Random Happenstance

In the mountain of comics I picked up recently, there were at least two with Doctor Doom. Actually, three: I mistakenly thought Doom was on the cover of the Mighty Avengers #10, but it was the Sentry; but Doom was inside! Well, some other time for that one; we've got one I liked and one I didn't: from 2014, Original Sins #4, "Checkmate" Written by James Robinson, art by Alex Maleev. And from 2020, Doctor Doom #3, "Death in the Afternoon" Written by Christopher Cantwell, pencils by Salvador Larroca.

"Checkmate" is a sidebar from the Original Sin event, as a Wall Street douchebro caught in the explosion of one of Uatu's eyes finds himself privy to all of Doctor Doom's secrets. Or at least something--"a memory. A secret. A sin."--bad enough he can blackmail Doom with it. Although the friend he's bragging to (who specifically asks not to be told what it was) tells douchebro he's biting off way more than he can chew, d-bro isn't worried at all. He's left copies with his lawyer, his wife, his mistress, and his bank manager. Yeah, all those people, including the friend, are dead as hell before he gets to Doom. That's amateur hour to him, suckers got to know. I hadn't read a non-Bendis book with Maleev for some time, he nails 'sleazy bastard realizing their mistake' like rolling out of bed.

"Death in the Afternoon" is from the current Doom ongoing--I think it's an ongoing? As much as anything is these days. There were a couple things I liked, but more I didn't: this was a couple issues into a storyline where Doom was attempting to clear his name after a mass murder. He had surrendered, to try and prove his innocence--like Doom cares--but was having mysterious visions of a possible future. Kang confirms that could be the case, but in the previous issue, Doom is shot dead by a sniper. The end! No, this issue opens with another vision of the possible future, as a benevolent-seeming unmasked future Doom makes an eloquent plea for his weather control system to fight climate change. Meanwhile, present Doom finds himself in hell, which seems about as bothersome to him as getting a piece bumped back to the start in a rowdy game of Sorry. Mephisto greets him, and gets manhandled a bit, but has a little challenge for Doom: convince his first love Valeria he deserves to live, and he will.

Now, that is a bit of continuity I liked, although it is probably Doom's most unforgivable crime ever: he sacrificed her for more power, and wore her skin as armor for a few. I hate to see something glossed over, especially as fast as that was; but it was probably too creepy to keep. Unfortunately, a sequence with Doom's regent Victorious takes up several pages, so we don't see much of Valeria: Mephisto, in his more demonic appearance, claims to have seen Doom's visions, and refuses to let him reduce mankind's suffering--"the food of the damned." His armor disappearing, Doom is still willing to take it to Mephisto, but the fight is broken up by Death herself, because she tells Doom he will be her greatest servant.

Returning to the land of the living, Doom knocks out Blue Marvel and H.E.R.B.I.E--yeah, Reed sent a robot, to ask Blue Marvel to field this one, because he just can't with Victor, apparently--with a spell. Kang then appears, like a helpful sidekick, which does not seem like him; Doom asks if he had seen futures where he died. Sure, tons, several where I did it, why? Oh, but this one was probably Taskmaster, hired by A.I.M.! Which may have caused the collapse of civilization. Great, Kang, Doom's ego needed that. Man, I know I'm an old, but I remember when Taskmaster had like three appearances and a Marvel Universe entry; now he's in a movie and every third goddamn comic.

The mystery of whatever's happening is intriguing, but Doom makes a snarky crack, which absolutely seems out of character. And Morgan le Fey appears as well, and I'm not sure what she's up to, but it's weird to see her in normal clothes with an apartment. Where is this going, though? Doom isn't going to be able to fix climate change, nor is he going to pay for any of the terrible crap he's done. The opening says "Over the years, Doom has wielded his power for great good and great evil," but I honestly can not think of a single good thing he's ever done, that wasn't in service of Doom in some way. I wish this issue had been 20 pages of Valeria and Mephisto roasting Doom, figuratively and literally: Mephisto is usually snarkier, I honestly thought he was going to blurt out "choke me, daddy!" when Doom had him by the neck.