A new Marvel Comics miniseries finds Doctor Doom fighting fascism and Reed Richards trying to stop him. This might surprise casual fans, who know Doom as the greatest villain in the Marvel Universe and a tyrant himself. However, the situation is far more complicated in Doomquest #1 by Ryan North and Francesco Mobili.
Doomquest #1 opens with the sovereign of Latveria considering the plight of his people. Despite his best efforts to deliver peace and prosperity, Doctor Doom finds that his nation is still limited in what they can accomplish on a global scale. His meditations on how to “finally grow a nation and her people” are interrupted by a news broadcast regarding his arch-rival, Reed Richards.
The broadcast concerns an interview the self-dubbed Mister Fantastic gave at a scientific conference. Richards speculated upon how humanit might eventually use time travel to safely avert great disasters. This inspires Doctor Doom, who is determined to develop the paradox-free time travel needed to make such a dream a reality. It takes him a year and all the resources of Latveria but he is successful. Dubbed “the Doom Engine” by his people, the device can send someone’s mind into the body of someone in the past.
However, Reed Richards determined that Doctor Doom was planning something. Leading a team of Avengers and X-Men, Richards invaded Latervia, intent on stopping Doom from making use of his time machine. The irony is that Doctor Doom had no intention of changing his own life or stopping his many enemies from ever existing. Instead, his first action was to change the results of a 1919 peace conference, which placed Latveria under the rule of a fascist regime after World War I.
Reed Richards is no better than Doctor Doom
The action of Doomquest #1 showcases an irony common to the Fantastic Four comics, but overlooked outside of them. Namely, that Reed Richards exhibits the same negative traits decried in Doctor Doom. These include arrogance, pettiness, and a certain sense of melodrama.
Richards claims to have known Doctor Doom was planning something for the better part of a year. Despite this, he waits until the moment of the Doom Engine’s activation to act. There was no apparent effort to investigate or stop Doom’s plans before then. Only a flashy raid with dozen of superheroes. This decision is even more egregious considering Richards’ wife has spy training and superpowers that make her an ideal agent for a stealthy investigation.
Another irony is that both Richards and Doom assume the worst when considering unrestricted time travel in their rival’s hands. Neither of then can entertain any good coming of the others’ actions. However, Richards takes a step that would seem more in-character for the tyrant Doctor Doom is often painted as.
Richards did not disable the Doom Engine, changing Doom’s destination. Instead of having his mind sent to the peace conference, Doctor Doom awakens on the Titanic in a strange body. This cannot have been anything other than a deliberate attempt on the part of Richards to kill his hated rival.
Doomquest #1 is now available at comic shops everywhere.