciting, but it isn't terrible either… I'll give it a middling score to reflect that. Thus far, this self-proclaimed 'greatest F.F. epic of all' isn't really impressing me with its grand narrative, but I guess we still have a few issues to go. It may still find a way to be interesting!
Best Panel(s) of the Issue
I quite like the opening shot of the Pogo Plane - it's a vintage bit of Fantastic Four tech based on the real 'Convair XFY Pogo' airplane. The real thing actually looks crazier than the comic book interpretation, believe it or not, go check it out!
Most Gloriously Villainous Doom Quotes
"Gaze in abject awe, my fallen foes. Is not my castle a veritable museum? Everywhere about you are magnificent art treasures. Would you believe their previous owners allowed the mindless masses to stare at them? Such art is meant to be seen by greatness alone!"
"Look at those mindless cretins, prancing like headless chickens. It does a monarch's heart proud to see his subjects so willing to debase themselves at my command. Guards! They are not smiling the way I demanded. Punish them as an example to all of Latveria's citizens. I insist my people be happy… one way or another."
"I feel in the mood to pose."
"A pity Richards had to die! But perhaps it is fate that the powers of my greatest enemy could not be harnessed by me, the only mortal who was Richards' better. More's the pity - I wanted Richards humbled. I wanted to end the arrogant way he has always treated me - ever since our days in college! But more… I wanted him to see me declared ruler of the world! His death soured the sweetness of my triumph. But it will not cheat me of my ultimate victory!"
Doom's Bad Hair Day
I figure I could make this a cover-Doom appearance again, but there's another bit of weirdness I wanted to point out - the artist repeatedly makes it seem like the eye slits in Doom's mask are either too thin to accommodate his eyes, or placed in the wrong position for his face...
And occasionally, of course, forgets to color them entirely...
Doom-Tech of the Week
Ben's Wrist Shackles appear in place of the Power Compressor from the previous issue - a solution to keeping the Thing captive without literally tying him to one location. The Power Transference Device is also shown here, and it's a big ungainly behemoth of a machine. The Flying Eye-Spy might count, but I feel like we've seen something similar before somewhere...
- Pronouns
- He/Him
That's a common misconception. As originally created, Reed fell into the Science Hero archetype. People like Doc Savage and Indiana Jones. So Reed was simultaneously the Brains and the Action Hero
Indeed; note that Reed has been known to defeat the Mad Thinker because the Thinker failed to take into account that Reed is not just a scientist, but A MAN.
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- Location
- Netherlands
This is true, but I do think his role shifted more towards the brains side of the equation as the comics went along - and, of course, it had been almost entirely brains for a while when this comic came out, since Reed lost his powers. I suspect that the action hero take shown here is a reflection of this arc's overall attempt to mimic the Silver Age, presumably because it contains the #200 anniversary.
I'm going to guess, by the way, that Reed's 'enhanced powers' will not last, and the entire team will slip back into a more familiar mold soon enough. The power of status quo compels them. ;D
- Location
- East Coast
And what MAN doesn't put the fail-safe device in the doorbell and asks the mailman to ring it, I ask you?
Well, what's manlier than being prepared?
- Location
- East Coast
There's "being prepared" and there's "my plans are based on a random number generator".
Well, that's why it's an "unpredictable X-factor", innit?
071: Fantastic Four v1 #199 - The Son of Doctor Doom!
- Location
- Netherlands
071: Fantastic Four #199 (October 1978)
Cover
Well, that escalated quickly… Seriously, that really got out of hand fast! This time we get the clash of Victor von Doom vs. Victor von Doom II on the cover, in a pretty epic and no-holds-barred face-off between father and son! Honestly the Fantastic Four kind of feel like window dressing here, spectating from the back of the cover as they are. Especially Johnny, who is represented by half a face that seems to have been pasted in at the last moment, probably when someone realized they forgot one of the heroes entirely. Heh!
I think this cover would have been a little better if the text had been left off, since the imagery works well enough on its own, and anyone reading the storyline would have figured out what was happening pretty easily. Although it does seem a bit spoilery for the direction this storyline is going...
Story Overview
The Son of Doctor Doom!
We start this issue with Doom rocking out on his giant sonic piano, once more devoting some quality time playing classical music, rather than doing any actual super-villainous. Apparently the piano has some relation to his latest plan, but it's left kind of vague what that's all about. Even as Doom enjoys the sound of his symphony, he recaps his plan of transferring power over Latveria to his son - although he uses the word 'seemingly' in the explanation, which rather gives the game away. Apparently Doom can only rule supreme when he has relinquished his power, however that works…
While Doom works on his final overture, Hauptmann suddenly comes rushing into the room, and this time around he's the real deal. He's come to inform Doom that the rebel Zorba has arrived in the courtyard of the castle and demands an audience - a rather different approach than the one he was attempting just last issue, but I suppose when most of your posse gets captured you have to work with what you have. Doom declares he's already aware of this development, but seems rather perturbed nonetheless, and storms off to speak with the rebel leader. Because, it turns out, he is Zorba Fortunov, younger brother of Prince Rudolfo! That makes Zorba seem rather manipulative in retrospect, really, because he told Reed that he intended to put 'Rudolfo's heir' on the throne, without ever clarifying who that was…
Doom arrives at a balcony overlooking a throng of peasants, and declares that he will hear what they have to say on these last days of his reign. Zorba immediately yells back that Doom isn't going to give up power - he just wants to rule through his son. How does he know this? He has read Doom's diary! (Doom keeps a diary…?) Through that book, Zorba has learned something shocking about Victor von Doom II that he's going to share with everyone… Doom isn't pleased, and starts blasting people with hand beams, only to be faced by armed insurgents who wield smuggled weaponry from outside Latveria. Unexpectedly, Doom retreats from the confrontation, apologizing for his moment of anger and declaring that soon he will transfer his power to his son, and then he'll spend his remaining years gardening. (Yes, he actually says that! Maybe he can go hang out with Dexter the lumberjack...)
Instructing Hauptmann to watch over the power transference, Doom goes to visit Alicia, who worries that she'll never be free. Doom reassures her, then tells her that the statue must be ready within the day - he needs it completed before a crucial UN vote. Alicia soon starts asking questions. Why does Doom need this statue? Who sculpted the body before she got there? Why is the statue hollow? Doom doesn't really answer any of those questions, but he does decide it's about time to explain the political maneuvering he's up to. Latveria, it seems, faces censure and possible expulsion from the UN due to Doom's supervillainy, and the monarch has decided that transferring power is a good way to make people think the country is changing its ways. For the good of his country, he declares, he shall step down. Alicia knows he's lying, of course, but she can't really do anything about it…
Something to note, here - much like in the previous issue, Doom chooses to go without his mask in this scene, although the reader never sees his face. The way he's portrayed in these two panels isn't just inconsistent with previous issues, however - it's inconsistent from one panel to the next! The reddish-brown hair that he previously shared with his son has vanished, and he's now gone completely gray. This seems a bit much given that he shares an age with Reed, who only shows signs of aging on his temples. Far more drastic is Doom going from being nearly bald in one panel to having a full head of hair in the next, with no explanation given for that drastic shift. These artists really can't seem to decide what to stick with, can they...?
Over at the power transference machine, Hauptmann is shocked by the sudden escape of Reed Richards, who smashes through the glass globe he's been trapped in.
Hauptmann rushes off to inform his Master, deciding that despite his hatred of Doom, he's not strong enough to escape - so he has to hope proving his loyalty will be enough. Reed goes to free the other members of the Fantastic Four, who are rather disoriented. Reed explains that once he realized who he was up against, he prepared - he brought gadgets to manipulate Doom's robots, and jamming devices to mess with the rest of Doom's machines. That's what he used to short-circuit the power transfer machine just now, actually. But enough exposition, it's time to kick villainous ass! The Fantastic Four live again!
The Four rush down the halls of Doom's castle, with Reed suggesting caution - there's probably traps everywhere. They soon run into some force fields and a gaggle of Servo-Guards start blasting them with laser guns. The Four jump back into their team antics like they never even stopped...
Reed wants to keep going since Doom is still waiting in the wings, but the others are having a little too much fun getting back into their team-up game after a dozen or so shitty solo-issues. After they take care of the small army, Sue notes that Reed's voice is filled with vengeance, and the superhero acknowledges this - one way or another, he intends to make this the final confrontation with his nemesis! Nearby, Doom and Alicia hear the fighting, and soon the Fantastic Four crash into their room. Doom grabs Alicia and uses her as a human shield against the superheroes, forcing the team to stand down. As long as she's in danger, Doom is practically untouchable...
In a jarring time jump, we've skipped several hours, and have now arrived at the promised coronation ceremony. Doom is wearing the same fancy crown as his statue, and he's also wielding the big golden scepter, but he's thankfully left the rest of the outfit in his closet. Doom decides it's high time to boost his own ego, and starts telling the people about his virtues, declaring that he cares for the people even before himself - after all, did he not close the borders so that the people might avoid the dangers of the outside world? Did he not construct his Servo-Guards to protect the people? Alas, that age is over, as the scepter of power will be given to someone most never knew existed… Doom's son!
Zorba is also in attendance at this little impromptu speech, and intends to use this opportunity to sneak into the castle and free the Fantastic Four, whose power he sorely needs to back up his insurrection. I'm not sure why Zorba even left the castle since the previous issue, if he was just going to break back in now, but I guess he needed to get a crowd of regular civilians after his rag-tag rebel group got captured. Kind of embarrassing, that…
Inside the castle, the Fantastic Four are being monitored by a big showy disco ball of Doom, and are worried about trying anything lest their arch-villain hurt Alicia. Then the ball goes dim - the power source has been disconnected. Zorba comes rushing in, knocking out Servo-Guards with a laser beam from his prosthetic eye, and immediately hands a stack of papers to Reed. It's the aforementioned diary of Doom, I assume, which Zorba somehow got access to. Whatever is hidden in the complicated mathematics on the pages - Doom writes really cerebral diary entries, evidently - is very important and informs Reed of what's going on, though the readers don't get to partake of this new information…
Back at the coronation, Doom removes the crown that he claims he was 'freely bestowed by a loyal and gracious people', which may be partially true, but is certainly missing important details. Like the fact that the actual crown prince Rudolfo wasn't even present, but was replaced by a remote control robot under Doom's control. In any case, he places the crown on his son's head, only to be interrupted by Zorba, who shouts that Victor von Doom II is not Doom's son, but Doom's clone!
Now, this particular revelation isn't all that surprising given the identical looks and names between the Victors von Doom, but it does bring up some strange questions. Latveria clearly functions like an old-school monarchy, where a royal bloodline is most important when determining the next claimant to the throne. That's why Rudolfo and now Zorba are viable rulers, after all - they are both sons of the king that Doom deposed. Now, Doom's clone would have plenty of genetic claim to the throne - he's literally got the same DNA as the last guy! So why would it matter whether or not the guy is a clone or a normally begotten son? I really doubt a nation ruled by Victor von Doom would have strict laws in place regarding the practice, and if we are to assume Doom II is an exact duplicate of the original, why would a monarch not be allowed to transfer power to himself? They're the king! They've got the powah!
Zorba is backed up by the Fantastic Four, and Doom is shocked that they have somehow freed themselves. I'm not sure why he'd put a surveillance device in his enemies' cell if he wasn't actually using it to keep an eye on them - and surely he'd set up an alarm for the power source cutting out? In any case, Doom sends out a legion of robots to recapture the heroes. The robots share the design of the 'invincible robots' from way back in Fantastic Four #85, though they're called Omni-Bots this time around - a cute little callback, even if it doesn't really make sense that he'd reuse a design that's known to escape his control. (Then again, given what happens next...) Doom turns to his son/clone, and tells him to use his powers in battle against the very people they were copied from…
Doom II, however, suddenly starts spasming in pain, ripping his fancy shirt and ditching his golden crown as he writhes in agony. It seems that in short-circuiting the power transferring machine in order to escape, Reed has caused it to malfunction, and the copied powers start wreaking havoc on their host. Most notable is the sudden appearance of the Thing's rock-hard skin, which disfigures the son of Doom even as it empowers him. Doom is horrified, realizing that his son's face is now just as warped as his own - and he explicitly calls out that he made precautions against that. He commands his son to destroy the people who have done this to him, who have destroyed him in this way.
The son of Doom says no! It wasn't Reed that caused this travesty, the clone declares, but Doom himself! The power transference has done more than made him strong, since it's also opened his eyes to what Doom really is. What they both are. And the truth sickens him! He throws himself at his creator, declaring that he is Doom the way he was before his accident - before the outrage, the hate, and the insanity! He uses weaker versions of Sue and Johnny's powers in the fight, but Doom counters them with his built-in gadgets, then blasts his son across the room with a vengeance. He will not relinquish power, he declares. He has a destiny, and none shall stop him from claiming it - not even himself!
In a bit of a meta moment, the comic dryly points out that the Fantastic Four are kind of sitting out this battle, so it's high time to fill up that particular plot hole. The Four are still fighting the Omni-Bots, it seems, but they barely get a panel of two to themselves before we get more images of the main brawl. Reed comments that the fight is like a battle within Doom's psyche - two sides of him at war with each other. I don't think that needed to be spelled out, but thanks for providing analysis, Reed.
Using the stretchy power of Reed in combination with Ben's scaly hide doesn't make a ton of sense, but Doom II does it anyway, narrowly avoiding his creator's hand-lasers while blasting back with some fiery blasts of his own. He then starts a monologue - it seems the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree! He declares that there is only one difference between original and clone, and it's the fact that Doom hates what he is, despises his origins, hides his face - but he created his clone to be perfect. An attempt to create the Doom that never was - a failed attempt. The clone forces his original to look at his deformed face, and demands to know if Doom has lost the last shred of his humanity, or if he'll admit fault here - if he'll admit that he hates himself.
Doom, apoplectic with rage, screams at his clone that he shouldn't say these things, shouldn't even think them! He is Doom, he insists, he doesn't hate himself. He is Doom! That is enough! He can't stop ranting even as he strangles his clone, declaring that he'll silence these blasphemous lies, that he'll silence them forever. The clone says that in destroying him, Doom has only succeeded in dooming himself. They are his final words...
The clone has died at his creator's hands, much to the Four's horror, and even Doom seems shocked by what he's done. He demands to know why the clone tormented him so, why his son forced Doom to kill him. 'Why?' he screams at the corpse. 'Why?'
To be continued...
Rating & Comments
This issue is somewhat better than the last couple, but it also feels padded with set-up for future events that don't actually show up in this story. The first half of the comic consists of a bunch of recaps, Zorba-related stuff that doesn't have a ton of relevance to anything, and the Fantastic Four escaping from captivity, only to be captured again immediately afterwards. It doesn't feel very connected to the second half of the story at all, which is very clearly telegraphed by a sudden multi-hour time jump. That's not bad in itself, but it doesn't really earn bonus points either.
Once again, Doom has a somewhat peculiar characterization, particularly in that first half. It's still odd to see him attempt to put someone else in power (even if it's his own clone), or to grant superpowers to someone he can't really control. Not to mention his sudden interest in running around his castle without wearing his mask! His reason for that is even weirder than the fact that he'd do it in the first place - he's letting Alicia touch his scarred features so she can sculpt a statue where his face is intact. What? That has never made any sense, and it still doesn't in this issue.
The second half of the story is the confrontation between Doom and his son, and that's actually pretty good! Doom the Second's sudden infusion of character is a little peculiar, since he's been a bit of a toadie in every appearance so far. Still, it's certainly an interesting development that makes him a far more engaging guest star. Too bad we didn't get more time with the guy… Anyway, Reed calls this out as a bit of a psychological battle, and Doom II explicitly likens himself to Doom before he had his fateful accident, so we're not dealing with a ton of subtlety here. Doom is fighting the better angels of his nature, and his dark side is winning. Indeed, he strangles his better self to death for daring to suggest he hates himself! Doom being a man who regularly smashes mirrors because he can't stand to look at his own face, but forces himself to look anyway to remind himself of his failures... Yeah, there's no self-hatred there, none at all!
Structurally, this issue suffers a little from being a whole lot of set-up and not a ton of payoff, at least for the first two-thirds of its runtime. There's prep-work for a plot at the UN involving Alicia's statue, there's some material regarding Zorba Fortunov, and there's even foreshadowing about a grand battle between Reed Richards and Doom - but none of those things are resolved within the pages of this issue. They're all hyping up the next one, which is a super-sized anniversary comic that we'll get to soon enough. Actually, this is the first comic in this entire five-part 'saga' that actually feels like it's only a small chunk of a story, rather than a self-contained tale with a couple dangling plot threads here and there. It's clear we're heading for the end now...
I'll give this one a decently average three stars - let's see if the finale of this storyline can save it from total mediocrity!
Best Panel(s) of the Issue
I'll nominate this panel of Doom and son at the coronation, which has plenty of color, neat robots, and some pretty detailed faces on some of those Latverians. There's a couple panels like this, actually, and they're all pretty nice!
Most Gloriously Villainous Doom Quotes
"My loyal subjects, I have always considered you close to my heart. Indeed, I have always put your welfare even before my own. Why else would I construct my servo-units, if not to protect you? Why else would I make certain you are never permitted to stray beyond our borders, if not to help you avoid the possible perils the outside world may bring? Too long has the world misjudged Doom. They have always considered me a despot, a dictator, but they do not know how I worry about you so…"
"But Doom is not so easily defeated... All my life I have fought for power. Do you truly believe I will easily relinquish it now? Not even to you who are me! I have my destiny - and no one shall stop me from claiming it!"
Doom: "No! Do not say that! Do not even think it! I do not hate what I am… I am Doom! The world fears my every word... My every deadly command! I am Doom! I am DOOM! That is enough!"
Clone: "No! That isn't enough! Admit that you hate what you are… admit it, or you will have lost that last shred of humanity that may yet still exist."
Doom: "No! Silence! I'll hear no more! I cannot bear to listen to you speak your blasphemous lies! I must silence you forever! The Electro-magnetic amplifier within my armor will shatter you!"
Clone: "It is no use! In destroying me… you've only succeeded in dooming yourself!"
Doom: "Why - why did you make me kill you? Why did you torment me? Why? Why? WHY?"
Doom's Bad Hair Day
This panel is tragic, sure, but it's also kind of freaky. Note that through the hole in Doom's cloak, you can see his right leg. Now, try and make physical sense of where that leg attaches to Doom's torso in order for his stance here to make sense. I'm pretty sure that's not possible without some really atypical biology... Really, they should have just kept his cloak intact, then this wouldn't even be a problem at all!
Doom-Tech of the Week
There's the Ionic Force Displacer which is used to halt Ben when they first escape. The Omni-Bots might also count, if we presume they're separate from the Invincible Robots of yesteryear. Everything else is pretty much standard Doom fare...
Cover
Well, that escalated quickly… Seriously, that really got out of hand fast! This time we get the clash of Victor von Doom vs. Victor von Doom II on the cover, in a pretty epic and no-holds-barred face-off between father and son! Honestly the Fantastic Four kind of feel like window dressing here, spectating from the back of the cover as they are. Especially Johnny, who is represented by half a face that seems to have been pasted in at the last moment, probably when someone realized they forgot one of the heroes entirely. Heh!
I think this cover would have been a little better if the text had been left off, since the imagery works well enough on its own, and anyone reading the storyline would have figured out what was happening pretty easily. Although it does seem a bit spoilery for the direction this storyline is going...
Story Overview
The Son of Doctor Doom!
We start this issue with Doom rocking out on his giant sonic piano, once more devoting some quality time playing classical music, rather than doing any actual super-villainous. Apparently the piano has some relation to his latest plan, but it's left kind of vague what that's all about. Even as Doom enjoys the sound of his symphony, he recaps his plan of transferring power over Latveria to his son - although he uses the word 'seemingly' in the explanation, which rather gives the game away. Apparently Doom can only rule supreme when he has relinquished his power, however that works…
While Doom works on his final overture, Hauptmann suddenly comes rushing into the room, and this time around he's the real deal. He's come to inform Doom that the rebel Zorba has arrived in the courtyard of the castle and demands an audience - a rather different approach than the one he was attempting just last issue, but I suppose when most of your posse gets captured you have to work with what you have. Doom declares he's already aware of this development, but seems rather perturbed nonetheless, and storms off to speak with the rebel leader. Because, it turns out, he is Zorba Fortunov, younger brother of Prince Rudolfo! That makes Zorba seem rather manipulative in retrospect, really, because he told Reed that he intended to put 'Rudolfo's heir' on the throne, without ever clarifying who that was…
Doom arrives at a balcony overlooking a throng of peasants, and declares that he will hear what they have to say on these last days of his reign. Zorba immediately yells back that Doom isn't going to give up power - he just wants to rule through his son. How does he know this? He has read Doom's diary! (Doom keeps a diary…?) Through that book, Zorba has learned something shocking about Victor von Doom II that he's going to share with everyone… Doom isn't pleased, and starts blasting people with hand beams, only to be faced by armed insurgents who wield smuggled weaponry from outside Latveria. Unexpectedly, Doom retreats from the confrontation, apologizing for his moment of anger and declaring that soon he will transfer his power to his son, and then he'll spend his remaining years gardening. (Yes, he actually says that! Maybe he can go hang out with Dexter the lumberjack...)
Instructing Hauptmann to watch over the power transference, Doom goes to visit Alicia, who worries that she'll never be free. Doom reassures her, then tells her that the statue must be ready within the day - he needs it completed before a crucial UN vote. Alicia soon starts asking questions. Why does Doom need this statue? Who sculpted the body before she got there? Why is the statue hollow? Doom doesn't really answer any of those questions, but he does decide it's about time to explain the political maneuvering he's up to. Latveria, it seems, faces censure and possible expulsion from the UN due to Doom's supervillainy, and the monarch has decided that transferring power is a good way to make people think the country is changing its ways. For the good of his country, he declares, he shall step down. Alicia knows he's lying, of course, but she can't really do anything about it…
Something to note, here - much like in the previous issue, Doom chooses to go without his mask in this scene, although the reader never sees his face. The way he's portrayed in these two panels isn't just inconsistent with previous issues, however - it's inconsistent from one panel to the next! The reddish-brown hair that he previously shared with his son has vanished, and he's now gone completely gray. This seems a bit much given that he shares an age with Reed, who only shows signs of aging on his temples. Far more drastic is Doom going from being nearly bald in one panel to having a full head of hair in the next, with no explanation given for that drastic shift. These artists really can't seem to decide what to stick with, can they...?
Over at the power transference machine, Hauptmann is shocked by the sudden escape of Reed Richards, who smashes through the glass globe he's been trapped in.
Hauptmann rushes off to inform his Master, deciding that despite his hatred of Doom, he's not strong enough to escape - so he has to hope proving his loyalty will be enough. Reed goes to free the other members of the Fantastic Four, who are rather disoriented. Reed explains that once he realized who he was up against, he prepared - he brought gadgets to manipulate Doom's robots, and jamming devices to mess with the rest of Doom's machines. That's what he used to short-circuit the power transfer machine just now, actually. But enough exposition, it's time to kick villainous ass! The Fantastic Four live again!
The Four rush down the halls of Doom's castle, with Reed suggesting caution - there's probably traps everywhere. They soon run into some force fields and a gaggle of Servo-Guards start blasting them with laser guns. The Four jump back into their team antics like they never even stopped...
Reed wants to keep going since Doom is still waiting in the wings, but the others are having a little too much fun getting back into their team-up game after a dozen or so shitty solo-issues. After they take care of the small army, Sue notes that Reed's voice is filled with vengeance, and the superhero acknowledges this - one way or another, he intends to make this the final confrontation with his nemesis! Nearby, Doom and Alicia hear the fighting, and soon the Fantastic Four crash into their room. Doom grabs Alicia and uses her as a human shield against the superheroes, forcing the team to stand down. As long as she's in danger, Doom is practically untouchable...
In a jarring time jump, we've skipped several hours, and have now arrived at the promised coronation ceremony. Doom is wearing the same fancy crown as his statue, and he's also wielding the big golden scepter, but he's thankfully left the rest of the outfit in his closet. Doom decides it's high time to boost his own ego, and starts telling the people about his virtues, declaring that he cares for the people even before himself - after all, did he not close the borders so that the people might avoid the dangers of the outside world? Did he not construct his Servo-Guards to protect the people? Alas, that age is over, as the scepter of power will be given to someone most never knew existed… Doom's son!
Zorba is also in attendance at this little impromptu speech, and intends to use this opportunity to sneak into the castle and free the Fantastic Four, whose power he sorely needs to back up his insurrection. I'm not sure why Zorba even left the castle since the previous issue, if he was just going to break back in now, but I guess he needed to get a crowd of regular civilians after his rag-tag rebel group got captured. Kind of embarrassing, that…
Inside the castle, the Fantastic Four are being monitored by a big showy disco ball of Doom, and are worried about trying anything lest their arch-villain hurt Alicia. Then the ball goes dim - the power source has been disconnected. Zorba comes rushing in, knocking out Servo-Guards with a laser beam from his prosthetic eye, and immediately hands a stack of papers to Reed. It's the aforementioned diary of Doom, I assume, which Zorba somehow got access to. Whatever is hidden in the complicated mathematics on the pages - Doom writes really cerebral diary entries, evidently - is very important and informs Reed of what's going on, though the readers don't get to partake of this new information…
Back at the coronation, Doom removes the crown that he claims he was 'freely bestowed by a loyal and gracious people', which may be partially true, but is certainly missing important details. Like the fact that the actual crown prince Rudolfo wasn't even present, but was replaced by a remote control robot under Doom's control. In any case, he places the crown on his son's head, only to be interrupted by Zorba, who shouts that Victor von Doom II is not Doom's son, but Doom's clone!
Now, this particular revelation isn't all that surprising given the identical looks and names between the Victors von Doom, but it does bring up some strange questions. Latveria clearly functions like an old-school monarchy, where a royal bloodline is most important when determining the next claimant to the throne. That's why Rudolfo and now Zorba are viable rulers, after all - they are both sons of the king that Doom deposed. Now, Doom's clone would have plenty of genetic claim to the throne - he's literally got the same DNA as the last guy! So why would it matter whether or not the guy is a clone or a normally begotten son? I really doubt a nation ruled by Victor von Doom would have strict laws in place regarding the practice, and if we are to assume Doom II is an exact duplicate of the original, why would a monarch not be allowed to transfer power to himself? They're the king! They've got the powah!
Zorba is backed up by the Fantastic Four, and Doom is shocked that they have somehow freed themselves. I'm not sure why he'd put a surveillance device in his enemies' cell if he wasn't actually using it to keep an eye on them - and surely he'd set up an alarm for the power source cutting out? In any case, Doom sends out a legion of robots to recapture the heroes. The robots share the design of the 'invincible robots' from way back in Fantastic Four #85, though they're called Omni-Bots this time around - a cute little callback, even if it doesn't really make sense that he'd reuse a design that's known to escape his control. (Then again, given what happens next...) Doom turns to his son/clone, and tells him to use his powers in battle against the very people they were copied from…
Doom II, however, suddenly starts spasming in pain, ripping his fancy shirt and ditching his golden crown as he writhes in agony. It seems that in short-circuiting the power transferring machine in order to escape, Reed has caused it to malfunction, and the copied powers start wreaking havoc on their host. Most notable is the sudden appearance of the Thing's rock-hard skin, which disfigures the son of Doom even as it empowers him. Doom is horrified, realizing that his son's face is now just as warped as his own - and he explicitly calls out that he made precautions against that. He commands his son to destroy the people who have done this to him, who have destroyed him in this way.
The son of Doom says no! It wasn't Reed that caused this travesty, the clone declares, but Doom himself! The power transference has done more than made him strong, since it's also opened his eyes to what Doom really is. What they both are. And the truth sickens him! He throws himself at his creator, declaring that he is Doom the way he was before his accident - before the outrage, the hate, and the insanity! He uses weaker versions of Sue and Johnny's powers in the fight, but Doom counters them with his built-in gadgets, then blasts his son across the room with a vengeance. He will not relinquish power, he declares. He has a destiny, and none shall stop him from claiming it - not even himself!
In a bit of a meta moment, the comic dryly points out that the Fantastic Four are kind of sitting out this battle, so it's high time to fill up that particular plot hole. The Four are still fighting the Omni-Bots, it seems, but they barely get a panel of two to themselves before we get more images of the main brawl. Reed comments that the fight is like a battle within Doom's psyche - two sides of him at war with each other. I don't think that needed to be spelled out, but thanks for providing analysis, Reed.
Using the stretchy power of Reed in combination with Ben's scaly hide doesn't make a ton of sense, but Doom II does it anyway, narrowly avoiding his creator's hand-lasers while blasting back with some fiery blasts of his own. He then starts a monologue - it seems the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree! He declares that there is only one difference between original and clone, and it's the fact that Doom hates what he is, despises his origins, hides his face - but he created his clone to be perfect. An attempt to create the Doom that never was - a failed attempt. The clone forces his original to look at his deformed face, and demands to know if Doom has lost the last shred of his humanity, or if he'll admit fault here - if he'll admit that he hates himself.
Doom, apoplectic with rage, screams at his clone that he shouldn't say these things, shouldn't even think them! He is Doom, he insists, he doesn't hate himself. He is Doom! That is enough! He can't stop ranting even as he strangles his clone, declaring that he'll silence these blasphemous lies, that he'll silence them forever. The clone says that in destroying him, Doom has only succeeded in dooming himself. They are his final words...
The clone has died at his creator's hands, much to the Four's horror, and even Doom seems shocked by what he's done. He demands to know why the clone tormented him so, why his son forced Doom to kill him. 'Why?' he screams at the corpse. 'Why?'
To be continued...
Rating & Comments
This issue is somewhat better than the last couple, but it also feels padded with set-up for future events that don't actually show up in this story. The first half of the comic consists of a bunch of recaps, Zorba-related stuff that doesn't have a ton of relevance to anything, and the Fantastic Four escaping from captivity, only to be captured again immediately afterwards. It doesn't feel very connected to the second half of the story at all, which is very clearly telegraphed by a sudden multi-hour time jump. That's not bad in itself, but it doesn't really earn bonus points either.
Once again, Doom has a somewhat peculiar characterization, particularly in that first half. It's still odd to see him attempt to put someone else in power (even if it's his own clone), or to grant superpowers to someone he can't really control. Not to mention his sudden interest in running around his castle without wearing his mask! His reason for that is even weirder than the fact that he'd do it in the first place - he's letting Alicia touch his scarred features so she can sculpt a statue where his face is intact. What? That has never made any sense, and it still doesn't in this issue.
The second half of the story is the confrontation between Doom and his son, and that's actually pretty good! Doom the Second's sudden infusion of character is a little peculiar, since he's been a bit of a toadie in every appearance so far. Still, it's certainly an interesting development that makes him a far more engaging guest star. Too bad we didn't get more time with the guy… Anyway, Reed calls this out as a bit of a psychological battle, and Doom II explicitly likens himself to Doom before he had his fateful accident, so we're not dealing with a ton of subtlety here. Doom is fighting the better angels of his nature, and his dark side is winning. Indeed, he strangles his better self to death for daring to suggest he hates himself! Doom being a man who regularly smashes mirrors because he can't stand to look at his own face, but forces himself to look anyway to remind himself of his failures... Yeah, there's no self-hatred there, none at all!
Structurally, this issue suffers a little from being a whole lot of set-up and not a ton of payoff, at least for the first two-thirds of its runtime. There's prep-work for a plot at the UN involving Alicia's statue, there's some material regarding Zorba Fortunov, and there's even foreshadowing about a grand battle between Reed Richards and Doom - but none of those things are resolved within the pages of this issue. They're all hyping up the next one, which is a super-sized anniversary comic that we'll get to soon enough. Actually, this is the first comic in this entire five-part 'saga' that actually feels like it's only a small chunk of a story, rather than a self-contained tale with a couple dangling plot threads here and there. It's clear we're heading for the end now...
I'll give this one a decently average three stars - let's see if the finale of this storyline can save it from total mediocrity!
Best Panel(s) of the Issue
I'll nominate this panel of Doom and son at the coronation, which has plenty of color, neat robots, and some pretty detailed faces on some of those Latverians. There's a couple panels like this, actually, and they're all pretty nice!
Most Gloriously Villainous Doom Quotes
"My loyal subjects, I have always considered you close to my heart. Indeed, I have always put your welfare even before my own. Why else would I construct my servo-units, if not to protect you? Why else would I make certain you are never permitted to stray beyond our borders, if not to help you avoid the possible perils the outside world may bring? Too long has the world misjudged Doom. They have always considered me a despot, a dictator, but they do not know how I worry about you so…"
"But Doom is not so easily defeated... All my life I have fought for power. Do you truly believe I will easily relinquish it now? Not even to you who are me! I have my destiny - and no one shall stop me from claiming it!"
Doom: "No! Do not say that! Do not even think it! I do not hate what I am… I am Doom! The world fears my every word... My every deadly command! I am Doom! I am DOOM! That is enough!"
Clone: "No! That isn't enough! Admit that you hate what you are… admit it, or you will have lost that last shred of humanity that may yet still exist."
Doom: "No! Silence! I'll hear no more! I cannot bear to listen to you speak your blasphemous lies! I must silence you forever! The Electro-magnetic amplifier within my armor will shatter you!"
Clone: "It is no use! In destroying me… you've only succeeded in dooming yourself!"
Doom: "Why - why did you make me kill you? Why did you torment me? Why? Why? WHY?"
Doom's Bad Hair Day
This panel is tragic, sure, but it's also kind of freaky. Note that through the hole in Doom's cloak, you can see his right leg. Now, try and make physical sense of where that leg attaches to Doom's torso in order for his stance here to make sense. I'm pretty sure that's not possible without some really atypical biology... Really, they should have just kept his cloak intact, then this wouldn't even be a problem at all!
Doom-Tech of the Week
There's the Ionic Force Displacer which is used to halt Ben when they first escape. The Omni-Bots might also count, if we presume they're separate from the Invincible Robots of yesteryear. Everything else is pretty much standard Doom fare...
- Location
- Netherlands
By the way, I finally discovered where that 'Doom at the UN' storyline came from for both Spidey Super Stories & the Spider-Man Newspaper Strips... and I was pretty close. The origin of this storyline is the Hanna Barbera animated Fantastic Four cartoon, specifically episode 6, "Three Predictions of Dr. Doom" from 1967. That episode is in turn based on Fantastic Four #17, but only very loosely!
I might do a post or two on the animated Dooms, actually. Maybe I can grade them based on how well they adapt existing stories, and whether or not their voice is decent! (I've heard some samples before and oof.)
I might do a post or two on the animated Dooms, actually. Maybe I can grade them based on how well they adapt existing stories, and whether or not their voice is decent! (I've heard some samples before and oof.)
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072: Fantastic Four v1 #200 - When Titans Clash!
- Location
- Netherlands
072: Fantastic Four #200 (November 1978)
Cover
So… this is the best you could come up with for a historic anniversary issue, Mr. Jack Kirby? Really? The main characters in generic punchy poses against a backdrop of random primary color techno-gribblies? I mean, I am not a comic book legend or anything, so pardon me, but I have a feeling this could have been a little more inspired than what we actually got! Anyway, I also don't care for the huge portion of the cover that the title makes up. It's already pretty large on a normal issue, but here the text is shoved down even further to make room for a bunch of pointless little boxes advertising how the issue is larger than usual, and then there's yet more banners below the title that pretty much say the same thing!
This issue, as you might surmise, is the 200th issue of Fantastic Four, and a bit of a super-sized anniversary edition because of it. I don't think it should really count, considering several of the issues in that order were reprints. Much the same happens in Uncanny X-Men, actually, where a solid thirty issues in a row are just straight up copies of what came before - which makes the claims of a '100th anniversary' and so forth a bit weird. Although, come to think of it, I'm pretty sure Uncanny X-Men #100 is the start of the original Phoenix Saga, so I'll forgive them for their numbering buffoonery. Just this once!
Story Overview
Chapter 1: When Titans Clash!
We open our double-sized issue with Doom still lamenting the death of his clone at his own hands, tragically declaring that he grew and nurtured his son from a single cell, and now he's been forced to destroy him - to slay himself! Reed tells the others that this is not the right time to press their attack, but Ben is too worried about Alicia to agree, and rushes in. He grabs Doom and lifts him up with one hand, which really pisses the monarch off - he actually claims Ben aided in the destruction of his clone (which isn't really true) and thus will suffer the same fate! The same energy that claimed the life of his son now surges through Ben…
The other members of the Fantastic Four try to step in, but Doom's already extended his force-field around Ben to isolate them from attack. Doom then declares that he will kill Ben first, then move on to the rest of them afterwards. He unleashes a violent energy surge from his armor that overpowers Sue's force-fields and pushes everyone towards the walls with raw force. Even as they're all crushed against the walls, however, the energy starts tapering off, because Doom is leaving! He's cradling the lifeless body of his clone in his arms, and intends to take care of it first, before dealing with the Four's ultimate fate.
Doom locks the door behind him, sealing the Four in the room. Ben immediately wants to smash his way out, but Reed figures it wouldn't be that easy, and throws a chair into the door to check out the defense mechanism that's doubtlessly there - sure enough, the object vaporizes in a puff of molecules, and much the same would happen to a hero who touched it. He snaps at Ben for his thoughtless actions, telling him that if he thinks he can run this team of misfits better than Reed he's welcome to it, but if not - he should shut up and let him think! Damn. Ben seems to realize he was in error, and backs down.
Elsewhere in the castle, Doom is still hopeful that his plan can still be salvaged, if only his troops can force their way into the United Nations. While he plots and schemes, however, a purple-clad minion enters the room, and is promptly smacked in the face for daring to interrupt his master, as per usual. It seems that Zorba has gathered enough support to restart his revolt in the courtyard, and Doom decides he has to deal with that first. Man, he's got a lot of logs in the fire, doesn't he? The Fantastic Four are practically at the bottom of his priority list by now.
Doom heads back out to his balcony to demand answers from the milling crowd outside. There, Zorba declares that the coronation ceremony was a sham, since Doom is still in power - but by the very laws that he resurrected to set up his ceremony, the throne now rightfully belongs to the people! Doom isn't impressed by this claim, noting that his weapons are far more powerful than any little law that might be on the books. He then activates his vortex machine, which generates a tornado to take out the rebels. Last time we saw this technology it was actually something that Reed built - it showed up way back in Fantastic Four #39. I guess Doom took inspiration?
The tornado seems to be extremely precise in who it targets, and it ruthlessly starts taking out rebels, flinging them in every direction as it goes. Doom cackles as his enemies are scattered to the literal winds, declaring his own superiority all the while - it's rather nice to see him back in character after half a dozen issues of being weird! Soon his laughter turns cold, and he tells one of his minions to take Alicia's statue on board one of the jets, where he will make sure certain equipment has been installed inside it. The servant quickly agrees, though some of the captions inform us that the man is worried the screaming people outside might be his own family. But what can one man do in the face of Doom's overwhelming power...?
A couple Servo-Guards wheel Alicia's statue on board Doom's latest plane. This one actually resembles a regular commercial jet, though it's entirely silver and marked with a large 'DD' symbol that makes it look like it belongs to Daredevil. Doom really needs to figure out what brand he's going to stick with - he keeps switching symbolism every issue or two! In any case, Doom instructs the pilots to head for New York - he needs to get there ahead of the UN vote which might bar Latveria from membership. He then slumps into a comfortable chair and sleeps on the way, though his dreams are uneasy…
Back in Latveria, the Fantastic Four attempt to escape from the locked room. They've discovered one potential weakness - a tiny keyhole through the electrified door. Reed decides he'll have to navigate this treacherous path with his powers, and try and find Doom's controls to deactivate the defenses. Using his recently enhanced powers, he starts making his way through the lock as a thread that's finer than nylon, but even with all his new abilities, he electrocutes himself by brushing the sides of the lock, and has to force his way through excruciating pain. He then pushes through and manipulates Doom's control console, deactivating the defenses and saving his own life.
The rest of the Fantastic Four are soon freed, and are glad to see that Reed is alright, if rather winded from the experience. They hear a commotion outside, and realize there's a storm blowing through - but Latveria has never had a tornado before! Three guesses who's responsible. After deactivating the vortex machine and saving what remains of the rebellion, Reed and Sue decide to look for more clues to what's going on in the control room, while Ben and Johnny leave to find Alicia.
Reed and Sue are joined by Zorba, who helps out with the search. Sue discovers some papers in a hidden drawer, and Reed quickly identifies what they're about - they're plans for the machine that Cynthian Associates was building back in Fantastic Four #196 - the first part of this whole sordid saga. It's the very device that Reed himself contributed to, before he realized Doom was behind everything. Reed finally realizes what the machine is, and stresses that they must head to New York immediately, or everything might be lost! I'll be honest, I kind of figured the writers had forgotten about all that, so it's nice that it's relevant again four issues down the line! (I should point out, now that they're mentioned again, than Cynthian Associates was clearly a reference to Doom's mother, Cynthia von Doom. Subtle!)
Ben and Johnny have made their way down the dungeons, and break Alicia out of captivity without much trouble. They're soon joined by the others, and Reed immediately stresses that they have to go - they have to hurry for the sake of the world! Ben isn't having any of it, taking a moment to greet Alicia with a big rocky kiss. Sue is also annoyed with Reed, telling him to calm down and pointing out that they've been separated for weeks - she's expecting a proper hello! For once in his life, can he please shut up? Reed relents, and we get a shot of two couples kissing, while Zorba looks on and notes that some things apparently have priority even over the fate of the world. Johnny complains that he hasn't been getting enough of that priority lately…
Chapter 2: Beginning of the End!
Doom has arrived at an upstate New York estate, the same Cynthian Associates laboratory where Reed worked a few issues ago. He's striding through the halls in a huff, since he's aware that the Fantastic Four have escaped from his trap. His minions are a little terrified, noting that they haven't ever seen Doom this mad, and to bother him would mean instant obliteration! He orders of one of his servants to launch missiles at the Four's fast approaching Pogo plane, and complains that he's surrounded by incompetents, like a proper supervillain does. The heat-seeking missiles immediately lock on to the plane, but Johnny knows this dance, and uses his powers to pose as a hotter target, luring the weapons away. Reed decides he'll also bail out, leaving Ben and Sue behind to head for the United Nations building.
Reed departs from the plane by using his emergency escape, and parachutes down by using his own body as the actual parachute. He's still intent on taking out Doom once and for all, and nothing will stand in his way! Johnny, meanwhile, is still leading the missiles around by the nose, but they're gaining on him. He decides to take a last resort - he'll go supernova! Dialing his power up to eleven, he blasts the weapons apart with a white-hot flame, but soon finds himself falling from the sky, helpless. Sue spots him and tells Ben to divert the plane so they pass by. She then uses her force fields to catch him, and drop him back into the cockpit.
Reed, meanwhile, has wafted down from the sky and arrived at Doom's laboratory, where he is immediately spotted. Doom steps in and declares himself 'Doom the First, New Ruler of the World!' and Reed relishes in the fact that they're finally facing off directly, just the two of them, as it was always meant to be! Doom actually agrees, observing that Reed believes in destiny, just as he does. It started with the two of them, so it's only right that it should end with them too! We then get a small update to Doom's origin story, the first in a good while - and this one is all about Reed's involvement.
We see Reed offering to share a room with Victor, who denies this because he wants privacy. Privacy to run experiments, both scientific and mystical. Reed, however, wouldn't leave it alone and looked at some of Doom's calculations, advising the man to recheck his numbers, since he noticed various errors. Doom ignored him, and the next experiment went terribly wrong, literally exploding in his face. If not for Reed, none of this would have happened, he declares, and his face would not be a battleground of scars! Reed points out that he was only trying to help, to warn him about his calculations. Doom ignores this claim entirely, intent on finally taking down his most hated foe…
Doom starts blasting at Reed with his hand lasers, declaring that fate has ordained that he shall be Master of the Planet Earth, and there's no reason he should resist destruction now - he's only delaying the inevitable! Reed slithers around like a snake with his powers, avoiding attacks and smacking Doom around as he does it. He reminds Doom that he's been defeated before, and that can happen again, soon managing to coil around his foe like an anaconda. He then inserts a hand into Doom's armor, in an attempt to disable it from the inside. Doom promptly electrifies himself, and Reed is forced to let go - he really should have expected that.
Doom takes advantage of the dazed hero, rushing out of the room while declaring that he doesn't even have to be there to take out his foe! After all, Reed's been lured right into his murder room! Doom quickly makes his way to a nearby control room, from where he can watch what's going on and activate all sorts of gadgets he's hidden all over the place. I guess he's feeling nostalgic!
Doom hits a button and cables shoot out of the ground to truss up Reed like he's on Lilliput, and he proudly notes that they're made of a proprietary steel alloy he calls Victorium - after himself, naturally. They're razor-sharp and unbreakable, and they shall slice him into ribbons! Reed notes that they would kill any normal man, but even Doom must've realized that nothing can hold someone who can change shape.
As he escapes from the cables, however, lasers start raining down from the sky, and a robotic knight starts slashing at him with an axe. He can't focus on one while avoiding the other, so he's in a spot of trouble... Reed calls the robot a 'Doom-bot' here, which is the first time I've seen that name actively used in any of these comics. Ironically, he's not using the term to describe an actual Doombot!
Reed wonders whether or not Doom is intentionally setting up traps that he can escape from, even as he ricochets off the walls in the form of a ball, building up momentum to smash the robot while avoiding the laser blasts. He then uses the reflective panels of said robot to rebound the lasers to their source, destroying it utterly. Doom watches on with a metaphorical bucket of popcorn, revealing that this puzzle was very much intentional - Doom is having fun toying with his enemy, and he's set up his murder room for exactly these kinds of games. Still, the games are slanted in Doom's favor, so one of them will get Reed sooner or later. As he says this the floor opens up beneath Reed, revealing a sea of roiling fire. Reed can only narrowly save himself by propping himself against the walls with his outstretched limbs, but the heat is weakening him by the second…
Chapter 3: At Long Last, Defeat! At Long Last, Victory!
At the United Nations, meanwhile, the general assembly is gathering to vote on the proposition to condemn Latveria for gross human rights abuses. They're interrupted, however, by a whole contingent of heavily armed Servo-Guards, who announce that they've come to deliver a gift from 'Doom the First' before the crucial vote is taken.
Even as three-fourths of the Fantastic Four arrive at the building, one of Doom's servants hits a big red button to alert his boss that the statue is in place. Back at Doom's estate, the monarch is still thoroughly enjoying making Reed suffer, when a light blinks on to alert him that the situation in New York has hit a critical stage. Although he wanted to witness Reed's final moments in person, Doom decides that this takes precedence, and leaves his automatic murder room to its own devices, while he heads for his 'Solartron' post-haste.
Reed, meanwhile, is still barely holding out against the flames that engulfed the room - only for the next trap to activate. Chlorine-gas starts to pour into the room, and Reed immediately notices an opportunity there. He holds his breath, then stretches his neck into the pipe that's releasing the gas, bunching up his body in the storage canister until it explodes from the pressure. He's survived, and found himself in a safe room where he can recuperate - but he's in a lot of pain, and it'll take him a moment to recover…
Doom, meanwhile, has made his way to his 'Solartron Complex', which we've actually seen before! Reed visited it with Doom's clone, back when he was given a tour of the premises. We get a brief recap of that moment, noting that without filtered lenses, the reflections in the crystalline room could burn a hole in any man's mind. Doom reveals that the device he built into Alicia's statue was so complex that he couldn't build it on his own - that's why he outsourced its construction through Cynthian Associates. He checks up on some surveillance cameras and realizes that some members of the Fantastic Four have arrived at the UN - and they might yet ruin everything! Will he always be plagued by that accursed quartet?
Reed arrives at that moment to say that they will, then wraps the monarch up in his own cloak. Doom demands to know how many lives Reed has, and the hero just notes that one's sufficient - if you know how to use it. He then puts a small device on Doom's armor, one of the jamming devices he brought along when he realized who his enemy was. The device short-circuits the armor, leaving Doom without any means to fight back - but he can still move, and he intends to use that to reach the Solartron's controls.
Reed won't allow this, smashing into Doom with a vicious punch, declaring that only a madman would go this far to achieve the impossible. He then goes full Harry Potter on his arch-nemesis, asking his enemy to show a hint of remorse. Vengeance isn't everything, he declares, and Doom's genius could benefit the very people he thinks hate him! Doom just calls Reed an idiot, noting that he isn't in this just for vengeance's sake - he seeks power because it's rightfully his! It's his birthright, inherited from a mother who was murdered by ignorant morons who refused to see the truth. He has only ever sought to claim that which is already his! He then admits that when they first met, Doom thought Reed showed promise - but it seems that while the man's intelligence soared, his understanding of human motivations didn't. Mere vengeance? No, Doom is above such petty triflings...
Although his armor is ruined, Doom still has enough reserve power to activate the refrigeration systems, and uses them to freeze Reed in place. He then heads over to the Solartron's controls and hits a button. Over at the UN, we see that the other members of the Fantastic Four have taken out Doom's Servo-Guards. They're taken by surprise, however, when Alicia's statue suddenly starts glowing, and shoots rays out of its eyes - which mind-controls all the members of the general assembly. Through them, Doom shall rule the world! Boy, I think Doom will be somewhat disappointed to realize how much power the UN actually has. One thing to take away from all these 'Doom at the UN' story-lines is that a lot of writers seem really convinced that there's an all-powerful world government which can trump everything. In the Illuminati's dreams, maybe!
Incidentally, it turns out that the secret hidden plan was mind control. Again. I mean, I can't say it's out of character, since this has been Doom's default strategy for just about every global domination plan he's made - but one wonders why he needed to hire a whole bunch of different scientists to take control of one room full of people, when he's previously built like three different devices to do it to the whole planet! He was even successful with one of those! I suppose he never did learn a lesson from that final Super-Villain Team-Up storyline, did he…?
In any case, the hypnotized world leaders start rushing at the Fantastic Four members, who somehow managed to avoid the statue's influence. For unclear reasons it seems that nearly all of them were armed when they entered the room, as we see some draw revolvers, knives, wooden clubs, and in one unusual case, a firehose. The captions dryly comment that the UN has banded together with a single goal for maybe the first time in its existence, and it's to kill the Fantastic Four!
Meanwhile, back at Doom's estate, we get a rather crappy panel of a hood-less, smirking Doom, who declares that while the statue had to be forced into the UN building rather than arriving in a more peaceful way, it still did its job - and now the world will be Doom's! The writers have an oopsie and declare that this takes place in Latveria, which is wrong… Meanwhile the Marvel wiki claims that it takes place at Doom's New York Castle, which is also wrong! Oy vey… Reed manages to break out of his ice prison by mimicking super-obesity, and Doom is incensed enough that he's willing to get into a straight up physical fistfight, something he usually tends to avoid on account of all his gadgets and his love of tormenting people via television screens.
Enraged, Doom throws himself at his nemesis, and they get into a no-holds-barred knockout brawl, both of them fully intending on killing the other. Reed turns one of his fists into a spiked hammer with his enhanced powers and starts wailing on Doom, who strikes back just as hard, still far more powerful than any regular man would be.
Doom declares himself Reed's master, and tells the hero to agree with him - to admit that Doom is greater! He demands that Reed pay him back for all those years of frustration, in which he always knew that there was someone else as powerful as him, who might almost be Doom's superi- He cuts himself off, realizing he almost said that there could be someone superior to Doom. Hah! As if.
What's next is key, I think, in explaining Doom's enduring hatred of Reed. It goes beyond merely being annoyed by the man in college, or even a direct rivalry in intelligence and power like he suggests mere moments before. No, Doom asks Reed to acknowledge his sins - he should admit tampering with the experiment that destroyed his face! It was him, Doom rants - it had to be! 'Tell me you envied my brilliance,' Doom demands. 'Tell me the truth! Tell me, curse you! Tell me, and perhaps I will end your suffering this moment! You must tell me!' In a probably deliberate echo of the previous issue, Doom strangles Reed while he rants at him, and when the hero tries to defend himself, he just gets angrier - why would he lie even on his deathbed? Reed was responsible, because Doom is incapable of making mistakes!
Reed, in a last desperate effort, grabs onto Doom's mask. The monarch laughs it off, figuring Reed was just trying to rile him up while going for this dishonorable tactic, but it's no use, as the only way to remove his mask is by using his ring! That's an old-timey reference there - the last time this came up was back in Astonishing Tales #1! Doom is shocked to realize that he's wrong, as his mask comes right off. The mechanism which locked it, naturally, relied on electricity - and that was cut off when Reed short-circuited his suit earlier!
Doom cries out in horror as he realizes what Reed has done - without the protective lenses built into his mask, Doom is exposed to the maddening reflections of the Solartron they're fighting in, and they might drive him mad(der)! Doom cries out in horror as he's bombarded with a million grotesque echoes of his own scarred face. The images scorch their way through his mind, leaving him utterly helpless, and he falls to the ground in a whimpering, mindless heap. Doom… is done.
Reed notices the fight that's going on at the UN building, and belatedly shuts down the Solartron, where the delegates gain control of themselves again. 'Allah! I am awakening from a nightmare!' one man declares as he lowers his hammer, while his neighbour puts away a recently fired gun. Whoopsie! The three members of the Fantastic Four are alright - they hunkered down beneath Sue's force field and survived the onslaught of conventional weapons, and are relieved when they realize their plight is over… This means Reed must have won!
Epilogue 1: Latveria - A Nation Anew!
Switching now to Latveria - which is correct, this time - we see Zorba dressed in the same formal clothing that Doom's clone ripped up when he transformed last issue. It seems he's become the new leader of Doom's nation, now that its ruler is out of the picture - at least until next month's elections. Latveria is now a democracy! Reed tells Zorba he'll rule wisely, but the man just says that's for the people to decide. He then thanks the Four for this opportunity, since it was their team that gave his people hope and faith.
When Reed inquires after Doctor Doom, Zorba explains that the man has been driven utterly mad, his mind destroyed by the Solartron. Still, Zorba believes that Doom cared for his people in his own strange way, and so Latveria will care for what remains of him in return. We then see a shot of Doom, lacking his armor and with his face wrapped up in bandages, locked away in a padded room behind glass like he's Hannibal freaking Lecter.
Elsewhere in the castle stands Alicia's statue of Latveria's former leader, and while it was originally carved to look like Victor's face prior to his disfigurement, the face of the statue suddenly begins to crumble, to match its real counterpart. 'A testament to a man who, seeking more than flesh, became a thing less than clay…'
Epilogue 2: Fantastic Four #201
We get a final little epilogue at the beginning of the next issue. Zorba throws a parade for the Fantastic Four, pins medals on all of them for their achievement, and then tells them that they're welcome to return any time. He also notes that there will doubtlessly be fighting and endless squabbling with democracy restored, but at least it will be for the benefit of the people, rather than a single maniacal madman! This'll work out great, I'm sure - who's ever heard of bad consequences following a military coup against a dictator, anyway? As the festivities end, the Four get back on their Pogo plane and head back home, content about a job well done. This'll be the last they'll ever hear of Doctor Doom, they're sure!
Rating & Comments
Well, I did not expect this lackluster 2-3 star storyline to end with such a strong finale! After a bunch of less than stellar issues with sub-par characterization and vague plans, the final part of this five-issue saga not only brings Doom's plans into focus at long last, but it also goes out of its way to explain Doom's motivations, and has a rather great extended fight scene that feels just as final as it claims to be! Wow! Indeed, that Reed vs. Doom confrontation is their best yet, and includes all the things you'd want in such a fight: competing gadgets, treacherous murder-rooms full of death-traps, blazing hand lasers, direct fisticuffs, and ingenious use of various abilities and powers!
And that's before we get into Doom's characterization, which is on point in this anniversary issue, and quite engaging. I'm not sure what happened in the last few comics, but Doom is back in glorious form here, proclaiming that he's beyond vengeance while beating up Reed Richards in revenge for allegedly sabotaging his fateful college experiment. Ah, sweet hypocrisy, thy name is Doom! The final fight clearly echoes the final confrontation between him and his clone: in both cases Doom cannot accept the truth about himself, and attempts to kill the messenger by strangulation, in a last attempt to force them to retract their statements. In that previous issue he rejected the claim that he hates himself, while in this one he rejects the implication that he's fallible, inferior to Reed in some respect, or that he might be responsible for his own mistakes. Doom seems to realize there might be some truth in those claims, but he cannot stomach such thoughts, and has to violently silence them before they can take root. As Alicia pointed out before, there might be a good man in there somewhere, but he's buried beneath all that hate and suffering…
Reed, meanwhile, gets to be a total badass in this entire arc, and in the end he single-handedly takes down his nemesis in a dust-up for the ages. Honestly, the rest of the Fantastic Four are barely relevant at all, and are dropped off in this issue so they can fight an irrelevant side-conflict with a bunch of possessed UN delegates. The real fight is Reed's. He gets to show off his ingenuity, his perseverance, and even his sheer power, and while even this comic's captions suggest that his abilities are rather weak compared to his fellow heroes, the art goes out of its way to show Reed as powerful and highly adaptable. It's great stuff, and for all its mediocrity in other aspects, this arc puts Reed back on the map as a viable action hero, rather than merely a brainy leader guy who hangs back!
The presence of Zorba throughout this arc turns out to be a bit pointless, to be honest, mostly because he never actually get to pull off his rebellion for real, as Doom easily defeats him every time they clash. Ultimately, control of Latveria simply falls into his lap when Reed solves all his problems for him, which is not the most auspicious start of his reign. Still, he can serve as a stand-in until the elections get underway - or until Doom comes back from his hiatus. Because everybody knows nobody stays dead (or mad) in comic books...
It's interesting to note that this 'final defeat' of Doctor Doom is actually pretty damn final, as far as comic book plots go. After this story, Doctor Doom would take the entirety of 1979 off, showing up only in tiny cameos and nowhere else. He also skips most of 1980, only returning in an actual starring role towards the end of that year. Taking a two-year vacation in comic book time is an eternity, especially when the character isn't even properly dead! Honestly, it gives this story a lot more legitimacy, compared to something like Champions #16, which depicted Doom as gibbering and insane by the end, which was entirely ignored that when his next story popped up a single month later.
In summary, I have to give this comic a good grade - between the excellent action, the satisfying conclusion to an otherwise lame storyline, and the great showings of both Reed and Doom, this deserves a solid recommendation. I don't think I could justify five stars, not with the somewhat underwhelming route that led us here and the rather toothless subplots about the UN and Zorba's rebellion, but that still leaves four stars. Pretty damn good!
Best Panel(s) of the Issue
The action is quite excellent in this issue, with a whole bunch of great panels featuring Reed and Doom fighting it out. I thought this one was neat because it also features one of Reed's more creative uses of his power, turning his fist into a meat tenderizer to smack Doom across the face!
Most Gloriously Villainous Doom Quotes
"Insufferable idiot! You believe Doom is so petty that he seeks mere vengeance? Ignorant poltroon! I seek power because it is rightfully mine! It is a birthrite (sic) I inherited from my mother - a woman who was murdered by a suspicious, frightened pack of cloddish morons who were too stupid to see the truth! I have ever sought to claim that which is already mine! ... When we first met, Richards, I thought you a somewhat intelligent student with some promise. Perhaps your scientific intellect grew, but your understanding of human motivation is astonishingly limited! Vengeance? Bah! Doom is above such petty triflings."
"I am not the helpless clod you thought me to be, Richards. Even without my power, my armor more than compensates for your ridiculous stretching power. And that makes me your master, Richards! Did you hear me? I am your master! Say it, Richards, say it now! Doctor Doom is your master! Oh, soon you will beg to spit out those words... for they move me to offer the smallest ray of hope. Hope represented by your swift destruction rather than this slow and painful end! But I demand to pay you back for all those years of frustration - of always knowing there was someone else as strong, as powerful... Someone who might almost be Doom's superi- What? Did I start to say Doom's superior? Hah! I have always been your better. Admit it, Richards - always! Admit that you tampered with the machine that destroyed my face! It was you - it had to be! Tell me you envied my brilliance... Tell me the truth - tell me, curse you - tell me and perhaps I will end your suffering this moment! You must tell me! ... Even on your deathbed you lie?! I know you were responsible! I am incapable of making mistakes!"
Doom's Bad Hair Day
This panel not only contains a pretty bizarre take on Doom's mask, which really shouldn't be quite as expressive as it seems to be, but it also contains the aforementioned 'Latveria' mistake which really confuses things. In the background, by the way, is a frozen Reed - he's just chilling there, I'm sure.
Doom-Tech of the Week
Interestingly enough, nearly all the various technologies that show up in this comic are references to previous stories, presumably because it's a bit of a nostalgia-fueled encounter to begin with, as an anniversary issue. As such, only Victorium is unique to this story, a special super-alloy created by Doom. I presume that it's retroactively the material used for stuff like the bars on the windows of his embassies, which Namor couldn't seem to budge...
Cover
So… this is the best you could come up with for a historic anniversary issue, Mr. Jack Kirby? Really? The main characters in generic punchy poses against a backdrop of random primary color techno-gribblies? I mean, I am not a comic book legend or anything, so pardon me, but I have a feeling this could have been a little more inspired than what we actually got! Anyway, I also don't care for the huge portion of the cover that the title makes up. It's already pretty large on a normal issue, but here the text is shoved down even further to make room for a bunch of pointless little boxes advertising how the issue is larger than usual, and then there's yet more banners below the title that pretty much say the same thing!
This issue, as you might surmise, is the 200th issue of Fantastic Four, and a bit of a super-sized anniversary edition because of it. I don't think it should really count, considering several of the issues in that order were reprints. Much the same happens in Uncanny X-Men, actually, where a solid thirty issues in a row are just straight up copies of what came before - which makes the claims of a '100th anniversary' and so forth a bit weird. Although, come to think of it, I'm pretty sure Uncanny X-Men #100 is the start of the original Phoenix Saga, so I'll forgive them for their numbering buffoonery. Just this once!
Story Overview
Chapter 1: When Titans Clash!
We open our double-sized issue with Doom still lamenting the death of his clone at his own hands, tragically declaring that he grew and nurtured his son from a single cell, and now he's been forced to destroy him - to slay himself! Reed tells the others that this is not the right time to press their attack, but Ben is too worried about Alicia to agree, and rushes in. He grabs Doom and lifts him up with one hand, which really pisses the monarch off - he actually claims Ben aided in the destruction of his clone (which isn't really true) and thus will suffer the same fate! The same energy that claimed the life of his son now surges through Ben…
The other members of the Fantastic Four try to step in, but Doom's already extended his force-field around Ben to isolate them from attack. Doom then declares that he will kill Ben first, then move on to the rest of them afterwards. He unleashes a violent energy surge from his armor that overpowers Sue's force-fields and pushes everyone towards the walls with raw force. Even as they're all crushed against the walls, however, the energy starts tapering off, because Doom is leaving! He's cradling the lifeless body of his clone in his arms, and intends to take care of it first, before dealing with the Four's ultimate fate.
Doom locks the door behind him, sealing the Four in the room. Ben immediately wants to smash his way out, but Reed figures it wouldn't be that easy, and throws a chair into the door to check out the defense mechanism that's doubtlessly there - sure enough, the object vaporizes in a puff of molecules, and much the same would happen to a hero who touched it. He snaps at Ben for his thoughtless actions, telling him that if he thinks he can run this team of misfits better than Reed he's welcome to it, but if not - he should shut up and let him think! Damn. Ben seems to realize he was in error, and backs down.
Elsewhere in the castle, Doom is still hopeful that his plan can still be salvaged, if only his troops can force their way into the United Nations. While he plots and schemes, however, a purple-clad minion enters the room, and is promptly smacked in the face for daring to interrupt his master, as per usual. It seems that Zorba has gathered enough support to restart his revolt in the courtyard, and Doom decides he has to deal with that first. Man, he's got a lot of logs in the fire, doesn't he? The Fantastic Four are practically at the bottom of his priority list by now.
Doom heads back out to his balcony to demand answers from the milling crowd outside. There, Zorba declares that the coronation ceremony was a sham, since Doom is still in power - but by the very laws that he resurrected to set up his ceremony, the throne now rightfully belongs to the people! Doom isn't impressed by this claim, noting that his weapons are far more powerful than any little law that might be on the books. He then activates his vortex machine, which generates a tornado to take out the rebels. Last time we saw this technology it was actually something that Reed built - it showed up way back in Fantastic Four #39. I guess Doom took inspiration?
The tornado seems to be extremely precise in who it targets, and it ruthlessly starts taking out rebels, flinging them in every direction as it goes. Doom cackles as his enemies are scattered to the literal winds, declaring his own superiority all the while - it's rather nice to see him back in character after half a dozen issues of being weird! Soon his laughter turns cold, and he tells one of his minions to take Alicia's statue on board one of the jets, where he will make sure certain equipment has been installed inside it. The servant quickly agrees, though some of the captions inform us that the man is worried the screaming people outside might be his own family. But what can one man do in the face of Doom's overwhelming power...?
A couple Servo-Guards wheel Alicia's statue on board Doom's latest plane. This one actually resembles a regular commercial jet, though it's entirely silver and marked with a large 'DD' symbol that makes it look like it belongs to Daredevil. Doom really needs to figure out what brand he's going to stick with - he keeps switching symbolism every issue or two! In any case, Doom instructs the pilots to head for New York - he needs to get there ahead of the UN vote which might bar Latveria from membership. He then slumps into a comfortable chair and sleeps on the way, though his dreams are uneasy…
Back in Latveria, the Fantastic Four attempt to escape from the locked room. They've discovered one potential weakness - a tiny keyhole through the electrified door. Reed decides he'll have to navigate this treacherous path with his powers, and try and find Doom's controls to deactivate the defenses. Using his recently enhanced powers, he starts making his way through the lock as a thread that's finer than nylon, but even with all his new abilities, he electrocutes himself by brushing the sides of the lock, and has to force his way through excruciating pain. He then pushes through and manipulates Doom's control console, deactivating the defenses and saving his own life.
The rest of the Fantastic Four are soon freed, and are glad to see that Reed is alright, if rather winded from the experience. They hear a commotion outside, and realize there's a storm blowing through - but Latveria has never had a tornado before! Three guesses who's responsible. After deactivating the vortex machine and saving what remains of the rebellion, Reed and Sue decide to look for more clues to what's going on in the control room, while Ben and Johnny leave to find Alicia.
Reed and Sue are joined by Zorba, who helps out with the search. Sue discovers some papers in a hidden drawer, and Reed quickly identifies what they're about - they're plans for the machine that Cynthian Associates was building back in Fantastic Four #196 - the first part of this whole sordid saga. It's the very device that Reed himself contributed to, before he realized Doom was behind everything. Reed finally realizes what the machine is, and stresses that they must head to New York immediately, or everything might be lost! I'll be honest, I kind of figured the writers had forgotten about all that, so it's nice that it's relevant again four issues down the line! (I should point out, now that they're mentioned again, than Cynthian Associates was clearly a reference to Doom's mother, Cynthia von Doom. Subtle!)
Ben and Johnny have made their way down the dungeons, and break Alicia out of captivity without much trouble. They're soon joined by the others, and Reed immediately stresses that they have to go - they have to hurry for the sake of the world! Ben isn't having any of it, taking a moment to greet Alicia with a big rocky kiss. Sue is also annoyed with Reed, telling him to calm down and pointing out that they've been separated for weeks - she's expecting a proper hello! For once in his life, can he please shut up? Reed relents, and we get a shot of two couples kissing, while Zorba looks on and notes that some things apparently have priority even over the fate of the world. Johnny complains that he hasn't been getting enough of that priority lately…
Chapter 2: Beginning of the End!
Doom has arrived at an upstate New York estate, the same Cynthian Associates laboratory where Reed worked a few issues ago. He's striding through the halls in a huff, since he's aware that the Fantastic Four have escaped from his trap. His minions are a little terrified, noting that they haven't ever seen Doom this mad, and to bother him would mean instant obliteration! He orders of one of his servants to launch missiles at the Four's fast approaching Pogo plane, and complains that he's surrounded by incompetents, like a proper supervillain does. The heat-seeking missiles immediately lock on to the plane, but Johnny knows this dance, and uses his powers to pose as a hotter target, luring the weapons away. Reed decides he'll also bail out, leaving Ben and Sue behind to head for the United Nations building.
Reed departs from the plane by using his emergency escape, and parachutes down by using his own body as the actual parachute. He's still intent on taking out Doom once and for all, and nothing will stand in his way! Johnny, meanwhile, is still leading the missiles around by the nose, but they're gaining on him. He decides to take a last resort - he'll go supernova! Dialing his power up to eleven, he blasts the weapons apart with a white-hot flame, but soon finds himself falling from the sky, helpless. Sue spots him and tells Ben to divert the plane so they pass by. She then uses her force fields to catch him, and drop him back into the cockpit.
Reed, meanwhile, has wafted down from the sky and arrived at Doom's laboratory, where he is immediately spotted. Doom steps in and declares himself 'Doom the First, New Ruler of the World!' and Reed relishes in the fact that they're finally facing off directly, just the two of them, as it was always meant to be! Doom actually agrees, observing that Reed believes in destiny, just as he does. It started with the two of them, so it's only right that it should end with them too! We then get a small update to Doom's origin story, the first in a good while - and this one is all about Reed's involvement.
We see Reed offering to share a room with Victor, who denies this because he wants privacy. Privacy to run experiments, both scientific and mystical. Reed, however, wouldn't leave it alone and looked at some of Doom's calculations, advising the man to recheck his numbers, since he noticed various errors. Doom ignored him, and the next experiment went terribly wrong, literally exploding in his face. If not for Reed, none of this would have happened, he declares, and his face would not be a battleground of scars! Reed points out that he was only trying to help, to warn him about his calculations. Doom ignores this claim entirely, intent on finally taking down his most hated foe…
Doom starts blasting at Reed with his hand lasers, declaring that fate has ordained that he shall be Master of the Planet Earth, and there's no reason he should resist destruction now - he's only delaying the inevitable! Reed slithers around like a snake with his powers, avoiding attacks and smacking Doom around as he does it. He reminds Doom that he's been defeated before, and that can happen again, soon managing to coil around his foe like an anaconda. He then inserts a hand into Doom's armor, in an attempt to disable it from the inside. Doom promptly electrifies himself, and Reed is forced to let go - he really should have expected that.
Doom takes advantage of the dazed hero, rushing out of the room while declaring that he doesn't even have to be there to take out his foe! After all, Reed's been lured right into his murder room! Doom quickly makes his way to a nearby control room, from where he can watch what's going on and activate all sorts of gadgets he's hidden all over the place. I guess he's feeling nostalgic!
Doom hits a button and cables shoot out of the ground to truss up Reed like he's on Lilliput, and he proudly notes that they're made of a proprietary steel alloy he calls Victorium - after himself, naturally. They're razor-sharp and unbreakable, and they shall slice him into ribbons! Reed notes that they would kill any normal man, but even Doom must've realized that nothing can hold someone who can change shape.
As he escapes from the cables, however, lasers start raining down from the sky, and a robotic knight starts slashing at him with an axe. He can't focus on one while avoiding the other, so he's in a spot of trouble... Reed calls the robot a 'Doom-bot' here, which is the first time I've seen that name actively used in any of these comics. Ironically, he's not using the term to describe an actual Doombot!
Reed wonders whether or not Doom is intentionally setting up traps that he can escape from, even as he ricochets off the walls in the form of a ball, building up momentum to smash the robot while avoiding the laser blasts. He then uses the reflective panels of said robot to rebound the lasers to their source, destroying it utterly. Doom watches on with a metaphorical bucket of popcorn, revealing that this puzzle was very much intentional - Doom is having fun toying with his enemy, and he's set up his murder room for exactly these kinds of games. Still, the games are slanted in Doom's favor, so one of them will get Reed sooner or later. As he says this the floor opens up beneath Reed, revealing a sea of roiling fire. Reed can only narrowly save himself by propping himself against the walls with his outstretched limbs, but the heat is weakening him by the second…
Chapter 3: At Long Last, Defeat! At Long Last, Victory!
At the United Nations, meanwhile, the general assembly is gathering to vote on the proposition to condemn Latveria for gross human rights abuses. They're interrupted, however, by a whole contingent of heavily armed Servo-Guards, who announce that they've come to deliver a gift from 'Doom the First' before the crucial vote is taken.
Even as three-fourths of the Fantastic Four arrive at the building, one of Doom's servants hits a big red button to alert his boss that the statue is in place. Back at Doom's estate, the monarch is still thoroughly enjoying making Reed suffer, when a light blinks on to alert him that the situation in New York has hit a critical stage. Although he wanted to witness Reed's final moments in person, Doom decides that this takes precedence, and leaves his automatic murder room to its own devices, while he heads for his 'Solartron' post-haste.
Reed, meanwhile, is still barely holding out against the flames that engulfed the room - only for the next trap to activate. Chlorine-gas starts to pour into the room, and Reed immediately notices an opportunity there. He holds his breath, then stretches his neck into the pipe that's releasing the gas, bunching up his body in the storage canister until it explodes from the pressure. He's survived, and found himself in a safe room where he can recuperate - but he's in a lot of pain, and it'll take him a moment to recover…
Doom, meanwhile, has made his way to his 'Solartron Complex', which we've actually seen before! Reed visited it with Doom's clone, back when he was given a tour of the premises. We get a brief recap of that moment, noting that without filtered lenses, the reflections in the crystalline room could burn a hole in any man's mind. Doom reveals that the device he built into Alicia's statue was so complex that he couldn't build it on his own - that's why he outsourced its construction through Cynthian Associates. He checks up on some surveillance cameras and realizes that some members of the Fantastic Four have arrived at the UN - and they might yet ruin everything! Will he always be plagued by that accursed quartet?
Reed arrives at that moment to say that they will, then wraps the monarch up in his own cloak. Doom demands to know how many lives Reed has, and the hero just notes that one's sufficient - if you know how to use it. He then puts a small device on Doom's armor, one of the jamming devices he brought along when he realized who his enemy was. The device short-circuits the armor, leaving Doom without any means to fight back - but he can still move, and he intends to use that to reach the Solartron's controls.
Reed won't allow this, smashing into Doom with a vicious punch, declaring that only a madman would go this far to achieve the impossible. He then goes full Harry Potter on his arch-nemesis, asking his enemy to show a hint of remorse. Vengeance isn't everything, he declares, and Doom's genius could benefit the very people he thinks hate him! Doom just calls Reed an idiot, noting that he isn't in this just for vengeance's sake - he seeks power because it's rightfully his! It's his birthright, inherited from a mother who was murdered by ignorant morons who refused to see the truth. He has only ever sought to claim that which is already his! He then admits that when they first met, Doom thought Reed showed promise - but it seems that while the man's intelligence soared, his understanding of human motivations didn't. Mere vengeance? No, Doom is above such petty triflings...
Although his armor is ruined, Doom still has enough reserve power to activate the refrigeration systems, and uses them to freeze Reed in place. He then heads over to the Solartron's controls and hits a button. Over at the UN, we see that the other members of the Fantastic Four have taken out Doom's Servo-Guards. They're taken by surprise, however, when Alicia's statue suddenly starts glowing, and shoots rays out of its eyes - which mind-controls all the members of the general assembly. Through them, Doom shall rule the world! Boy, I think Doom will be somewhat disappointed to realize how much power the UN actually has. One thing to take away from all these 'Doom at the UN' story-lines is that a lot of writers seem really convinced that there's an all-powerful world government which can trump everything. In the Illuminati's dreams, maybe!
Incidentally, it turns out that the secret hidden plan was mind control. Again. I mean, I can't say it's out of character, since this has been Doom's default strategy for just about every global domination plan he's made - but one wonders why he needed to hire a whole bunch of different scientists to take control of one room full of people, when he's previously built like three different devices to do it to the whole planet! He was even successful with one of those! I suppose he never did learn a lesson from that final Super-Villain Team-Up storyline, did he…?
In any case, the hypnotized world leaders start rushing at the Fantastic Four members, who somehow managed to avoid the statue's influence. For unclear reasons it seems that nearly all of them were armed when they entered the room, as we see some draw revolvers, knives, wooden clubs, and in one unusual case, a firehose. The captions dryly comment that the UN has banded together with a single goal for maybe the first time in its existence, and it's to kill the Fantastic Four!
Meanwhile, back at Doom's estate, we get a rather crappy panel of a hood-less, smirking Doom, who declares that while the statue had to be forced into the UN building rather than arriving in a more peaceful way, it still did its job - and now the world will be Doom's! The writers have an oopsie and declare that this takes place in Latveria, which is wrong… Meanwhile the Marvel wiki claims that it takes place at Doom's New York Castle, which is also wrong! Oy vey… Reed manages to break out of his ice prison by mimicking super-obesity, and Doom is incensed enough that he's willing to get into a straight up physical fistfight, something he usually tends to avoid on account of all his gadgets and his love of tormenting people via television screens.
Enraged, Doom throws himself at his nemesis, and they get into a no-holds-barred knockout brawl, both of them fully intending on killing the other. Reed turns one of his fists into a spiked hammer with his enhanced powers and starts wailing on Doom, who strikes back just as hard, still far more powerful than any regular man would be.
Doom declares himself Reed's master, and tells the hero to agree with him - to admit that Doom is greater! He demands that Reed pay him back for all those years of frustration, in which he always knew that there was someone else as powerful as him, who might almost be Doom's superi- He cuts himself off, realizing he almost said that there could be someone superior to Doom. Hah! As if.
What's next is key, I think, in explaining Doom's enduring hatred of Reed. It goes beyond merely being annoyed by the man in college, or even a direct rivalry in intelligence and power like he suggests mere moments before. No, Doom asks Reed to acknowledge his sins - he should admit tampering with the experiment that destroyed his face! It was him, Doom rants - it had to be! 'Tell me you envied my brilliance,' Doom demands. 'Tell me the truth! Tell me, curse you! Tell me, and perhaps I will end your suffering this moment! You must tell me!' In a probably deliberate echo of the previous issue, Doom strangles Reed while he rants at him, and when the hero tries to defend himself, he just gets angrier - why would he lie even on his deathbed? Reed was responsible, because Doom is incapable of making mistakes!
Reed, in a last desperate effort, grabs onto Doom's mask. The monarch laughs it off, figuring Reed was just trying to rile him up while going for this dishonorable tactic, but it's no use, as the only way to remove his mask is by using his ring! That's an old-timey reference there - the last time this came up was back in Astonishing Tales #1! Doom is shocked to realize that he's wrong, as his mask comes right off. The mechanism which locked it, naturally, relied on electricity - and that was cut off when Reed short-circuited his suit earlier!
Doom cries out in horror as he realizes what Reed has done - without the protective lenses built into his mask, Doom is exposed to the maddening reflections of the Solartron they're fighting in, and they might drive him mad(der)! Doom cries out in horror as he's bombarded with a million grotesque echoes of his own scarred face. The images scorch their way through his mind, leaving him utterly helpless, and he falls to the ground in a whimpering, mindless heap. Doom… is done.
Reed notices the fight that's going on at the UN building, and belatedly shuts down the Solartron, where the delegates gain control of themselves again. 'Allah! I am awakening from a nightmare!' one man declares as he lowers his hammer, while his neighbour puts away a recently fired gun. Whoopsie! The three members of the Fantastic Four are alright - they hunkered down beneath Sue's force field and survived the onslaught of conventional weapons, and are relieved when they realize their plight is over… This means Reed must have won!
Epilogue 1: Latveria - A Nation Anew!
Switching now to Latveria - which is correct, this time - we see Zorba dressed in the same formal clothing that Doom's clone ripped up when he transformed last issue. It seems he's become the new leader of Doom's nation, now that its ruler is out of the picture - at least until next month's elections. Latveria is now a democracy! Reed tells Zorba he'll rule wisely, but the man just says that's for the people to decide. He then thanks the Four for this opportunity, since it was their team that gave his people hope and faith.
When Reed inquires after Doctor Doom, Zorba explains that the man has been driven utterly mad, his mind destroyed by the Solartron. Still, Zorba believes that Doom cared for his people in his own strange way, and so Latveria will care for what remains of him in return. We then see a shot of Doom, lacking his armor and with his face wrapped up in bandages, locked away in a padded room behind glass like he's Hannibal freaking Lecter.
Elsewhere in the castle stands Alicia's statue of Latveria's former leader, and while it was originally carved to look like Victor's face prior to his disfigurement, the face of the statue suddenly begins to crumble, to match its real counterpart. 'A testament to a man who, seeking more than flesh, became a thing less than clay…'
Epilogue 2: Fantastic Four #201
We get a final little epilogue at the beginning of the next issue. Zorba throws a parade for the Fantastic Four, pins medals on all of them for their achievement, and then tells them that they're welcome to return any time. He also notes that there will doubtlessly be fighting and endless squabbling with democracy restored, but at least it will be for the benefit of the people, rather than a single maniacal madman! This'll work out great, I'm sure - who's ever heard of bad consequences following a military coup against a dictator, anyway? As the festivities end, the Four get back on their Pogo plane and head back home, content about a job well done. This'll be the last they'll ever hear of Doctor Doom, they're sure!
Rating & Comments
Well, I did not expect this lackluster 2-3 star storyline to end with such a strong finale! After a bunch of less than stellar issues with sub-par characterization and vague plans, the final part of this five-issue saga not only brings Doom's plans into focus at long last, but it also goes out of its way to explain Doom's motivations, and has a rather great extended fight scene that feels just as final as it claims to be! Wow! Indeed, that Reed vs. Doom confrontation is their best yet, and includes all the things you'd want in such a fight: competing gadgets, treacherous murder-rooms full of death-traps, blazing hand lasers, direct fisticuffs, and ingenious use of various abilities and powers!
And that's before we get into Doom's characterization, which is on point in this anniversary issue, and quite engaging. I'm not sure what happened in the last few comics, but Doom is back in glorious form here, proclaiming that he's beyond vengeance while beating up Reed Richards in revenge for allegedly sabotaging his fateful college experiment. Ah, sweet hypocrisy, thy name is Doom! The final fight clearly echoes the final confrontation between him and his clone: in both cases Doom cannot accept the truth about himself, and attempts to kill the messenger by strangulation, in a last attempt to force them to retract their statements. In that previous issue he rejected the claim that he hates himself, while in this one he rejects the implication that he's fallible, inferior to Reed in some respect, or that he might be responsible for his own mistakes. Doom seems to realize there might be some truth in those claims, but he cannot stomach such thoughts, and has to violently silence them before they can take root. As Alicia pointed out before, there might be a good man in there somewhere, but he's buried beneath all that hate and suffering…
Reed, meanwhile, gets to be a total badass in this entire arc, and in the end he single-handedly takes down his nemesis in a dust-up for the ages. Honestly, the rest of the Fantastic Four are barely relevant at all, and are dropped off in this issue so they can fight an irrelevant side-conflict with a bunch of possessed UN delegates. The real fight is Reed's. He gets to show off his ingenuity, his perseverance, and even his sheer power, and while even this comic's captions suggest that his abilities are rather weak compared to his fellow heroes, the art goes out of its way to show Reed as powerful and highly adaptable. It's great stuff, and for all its mediocrity in other aspects, this arc puts Reed back on the map as a viable action hero, rather than merely a brainy leader guy who hangs back!
The presence of Zorba throughout this arc turns out to be a bit pointless, to be honest, mostly because he never actually get to pull off his rebellion for real, as Doom easily defeats him every time they clash. Ultimately, control of Latveria simply falls into his lap when Reed solves all his problems for him, which is not the most auspicious start of his reign. Still, he can serve as a stand-in until the elections get underway - or until Doom comes back from his hiatus. Because everybody knows nobody stays dead (or mad) in comic books...
It's interesting to note that this 'final defeat' of Doctor Doom is actually pretty damn final, as far as comic book plots go. After this story, Doctor Doom would take the entirety of 1979 off, showing up only in tiny cameos and nowhere else. He also skips most of 1980, only returning in an actual starring role towards the end of that year. Taking a two-year vacation in comic book time is an eternity, especially when the character isn't even properly dead! Honestly, it gives this story a lot more legitimacy, compared to something like Champions #16, which depicted Doom as gibbering and insane by the end, which was entirely ignored that when his next story popped up a single month later.
In summary, I have to give this comic a good grade - between the excellent action, the satisfying conclusion to an otherwise lame storyline, and the great showings of both Reed and Doom, this deserves a solid recommendation. I don't think I could justify five stars, not with the somewhat underwhelming route that led us here and the rather toothless subplots about the UN and Zorba's rebellion, but that still leaves four stars. Pretty damn good!
Best Panel(s) of the Issue
The action is quite excellent in this issue, with a whole bunch of great panels featuring Reed and Doom fighting it out. I thought this one was neat because it also features one of Reed's more creative uses of his power, turning his fist into a meat tenderizer to smack Doom across the face!
Most Gloriously Villainous Doom Quotes
"Insufferable idiot! You believe Doom is so petty that he seeks mere vengeance? Ignorant poltroon! I seek power because it is rightfully mine! It is a birthrite (sic) I inherited from my mother - a woman who was murdered by a suspicious, frightened pack of cloddish morons who were too stupid to see the truth! I have ever sought to claim that which is already mine! ... When we first met, Richards, I thought you a somewhat intelligent student with some promise. Perhaps your scientific intellect grew, but your understanding of human motivation is astonishingly limited! Vengeance? Bah! Doom is above such petty triflings."
"I am not the helpless clod you thought me to be, Richards. Even without my power, my armor more than compensates for your ridiculous stretching power. And that makes me your master, Richards! Did you hear me? I am your master! Say it, Richards, say it now! Doctor Doom is your master! Oh, soon you will beg to spit out those words... for they move me to offer the smallest ray of hope. Hope represented by your swift destruction rather than this slow and painful end! But I demand to pay you back for all those years of frustration - of always knowing there was someone else as strong, as powerful... Someone who might almost be Doom's superi- What? Did I start to say Doom's superior? Hah! I have always been your better. Admit it, Richards - always! Admit that you tampered with the machine that destroyed my face! It was you - it had to be! Tell me you envied my brilliance... Tell me the truth - tell me, curse you - tell me and perhaps I will end your suffering this moment! You must tell me! ... Even on your deathbed you lie?! I know you were responsible! I am incapable of making mistakes!"
Doom's Bad Hair Day
This panel not only contains a pretty bizarre take on Doom's mask, which really shouldn't be quite as expressive as it seems to be, but it also contains the aforementioned 'Latveria' mistake which really confuses things. In the background, by the way, is a frozen Reed - he's just chilling there, I'm sure.
Doom-Tech of the Week
Interestingly enough, nearly all the various technologies that show up in this comic are references to previous stories, presumably because it's a bit of a nostalgia-fueled encounter to begin with, as an anniversary issue. As such, only Victorium is unique to this story, a special super-alloy created by Doom. I presume that it's retroactively the material used for stuff like the bars on the windows of his embassies, which Namor couldn't seem to budge...
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