Twisty Like A Common Pretzel — Reviewing ‘One World Under Doom’ #6

While the Fantastic Four’s latest big screen endeavor is sans Doctor Doom, the comic book universe can’t say the same. In the colorful pages that birthed the figures dancing across theater screens the Latverian Despot has conquered the world. Bringing peace, prosperity, and more.

Magic always comes with a price, and that price is felt in One World Under Doom #6. Marvel’s event returns after a month off under the creative hands of Ryan North, R.B. Silva, David Curiel, and Travis Lanham.

-SPOILERS FOLLOW-

And there it is. The twist that was predictably coming has at last reared its head.

While the actual format of the twist wasn’t something that was called, though it’s not surprising for Doom, an evil twist was surely coming. Doom’s work to make the world a better place has to be undermined by something terrible of his own hand. Otherwise, the “heroes” fight to just return the world to it’s broken status quo would feel too “wrong” in many respects.

Any time someone gains massive power in the Marvel Universe and makes the world good (fixes hunger, poverty, war, etc.) there has to be that switch to pull. The one where their generosity is tainted by something that turns everyone against them. Gotta make sure that the world these heroes exist in isn’t too far away from our own screwed up reality. These books are published by massive corporations who have a hand in the status quo after all.

North does a good job with the back and forth of Reed and Doom, showing why he’s been so good handling the Four’s book the past few years. Were this not the story it has been, I would have given points for having Doom call out the Marvel Heroes for how they never share their tech, good fortune, ability to leave the planet, etc. with others. Except this is a comic where the person calling them out is sacrificing everyone of his nation in order to be the most powerful magician.

Again, it’s making hollow any sort of argument against the status quo. Since the person doing so is evil, and therefore the heroes are the ones in the “right” and they are status quo defenders.

Once again, this series at least looks tremendous. They need to keep giving Silva the big work, even if events like this leave much to be desired.

Even though a chunk of this issue is two men debating, moving around as they flourish to make their point, it’s compelling, dense, rich, and detailed beyond belief. Their emotions, even when they are seemingly calculated and reserved, are clear as day. This comes through in their eyes, their movements, and the expressions we’re given through the whole series of panels. When ‘epic’ is used to describe a story of this nature, it’s the artwork that is capturing that splendidly in this case.

The big reveal is as horrific as one would expect, and Silva demonstrates that in its appearance and the spread that illuminates everything.

Together, Silva and Curiel are delivering something very superhero, vibrant but still very grounded and familiar. Curiel’s color palette brings plentiful bold rich colors to bear that keep the fantastical elements at the forefront. This is flanked by the darker, denser, and more toned-down color frequencies.

Another space where the feelings of those involved become displayed is their words. Lanham taps into the same energy to give every voice the right tone, volume, and depth of expression. This adds to that air of authenticity that makes the moments land better than they might otherwise.

Maybe a hot take, but it’s time for Marvel to retire line-wide events. They are so hollow, and they don’t matter. These events contribute nothing much to the whole Marvel Universe, since all other books that aren’t a tie-in have completely ignored that Doom has ruled the world for months on end. All the “This changes everything” never matters anymore. Not that it ever fully did, but at least in the 2000s the various events built on each other and did affect the status quo.

Blood Hunt, the precursor event that led to this one, ended with vampires immune to the sun and were said to be a bigger threat now. They’ve appeared almost nowhere since and it’s mattered not at all. Good money says the same will be true of this event, save for the already teased search for a new Sorcerer Supreme, a story line that Brian Michael Bendis already did over a decade ago.

Marvel nostalgia, it’s a thing.

One World Under Doom #6 is now available from Marvel Comics.