Doomquest #4
Writer: Ryan North
Artist: Francesco Mobili
Colorist: Frank D'Armata
Cover Artist: Alex Ross
Publisher: Marvel Comics
“Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity. To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment. Would you capture it or just let it slip?”
The Road Not Traveled
Victor Von Doom's Quantum Leap adventure continues, this time placing him in the body of his younger self during the height of his relationship with Valeria—the one great love of Doom's life. Because he is who he is, he tells her everything. And I do mean everything. Well, maybe not the "sacrificing her and wearing her skin as armor" part. That's left a little vague.
Doom is content to have seen her again and be on to his next leap, but she stops him. She gets right in his face and tells him, if he regrets it so damn much, shouldn't he use this chance to try again and go all in?
So he does. They have a life together, leaving Latveria for Western Europe. They have children, and later grandchildren. They are happy.
Then one day, Valeria takes ill. She is dying. Doom tells her that he could not have imagined anything better for them. And yet…
You're Not Enough
Yes, I opened the review of a Doctor Doom book with an Eminem quote. I thought it worked really well for the story this issue told.
Plus I just really like that song.
So. Victor Von Doom. Brilliant. Arrogant. Egotistical. And apparently a total POS.
Here, Doom gets the one thing he could never have: a real life. A real family, with real happiness. His one true love, Valeria. No endless feuds with the Fantastic Four, no scars, no armor. Children and grandchildren.
And in the end, he decides it isn't enough.
Wow. Just wow.
This is Doctor Doom in a nutshell: a man who is so convinced of his brilliance, of his utter damned importance, that to have the perfect life that people literally dream of "isn't enough" for him.
It's a good thing that Doom isn't meant to be a sympathetic character, because I think that ship has well and fully sailed.
He'd rather have the scars. He'd rather be trapped in the armor. He'd rather take the love of his life and sacrifice her to demons so he can use her skin as armor. He'd rather face countless defeats—sorry, setbacks—at the hands of Reed Richards. All because he's so sure that at the end of the day, he'll get that one big win and suddenly everyone will see that he was right and that he's really a Very Special Boy that the world should bow down to.
And maybe one day Wile E. Coyote will finally catch that stupid Road Runner.
And now for his next leap, he's in the body of Susan Storm-Richards? Oh god, the slash-fic writers are going to have a field day with that one…
Meant for Better Things
Ryan North gets Doom. He's not the hero, even though he's convinced he is. We shouldn't be cheering for him. And thanks to North, we're not. I probably never will again. As for the actual story, it's pretty straightforward, going through the motions of what should have been Doom's "perfect life." It's even more tragic here, because North showed that Valeria was every bit Victor's match, and it's immediately obvious why they were so drawn to each other.
Francesco Mobili's art works well for the story being told here. This is a more subdued, personal tale that doesn't need a lot of "flash." I especially love the visual touch that we still see Doom in his armored form while he tells his tale to Valeria, then when he decides to go "all in" on them, we see him in his "human" form—until the moment he decides it's not enough, then he's right back in the armor. It's a perfect visual indicator of when he's "in" and when he's "out."
Frank D'Armata's colors are similarly subdued here, as the story doesn't have any big splashy moments. Well, other than the opening page showing the moment when Doom skinned Valeria for his new armor. That looks as horrifying as you'd expect. But everything else is rendered in even tones, not too bright or too dark—just right for such a personal tale.
Lose Yourself
Doomquest #4 is a frankly brutal issue that will never have me looking at Victor Von Doom in quite the same way ever again. Here he gets the chance to live the life he never could with his one great love, and the results are both completely expected and also utterly horrifying. One thing you can say about Doom: at the end of the day, he's very consistent.