Doctor Doom Appreciation - 2021

[Iron Maiden]

Romani, Sorcerer, Scientist, King



A brief recap of the origins of Victor von Doom from Avengers: The Children's Crusade #3

Doctor Doom reading list by DoomScribe


Fantastic Four - Annual 2 1964 Stan Lee/ Jack Kirby “Origin of Doctor Doom”; & “The Final Victory of Dr. Doom!” (2 new stories) Origin story. Then rescued from space (issue 23) by Rama Tut; Dr Doom uses berry juice to turn FF against each other; but defeated by Reed at the Encephalo-gun. **

Marvel Superheroes 20 May, 1969 Roy Thomas/ Larry Lieber “This Man . . . This Demon!” Diablo. Retells Doom’s origin and the story of Valeria, as Diablo seeks a partnership to rule using Doom’s time platform, currently under armed guard at his replica castle in the USA. **

Fantastic Four 86 May, 1969 Stan Lee/ Jack Kirby “The Victims!” The FF & villagers defeat Omnipurpose robots; Doom destroys the village but Sue’s shield saves them. **
Fantastic Four 87 June, 1969 Stan Lee/ Jack Kirby “The Power and the Pride!” The FF storm the castle; Doom uses hypersound against Hauptmann to prevent destruction of valuable art. **

Astonishing Tales 1 Aug., 1970 Roy Thomas/ Wally Wood “Unto You is Born . . the Doomsman!” Prince Rudolfo. Doom creates an artificial being using cosmic power and his own brain patterns; Ramona who looks like Valeria, sets a trap. **
Astonishing Tales 2 Oct., 1970 Roy Thomas/ Wally Wood “Revolution!“ The Faceless One. Former Crown Prince Rudolfo seeks to usurp the throne of Latveria, aided by the mysterious Faceless, while the android Doomsman runs amok, toppling all in it’s path. **
Astonishing Tales 3 Dec., 1970 Larry Lieber/ Wally Wood “Doom Must Die!” Doom and Faceless struggle for control of Doomsman; an earthquake destroys Castle Doom & the hopes of the Rudolfo’s rebels. **
Astonishing Tales 5 Apr., 1971 Larry Lieber/ George Tuska “A Land Enslaved!” Red Skull. Doom battles Skull, is caught by surprise and trapped in an adamantine mummy, but he defeats them & uses shrinking ray on his enemies. **
Astonishing Tales 8 Oct., 1971 Gerry Conway/ Gene Colan “Though Some Call it Magic!” Mephisto. Doom embarks on a dangerous battle with demons on a midsummer’s eve for the soul of his lost mother. The first telling of this tragic tale. *******

Fantastic Four 116 Nov., 1971 Archie Goodwin/ John Buscema. “The Alien, The Ally and Armageddon!” The Watcher, and the Stranger. Reed is brainwashed by the alien Over-Mind (an Eternal), and Sue asks Doom to aid the rest of the FF in a desperate battle. *******

Sub-Mariner 47 (vol 1) Mar-72 “Doomsmasque”
Sub-Mariner 48 (vol 1) Apr-72 “Twilight of the Hunted”
Sub-Mariner 49 (vol 1) May-72 “The Dream Stone” Sort of a campy story when read now, but overall an interesting take on these two titanic monarchs of the Marvel Universe told over three issues. An amnesiac Namor is re-acquainted with Doctor Doom, and taken on a hunt for the Cosmic Cube! With Modok. And contains a remarkably restrained, honorable, and self-reflective portrayal of Victor Von Doom.
Marvel Team-Up 42 Feb., 1976 Bill Mantlo/ Sal Buscema “Visions of Hate!” Spidey has time traveled to the time of the Salem Witch Trials. The Vision is drawn into the conflict with the Dark Rider. Doom joins them to defend the past. **
Marvel Team-Up 43 Mar., 1976 Bill Mantlo/ Sal Buscema “A Past Gone Mad!” The Dark Rider attempts to extract magical energies from Doom to increase his own power **
Marvel Team-Up 44 Apr., 1976 Bill Mantlo/ Sal Buscema “Death in the Year Before Yesterday!” Moondragon. Doom is almost lost, but finally uses his magical might with the aid of the others to defeat the Dark Rider. **

Super-Villain Team-Up 10 Feb.,1977 Bill Mantlo/ Bob Hall “The Sign of the Skull!” Captain American storms the Latverian embassy while Shroud and Rudolfo invade castle Doom, now controlled by Red Skull, who shoots down Doom & Cap’s plane. *****
Super-Villain Team-Up 11 Apr., 1977 Bill Mantlo/ Bob Hall “My Ally, My Enemy!” Red Skull plans to use the Hypno-Ray, Doom & Cap are shrunk, but make way to the castle where Namor and Shroud assist them against the Skull *****
Super-Villain Team-Up 12 June, 1977 Bill Mantlo/ Bob Hall “Death-Duel!” Doom and Red Skull battle on the Moon *******

Fantastic Four 198 Sept., 1978 Marv Wolfman Keith Pollard “Invasion!” ***
Fantastic Four 199 Oct., 1978 Marv Wolfman/ Keith Pollard “The Son of Doctor Doom!” ***
Fantastic Four 200 Nov., 1978 Marv Wolfman/ Keith Pollard “When Titans Clash!” ***

Superman and Spider-man Marvel Treasury Edition #28 1981 ***

Iron Man 149 Aug., 1981 David Michelinie/ John Romita Jr “Doomquest” Iron Man and Dr Doom are sent to England of the past, to King Arthur’s court! ******
Iron Man 150 Sept., 1981 David Michelinie/ John Romita Jr “Knightmare” Doom seeks to ally himself with Morgan LeFey, as Iron Man sides with King Arthur. But they must work together in order to return to their proper time. ******

Fantastic Four 236 Nov., 1981 John Byrne/ John Byrne “Terror in a Tiny Town!” ******
Fantastic Four 246 Sept., 1982 John Byrne/ John Byrne “Too Many Dooms!” *******
Fantastic Four 247 Oct., 1982 John Byrne/ John Byrne “This Land is Mine!” *******
Fantastic Four 258 Sept. 1983 John Byrne/ John Byrne “Interlude” *******
Fantastic Four 259 Oct. 1983 John Byrne/ John Byrne “Choices” ****

Secret Wars 1 – 12 (Limited Series) May 1984. Heroes and Villains are transported to Battleworld by the all powerful Beyonder, in order to battle to see who is the most powerful. Doom ostensibly leads the villains, all while plotting to take the power of Galactus, and then the Beyonder himself. ***

Emperor Doom (Graphic Novel) Jun-87 Dr Doom has harnessed the power of the Purple Man, and has declared himself Emperor of the Earth, instilling peace and prosperity throughout the world. But one Avenger must decide whether to take the power away from him, and risk returning the world to one of strife and conflict. Stars the Avengers. *******
Triumph and Torment (Graphic Novel) 1989 Roger Stern/Mike Mignola/Mark Badger. Doctor Doom and Doctor Strange battle Mephisto in order to free the soul of Doom’s mother from his infernal realm. Includes a synopsis origin story for each of the good doctors. ********

Amazing Spider-Man 349 July, 1991 “Man Of Steal!”
Amazing Spider-Man 350 Aug, 1991 “Doom Service!” Remarkable appearance for Doom’s ultimate restraint, and also for quite thoroughly kicking Peter’s butt. ****

Doom 2099 1 – 40 January 1993 Sometimes brilliant, ended too soon. Issues after #40 are best left unread. ******

Heroes Reborn: DOOM one shot, January 2000 “Doom!” ******
Heroes Reborn: Ashema one shot, January 2000 “Ashema” ****
Heroes Reborn: Doomsday one shot, January 2000 “A World Untamed” ******

DOOM 1 – 3 (Limited Series); October 2000 *** (starts out strong) Remarkable also for the nekkid Doom vs the male African lion in to the death combat!

Doom: The Emperor Returns 1 – 3 (Limited Series); January 2002 ** (ends poorly)

Books of Doom 1 – 6 (Limited Series); November 2005. An expanded re-telling of the rise of Victor Von Doom, and the conquest of Latveria. Great new insights, fabulous art, very well done and highly recommended. *******

Stan Lee Meets Doctor Doom – one shot December 2006. *** Amusing and ties in to continuity in interesting ways.

Iron Man: Legacy of Doom 1 – 4 (Limited Series) April 2008; Iron Man and Doctor Doom tangle again over fragments of Excalibur, magic and science do battle. ****

Doctor Doom & the Masters of Evil 1 – 4 (Limited Series) January 2009 **** A fun mini series aimed at all ages. Great individual moments downgraded by inconsistent art.

Fall of Hulks: Alpha one shot, Feb-10 “Meeting of the Minds” The Intelligentsia gather knowledge from the world, Doom keeps it. Fall of Hulks was difficult to follow unless you got all of the Hulk titles, but this one-shot was a particularly nice showing for Doom. **

Spider-Man & the Secret Wars 1 – 4 (Limited Series) January 2010 Another all-ages title, recaps Secret Wars from Spider-Mans POV, with Dr Doom; again providing a new take on a classic story. ****

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The following notable Fantastic Four arcs are purposefully left off this list for unforgiveable transgressions against the Master, but there were some elements in each that were laudable. Reader, draw your own conclusions.
Fantastic Four (vol 3) 67 – 71/500 May, 2003. “Under Her Skin” and “Unthinkable” parts 1 – 4.
Fantastic Four 566 to 569, July 2009 “Doom’s Master” and “Million Year Old Doom”