Doctor Doom #1 Review with Spoilers and Buffalo Gals

[Iron Maiden]

Whoa....what an opener. I like the set up and it looks like we are in for a wild ride.

The scene opens with a newscast in progress that is covering the launch of a grand project to help cure the planet by reducing CO2 emissions and cool down the planet. Right off the bat the sounds like trouble to me and made me think about the Snow Piercer movie. It's powered by Stark/Richards tech so right off you know Doom's going to have something to say about that when he's interviewed by the anchor, who picks the wrong person to throw some shade at. Poor Steve, he's probably wondering when his next meal is coming.

Despite the disrespect shown on the broadcast, Doom seems to be in a good humor these days. It was surprising to know that he gets visited periodically by a somewhat addled Kang who seems to be losing track of his journeys through time. I think with Kang you just never know what version you are going to get....there could be copies of him at various stages of his life floating around the time stream. At this juncture, there is a strange kinship between them. Neither of them is sure if they are related or not, much like there has always been speculation on the point ever since the Lee/Kirby days.

Then we get these strange interludes of Doom in another life where he has married has a couple of children , cured all the world's ills and has a strange fondness for American folk songs. We are also given an update on Boris by a new character and that is Boris's daughter Petra. I hope we get to see Boris but the fact that he is battling cancer sounds ominous. I liked the fact the Boris has enough spirit to have wagers with Doom on foreign affairs involving neighboring Symkaria. Doom does throw a veiled threat in there but one is not quite if he is joking for not. And neither is Petra.

Then disaster strikes and there is an attack on the Antilon project when Latveria's missiles are launched and causes its' destruction with over 3,000 casualties. This places Doom at the top of the World's Most Wanted, and probably filling all of the top ten spots.
I liked that the first hero that shows up is the British Union Jack along with a couple of mercenary types. Doom is wounded in the fight but surprises every one by surrendering.

For an opener, I think this issue does all the right things in setting the stage, throwing in some keen characterizations and a mystery to top it all off. There are a couple of mysteries in fact...the meaning of Doom's visions of another life and who is the real cause of the attach on the Antilon project. Sal Larocca does some wonderful work on both the quiet moments of Doom in his study and the fight with Doom and his attackers. This was a good start for the first issue and I hope Cantwell has a nice long run on this series. The title of the issue is Pottersville and I must be referencing It's A Wonderful Life. But right now, things aren't so wonderful for Doom.

[Kintor]

As you'd expect no clue yet as to the true identity of those who attacked the space platform. Although, I do find it amusing that with them waving that huge Latveria flag around for the cameras the whole thing is quite literally a false flag operation.

Also, I'm curious to find out if Kang will play a larger role in the story ahead. I can't imagine that his appearance in #1 of a book like this was intended to be merely a cameo. Never been a huge fan of Kang as a character but these days his motives are as mysterious as Doom's post-Secret Wars, could be interesting to see how he fits into wider events.

[Iron Maiden]

As you'd expect no clue yet as to the true identity of those who attacked the space platform. Although, I do find it amusing that with them waving that huge Latveria flag around for the cameras the whole thing is quite literally a false flag operation.

Also, I'm curious to find out if Kang will play a larger role in the story ahead. I can't imagine that his appearance in #1 of a book like this was intended to be merely a cameo. Never been a huge fan of Kang as a character but these days his motives are as mysterious as Doom's post-Secret Wars, could be interesting to see how he fits into wider events.

I wonder if he is the frenemy mentioned in the summary/promo for issue #2. I still think the smart money is on Doctor Strange since you have Mephisto on the cover for #3. I doubt Kang could help out there This is a different flavor of Kang than we've seen in the past. He seems to visiting Doom for ....companionship maybe as a fellow time traveler?

[jackolover]

Poor Steve, he's probably wondering when his next meal is coming.

.

I was just wondering what this meant? Is Steve Rogers having trouble in this?

[Kintor]

I was just wondering what this meant? Is Steve Rogers having trouble in this?

Nope, not actually Captain America. In this case Steve is the name of the hapless journalist that Doom imprisoned in his castle for shits and giggles. Kind of weird though, Doom didn't throw him in the dungeon or anything like that. Instead Steve is hanging from the great hall ceiling in a gimp suit.

[SuperiorIronman]

Absolutely loved it and a big step up from his Fantastic Four appearance.

[ImperiusWrecked]

I was just wondering what this meant? Is Steve Rogers having trouble in this?

Steve the anchorman, not Rogers.

Another thing that got me with the first book is how well balanced it was, it didnt rush into the action like i expected. it took time to set it up and it was great when it came, the whole "victor surrenders" is great. I just really am glad this writer seems to be able to grasp doom's humanity as well as his supervillain aspects

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Pottersville as a title refers to a lot of things. It can be argued that Latveria where Doom is in charge is analogous to the dystopia view of America in that film. OTOH for Doom, the dystopia could also be him assimilating into America and becoming a bourgeois suburban dude with a wife and kids, which is what George Bailey resents but ultimately realizes is the "wonderful life" after all.

The first issue introduces a lot of elements and it's a good starting point for people to get into Doom. You get right away that Doom is a dictator who doesn't exactly believe in a free press so you know that Doom whatever else you can say is not exactly a hero, Doom is also complex and has a lot of internal shades, Doom has courage and dignity. Past continuity is referred to but not too much.

And you have a mystery where Doom is being framed for a crime that the rest of the world doesn't have a hard time believing he's guilty of.

I like the bit where Doom and Kang talk and Doom removes his mask and Larocca shades and frames Doom's scarred face in interesting ways, alternately revealing and hiding it. I guess it's similar to Esad Ribic's famous panel in Secret Wars but nothing clear and definite.

[Doombot]

I enjoyed the issue and I'm very happy to see Doom in a new series. The opening international intrigue and mysterious visit by Kang are great ways to kick off a fun story arc. Doom's dialogue felt really off to me though, he speaks throughout this issue in a way that doesn't quite feel like Doom. I hope they sharpen up that dialogue for him. I also don't love Larocca's art and you can see some panels with Doom where he's lifted the art straight from Esad Ribic's work on Secret Wars.

[jackolover]

Steve the anchorman, not Rogers.

Another thing that got me with the first book is how well balanced it was, it didnt rush into the action like i expected. it took time to set it up and it was great when it came, the whole "victor surrenders" is great. I just really am glad this writer seems to be able to grasp doom's humanity as well as his supervillain aspects

Thanks for clearing that up Imperius.

I would have liked this series to be about the first Doom. How did Victor invent the Time Machine? Why did he think he needed one? I want to know that background story.

[Iron Maiden]

I enjoyed the issue and I'm very happy to see Doom in a new series. The opening international intrigue and mysterious visit by Kang are great ways to kick off a fun story arc. Doom's dialogue felt really off to me though, he speaks throughout this issue in a way that doesn't quite feel like Doom. I hope they sharpen up that dialogue for him. I also don't love Larocca's art and you can see some panels with Doom where he's lifted the art straight from Esad Ribic's work on Secret Wars.

I didn't see anything glaringly copied so I will have to disagree there. Those full page spreads were pretty spectacular IMO.

I'm OK with Doom's dialogue. I liked that he getting a bit quippy with the Brexit slam at Union Jack. I think he was demonstrating more of a sense of humor because things were running pretty smoothly in Latveria now that he is monarch again. There was no current conflict he was wrapped up in that he considered to be worrisome. He dismissed Symkaria's current stance as something inconsequential.

[Iron Maiden]

Thanks for clearing that up Imperius.

I would have liked this series to be about the first Doom. How did Victor invent the Time Machine? Why did he think he needed one? I want to know that background story.

Have you ever read Books of Doom....it pretty much covers that.

[Doombot]

I didn't see anything glaringly copied so I will have to disagree there.

These are definite lifts from Ribic's work and many more in the issue are as well, just changed enough or added to, in order to trick you into believing he's not doing it.

[Iron Maiden]

I would call that minor. There is some resemblance but it's not a trace IMO. If we can keep getting pages with this kind of detail work, I'm happy. I liked the last page a lot too. I can't see any copying done there. He could have photo referenced a castle or some military aircraft but that would be normal IMO.

[Doombot]

It's not minor imo, but it's not worth arguing over either, it's done a lot in comics and no one seems to care. It's laziness mixed with time constraints. Ironically, Ribic does it to himself in some issues of Secret Wars, plopping exact copies of drawings from earlier panels/pages into later ones to cheat and save time. Larocca also definitely shopped some of that furniture in the study page and redrew it, which I don't have a problem with.