Fantastic Four v3 #54: The Birth of Valeria Richards

[stolisomancer]

Not a lot of people were reading the FF's book back in 2002, or if they were, they weren't talking much about it. The entire line was just coming off the doldrums of the nineties, and while there were a few good solid superhero books coming out around then - like the underrated Nicienza run on Thunderbolts - it was a quiet time at Marvel.

Which is a shame, because in the middle of this dead zone, you get one of the single greatest moments for Dr. Doom ever.


Susan's pregnant, and as usual, it's not going well. The Inhumans are in town, but can't do much to help her, and at the same time, Johnny's powers have gone out of control. Reed would be doing his best to help with the baby, but he and Ben are both dealing with a new super-villain, Senso, who isn't really worth mentioning.

Johnny's desperate, so he does the only thing he can think of, and goes straight to the Latverian embassy.




You could read Doom's reaction a lot of ways, but my preferred interpretation is that, among other things, he's there to help Susan. There are a lot of issues over the FF's long history that you could point to as proof that she's the only member of the team that Doom genuinely respects, and he would prefer it if she were not dead.



By the time Reed and Ben deal with their problem and get back, Doom has taken care of business:




And that's why Val in current FF books refers to him as her "Uncle Doom."

Comments

[rainspirit]

This is the same artist who was attached to Ultimate Spider-Man for the longest time, right?

Sue Storm has a frightening resemblance to Gwen Stacey, here. o_o;

[stolisomancer]

Yeah, it's Bagley.

[turtlefu]

Yeah, and when he drew Wonder Woman she was basically MJ in a Black Wig. And Batman was beefier Peter Parker. Bagley has sameface for both men and women. It's a bit unfortunate.

Huh

[tammy_moore]

I loved this story and thought it was a really good example of how Doom works - one part respect for Susan and two fingers up to Richards (metaphorically, Doom would not be so crass)* - but this is the first time I've noticed that Johnny's costume incorporates a pair of gold budgie-smugglers.

* I like Doom as an honourable villain. I've always seen him as *so close* to being a heroic character, but dragged down by his overweening vainglorious pride.

Re: Huh

[beyondthefringe]

Yes. Exactly. In my mind, the very best Doom is one who operates with honor and dignity, treating everyone with a rather complex gradiation of respect and/or dismissal based on how they stack up in his eyes. He's not a thug, or a criminal, or petty, or even a tyrant, so much as he's just... Doom. A man who could be king and hero alike, if he didn't possess a soul-deep hubris, a self-destructive need for power and control, and that almost crippling mostly-one-sided rivalry with Reed.

This sequence captures him perfectly: he's a man capable of rational cooperation when appealed to the right way, who will undoubtedly lord it over you, but still... a man who couldn't let a woman and a baby die in a moment of need. And yeah, he then trolls Reed. :) (And that sequence with Doctor Octopus trying to save Sue and her child way back in the day, that was heartbreaking.)

Doom would also not refuse to pay Luke Cage. Doom doesn't handle money himself. Doom instructs lackeys to settle all debts in full. Doom is beyond such petty matters as money. Doom also pays in the Latverian Doomsmark. Doom refuses to switch to Euros until the European Commonwealth changes its name to the Doom Commonwealth and issues Dooms to everyone.

Re: Huh

[arilou_skiff]

I've always thought of Doom as the anti-Magneto in a way: Magneto is a person who does bad for somewhat good/understandable reason. Underneath it all he's capable of compassion, love, etc. He is just too scarred to be really functional. Doom, OTOH is a horrible person, but his very twisted personality comepls him to often act in a semblance of "goodness". He keeps to a code of honour not because he believes it, but because his arrogance would not abide anything less. He treats his people well because he could never contemplate being a bad ruler. He'd do great good things just to spite his enemies.

[arilou_skiff]

Yeah, he wouldn't name her "Dooma".

But he thought about it. And laughed at the fact that he COULD have.

[grazzt]

It's actually the third most popular baby name for girls in Latveria, after Doomina and Doomtilda.

[captainbellman]

What exactly is wrong with 'Victoria'? That's what I'd like to know. Mighty empires have been formed under that name...

[bjornwilde]

Those last two pages are why I had a problem with the later story where Doom uses Val as a familiar to trap the F4 in Hell. I think it was the Unforgivable story arc by Waid/Weiringo? It was an interesting direction to take Doom (him relying more on magic than science) but using Val as a tool really didn't feel in character though I guess it could be argued he didn't harm her.

[arbre_rieur]

All of Doom's honor and nobility goes out the window when it comes to RICHARDS!! It's his one weak spot, in more ways than one.

[md84]

According to the Unforgivable story (which was apparently retconned into oblivion), Doom named her Valeria specifically to make her into a familiar at a later date.

While that story had its problems and had to be retconned since otherwise Doom could never be used as anything but a monster again, I do agree with the idea that all of Doom's so-called honor means nothing compared to his grudge against Richards. A grudge that is based entirely on Doom unable to accept that RIchards is slightly smarter than him.

[silverhammerman]

Y'know, I don't think I have a problem with Johnny having his own version of the uniform, but a simple palette swap just doesn't suit the costume. And adding a terrible pair of overpants isn't helping either.
And I know Doom's mask doesn't usually move, but I could swear that he was giving Reed a smug raised eyebrow in as he introduces Valeria.
Also, Doom's entire little thing about being a man of honor and style, not so crass as to name the baby Dooma, made me smile.

On a more serious note though, what does Johnny mean by an early baby not making it? I seem to remember Franklin being in a weird place in continuity for a while, but did they actually make him stillborn at some point?

[beyondthefringe]

Susan was originally supposed to give birth to a second child waaaaaaaaay back in the '80s, but her pregnancy was complicated and ultimately quite dangerous. Circa FF #267, it all came to a head when Sue went into labor, and they had to do everything in their power to save mother and child. (IIRC, it was essentially comis radiation playing havok with their systems). Reed went to the Negative Zone to get the Cosmic Control Rob from Annihilus to drain off the radiation, but Annihilus gave him such trouble, he was delayed getting back.

Meanwhile, they got the best radiation experts in the MU to try and help... and ultimately appealed to Doctor Octopus' better side, since he's still a prominent expert in radiation when he's not a complete jerk. Unfortunately, in a truly heartbreaking sequence, we learned that absolutely none of it did any good. They saved Susan, but....

Many years later, that unborn child was brought back to life through the power of comics.

[stolisomancer]

Man, the Wikipedia page on this reads like a fever dream. I should've double-checked first.

Sue was pregnant back during John Byrne's run, but lost the baby. Thanks to some screwing around with alternate universes and whatnot, Val is that baby, given a second chance at life due to Circumstances.

[silverzeo]

Am I the only laughing at the idea of Franklin and Val acting like Bart and Lisa when they double team their parents and realtives?
"Uncle Doom, can you take us Mt. Splashmore? Can you take us Mt. Splashmore? Can you take us Mt. Splashmore? Can you take us Mt. Splashmore? Can you take us Mt. Splashmore? Can you take us Mt. Splashmore?"

[deceptioncat]

Nonsense children! DOOM will instead take you to Mount DOOM, no other Mountain is worthy of DOOM's presence.

[crinos]

I just love Dooms face when he shows Reed his new daughter. That is the mother of all shit eating grins.

[glprime]

Civilian: How do you do that?
Dr. Doom: DO WHAT?
Civilian: Grin with a rigid mask?
Dr. Doom: SILENCE, MINION.

[jcbaggee]

Do love when Doom gets the complex characterization of being a man ultimately of honor and style, but driven somewhat mad by his own superiority complex.

[urkonn]

Meanwhile in an alternate Marvel reality in which Doom doesn't have style... little Dooma Richards plots Doom's destruction. Also Doom's cloak is beige.

[icon_uk]

I wonder how much "Dooma" was a bit of a knock to Namor, whose closest relatives are first cousin "Namora" (nee Aquaria Nautica Neptunia... so maybe being nicknamed Namora after her cousin was a blessed relief) and second cousin "Namorita" (That IS the name she was born with)

[donnblake]

Among the many benefits to be enjoyed by the Atlanteans when they accept Doom's magnificent rule shall be the institution of far superior naming conventions.

[leoboiko]

My coffee-lacking brain just parsed Namor → Namora → Namorita as a line of pokémon evolution.

Doom...

[electricman]

Is this Doom (the one who sacrificed his mother's love so she could ascend to heaven) the same as the other Doom (who sacrificed his girlfriend to Mephisto for more power).