Doctor Doom #3 - Death in the Afternoon WITH SPOILERS

As expected, Doom didn't stay dead long....but will their be a price?

Writer Christopher Cantwell continues to weave an interesting tale in a new and chaotic chapter in his Doctor Doom series. Where the threads may lead is still not clear but to add to the intrigue another player has entered the game...Mistress Death herself.

It's only logical to assume that Cantwell wasn't going to kill Doom off in the second issue of the series but how he does it really opens up a tricky situation for Victor to find himself in. He now owes his life to Mistress Death who looks like she's hiring. I can't imagine that turning out well and debt or not you just know Dooms not going to be her obedient servant. We're also getting a sense that this particular point in time is crucial to a couple of futures. We've seen Dooms visions of the one where Doom lives and becomes the benevolent minister of the planet. But Kang tells him of the another timeline where Taskmaster does kill Doom and apparently things go to Hell in a handbasket as a result.

The most unexpected development was the appearance Doom's childhood friend Valeria. She was sacrificed to the Haazerth demons in Unthinkable. But Cantwell does something quite logical here and shows us that Mephisto ultimately was the one behind that scheme. But is she just an illusion or is this her soul that Mephisto possesses? One wonders if there will be another fight with Mephisto to reclaim her soul at one point.

Adam Brashear does track Doom down to Morgan Le Fey's safe house but soon gets dispatched by quick bit of magic by Doom. Don't know much about Blue Marvel but he better start getting interested in sorcery if he's going to keep up. But then Reed doesn't really like to deal with it either. Is there a team up with Doom in the future?

I found this issue highly entertaining and I want to shake Cantwell's hand for bringing back Valeria..... I think ;)

[QUOTE=Iron Maiden;4718166]Adam Brashear does track Doom down to Morgan Le Fey's safe house but soon gets dispatched by quick bit of magic by Doom. Don't know much about Blue Marvel but he better start getting interested in sorcery if he's going to keep up.
[/QUOTE]

A bit of jobbing there. See past examples of how the Seven Suns of Cinnibis spell was used in the past by Dr. Strange and Clea to understand my point. But this is Doom's book, so we'll just go with it.

[QUOTE=JudicatorPrime;4718172]A bit of jobbing there. See past examples of how the Seven Suns of Cinnibis spell was used in the past by Dr. Strange and Clea to understand my point. But this is Doom's book, so we'll just go with it.[/QUOTE]

That one I have really not heard of before so will have to look that one up. But I think this was probably just a little lesson for Brashear to not be so dismissive of magic, something as I mentioned he shares with Reed.

[QUOTE=Iron Maiden;4718166]
The most unexpected development was the appearance Doom's childhood friend Valeria. She was sacrificed to the Haazerth demons in Unthinkable. But Cantwell does something quite logical here and shows us that Mephisto ultimately was the one behind that scheme.[/QUOTE]

Mephisto was revealed to be behind the Haazerth demons in Fantastic Four #507 by Waid and Porter.

[QUOTE=Alpha to Omega;4718213]Mephisto was revealed to be behind the Haazerth demons in Fantastic Four #507 by Waid and Porter.[/QUOTE]

I went back and looked ( I was already logged into my Marvel Unlimited looking for something else) and you are right. They do say that Mephisto is their master. Another reason why I thought Unthinkable was flawed. Doom should have known from his mother's mistake and making deals with demons.

[QUOTE=Iron Maiden;4718181]That one I have really not heard of before so will have to look that one up. But I think this was probably just a little lesson for Brashear to not be so dismissive of magic, something as I mentioned he shares with Reed.[/QUOTE]

Actually, Adam has dealt with magical beings before. In [I]Mighty Avengers[/I] the team fought the mystical Elementals, who are themselves fairly high up the ladder in terms of power. To the extent that Adam is dismissive likely stems from the fact that the present iteration of the multiverse is science based. Sure, magic exists, but it's not the end-all source of power. That's why Doom is always seeking more scientific measures of power, despite his considerable mystical abilities.

[QUOTE=JudicatorPrime;4718260]Actually, Adam has dealt with magical beings before. In [I]Mighty Avengers[/I] the team fought the mystical Elementals, who are themselves fairly high up the ladder in terms of power. To the extent that Adam is dismissive likely stems from the fact that the present iteration of the multiverse is science based. Sure, magic exists, but it's not the end-all source of power. That's why Doom is always seeking more scientific measures of power, despite his considerable mystical abilities.[/QUOTE]

Where does it say that the present multiverse is science based? I'm not doubting just don't know where it was defined as such. I would say that since the re-creation by Franklin and the Molecule Man was more than a little hand wavy, it's open to debate

[QUOTE=Iron Maiden;4718266][B]Where does it say that the present multiverse is science based?[/B] I'm not doubting just don't know where it was defined as such. I would say that since the re-creation by Franklin and the Molecule Man was more than a little hand wavy, it's open to debate[/QUOTE]

Inferred, not stated.

It goes back to the iterations of the cosmos that Ewing established in the pages of the [B]Ultimates[sup]2[/sup][/B]. The Sixth Cosmos was the first truly science based cosmos. The entity that comprised the Sixth Cosmos merged with Galan of Taa, ultimately becoming Galactus in the Seventh Cosmos, which was also science-based. The Seventh Cosmos is embodied by Eternity (male aspect) and Infinity (feminine aspect). The Eighth Cosmos you know about. It is the multiverse as saved by Reed, Molecule Man and Franklin Richards. Nevertheless, some argue that the Eighth Cosmos is merely a continuation of the Seventh given that Eternity remains the primary embodiment of the cosmos/multiverse, rather than a separate and uniquely distinct cosmos like his antecedents. It is undoubtedly science-based as well.

As for the creation of the Eighth Cosmos, I would suggest that TOAA filled in the blanks where Franklin, Reed and Owen Reece could not. Neither of the three are mystics, nor were they cosmically aware, but nevertheless magic continues to function with high efficacy in the current cosmos. TOAA is my best guess in the way of explaining the existence of magic, although Eternity could also be the reason for that, since science and magic are intrinsic to him.

There's also the matter of the Living Tribunal, whom I presume still has the responsibility of curtailing magical excess in the current cosmos, as was the case in the Seventh Cosmos. In a magic-based cosmos there'd be no need to curtail magic. Indeed, the only way to truly do so would be to destroy said cosmos.

[QUOTE=Iron Maiden;4718166]It's only logical to assume that Cantwell wasn't going to kill Doom off in the second issue of the series but how he does it really opens up a tricky situation for Victor to find himself in. He now owes his life to Mistress Death who looks like she's hiring. I can't imagine that turning out well and debt or not you just know Dooms not going to be her obedient servant.[/QUOTE]
One thing is for certain Thanos is going be insanely jealous when he finds out that Doom is Death's new favourite. :p

I do wonder though how Doom is going to weasel his wsy out of this pact. Perhaps by besting Death in a game of chess? Got to respect the classics after all.

[QUOTE=JudicatorPrime;4718455]Inferred, not stated.

It goes back to the iterations of the cosmos that Ewing established in the pages of the [B]Ultimates[sup]2[/sup][/B]. The Sixth Cosmos was the first truly science based cosmos. The entity that comprised the Sixth Cosmos merged with Galan of Taa, ultimately becoming Galactus in the Seventh Cosmos, which was also science-based. The Seventh Cosmos is embodied by Eternity (male aspect) and Infinity (feminine aspect). The Eighth Cosmos you know about. It is the multiverse as saved by Reed, Molecule Man and Franklin Richards. Nevertheless, some argue that the Eighth Cosmos is merely a continuation of the Seventh given that Eternity remains the primary embodiment of the cosmos/multiverse, rather than a separate and uniquely distinct cosmos like his antecedents. It is undoubtedly science-based as well.

As for the creation of the Eighth Cosmos, I would suggest that TOAA filled in the blanks where Franklin, Reed and Owen Reece could not. Neither of the three are mystics, nor were they cosmically aware, but nevertheless magic continues to function with high efficacy in the current cosmos. TOAA is my best guess in the way of explaining the existence of magic, although Eternity could also be the reason for that, since science and magic are intrinsic to him.

There's also the matter of the Living Tribunal, whom I presume still has the responsibility of curtailing magical excess in the current cosmos, as was the case in the Seventh Cosmos. In a magic-based cosmos there'd be no need to curtail magic. Indeed, the only way to truly do so would be to destroy said cosmos.[/QUOTE]

The latest few issues of Dr Strange where Galactus was featured pretty much stated this universe was science-based and the dimension Galactus was transported to was magic-based.

[QUOTE=Kintor;4718463]One thing is for certain Thanos is going be insanely jealous when he finds out that Doom is Death's new favourite. :p

I do wonder though how Doom is going to weasel his wsy out of this pact. Perhaps by besting Death in a game of chess? Got to respect the classics after all.[/QUOTE]

I did like Death putting the fear of, well... Death into Mephisto.

[QUOTE=CaptCleghorn;4718466]The latest few issues of Dr Strange where Galactus was featured pretty much stated this universe was science-based and the dimension Galactus was transported to was magic-based.[/QUOTE]

Gracias. I'll have to remember to purchase those latest issues. Glad to see the Big G remains actively in play by Marvel's writers.

[QUOTE=Tendrin;4718475]I did like Death putting the fear of, well... Death into Mephisto.[/QUOTE]

In a way, it's like Death has chosen a new champion in Doom. Wonder how Thanos feels about that. :D

[QUOTE=JudicatorPrime;4718500]In a way, it's like Death has chosen a new champion in Doom. Wonder how Thanos feels about that. :D[/QUOTE]

Since Thanos is currently brain dead (when last he was seen) he probably doesn't feel much about it at all. :p

Whenever he is eventually restored to normal he may indeed have an opinion on it...although since he himself has turned his back on Mistress Death in favour of Hela, maybe he won't care?

Thanks for starting the review thread once more, Iron Maiden!

I really liked this issue, even more than the previous one which was really good. And according to the cast and the various plots involved, referencing most of Doom's mythos, I think it's a safe bet to say this book is gonna be great.

I especially liked Death's appearance here, but thinking not about Thanos but about Mephisto. It was good to see him being reminded of the true meaning of death. I always thought that he was too much infatuated by all his little theater of hell.