Doctor Doom Appreciation

[SuperiorIronman]

I really don't think we can get a satisfying conclusion to Infamous. Not because Bendis sucks or anything but because Victor's Infamous Iron man days are clearly continuing since he will be in other books. Infamous may go out on a high or mediocre note (I'd be impressed if Bendis face-plants on this one) but Victor clearly isn't going anywhere so there is less inclination to stick the landing more so than wrap up the arc.

Beyond Invincible, Bendis wont really be focusing on Victor so after this it's another writer's problem. In either case there's hope at least Doom will get another book since strangely a Doctor Doom title under Bendis can last.

[Iron Maiden]

I really don't think we can get a satisfying conclusion to Infamous. Not because Bendis sucks or anything but because Victor's Infamous Iron man days are clearly continuing since he will be in other books. Infamous may go out on a high or mediocre note (I'd be impressed if Bendis face-plants on this one) but Victor clearly isn't going anywhere so there is less inclination to stick the landing more so than wrap up the arc.

Beyond Invincible, Bendis wont really be focusing on Victor so after this it's another writer's problem. In either case there's hope at least Doom will get another book since strangely a Doctor Doom title under Bendis can last.

Yes, I was so glad to see that the sales have held. It's typical for titles to launch big and then the numbers start to stabilize. The failures you can tell right off because the decline is deep and there are no more gains. Just dwindling numbers (assuming the estimates we see are reliable) Infamous Iron Man has been holding steady at around 25,000 and I think with the glut of titles out there, that's not too bad. We never get the weekly numbers which tell an interesting story there because in most months, Infamous Iron Man has been coming out the same week as Batman, Secret Empire and some other titles that have a large fan base. Here is a screen cap from Comixology showing the top sellers for the week Infamous #11 came out



IMO this validates the appeal of the character since I don't feel Bendis alone on a title is enough of a draw anymore like he had like when he was on the Avengers. He's gotten lucky with the artists he gets to work with too, just like Jeph Loeb used to be.

In 5 more days we'll know whether or not Bendis can pull it off and give things a satisfactory ending. But I really get ticked off at the way he uses these goofy speech patterns of characters like he's done with Doctor Strange and now Mephisto.

[cc008]

I really don't think we can get a satisfying conclusion to Infamous. Not because Bendis sucks or anything but because Victor's Infamous Iron man days are clearly continuing since he will be in other books. Infamous may go out on a high or mediocre note (I'd be impressed if Bendis face-plants on this one) but Victor clearly isn't going anywhere so there is less inclination to stick the landing more so than wrap up the arc.

Beyond Invincible, Bendis wont really be focusing on Victor so after this it's another writer's problem. In either case there's hope at least Doom will get another book since strangely a Doctor Doom title under Bendis can last.

I honestly think Victor is going to end up having a bigger impact in 2 in 1 than he will in future issues of Invincible. Away from Bendis.

[Iron Maiden]

Of the two, I'd prefer he be in the cast of Marvel 2 in 1. I hope Bendis doesn't need him anymore after Invincible #600. His Infamous work has been better than I expected but I don't like how with this exile of the Fantastic Four, Doom has been snatched up by the Iron Man title ever since SW ended.

But when you think about since Marvel has had some success with Infamous Iron Man, maybe they should relaunch it sometime later with a new creative team. I wouldn't mind having Maleev and Hollingsworth again but I think Maleev mostly works with Bendis.

[cc008]

I would love an Infamous volume 2. I actually really like the dynamic between Tony and Victor.. a book with Victor as IIM interacting more with Sorcerer Supreme Tony would be really fun to read. In Bendis' first volume of Invincible, Victor seemed to always have the upper hand on Tony, catching him off guard all the time. When Tony showed up as Sorcerer Supreme in Infamous, it seemed like the roles were reversed. I really enjoyed that.

[Iron Maiden]

I would love an Infamous volume 2. I actually really like the dynamic between Tony and Victor.. a book with Victor as IIM interacting more with Sorcerer Supreme Tony would be really fun to read. In Bendis' first volume of Invincible, Victor seemed to always have the upper hand on Tony, catching him off guard all the time. When Tony showed up as Sorcerer Supreme in Infamous, it seemed like the roles were reversed. I really enjoyed that.

That reminds me....what happened when Tony captured Victor in that energy field or whatever. They were going to have a discussion about Victor's habit of intruding on Tony's
life and what he was after, etc. That just got completely forgotten.

Bendis I know is a big fan of the classic Iron Man/Doom encounters like Iron Man #149 - 150. Victor has a different dynamic with Stephen and Tony mainly being that the level of hostility like there is with Reed. It makes one wonder just what things will be like the next time Reed and Victor meet face to face. Or any of the Fantastic Four. I don't think Sue, Ben or Johnny will be slow to accepting his change. Reed I think has always wanted things to be better between them, until Unthinkable anyway.

[cc008]

That reminds me....what happened when Tony captured Victor in that energy field or whatever. They were going to have a discussion about Victor's habit of intruding on Tony's
life and what he was after, etc. That just got completely forgotten.

Victor got sent back or snapped out of his trance that took him to that future and then we never heard about it again. Typical.

[Iron Maiden]

Victor got sent back or snapped out of his trance that took him to that future and then we never heard about it again. Typical.

Yes, I had almost forgotten to mention that . But this happened earlier, back when Tony was still dating Amara. I think the story jumped to the useless retcon of Tony's rock n' roll mamma from the past.

[theoneandonly]

mephisto seems beside himself. wonder if it is related to his recent failed bid to acquire peters soul in the title he shares with deadpool. he must feel it frustrating with everyone flirting with the devil and escaping from being captured with their souls forfeit. maybe it is why he walks earth after a long period of time at least I presume it is.

[Iron Maiden]

beside himself.....that might be true in both senses with Mephisto. He could be imprisoned somewhere and is looking back observing things as they happened

[cc008]

Yes, I had almost forgotten to mention that . But this happened earlier, back when Tony was still dating Amara. I think the story jumped to the useless retcon of Tony's rock n' roll mamma from the past.

Oh yeah! I was so confused when the following issue came out and it was like this scene never happened. Forgot about that.

[Kintor]

Yes, I had almost forgotten to mention that . But this happened earlier, back when Tony was still dating Amara. I think the story jumped to the useless retcon of Tony's rock n' roll mamma from the past.

For the last year it's been bugging me that Bendis never addressed this lingering plot point. Sure, it's not essential to the story but when you end an issue with Tony trapping Doom in a force field you expect some kind of resolution in the next issue. Instead, if I recall, we got some do nothing Civil War II tie-in where Tony and Carol talk about their shared alcoholism.

[Abe]

Who knows? It could be a part of the upcoming search for Tony Stark storyline? A long time passed since the first appearance of future sorcerer supreme Tony in an X-Men Annual and, iirc, according to some solicits characters from Stark's future are supposed to play a part too in the same story. Bendis great schemes spread over years of writing?...

I'm probably just kidding....

That preview was a bit weird btw. I'm glad that my English is quite bad : I fear that Mephisto's lines are even goofier than they seemed to my understanding... I still regret reading the explanations for "Autozone" here...

On the other fronts I checked the Venomverse issues and if I won't buy the book for now I'm curious of the way the story will evolved. And it's always cool to see a "classic" Doom. I'll probably get the Gwenpool issue with Doom. And I'm still arguing with myself about M2I1... should I be really enthusiastic or keep it wait and see?

[Abe]

Just put Gwenpool on my pull list. Couldn't do that for Marvel two in one : need to wait for the solicits according to my lcs but will do so. Nothing on the Iron Man front : will check the issues one by one...

[Abe]

Thanks. I'll have to check out that podcast. At least that indicates that Victor didn't go backsliding and go back to his old ways



When I saw the previews I was like ???? So far without knowing the context I find it disappointing. Some writers can't stick the landing on a story and I hope this isn't the case. What I'm also noticing is that Bendis is going through with this new take on Victor not being loved by his mother as a child. Mephisto told her in Triumph and Torment that "I will make of your son a king" and then later when she was dying and Mephisto's deception became clear, she begged her husband to protect their son from demonic powers. That doesn't go with what Bendis is trying to imply here through Mephisto's take on their relationship.

I didn't notice the detail in bold first because I thought it was simply a reference to the fact that Victor was an orphan, but also because I haven't done my homework during the summer and didn't read all the post of the past months and just read quickly the issue with the flashback and the animals sacrifice...

I got quickly that it wasn't really accurate - kid Vic realising that his mother was a sorceress only after her death in Kirby/Lee version iirc - because killing an animal wouldn't be so surprising for a child living according the way of life of a nomadic tribes a few decades ago. I mean: I saw my grandmother killing bunnies I found cute and - despite that and the fact that I wouldn't have killed them myself (but I'm not Victor and I'm a guy from the city - I ATE them... I really need to read that scene one more time- and the summer pages of the thread - because that could be indeed a big flaw in Bendis' take on our dear good Doctor...

Brubaker's Books of Doom don't point in that direction too btw... Imho, and I guess that Sigmund would agree Victor was over-loved, thus his kind of everlasting infantile state...