Friday, June 3, 2016

Who's the Best... Dr. Doom Story?







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19 comments:

Rip Jagger said...

I have to give the nod to the Fantastic Four issues #84-87. This story, inspired by The Prisoner TV show, offers up a complex view of Doom and how he's seen by his people and elevates him above the station of just another super-villain. He's no less deadly but more complex and the madness of his mania over his face is given some complications. The stories are drawn by Kirby and Sinnott at the height of their powers and the story is truly engaging on nearly all levels. Doom doesn't win, but neither does he lose.

Rip Off

June 3, 2016 at 6:30 AM
J.A. Morris said...

My top 3:
1. FF#57-60:Doom steals the Silver Surfer's power and gets into a slugfest with the Thing! I discovered the story in Marvel Triple Action reprints.
2.FF#236:Terror Of Tiny Town:The 20th anniversary of the Fantastic Four, Doom places their consciousness in tiny robot bodies.
3.Iron Man 149-150:Doom vs. Iron Man, they get sent back in time to King Arthur's Camelot!

June 3, 2016 at 7:21 AM
Martinex1 said...

Yes to Rip and J.A. Morris. They named my top 2. FF 87 is one of my favorite issues of all time with the conclusion of that stellar Doom arc. Doom's reaction to Hauptmann, one of his lackeys, and the giant feast he has prepared for the FF stay with me to this day. It is beautifully drawn with great characterization.

iron Man 150 is a more "modern" classic.

June 3, 2016 at 7:40 AM
Humanbelly said...

Rip snagged mine right out of the gate.
Strangely enough, I cannot remember a lot of the specifics of the FF#'s 84-87 story-- but I do remember my impression that it was just about as good as a Doom arc could ever get. Hunh.

And J.A.'s 2nd choice was mine as well-- a neat Twilight Zone of a story. Generally, though, I didn't wholly love John Byrne's "re-imagining" of Doom. Beyond the retcon that his face was supposedly barely scarred at all in that initial college accident (and that insane vanity led to his further self-mutilation), I was REALLY uncomfortable with the supposition that Latveria was better off under his dictatorial thumb, and that by golly, those poor peasants really loved him to pieces. Ugh.


The character also suffered over the long years simply because he seemed to be available to whatever writer wanted to use him, AND because it was obligatory to use him at some point in every single title, it seems. Power Pack? Really? Luke Cage?? Ka-Zar? The Hulk squared off with Doom in issues #143-144. . . and it's an utterly forgettable snooze-fest (partly because Dick Ayers was subbing for Herb Trimpe for a good chunk of it, though). The problem there, of course, is that when being used so often by so many, Doom tends to just become a cliche' of himself-- there's no distinctive depth or core to the character- no depth. Well--- and of course there's no true dramatic tension, 'cause the character's status quo can't ever truly change. Although I will say that John Byrne did a darned good job of nearly achieving that by actually destroying Doom's entire body late in his run on FF. That was also a nifty bit o' storytelling.

HB

June 3, 2016 at 7:47 AM
Anonymous said...

Iron Man #149-150 where Iron Man and Dr. Doom travel back in time to King Arthur's Camelot. At the end they agree to team up and build a time travel device to bring them back to the modern day (well, 1981 actually) and Iron Man says "How can I trust you ?" and Doom replies "You have my word" but in the What-If follow-up story "What If Iron Man Was Trapped In King Arthur's Time" Iron Man says "How can I trust you ?" and Doom says "You have no choice" and then tricks Iron man and leaves him trapped in the past forever. I also liked the Fantastic Four story from 1982 where Dr. Doom had been overthrown as ruler of Latveria but he returns with the FF to reclaim his throne from his successor, the now tyrannical Prince Zorba. I'll also mention the What If story "What If Dr. Doom Had Been A Hero ?" - in a recent Marvel event all the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe "swapped sides" and Doom really did become a hero till everything was restored to normal.

June 3, 2016 at 7:48 AM
Edo Bosnar said...

Some of my top contenders have been mentioned, i.e., FF #236, Iron Man #149-50 and What If #22, but I'd say my very favorite is Triumph and Torment (the graphic novel by Stern and Mignola), which is probably also my favorite Dr. Strange story. It's such a well-done, captivating story, and the characterization of Doom is spot-on. Can't recommend it enough.

June 3, 2016 at 8:27 AM
Doug said...

While not the best Doom story, is there any love for the Avengers/SVTU crossover? At the time I really enjoyed it. Of course, I'd need a new read with mature eyeballs to fully assess the merit of the story.

Doug

June 3, 2016 at 9:27 AM
Anonymous said...

Doug, that avatar photo could be one of your sons - you look so alike. I'll also mention Dazzler vs. Dr. Doom in Dazzler #3 I think...one of the early Dazzler issues anyway.

June 3, 2016 at 9:46 AM
Unknown said...

I really enjoyed reading Spider-Man's first encounter with Dr. Doom in Amazing Spider-Man #5. Actually, I first read it as a child in the far less pricey reprint of Marvel Tales #142. A still rather inexperienced and naive Soider-Man versus Dr. Doom---I'm surprised Spider-Man got off so easy. Lucky for him the Fantastic Four showed up when they did. When an older and far more skilled Spider-Man takes on Dr. Doom again in Amazing Spider-Man #350, Dr. Doom nearly kills him, despite the webslinger's best efforts. Amazing Spider-Man #5 is an old favorite of mine. Great classic cover by Ditko as well.

June 3, 2016 at 10:09 AM
Garett said...

I agree with J.A.'s first and third choices. Seeing Doom flying on the Surfer's board is a hoot, and the teamup with Iron Man is a special one.

June 3, 2016 at 11:46 AM
Redartz said...

Rip and J.A. covered my top choices as well! Fair bit of consensus there. So in the interest of adding something different: Amazing Spider-Man Annual 14. Dr. Doom and Dormammu vs. Spidey and Dr. Strange; an unusual story but a good one, and beautifully drawn. I was not a fan of Denny O' Neil's run on Spider-man, but his two Annuals were terrific...

June 3, 2016 at 12:30 PM
Rip Jagger said...

Ironically just after I posted my response this morning I found a Doc Doom collection with the very FF stories I mentioned. I am going to take that as a sign I need to read them again right now. Life's sweet sometimes that way!

Rip Off

June 3, 2016 at 12:42 PM
Doug said...

Nice, Rip!

Colin, it's a curse on those boys. The new avatar is a photo I found earlier this week while cleaning out some old boxes. There were also some "buried treasures", of which I'll share the first installment on Monday. Anyway, that pic was taken in the fall of 1985 when I was 19 and a soph. in college. Which also places it mere months before I got back into active comics buying.

Doug

June 3, 2016 at 1:08 PM
Anonymous said...

I have to agree with my fellow Canuck, Thomas F. here; Amazing Spider-Man #5 is a classic (and I have it in Marvel Tales reprint form too...no way I could afford the original). I also have Amazing #350 and I agree it's good too, although I found the Black Fox to be really annoying throughout...he was basically just there as a plot device anyway.

Mike Wilson

June 3, 2016 at 1:26 PM
William said...

One of my personal favorite Doctor Doom stories of all time is the totally awesome "Avengers 1.5", which was a Silver-Age comic that came out in 1999. Huh??

For those not familiar with this particular story, it is a comic that was created in an effort to right a terrible wrong. The wrong being that the original Avengers never got to square off against Marvel's greatest villain - Doctor Doom!

So, to correct this horrible oversight, writer Roger Stern, and artist Bruce Timm came up with an issue of the early Avengers that fits perfectly right in between Avengers #1 and #2, so it is naturally numbered 1.5.

This super-star creative team does their level best to recreate the style of the Avengers at the time, with Stern filling in for Stan The Man, and Timm doing his best Jack Kirby impression. The result is one of the greatest issues of the Avengers ever done. And definitely one of the most fun to read comics of the last 20 years.

It's so well done that it is actually included on the "Avengers: Complete Comic Collection" DVD, and it is placed snuggly in between issues 1 and 2 (right where it should be).

In this issue, the original Avengers (Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Ant-Man, and the Wasp) must face off against Doctor Doom in his flying fortress (of doom)! It's the Avengers we know and love versus Doc Doom at his most evil and arrogant best.

The writing is fast paced and action packed, and the art is a total blast to gaze upon. It just doesn't get any more fun than this one folks.

If you have never had the pleasure of reading this comic, you owe it to yourself to do so at your earliest convenience.

June 3, 2016 at 3:17 PM
pfgavigan said...

Hiya,

We can all pick out our favorite moments of impending Doom. When the not so good Doctor (what the heck did he get his degree in anyway, wasn't he expelled from college) was about to win all, take revenge, unfold his master plan.

My favorite Doom moment? In Damage Control, "When Doom Defaults", Big Victor is actually quite reasonable when dealing with an outstanding debt to the Damage Control Corporation and is very appreciative of being treated in a quiet, professional manner.

Seeya,

pfgavigan

June 3, 2016 at 9:19 PM
Anonymous said...

Nice photo Doug!

Hmm yeah I'll go with JA and say FF #57-60 where he steals the Surfer's powers. Heck, most of the FF's dealings with the monarch of Latveria have been pretty good stories, although I do have a soft spot for Iron man's encounter with Doom in IM #149-150.


- Mike 'absolute ruler of the tiny kingdom of my refrigerator' from Trinidad & Tobago.

June 3, 2016 at 10:11 PM
Doug said...

When I first read Doom's origin from Fantastic Four Annual #2 within the covers of Bring on the Bad Guys, I thought it was excellent. I still do!

Doug

June 3, 2016 at 10:21 PM
spencer said...

As much as it's already been mentioned, I have to go with FF#57-60 also.
Another one I liked, although he didn't come into it until the end, is the Over-Mind saga in FF, where Doom gets recruited to help the FF. FF#116

July 10, 2016 at 12:26 PM

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