Victor Von Doom takes over the world, and our heroes may not be able to stop him. One World Under Doom #1 is written by Ryan North, drawn by R.B. Silva, colored by David Curiel and lettered by Travis Lanham.
Tony Thornley: Welcome friends, and peace and prosperity to Doom, long may he reign.
Rasmus Skov Lykke: Doom is wisdom. Doom is power. Doom is prosperity. Weāre lucky to have him!
While You Slept, the World Changed
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Tony: I did not expect this opening, Rasmus!
Rasmus: Me neither!
Weāve all read so many event comics at this point that we kind of know how they go. Establish the status quo, then a world-ending threat shows up, which the heroes try to fight, fail to defeat and then rally at the end.
A bit of that is removed due to Blood Hunt here, which already established Doom getting his dirty paws on the Sorcerer Supreme title. Which means the world-ending threat is already here. Or is it?
Tony: From the looks of it, it may not be a threat or world ending, and we probably should have seen that coming.
I titled our opening very deliberately. The speech that opens the issue is absolutely unexpected. Doctor Doom has taken over the world. And while there are bumps and bruises that will come with it, he absolutely appears to be ready to follow through on what he promises.
I mean he promises universal health care, free college for all, ending starvation, security and so much more. And while that all sounds great, he also intends to enforce it all through brutal, direct and (very) final violence.
Rasmus: Donāt threaten us with a good time, Doom!
As someone living in a country (Denmark) with universal health care and free college for all, I highly recommend it!
The slaughtering of anyone opposing you, Iām less hot on.
Except Doom has framed this perfectly.
Ryan North starts the issue with a recap page, which is filled with news of all the terrible things happening around the world. So everything that Doom promises is clearly needed and, more importantly, wanted. And the only thing that people see it costing them is Doom slaughtering some Hydra Nazis.
But Iām getting ahead of things.
Tony: Oh, but youāre totally right, though. Doomās promises are so great that legitimately, itās surprising that no heroes in the room are saying, āGuys, maybe we should watch how this plays out before we leap in blindly.ā And thatās a very interesting thesis that the story could explore.
I mean, I feel like Peter Parker would have, but Doom did just coerce him into dying painfully and being resurrected eight times. But like ā¦ someone should have.
Though itās a superhero story first, there should be some interesting explorations into āIs this really so bad? Should we be trying to overthrow him? Yes, this is a dictator, but clearly heās a benevolent dictator.ā
Rasmus: Given the revelation at the end about Baron Zemo, I canāt help but wonder if one, or more, of the heroes are also Doombots, working toward Doomās plan. Which might explain their eagerness to rush in head first.
Tony: Yeah, Doom is one of the most skilled roboticists in the Marvel Universe. But also, heās the Sorcerer Supreme. There could be magic at play. Or any other number of things.
But you mention Zemo, and while the heroes are talking, Zemo leads a Hydra battalion into Latveria. Black Widow is lying in wait, observing. While the Hydra invasion happens, the Avengers-led task force takes the opportunity to act themselves. And thatās when things go to hell.
The Best of Intentions
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Tony: After taking an invisible jet ā literally; Sue Storm turns a 747 invisible ā to Latveria, the combined teams find themselves facing down Doomās magical dome and a stunning revelation.
Zemo has joined Doom, and Victor is redirecting the terrorist organization to do the most good possible ā clearing land mines, building schools, repairing hospitals. It is absolutely fantastic, but also, to the heroes suspicious as hell.
Rasmus: In the heroesā defense, things happened fairly rapidly. Zemo attacks Doom, they jet off to use the distraction to stop both of them and when they land, Zemo declares that Doom is actually right and that he was mistaken. This is our first clue that something is wrong, and honestly the only one we should need. A fascist never admits they were wrong.
So instead the heroes split up. Some stay behind in Latveria, trying to break through Doomās forcefield, while the rest dart off to give us a fight scene.
Tony: The split is kind of funny to me. This is where the cracks start to show in the issue. Itās a bit chaotic and all over the place. I didnāt even fully realize theyād split up. It took me a minute to realize it, and only because Thor was missing in the fight.
Rasmus: I didnāt feel it was that chaotic. But it is weird that theyāre splitting up so one team can try to break through a science/sorcery barrier, yet that team somehow doesnāt include Mister Fantastic, Iron Man or Doctor Strange.
Tony: But the fight is great, largely because North basically steps back and lets Silva do his thing. Itās a master at work, with some really fun and interesting action on the page.
And then it all ends when Captain America (Steve) punches Zemoās head off.
Iām really glad Silva made it clear as it happened it was a robot. Because man, I would have been freaked out by Cap murdering one of his oldest foes in the middle of a Doctor Doom event.
Rasmus: You mean, like Iām freaked out that Doctor Doom apparently murdered Red Skull in Thunderbolts #3 several months ago? And I havenāt heard anything about it?
I mean, this is superhero comics, so of course heāll be back. And even so, heās a Nazi, so screw him.
Tony: Yeah, definitely. At least for Red Skull. Maybe not Zemo. Heās pretty redundant. But good point about Red Skull. I had even forgotten about the Hivemind-written Thunderbolts series until now. In the footnote, I had thought it was the Jim Zub-written series starring Hawkeye and Photon.
And hereās where the story shifts into a standard superhero narrative. Reed is able to show a recording of Doom killing Zemo (by microwaving his head from the looks of it). The heroes confirm theyāve been duped. And Iron Manās hubris begins showing, as they broadcast to the world that Doom is a lying liar-face.
I canāt tell if this is good because Doom is five steps ahead of them, or if itās bad because it takes the interesting setup and shifts it into standard superhero fare.
Rasmus: But is it standard superhero fare?
Yeah, Doom has been manipulating people in the background and replacing certain figures with Doombots. But we donāt know how extensive it is yet. It could be that weāre in Secret Invasion territory, where we donāt know whom to trust. But it could just be a single Doombot replacing a Nazi.
And Doom being five steps ahead of them is interesting because what he is actually doing is good. Giving everyone health care, security and free education is a good thing. And if a few Nazis have to die for that to work out, is that actually a loss?
I think this event is actually setting up to ask some bigger questions, about good and evil, about the ends justifying the means and what it means to be a hero. In the mold of 2022ās A.X.E.: Judgment Day, this is shaping up to be a philosophical event comic.
Which is when Doctor Doom shows up, riding a Doctor Doom T-Rex. Because comics are awesome.
Doom on a T-Rex
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Tony: You said it, and I didnāt see it coming.
Hydra takes advantage of their leaderās death and starts just being absolutely, disgustingly violent. Itās another moment that threw me. An armed Hydra cell just walks onto a random street in Europe and starts threatening people.
Itās scary, for sure, and Doom riding in on ā¦ himself ā¦ but also a T-Rex ā¦ is just a lot of fun, over-the-top comic book nonsense. But after that opening, this feels like a step too far. Doom murdering Hydra terrorists while riding T-Rex Doom is a huge departure from the beginning of the issue. Itās silly and over the top in some good ways, but itās a tonal shift thatās really unfortunate in some bad ways.
Rasmus: See, this section is actually where I feel R.B. Silva and colorist David Curiel shine. Because yes, the idea of Doctor Doom riding a Doctor Doom T-Rex is ridiculous. It might even go too far and become downright stupid. Yet they sell it. First thereās that cool-as-hell splash page. Yes, itās loud; yes, itās dumb. But it also rocks.
Yet thatās when things take a sharp turn for the darker. Because Doom isnāt just killing these Hydra soldiers, heās slaughtering them. Body parts go flying, heads are incinerated. It is a massacre. No other word can describe it. And Silva and Curiel sell that horror. Just as the Hydra goonsā bodies are reduced to cinders, so are they reduced in the art, eventually just becoming shapes that the almighty Doom is removing from the world.
Strongmen politicians around the world are obsessed with pictures of themselves astride majestic horses, showing they have tamed natureās beasts. So of course Emperor Doom is riding on a T-Rex. A guy that can tame one of historyās mightiest monsters (at least in pop culture), that promises health care, education and safety?
I mean, who wouldnāt take his hand and follow him?
Tony: And I think thatās the true horror of that final sequence. That violence, almost oversized in the reaction. Itās horrific and brutal, and maybe a step too far.
Yet it completely wins over those he saved.
I mean, damn. The final line, āand only Doom can save us,ā is chilling.
Overall, I liked it, but I also felt like it was two completely different stories jammed into one issue. But I did love, love, LOVE the line art. The color art, I struggled with a bit more. I think Curiel leaned into some of the effects way too much, and there wasnāt a consistent palette throughout, but it was still overall good.
Kneel
- Itās nice to see the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl cast, but they are PAINFULLY out of place here.
- What isnāt out of place, here or anywhere, is Johnny Stormās awesome mustache.
- Reminder: Itās always acceptable to punch Nazis. Murdering one and turning his terrorist organization into a humanitarian organization is a little more in a gray area.
- Itās weird that the X-Men are completely missing here, right? Itās like the first time since IvX that they havenāt been at least involved in the big stuff.
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