The Coming Of The Doom Utopia: Doctor Doom #2 Reviewed
by Josh Davison
Mild Spoilers Ahead
Doctor Doom has been arrested for destroying the Antlion Project, and he’s being transported to New York to stand trial while under the watch of Doctor Strange, Silver Sable, Agent Zero, and Union Jack. Doom surrendered peacefully though he is not the perpetrator of this atrocity. Victorious is ruling Latveria in Doom’s absence, but her advisors are pushing back on her. Kang the Conqueror returns to speak with Doom on the prison transport, and he may be Doom’s last remaining hope.
Doctor Doom #2 finds Victor brought low and implicated for a crime he did not commit. He’s been forced to willingly give himself up, but that does not mean that he has resigned himself to his fate.
That brings us to the one confusing detail of this story. Victor willingly gave himself up to Union Jack and Agent Zero (after some fighting), so it’s unclear why he asks Kang to free him from the prison transport in this story. Doom does nothing without intent, but these seem like two conflicting actions. Hopefully, this will be explained in issues to come, but it seems inconsistent in the meantime.
That aside, it is fascinating that, despite his being framed and imprisoned, that Doom’s vision of a utopian future created by his own hand is what most concerns him. Doom sees himself as the ideal leader of the world, but a peaceful world under his rule frightens him. Christopher Cantwell has done an excellent job of diving into Doom’s psyche so far, and I look forward to what lies ahead for Victor.
Salvador Larroca continues to provide a brilliant photorealistic style, and his depiction of the scarred face of Doom is impressive. Guru-eFX’s color art is vibrant yet balanced. Larroca and eFX make for one hell of an artistic duo.
Doctor Doom #2 is a good follow-up to the explosive first issue. Despite the seeming inconsistency in Doom’s action (which may prove deliberate), this comic is an engaging examination of the mind of one of Marvel’s greatest villains with fantastic visuals. It easily earns a recommendation. Feel free to give it a read.
Doctor Doom #2 comes to us from writer Christopher Cantwell, artist Salvador Larroca, color artist Guru-eFX, letterer VC’s Cory Petit, cover artist ACO, and variant cover artist Larry Stroman with Mark Morales and Jason Keith.
Final Score: 8/10
