"Oath of Fealty" - Doctor Doom #7 *** REVIEW AND SPOILERS***

[Iron Maiden]

Finally after a hiatus of 6 months due to the pandemic and its' effects on the comic book industry, this series returns to complete what we now know to be it's concluding arc. Christopher Cantwell tweeted this afternoon that the series will conclude with issue #10. I am very disappointed to read that since IMO this has been the best Doom solo since Books of Doom (another limited series) and the John Francis Moore/Warren Ellis Doom 2099.

The story opens with a small band of 6 Doom loyalists (actually 5) in Northern Latveria . Boris and his daughter Petra, Larin (last seen in Books of Doom), a General Makeyev, Zora and Kristoff are exiles and I assume in hiding from the usurper Dimitri Fortunov when the Master returns riding a bear of all things.

But things take a darker turn when Doom sets up a tribunal to find out who the traitor is among them. Each of them swears their loyalty but one of them has betrayed him. Truthfully I had guessed right when I saw the preview that the General Makeyev was someone we never really got to know. It turns that he collaborated with the Countess Katrina Karkov, who was undoubtedly the one seen in the shadows in an earlier issue. He ends up being dinner for Doom's new pet bear Novak after Doom gives him a running start and shoots him down.

Only a couple of people in this group gets off a bit light in this tribunal and that is Larin the servant he brought back with those many years ago from Tibet and . I was surprised to see how he treats Boris and Kristoff, especially when he forces Boris to kneel in the snow. Kristoff he just brushes off because I suspect he feels he hasn't become his own man and is still inexperienced. He has a higher trust for Zora who pledges her fealty but holds on to self reliance. He was very disappointed in her for failing to stop the takeover but it seems like he finds her independence makes her a better choice to help in the final battle.

We also get a few panels of Blue Marvel's quest to reverse the expansion of the black hole that is threatening to destroy the Earth but they are not out of the woods yet. He has stalled it but he doesn't have enough power to stop it. That Ultimate Nullifier that Doom has given to Zora will come into play soon. We also find out the fate of Amara and it is a sad one. But I suspected that Bendis leaving such a game changer development towards the end of his Invincible Iron Man was either something that no writer wanted to touch or perhaps editorial just felt was not something they felt they didn't want to pursue.

The final scene where Doom gets his revenge on Dimitri Fortunov are dark and terrifying. He shows Fortunov his face under the mask and the forces him into self mutilation before tossing him off the tower of the castle, mirroring the fate of his half brother Prince Zorba in Byrne's Fantastic Four years ago. But Doom gets a dose of his own medicine when he is confronted with the appearance of the two young boys that are his sons in the visions he has been having.

Cantwell's writing is very tight here and IMO there's not a panel wasted. This is also one of Larocca's better issues and his images of Doom's Doom's children and his vengeance on the pretender to the throne really are chilling. It's a shame that it will not be an ongoing but I do hope Cantwell has time for another mini series some day.

[Huntsman Spider]

If it helps any, Cantwell will be writing the Doctor Doom/Iron Man team-up tie-in to Donny Cates's King in Black event coming in December.

[Iron Maiden]

If it helps any, Cantwell will be writing the Doctor Doom/Iron Man team-up tie-in to Donny Cates's King in Black event coming in December.

Yes! I saw it....that looks like it will be fun!

[Huntsman Spider]

Yes! I saw it....that looks like it will be fun!

Indeed. I'm looking forward to it.

[Iron Maiden]

IMO it just highlights the versatility of the character. I'm sure there will be some comedic hijinks in this.

Issue #7 as I mentioned gets very dark in some spots and Doom is ruthless in handling the pretender Dimitri Fortunov. Yet the death of the traitor Gen. Makeyev is grim and yet almost comical at the same time.

[jackolover]

Finally after a hiatus of 6 months due to the pandemic and its' effects on the comic book industry, this series returns to complete what we now know to be it's concluding arc. Christopher Cantwell tweeted this afternoon that the series will conclude with issue #10. I am very disappointed to read that since IMO this has been the best Doom solo since Books of Doom (another limited series) and the John Francis Moore/Warren Ellis Doom 2099.

The story opens with a small band of 6 Doom loyalists (actually 5) in Northern Latveria . Boris and his daughter Petra, Larin (last seen in Books of Doom), a General Makeyev, Zora and Kristoff are exiles and I assume in hiding from the usurper Dimitri Fortunov when the Master returns riding a bear of all things.

But things take a darker turn when Doom sets up a tribunal to find out who the traitor is among them. Each of them swears their loyalty but one of them has betrayed him. Truthfully I had guessed right when I saw the preview that the General Makeyev was someone we never really got to know. It turns that he collaborated with the Countess Katrina Karkov, who was undoubtedly the one seen in the shadows in an earlier issue. He ends up being dinner for Doom's new pet bear Novak after Doom gives him a running start and shoots him down.

Only a couple of people in this group gets off a bit light in this tribunal and that is Larin the servant he brought back with those many years ago from Tibet and . I was surprised to see how he treats Boris and Kristoff, especially when he forces Boris to kneel in the snow. Kristoff he just brushes off because I suspect he feels he hasn't become his own man and is still inexperienced. He has a higher trust for Zora who pledges her fealty but holds on to self reliance. He was very disappointed in her for failing to stop the takeover but it seems like he finds her independence makes her a better choice to help in the final battle.

We also get a few panels of Blue Marvel's quest to reverse the expansion of the black hole that is threatening to destroy the Earth but they are not out of the woods yet. He has stalled it but he doesn't have enough power to stop it. That Ultimate Nullifier that Doom has given to Zora will come into play soon. We also find out the fate of Amara and it is a sad one. But I suspected that Bendis leaving such a game changer development towards the end of his Invincible Iron Man was either something that no writer wanted to touch or perhaps editorial just felt was not something they felt they didn't want to pursue.

The final scene where Doom gets his revenge on Dimitri Fortunov are dark and terrifying. He shows Fortunov his face under the mask and the forces him into self mutilation before tossing him off the tower of the castle, mirroring the fate of his half brother Prince Zorba in Byrne's Fantastic Four years ago. But Doom gets a dose of his own medicine when he is confronted with the appearance of the two young boys that are his sons in the visions he has been having.

Cantwell's writing is very tight here and IMO there's not a panel wasted. This is also one of Larocca's better issues and his images of Doom's Doom's children and his vengeance on the pretender to the throne really are chilling. It's a shame that it will not be an ongoing but I do hope Cantwell has time for another mini series some day.

I was in Yellowstone Park in 2014, and I saw a huge bear appear running in the snow at one hill, over to another hill, in just over 2 minutes. Man, if they smell you, those bears can catch you better than anything, in the snow. They run in snow like they are in the dry. It was frightening. So yeah, good choice Victor. Best horse in the snow.

Im very disappointed this series must end. Best Doom interpretation, and drama of the post-Great Destroyer of Secret Wars, so far. I’ll be getting the second volume of FF Heroes Return this week, representing Sue von Doom, and Doom children Valeria and Franklyn in that series. ANAD reverts back to that period pre-9/11, where Doom was still respected, and Sue owed Doom for defeating a compromised Reed Richards dressed in a Doom armour. Today’s Doom is now more like the extended Richards Family, where Bendis and Chip Zadarski made Doom, Starks friend, and Torch/Bens friend. I regret there are aspects of the Great Destroyer I still wish could have been addressed in Cantwell’s run. The fact Doom can approach Reed Richards now, and Reed trust Doom at his word on fixing the black hole, by using Blue Marvel, is some indication of the status change in ANAD.

[Iron Maiden]

I was in Yellowstone Park in 2014, and I saw a huge bear appear running in the snow at one hill, over to another hill, in just over 2 minutes. Man, if they smell you, those bears can catch you better than anything, in the snow. They run in snow like they are in the dry. It was frightening. So yeah, good choice Victor. Best horse in the snow.

Im very disappointed this series must end. Best Doom interpretation, and drama of the post-Great Destroyer of Secret Wars, so far. I’ll be getting the second volume of FF Heroes Return this week, representing Sue von Doom, and Doom children Valeria and Franklyn in that series. ANAD reverts back to that period pre-9/11, where Doom was still respected, and Sue owed Doom for defeating a compromised Reed Richards dressed in a Doom armour. Today’s Doom is now more like the extended Richards Family, where Bendis and Chip Zadarski made Doom, Starks friend, and Torch/Bens friend. I regret there are aspects of the Great Destroyer I still wish could have been addressed in Cantwell’s run. The fact Doom can approach Reed Richards now, and Reed trust Doom at his word on fixing the black hole, by using Blue Marvel, is some indication of the status change in ANAD.

I do like that the "reprobate" Reed went ahead with Doom's suggestion. I listened to a podcast interview Cantwell gave the other day and he made an interesting observation about Reed being an intellectual bully. I can see that aspect in him going back to their college days when he went into Victor's dorm to see what he was up to and immediately criticized it. For many years the story going out was that Doom's math was off. But then there was a change in that and we found out that Doom's device did work and he pierced the veil into the netherworld in Books of Doom. It was also mentioned even earlier in the Reed Richards "Before the Four" mini series. Reed was even more dismissive of Doom's device in Matt Fraction's Fantastic Four. Funny that he dismisses Victor's work but he used the same tech in Mark Waid's story where Reed goes to find Ben's soul for lack of a better word when he dies at the end of Authoritative Action

[xcoijoi]

Imagine being the one person that Doom trusts, with an Ultimate Nullifier.

Victor is unreasonably critical. But when he offers genuine praise or trust, you know that he means it.

Forget how cool your friends or family thinks you are. If a hypercritical genius dictator says you're cool, you can take it to the bank.

[Ferro]

oh wow viktor has a bear stead? good for him!
novak's a cute name too!

[Chris0013]

Kind of disappointed in his treatment of Kristoff.

[Iron Maiden]

Me too. I think he was pretty harsh to tell him not to call him father anymore. My only thought on that is that he wants him to be tougher and not rely on him so much now that he's a young man. But Doom has spoiled him in some respects. He's not always lived with Doom and he did spend that time with Sue, Ben, Johnny and Scott Lang when Reed and Doom "died" during the DeFalco years. But he had a comfortable life as compared to Doom's early life as a Roma and maybe Doom wants him to toughen up. To his credit, there were times when Kristoff was left on his own. Kristoff of goes into comic book limbo as Onslaught/Heroes Reborn gets underway. Since he's not a major character we have no idea what happened to him. I know he was with Nathaniel when they tried and failed to enter Castle Doom but beyond that there is a long gap until he appears in the Spider-Man/Fantastic Four mini.

I get the sense that Doom wants Kristoff to be more like Zora. He's been tough with her at times too as we saw his disappointment with her in their last meeting in New York. I think he probably felt all of them in that group should have fallen on their swords for him and not let the someone else step into to rule Latveria. Especially someone who even though he is illegitimate was a part of the ruling family that played a role in his parent's deaths

[Chris0013]

Me too. I think he was pretty harsh to tell him not to call him father anymore. My only thought on that is that he wants him to be tougher and not rely on him so much now that he's a young man. But Doom has spoiled him in some respects. He's not always lived with Doom and he did spend that time with Sue, Ben, Johnny and Scott Lang when Reed and Doom "died" during the DeFalco years. But he had a comfortable life as compared to Doom's early life as a Roma and maybe Doom wants him to toughen up. To his credit, there were times when Kristoff was left on his own. Kristoff of goes into comic book limbo as Onslaught/Heroes Reborn gets underway. Since he's not a major character we have no idea what happened to him. I know he was with Nathaniel when they tried and failed to enter Castle Doom but beyond that there is a long gap until he appears in the Spider-Man/Fantastic Four mini.

I get the sense that Doom wants Kristoff to be more like Zora. He's been tough with her at times too as we saw his disappointment with her in their last meeting in New York. I think he probably felt all of them in that group should have fallen on their swords for him and not let the someone else step into to rule Latveria. Especially someone who even though he is illegitimate was a part of the ruling family that played a role in his parent's deaths

I would have like to see a more independent Kristoff as well...Maybe he refused to swear fealty to Victor and basically tells him that he came home to protect his homeland...not for Victor. And when Victor tells him not to call him father anymore Kristoff replies with "as you wish, Victor."

[Iron Maiden]

I'd have liked to have that scene in the comic instead!

[mace11]

We also get a few panels of Blue Marvel's quest to reverse the expansion of the black hole that is threatening to destroy the Earth but they are not out of the woods yet. He has stalled it but he doesn't have enough power to stop it.

Blue marvel stop it but he does not have enough to output more negative energy to reverse the expansion.
The expansion has ceased.

Stall

stop or cause to stop making progress.

[jackolover]

I do like that the "reprobate" Reed went ahead with Doom's suggestion. I listened to a podcast interview Cantwell gave the other day and he made an interesting observation about Reed being an intellectual bully. I can see that aspect in him going back to their college days when he went into Victor's dorm to see what he was up to and immediately criticized it. For many years the story going out was that Doom's math was off. But then there was a change in that and we found out that Doom's device did work and he pierced the veil into the netherworld in Books of Doom. It was also mentioned even earlier in the Reed Richards "Before the Four" mini series. Reed was even more dismissive of Doom's device in Matt Fraction's Fantastic Four. Funny that he dismisses Victor's work but he used the same tech in Mark Waid's story where Reed goes to find Ben's soul for lack of a better word when he dies at the end of Authoritative Action

Good point Iron Maiden. I never put into words like Cantwell did of Reed as an intellectual bully, but I remember when Hank Pym went to Reed to ask for a device Black Goliath left to Ben, how Reed refused Pym, In the Slott Mighty Avengers Dark Reign series, and I thought then Reed was a bully.

But certainly I trace a lot of the ills of the 21st century Marvel back to Reed Richards, that led to Avengers Disassembled, HOM, Civil War, and Dark Reign, and it is all at the feet of Reed Richards, for his cynical world view he imposed on the MU with his use of the Ultimate Nullifier to get rid of Abraxus in FF #49. It’s what I think led to the brutality of Doom in Unthinkable. But that’s just my interpretation of it. Pre-Abraxus, I think the alternative reality Doom family with Baroness Sue Von Doom, Franklin, and Valeria, drove Reed Richards to steal or kidnap Valeria from Victor, and I was hoping, Reed made peace with Doom and doesn’t deny Victor access to what I consider is Doom’s daughter, Valeria. Alternative Doom was the first to have a daughter Valeria, and in today’s Fantastic Four, that makes Doom family. I’d hoped this was Cantwells story, eventually.