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| > Reprinted in: Fantastic Four Masterworks Volume 4 • Fantastic Four Omnibus Volume 2 |
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From the Mouths of the Marvels:
"Never again will mortal man gaze upon the hideous countenance of Victor Von Doom! From this moment on, there is no Victor Von Doom!"
- - Reed Richards, page 14
Troubled childhood? Check. |
Fantastic Four Annual #2
Publication Date: July 2, 1964
House Ad: Ad #1
I: Feature Story:ffann002 "Origin of Dr. Doom!"
Pages: 12
Script: Stan Lee
Origin: Dr. Doom
First Appearance: Boris, Werner Von Doom
Death: Werner Von Doom
Marvel Milestones: First mention of Latveria
Gadgets & Technology: Freeze Grenade
Setting: Latveria
Synopsis: Boris enters the throne room of his master, Dr. Doom. He tells his master: "It is time." They leave Doom’s Latverian castle and travel through the rain to the
countryside, where Doom recalls his childhood while standing over a graveside.
Victor Von Doom was a carefree gypsy child when a messenger arrived for his father. Werner Von Doom was a simple healer but the messenger demands he come at once to save the Baron’s dying wife. The woman is beyond help and when she dies, the Baron irrationally swears revenge upon Von Doom. The army tears their caravans apart while Werner and Victor escape. They are unprepared for the harsh climate and after losing their horse and provisions as well as braving a snowstorm, Werner Von Doom dies of exposure. When the gypsies find them, Victor vows revenge on all mankind! Boris is there to try to calm the boy, and also understands the mystic powers of the dark heritage of sorcery.
Victor inherits his parents’ belongings and discovers artifacts that prove his long-dead mother was a sorceress! As the years pass, Victor combines sorcery with science to vex the people of Latveria. He sells them headache pills that promote hair loss, self-playing violins that switch off by his remote and gold statues that transform into mud.
Victor soon becomes an enemy of the Latverian people and is put before a firing squad. As the squad lets loose a salvo of bullets, they learn of Doom’s newest invention- robot decoys! The gypsies go to war with the military and rely on Doom’s inventions to hold their own, including an early invention called a Freeze Grenade that proves Von Doom's mastery over science and technology.
Despite all this, the Dean of Science at State University offers him a scholarship in America. He leaves to have access to the highest technology, and once at school, his arrogance immediately makes enemies on campus. He rebukes Reed Richards’ offer to room with him and gets a private room to carry out dangerous and macabre experiments.
As the weeks go by, Victor invents a machine to help him contact the spirit world. Reed Richards happens to notice Victor’s notes and a number of miscalculations. Victor is so incensed by the invasion of privacy he snatches the notes and ignores Reed’s warnings. Later, when Doom uses the machine, it explodes in his face!
Doom is expelled from school and once he sees the scars the explosion left on his face, he retreats from society. He wanders into a mysterious order of monks in the Tibetan mountains where he masters their ways and eventually masters them. Using their blacksmiths, he has a suit of armor fashioned. He clamps the iron mask over his face while it is still white hot, wanting a mask that will permanently hide his hideous visage. Victor Von Doom is dead. In his place stands Doctor Doom!
Doom wipes the memories from his mind as he stands over his parents’ gravestone. He and Boris return to his castle as the people at Latveria bow before him.
Pages: 25
Script: Stan Lee
First Appearance: Ambassador Gorzenko
Villain: Dr. Doom, Rama-Tut
Marvel Milestones: Rama-Tut and Dr. Doom as the same person?
Gadgets & Technology: Force Field Disruptor, Alkali Solution #16T, Mini-Paralysis Gun, Encephalo-Gun
Synopsis: The Fantasti-car is out of control! Thing tries to set it down gently but the flying car knocks the fender off an old man’s automobile. Thing’s attempts to fix the fender just make it worse, and further infuriates the old man. An art dealer arrives
and offers the old man one thousand dollars for the wrecked car, knowing he can turn it into a "pop art masterpiece" since it was the Thing who destroyed it. Thing abides by the dealer's request to further smash the car into an unrecognizable lump.
Meanwhile Dr. Doom is still floating in space since his last encounter with the Fantastic Four (see FF#23). A spaceship pulls him inside before he expires from lack of oxygen, and he learns his savior is Rama-Tut. The pharoah explains that his
time machine was supposedly invented by his ancestor, Dr. Doom. He muses, wondering
if Rama-Tut is Doom himself? If they are the same person, it would be dangerous to team up, because if one of them died, so would the other, Doom reasons. So Rama-Tut sends Doom back to Earth while he returns to the future, both of them intent on plans to take over their respective worlds.
Doom lands in New York harbor and walks straight to the Latverian embassy. He grabs the ambassador and gives him explicit orders to help enact a plan to destroy the FF.
Thing is testing Reed’s new adhesive when Sue arrives with an invitation to the Latverian embassy, the dignitaries of which are awarding them with a scientific fellowship. They arrive as honored guests but Reed suspects something strange about the berry juice they are served. As the frivolity and gaiety of the evening steps up, Ambassador Gorzenko goes upstairs to Dr. Doom, who seems to be pleased the plan is going well....
When Johnny steps out onto the balcony, he thinks he sees the Thing attack him. He goes after Ben looking for his rowdy brand of revenge. At the same time, Sue imagines she sees
Reed kissing another woman. They argue in the hallway as Doom gloats behind a door. At the moment of his greatest victory he removes his mask and catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror. It is worse than he remembers and he smashes the mirror.
The sound distracts the Fantastic Four and Reed and Sue come running to investigate. Doom fires at Reed but Sue shoves the villain through a window with a force field. They realize now the juice contained a potent herb that causes hallucinations. Reed and Sue rush to the park where Johnny and Ben are still fighting and break them up, with Reed explaning what they are up against.
Doom is waiting for them at the Baxter Building and his armor’s force field keeps even the Thing at bay. Reed gives Johnny a conductor and orders him to fly miles over the city. Once he’s at a safe distance, the Torch lets loose with a nova flame and the power overwhelms Doom’s force field.
Johnny is knocked unconscious by the incredible power discharge and Reed stretches out to catch him. Johnny is still aflame and scalds Reed's hands terribly but he won’t let go until Johnny is safe.
Doom repels the Thing and Sue’s invisibility powers but accepts Reed’s challenge to a duel. They have a toast to their declared "final battle" and Reed presents him with an Encephalo-Gun. Each man attaches a diode of the Encephalo-Gun to his forehead and they
battle each other on will alone. The nature of the gun is to pit brain power versus brain power, with the weaker brain being sent off to Limbo. When Doom sees Reed disappear under the assualt of his intellect, he claims victory. He ignores the rest of the Fantastic Four, saying they are beneath his power, and he marches out in supposed triumph, leaving Reed by the door grinning. Doom has been tricked with the same berry juice he had served the FF earlier- his triumph was just a mirage.
Pages: 11
--synopsis by Jonathan Clarke, aka doesitmatter, with Gormuu
Issues Reprinted
Click on cover image to learn more about each issue.
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 Ann #2 |
 FF #31 |
 FF #32 |
 FF #33 |
 FF #34 |
 FF #35 |
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 FF #36 |
 FF #37 |
 FF #38 |
 FF #39 |
 FF #40 |
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