Crossing The Wrong Lines — Reviewing ‘One World Under Doom’ #8

Sometimes, there are issues of a comic book series where time has to be taken after reading. To decompress, ponder, and mull over what has been read and what it means.

With something like One World Under Doom #8, it would be so much easier if it was the overall message or concept that left me in such a state. Not the ending of the issue.

The penultimate chapter of Marvel’s summer event has arrived from Ryan North, R.B. Silva, David Curiel, and Travis Lanham.

-SPOILERS FOLLOW-

Wow, yeah, this one is tough.

Overall, not that tough as a whole because it’s a lot of the same issues I’ve had with this event. It follows too many obvious contrivances with the plot. It doesn’t add all that much to the conversation as there are no actual messages or concepts to fully explore. Doom does fascism, the world embraces it, the dark secret is revealed, world turns, Doom goes full berserk conquer mode.

Been there, done that. Both in and out of the comic, as the event mirrors similarities to the real world without any sort of teeth. It has nothing to say fully about how easily people fall into the sway of such figures or how dangerous such things are or anything of the nature. It’s just typical “supervillain does stuff and heroes tear it down, even though it’s better than the status quo,” and we go into monologue destruction mode.

What really eats at me is the ending.

We’ve long known that Val Richards is one of the only people in the world Doom not only respects, but loves. He is her godfather and he has shown the most humanity with this young woman compared to anyone. Her being the one to reach Doom in some capacity was a given. The issue opens with her attempts being rebuffed.

Well, it ends with that not so much the case. And therein lies the problem.

During a massive fight where he kicks the ass of the entire Marvel Universe (even pulling a brief “No More Mutants” thing), Doom uses magic for a major reason. The moment he defeats the heroes is meant to be an indelible, unchangeable moment in time. A “fixed point”, if you will, in lesser terms. That magic is infused into his armor, which he explodes, embedding every hero with magical shards so that they are struck by the pain of defeat forever more.

Turns out, Val showed up then, and was maimed horrifically by those metal shards. So graphically that her leg is missing and then her head falls off (obscured by shadows). Utterly demolishing Doom as he witnesses the one person he loves dying.

Yes, you read that right. Not only was a child character brutally (potentially, one issue left, after all) murdered, but it was also a female character killed to elicit reaction from a man. A truly overused trope in comic books, and all of fiction.

While the emotional component has long been a foundation for them, this usage just feels gross. I get what North was going for, but it doesn’t divorce that from the fact that it falls into the circle of the sexist trope. There is a chance that it’s all fake and reversed in the next issue, but I have to review and react to this issue as it stands. Not what may or may not happen a month from now.

My opinion will change if and when that issue does something to change it.

All the feelings about the content of the story won’t change how beautiful the visual depiction continues to be. A given when they tapped Silva to headline this event. There are artists whose work just screams epic when given a glance and Silva is on that list. At the same time, it still works even in the quieter or smaller moments, not that there are many in this issue per se. It gives characters this overall weighty presence on the page, letting them make their mark in the world and give us a tangible foundation upon which to perceive.

There’s only so many ways to keep praising what the visual team has done on this series. It won’t stop me from doing so, but it’s going to feel repeated, and that’s just part of the case.

Colors are very vibrant where they need to be and very pulled-back in other spaces. The overall areas the characters reside within are more natural or neutral in tone, giving them the power to stand as something familiar and grounded. The moments of magic, power, and other fantastical-ness can, stand taller and wider, splashing the pages with whole buckets of color befitting of the big superhero brawl that this series has become for a number of issues.

Character voices have to carry a lot here. Big moments do come between some of them, and emotion is dripping from a lot of the elements. Lanham makes that clear with the chosen lettering standards set for this series. It allows voices to ring true and loud, or soft, with little quick modifications. The focus shifts with colors and boxes of great design, keeping Doom’s voice bold and regal while hollow as the character himself. A great display through-and-through.

Perhaps this will all read better once collected. Currently, it’s one of Marvel’s messiest line-wide events, if it can even be called that. The rest of the universe has not a care about any sort of Doom takeover. Time will tell how this all ends up, beyond even its conclusion next month.

One World Under Doom #8 is now available from Marvel Comics.