"Masks" Another Great Doom Story.

[proteus_lives.insanejournal.com]

Greetings True Believers! I'm in a Doom state of mind! Sherkahn has inspired me to do another Doom post featuring a correctly written Victor Von Doom. So here is "Masks" from Marvel's Double-shot #2. It's a great story about not only the risks of trifling with Doom's heart/mind but also his mastery of psychology and the way he looks at the world. Enjoy!




Who here would like a Dr. Doom week? Let's do it!! Doom demands that you paid tribute to the Lion of Latveria with a WEEK OF DOOM!



We join Doom at the symphony. Where, naturally, he has the best seats.




I really like the word boxes in this story. The use of open boxes and colors is cool.




I love that page! 1. Doom's formal, quasi-military outfit is badass! 2. Snark about the Russians? That's right, Doom can cleverly snark about anybody! 3. Doom's date? Dumped. Doom-style.

Now we find out what caught Doom's attention and pissed him off.




She is officially up shit creek without a paddle. Doom talks about his origin and how he lost Valeria when he chose his path. Then he invite the women outside where he continues to deconstruct her motives and mission.




Can you imagine how scared she is. Her fate is in the hands of Doom. I would be blubbering and offering to fly to NY, walk right up to Reed Richards and kick him square in the stretchy nuts.

Doom's horses fly. Why? Because Doom wanted a flying chariot, that's why. But here's the dialogue because it's awesome. Starting with the last line from the previous page.

Karen Sutter: "You--you know my name--?"
Doom: "Of course. I am Doom, am I not? You, Karen Sutter, are a German National, a journalist for a small, local paper in Stuttgart. You earned 42 thousand Euro last year, barely enough to pay for your flat and feed Hector, your Shiatsu mix breed. Festival, a national publication, sought you out because of your uncanny resemblance to a woman from Doom's past--and you eagerly accepted the assignment of writing an in-depth expose on the emotional side of Doom---the man beneath the mask. So desperate were you to escape your pitiful life, you accepted the assignment without stopping to consider--it would be impossible for you ro get close to Doom without the resources of a national intelligence agency. The "magazine" was but a facade--a mask for your true masters--NATO Intelligence. You are but a tool in their fruitless propaganda efforts to creat unrest in Latveria.
Doom: "As though such a thing was possible. Latveria, once an impoverished land of brutal despots--has, under the inspired vision of Doom, become paradise. How does one foster unrest in paradise? In a land without poverty--without disease--without famine or plague? Latveria is the model for what this entire planet should be--and would be--if only the world would follow Doom's example."
KS: "Dr. Doom--I'm--I'm just a reporter. If you've investigated me, you must know...I never intended you any harm."
Doom: "Your intentions are irrelevant. You are irrelevant. All that matters is the message your presence was intended to send Doom--and what message Doom shall choose to send back."

Verbal pwnage.

Now they have retired to one of Doom's residences.




Nice rant but it rarely pays to raise your voice to Doom. Now it's time for truth.




Such a awesome moment. The art and movement, her awesome swoon and Doom's unrivalled mastery of the dramatic gesture.

Now the finale and her fate.




Doom Snark is the best snark. His wit and sarcasm have no equal. He's painted her into a corner, how will she react?




That's how. Well that's what you get for showing up at Doom's villa univited. He's lack of reaction to her suicide is great. He destroyed her with nothing but the truth.

Seriously, why? Was Doom angered by the use of Valeria's image? Was this just an an intellectual experiment in the psychology of pushing people? Did she die because she offended Doom's honor. (Doom had to know what she'd do. He undoubtedly had the odds worked out.)

Anyway you look at, it's a great story and a thinker. DOOM!

Comments

Love it!

[freezer818.insanejournal.com]

KS: Do you worst!
Doom: *PIMP MASK*

I had to import my Doom icon from LJ. Doom deserved no less.

[tohofuhai.insanejournal.com]

Nice art and story... granted this meeting of the minds was like using a sand blower on a soup cracker, I think they could have made it appear more that he was losing his cool so the payoff would've been much more sweeter.

Also... Doom drinking his tea trough a straw is sch an amusing sight.

[whitecometrx7.insanejournal.com]

well that was ridiculously awesome, I always liked Dr. Doom, even when i was far younger. although i only liked him back then for the color of his cloak, but since i started reading the things hes been in, just incredible.

[darklorelei.insanejournal.com]

Pssh, whatever Doom. Those seats looked the coolest, but probably the worst acoustics in the place!


(I love Doom!)

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

In a normal theatre perhaps, but I imagine Doom designed the whole place precisely so the acoustics WOULD be perfect there, there are probably modified stage elements, sound baffles, force fields and all sort of thing. This is home theatre Doom-style

[arilou_skiff.insanejournal.com]

God, I have seen many awesome moments of DOOM, but this was... *shivers* Really good.

Doom is *such* as screw-up.

[taggerung301.insanejournal.com]

yeah, i had the same reaction

i admire his amazing villiany, but his callousness is pretty scary

[arilou_skiff.insanejournal.com]

The way I tend to see it is that Doom is this really horribly screwed up psycho... With mental issues up the wazoo... But somewhere along the line he acquired a kind of paternalist sense of principles: He doesen't *care* about people but for some reason he cares about principles and his honour.

[proteus_lives.insanejournal.com]

Motto on Doom's concepts of honor and principle. I think Doom and Reed Richards share a similar problem, they are both so intelligent that it's basically impossible for them to have a meaningful conversation with anybody. But Reed has the emotional safety value of his family while Doom was emotionally crushed by his tragic childhood and unable/unwilling to trust/love anyone.

A note on Doom and Richards, while both are virtually equals in the science, I consider Doom more well-rounded. Not just because of his magical abilities. I think Doom is just as well versed in literature, history, art and more esoteric fields. (Not that Reed couldn't become adept in these subjects, I just don't think he can muster the interest.)

I believe that Doom would have allowed her to leave and was probably mildly disappointed (or happy?) with her reaction. He's too detached to muster any feeling for a single human being.

If psychopath is the correct term, then he's the most dangerous kind. Unrestrained from emotions and morals yet completely in control of his actions.

[arilou_skiff.insanejournal.com]

I think that somewhere along the line Doom internalized some storybook ideas. He thinks of himself as the "Hero" and the "Good Prince" (note his background, if we skip out on some of the more psychotic parts it is essentially a variant of the hero's journey, born to an oppressed minority, gets family massacred, return to avenge than and in the process wins the Kingdom) since Doom figures this is his story, he also figures he should act the part, so he tries to take care of "his" people...

But he doesen't actually have the emotional and mental maturity to care. He just goes through the motions, and the closest thing to caring he comes is anger when someone touches what is "his".

[alschroeder.insanejournal.com]

That's the one good thing about this silly "Masters of Doom" storyline. It makes us post stories that remind us how awesome Doom really IS....and how he would never bow to someone else.

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

I like Doom wearing his formal, polished armour for the public event, even if I am unfortunately reminded of Klytus (http://bulk2.destructoid.com/ul/user/1/18620-64686-80flashgordon2JPG-550x.jpg) from Flash Gordon when he does... I like the "industrial" look better

[sir_mikael.insanejournal.com]

Haha, I too made that commection. I remember watching that movie as a kid and instantly liking the guy cus he was like Doom but in gold.

Many a year later I switched over to the Flash Gordon tv series to see if Klytus again wore such an awesome outfit. He did not. Also his brain was hanging out.

[blunderbuss.insanejournal.com]

I. LOVE. DOOM.

He's a vunerable and tormented person in there, but that doesn't stop him from being fucking AWESOME. Despite any regrets or angst he doesn't flinch, doesn't bow to anybody, and doesn't put up with anyone else's shit. Even if you somehow hurt him he'll still fucking destroy you and do it in STYLE.

WHY CAN'T MORE VILLIANS BE THIS COOL. He needs his own series. A series where he's just fucking badass, 24/7.

[filkertom.insanejournal.com]

What strikes me is that this is one of those rare pieces of evidence that Doom really is horribly disfigured. Various and sundry stories (including the magnificent Triumph and Torment showcased here the past couple of days) have Doom basically cat-scratched, but with far more hideous scars in his mind. This? Old-school Phantom of the Opera. Love it.

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

I think it's more in line with the oft-repeated notion that the scar which he got at University was small, but his face was grotesquely burned and scarred the first time he put the Doom mask, still red hot from the forge, on, so it's even more of a self-inflicted injury.

I agree though, we should never see his face, ever. The horror is infinitely amplified with a "Less is more" approach.

[proteus_lives.insanejournal.com]

My favorite is scarred at the university, the scars are magical and can't be fixed. Second is the self-inflicted version.

Motto, Doom's face should never be revealed, the Joker should never get a definite origin and they never done on Logan. Less is more.

[hyperactivator.insanejournal.com]

Remember that his wounds big or small were inflicted by demons. It is very possible his scars could be magical in nature and change depending on who looks at them or other factors.

[psychop_rex.insanejournal.com]

Wait - demons? His wounds were inflicted either by his machine exploding in his face or by the application of a red-hot mask to his tender skin - possibly both. When do demons come into the formula?

[proteus_lives.insanejournal.com]

In the Books of Doom mini-series, it is shown that when Doom used his machine in attempt to contact his mother; the demons added a magical element to the explosion that disfigured him.

[psychop_rex.insanejournal.com]

Eh - retcons. 'Great big explosion' is enough for me.

[hyperactivator.insanejournal.com]

Books of Doom. His machine was designed to let him enter hell to free his mother.

[heat16.insanejournal.com]

Doom is awesome. Doom breathes awesome. Doom speaks in awesome.

The only way his character could be ruined is if they did some crazy story where he has a "master" of some kind. Rediculous of course, hahaha...


...wait?

[broblawsky.insanejournal.com]

Something to bear in mind about Doctor Doom: AFAIK, the canon explanation for Doom's deformity is that he was slightly scarred from the explosion that got him kicked out of his university, but the vast majority of his scarring comes from him strapping a red-hot iron mask to face. However, Doom has repeatedly switched bodies since then - I'm pretty sure his current one is a clone. In order for him to still have the same level of scarring, he has to have burned his own face again, even though he could have just kept his unaltered face.

Yeah, Doom has issues.

[sir_mikael.insanejournal.com]

I know that during Secret Wars II, The Beyonder put him back in his orignal body (which was destroyed in a fight with Terrax and Silver Surfer, cue him hopping into innocent guy nearby and bitch at Aunt May). if he has permanently switched bodies since then I do not know.
Then again Doom does consider his own body to be the greatest I imagine. The royal blood running through his veins, and the fact that he was handsome or that every scar is a reason for him to remember or to go on.
But like you say, cloning would be a great solution. unless of course, he considers cloning an abomination or something silly.

[yaseen101.insanejournal.com]

You know with all these Doom stories, I'm begining to realize that Doom doesn't really work as the FF's greatest enemy out to destroy him, I'd rather Doom be the person that fights the FF for his amusement and when there is a gain for him in the end. The constant clashes with FF and other heroes kind of diminishes him because Doom loses most of the time and makes him "all talk and no action" type of person. JMHO

[arilou_skiff.insanejournal.com]

I think it works, mainly because it isn't about Doom vs. The FF. It is Doom vs. Reed in a very close and personal way.

They are, on the one hand, two of the few people who could actually genuinely understand each other (this is usually seen in the instances when they work together versus a common threat, when they usually complete each other's sentences and in general act like the scariest team of Mad Scientists every) both of them are in an intelligence league all of their own, and to some extent they are the only ones that can talk to each other about some things.

And on the other hand this is precisely what Doom cannot stand. He is intensely jealous but on the other hand he craves approval. I don't think Doom seriously *wants* to destroy Richards. He just wants to *beat* him.

[psychop_rex.insanejournal.com]

I don't think it's all that incongruous. The thing that makes Doom both awesome and a recurring villain is his pride. His pride allows him to be the terror of the world that he is, because he WILL NOT ALLOW HIMSELF to be beaten. Defeated, yes, but not beaten. All defeats are mere setbacks - Doom knows that he will achieve his goals in time, because he is DOOM, and therefore destined to rule. This allows him to spring back again and again and again, becoming more and more formidable as the years go by.
On the other hand, his pride is the very thing that allows him to be defeated repeatedly in battle. Doom is convinced that he is superior to any adversary, and therefore gets taken by surprise on a regular basis by the fact that his adversaries generally have a thing or two up their sleeves themselves. When you KNOW that such and such renders you invincible, simply because YOU have put it in motion, you tend to ignore the fact that you have the same human frailties as anyone else - it's by taking advantage of these ignored frailties that his enemies tend to beat him. This blindness to his weaknesses is also the reason why Reed Richards is the perfect enemy for him - he's the one man on Earth who rivals Doom for sheer mental acuity. On a certain level, Doom knows this, and it drives him crazy - NO ONE RIVALS DOOM! And BECAUSE no one rivals Doom, Richards MUST be inferior in some way, and Doom's mammoth ego demands that he prove this once and for all by eliminating him and his team. It is this obsessiveness that makes Doom the great villain he is - and arguably, he never would have become that without Reed's presence in his life. So him being the FF's archvillain makes perfect sense to me.

[proteus_lives.insanejournal.com]

Well said!

[psychop_rex.insanejournal.com]

Thenkyew.

[captain_clown.insanejournal.com]

"Doom took no advantage of you during the night"

BWHAHAHHAAHH!

Doom week should happen. Or 'best moments of villains referring to themselves in third person week'.

[pensive1.insanejournal.com]

omg this whole thing was EPIC. EPIC!!!!!!11

I am ALL FOR DOOM WEEK.

RE: "Doom Week"

[peur_evol.insanejournal.com]

I second (or third, counting OP) for DOOM WEEK on S_D.

[ar_feiniel_.insanejournal.com]

Only Doom would pat himself on the back for putting on a concert for the good of Latveria's culture...and take up the entire Orchestra Seating Section for himself.

Why'd she do it?

[sir_mikael.insanejournal.com]

This is a really cool story. Doom is awesome in it. Great art. But I dislike the bit at the end. The girl commits suicide, why? Doom not caring I'm ok with, but really her offing herself came out of left field. First she believes she's gotten some kind of insight into him because she sees his face, then what, she sees how she was meant to hurt Doom by looking like Valeria, flatters herself into thinking she has utterly destroyed the man, and kills herself after he has made it clear that she is free to go, with a good story to publish to boot (just dont talk crap about him, he'll find u). Ok, so maybe she had a hard life and wanted to "escape" it, but still. I'd get the hell out of there. She's acting all sorts of weird.