DoomQuest #3
Written by Ryan North
Art by Francesco Mobili
Colors by Frank D’Armata
Letters by VC’s Travis Lanham
Cover Art by Alex Ross
Victor Von Doom. George Washington. American Revolution. Big explosions. Sick armor. I just sold you on this book in 11 words but if you still need some convincing, please read on as I review one of the most fun single issues I’ve read all year. We’re jumping right into this one. Spoiler Warning Now in Effect for DoomQuest #3!
“Give me Doom or Give me Death!”
As we saw at end of last issue, Dr. Doom now inhabits the body of… drumroll please! Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages please put your hands together for the General of the Continental Army, the Pride of Mount Vernon, the Most Famous of the Founding Fathers, the Sword of the Revolutionnnnnn. Standing at six foot two and weighing in at approximately 215 pounds…. FROM POPES CREEK, VIRGINIAAAAAA. GEORGEEEEE WASHINGTON!!! Dr. Doom now inhabits the body of one of humanity's defining figures and it’s a roller coaster from the very first page.
Doom takes over Washington’s body in July of 1775 prior to the Siege of Boston. During the actual American Revolutionary war, Henry Knox, the man who would become the original Secretary of War, convinced George Washington to bring cannons and guns down from Fort Ticonderoga to Dorchester Heights, which overlooked Boston. The operation to bring the weapons back from Ticonderoga would take months but Knox’s mission would prove successful as the Continental Army and their famous General got the British forces to flee Boston.
We learn all of this in DoomQuest #3 through a beautiful five panel sequence from artist Francesco Mobili and Colorist Frank D’Armata. It’s the first in what is one of a bunch of really cool art highlights from this issue. Ryan North and the art team were able to tell the entire story of the Siege of Boston in less than a page before getting back to Doom’s tale. Now here’s the biggest question: do you guys think Doom followed the path history set? I’ll give you one guess.
Doom decides to send Henry Knox to Fort Ticonderoga but he has a very different plan for those cannons and guns. He’s going to build a weapon to “attack with a might not yet seen on Earth” and a new suit of armor. What follows is yet another highlight for Mobili and D’Armata as we get a double splash page montage of George Washington (with Doom at the controls) forging his new weapon and armor. The double splash page features an amalgamated George Washington/Dr. Doom in the center of the entire thing holding a piece of reforged metal with a pair of Blacksmithing tongs. Another fantastic piece of art in a book that's full of them.
Doom finally finishes forging his ultimate masterpiece and we are greeted to another absolutely awesome splash page as Doom’s full armor and powerful weapon are revealed in all their glory. Cannons will no longer spell “doom” for the British; a shining suit of badass armor combined with a massive gatling gun that sits on the armor's back will now shake the very foundations of the British Empire. Doom is anything but subtle as he prepares to stride into battle after showing off his technological battle suit and rallying his troops with a speech that is just quintessentially Dr. Doom before the battle of Boston truly begins.
Two Battles, Two Nations
I want to give author Ryan North a shoutout here because even with this wacky concept that this story has taken, he doesn’t lose Dr. Doom’s core character. Doom might be Quantum Leaping into other people’s bodies, but he’s still Doom in there. Doom isn’t trying to play the person he has inhabited; he's trying to use them to the greatest extent possible to accomplish HIS goals. He couldn’t care less what meat suit he has to use to get there. It can be easy for a story concept to weigh down a character or vice versa, but North has really made this concept stick, and I can’t wait to see how the rest of these issues continue to unfold.
Doom marches on Boston with his troops in tow and makes quick work of the British forces defending the city. He quickly murders untold numbers of British forces in a blaze of gunfire, but opts to leave some alive for the next step of his insane plans. There are moments in comics that the only way to describe them is with the phrase “purely badass.” Doom, as George Washington, encased in a technological marvel of a warsuit, marching on Boston and taking down an entire army of British soldiers, essentially on his own, is one of the most purely badass moments in a comic I’ve seen this year.
I never would have thought to combine Doom and the American Revolution, but hey, I said the same thing last month about combining Doom with the tragedy of the Titanic maiden voyage… a good writer can make a good concept great, and that’s what North has done. Kudos once again to the art team for showing my eyes something they never thought they’d see and making Doom’s march on Boston to look as cool as I could imagine. The fun ain’t over yet though!
After taking Boston, Doom isn’t content to let the rest of the Revolution play out. He decides to travel six weeks across the Atlantic Ocean and take the fight directly to the British Empire. He marches through London with a contingent of troops, murders King George III, and takes command of the entire British Empire and all the wealth that it possesses. Doom, having come to the end of his insane plan in colonial times, decides to hop back into the time stream and make his next big move to further Latveria’s advancement in the world. Where does Doom pop out this time? I’ll leave that up to you, readers, to find out. I won’t spoil the ending of the issue, but issue four promises to be extremely emotional.
Ending Thoughts and Rating
From the hills above Boston, Massachusetts to the halls of Parliament in London, England, DoomQuest #3 takes Victor Von Doom on one of his wildest rides yet. The American Revolution provides the backdrop to one of the most unique and entertaining comics I’ve read this year and I can’t wait to see where Ryan North takes Doom’s story from here. Throw in some fantastic art and you easily have DoomQuest’s best issue yet.