Welcome back Marvel readers as we once again witness Doctor Doom take over the world. Can Marvel’s best and brightest figure out a way to defeat one of their deadliest villains? Or has Doctor Doom finally found a way to win over the hearts and minds of the citizens of Earth? We’ve convened our experts George Carmona 3rd, D. Morris, Jordan Jennings, and Tim Rooney for a roundtable talking about One World Under Doom. Get ready to read their thoughts on this latest event. Warning there are mild spoilers so skip ahead to our final verdicts if you don’t want to avoid them.
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THE BEAT: What thoughts do we have on this first issue or more importantly what are our thoughts on our new sovereign and rightful leader, Victor Von Doom?
GEORGE CARMONA 3rd: I can’t believe this is Doom’s 4th go-around power grab/controlling everything. First, it was the classic Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars (1984), followed by the one-shot Emperor Doom (1987) and his last takeover Secret Wars (2025) before leading into One World Under Doom.
D. Morris: Surely Latveria’s favorite son will get it right this time! Didn’t he also do this during the Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo run too? For some reason, I thought that happened during that run too.
GC3: If I remember correctly, he switched it up, used magic, and took over hell to fight the FF.
Jordan Jennings: Hey, let’s not forget Doom 2099!
DM: After Doom represent!
JJ: For real though, Doom running the world is like Charlie Brown trying to kick that darn football.
DM: Yeah, no matter the way that Ryan North and R.B. Silva try to present it, Doctor Doom running the world is a) neither a novel idea or b) going to succeed this time.
JJ: For their part, even the comic alludes to the fact they tend to beat Doom every single time he pulls this stunt. At least they try to lampshade it, but it does admittedly feel like a very tired concept. Is it topical given the current state of the world? Sure, but this issue feels like the aforementioned After Doom from 2099
GC3: But not really, it’s more like Victor slips up, overreaches, or realizes it’s not worth the bother.
DM: Yeah, if Stan Lee and Jack Kirby collaborated on the dictionary Doom would probably be the entry for hubris. His ego gets in the way or he gets humbled.I think what bugs me about this opening issue is that it wants to think the way it presents Doom’s takeover is very topical and very airtight. That everyone wants what he’s offering and that what he’s offering is the solution to the world’s woes. But the more I think about it and the more I think about it, the more I get annoyed that it comes across as too clever for its own good. North’s script tries very hard to seemingly answer every potential plot hole which seems to only invite you to look at how flimsy this setup seems. Like surely not everyone on earth buys everything Doom sells to them this issue?
Tim Rooney: I definitely got some whiplash here tonally. That opening page was chilling in its familiarity to current events but the momentum doesn’t carry all the way through. There’s a whole lot of chatting and setup here which isn’t to RB Silva’s strength as an artist and the quippy dialogue diminishes the threat a bit. But there was also a lot I liked, it puts the heroes at a unique disadvantage where they are essentially fighting against popular ideas proposed by a notorious liar.
JJ: That opening page was staggeringly effective. Capture that whole “Marvel is the world outside of your window” but in the worst way.
GC3: I love how they jumped right in, straight no chaser. And Tim I agree that the fun house mirror of it all is a bit chilling. Sad I’d take Doom over the real world.
JJ: One of the things about Doom 2099 was that the fascist was still better than the corporate kleptocracy running around that world. It’s a very wise of North to lift from that. It helps build Doom’s cult of personality. You can beat a man but you cannot beat an idea. Heck, look at what Orchis done in the Marvel universe. They mainstreamed Anti-Mutant hate in a way that was socially acceptable and it made the X-men have the impossible task of winning the hearts and minds of the people.
DM: If Doom had offered student loan and/or total debt forgiveness too, I’d very much say “My liege”.
GC3: And this is what makes Victor so dangerous, he gives people that thing they need and want, but it’s the price they’ll pay in the end.
TR: The way North structured this I think is smart, even if it made this issue a little less exciting than I hoped. Ultimately seeing Doom take over is less interesting than the disorienting reaction to his being in power. And establishing that the heroes will be up against a machine that sells lies to get people on Doom’s side, without yet showing us whatever dark secrets are behind them yet builds the anticipation and establishes the magnitude of Doom’s charismatic leadership.
DM: I think that’s what bugged me the most was that turn at the end. It was very much a question I’m tired of hearing which is “Why don’t heroes do more to save the world by getting rid of the villains? Why do they maintain the status quo?” Well, they’re heroes. If they killed the villains, they wouldn’t be heroes. The question about why they maintain the status quo, especially people as smart as Reed Richards or Tony Stark is a thornier one that is far more interesting and I think that holds more potential for after this series. I’m intrigued how that’s going to get answered.
GC3: That’s one of the problems with the Marvel ideology of “it’s the world outside of our window” like JJ said. You have to avoid questions like why doesn’t Iceman fix the polar caps, why doesn’t Stark hook up the world with free energy, and why didn’t Wakanda stop the slave trade?
TR: I don’t know where this makes the most sense to say but I also appreciate seeing Captain America plainly reminding everyone that allying with or appeasing Nazis is never the answer even for a “greater good.” That’s a moral compromise with no upside.
JJ: That was one character moment I really liked. Cap understands there is no appeasing them.
GC3: Oh there were some amazing character moments in this book, Caps was great Solid no to the “enemy of my enemy” crap. And Peter and Johnny’s conversation on the plane ride over to Latvaria, is classic Marvel banter.
DM: I will say that I was annoyed at some of the jokes in that conversation where North tries to poke holes in the logic of superhero comics. Yes, it would make more sense for Sue Storm to make a plane invisible or that Spider-Man’s famous web parachutes are structurally unsound. This is a personal pet peeve of when writers try to think they’re smarter than what they’re writing. I think also goes back to my issues with this plot coming across as more clever than maybe it really is if that makes sense.
TR: North has a great knack for poking fun at comics without breaking them, by rooting everything in character. But the tongue in cheek approach has to be anchored with some emotional heft to fully land which he does well in Fantastic Four but which is mostly absent in this first issue, likely as a function of the exposition necessary to set the wheels in motion. I suspect we’ll get more of that character work as we go along. There are moments that stand out here but not all of it comes together
GC3: I can forgive most of that because the artwork was stunningly gorgeous. Silva’s line work and storytelling have always been stellar, add to that David Curiel’s colors, and I keep focusing on the Torches flame and the next generation of Kirby-dots from Victor and his Dino-steed’s attack on Hydra.
DM: This was my biggest take away too. Silva’s art on this was truly the standout in this first issue. Their work on this book was really compelling. The action sequences were phenomenal. If Marvel is doing anything right with their event comics right now, it’s putting their best artists on those books.
TR: Silva’s work on the big boardroom scenes and the television broadcasts were a bit flat but his layouts for the big dramatic moments were stunning. There is a closeup shot of Captain Marvel against the setting sun where she pops out of the background, which when combined with Curiel’s outstanding, vibrant colors practically summons up the big orchestral Avengers score in your mind. It’s well paced getting to that point on the bottom of the page full of packed images, and it’s just classic superhero comics in the best way. The colors really make everything pop, and keep the crowded pages from being messy, too. This looks terrific.
GC3: And from working on several big Marvel events, Silva knows his characters. There is a panel where we only see the silhouettes of the heroes, but he conveys with shapes who’s who, and that is not an easy skill.
DM: I think about the body language differences from before and after Zemo meets with Doom. You know something’s off not just because the dialogue tells us to suspect but Zemo’s posture kind of tells you this already. I hope this book puts their career into the stratosphere.
TR: There’s so much to enjoy visually when all the heroes get moving together, just the way the different characters stand and react to things is full of storytelling and establishing who they are.
THE BEAT: So what is our final verdict on this book?
JJ: I liked the issue but it is another event that could have just been a story arc of the main book. The story is too overdone, but Silva’s art is stunning. Definitely BROWSE as there are better attempts at this kind of story.
GC3: I appreciate the Kilmonger-ish question “Is Victor right?” I’m wondering how Marvel will put the genie back in the bottle once our Heroes bring back the patriarchy and all of its issues. One of the reasons I loved the Blood Hunt event was the lasting ramifications like Victor becoming Sorcerer Supreme. But I would recommend a BUY on the artwork alone.
JJ: Doom makes some valid points but ultimately he will fail and make a mistake that will turn the world on him. It will likely be some deus ex machina that will help the heroes turn the tide. They already tried to do this whole DOOMBlade thing in the lead in FF issue.
TR: I think this was fine but not as bombastic as I hoped after the first few pages and, like a lot of events, will read better in trade so this is a BROWSE for now. Ask me again in a few months.
DM: I’ve admittedly not been a huge fan of Ryan North’s work on Fantastic Four and I knew going in that this might not be my cup of tea. Outside of R.B. Silva’s artwork, this vision of Doom and his plans, which again we all know won’t succeed, don’t feel as fresh as the script thinks they are. But Silva’s art really works for me so this is a BROWSE for me.
Next week, the end for Mystique? Weapon X-Men? Thunderbolts: Doomstrike? Tune to the same Beat time, same Beat channel!
