‘Doctor Tomorrow’ #4 review: Training montage!

Doctor Tomorrow prepares for the battle of his life.

July 28, 2020

Doctor Tomorrow has been a welcome surprise for any superhero fan who has dabbled in the multiverse stories that permeate the big two publishers. The last issue worked well to build up the event-wide scope of the story. Both Alejandro Arbona and Jim Towe expressed their joy of the multiverse when I interviewed them a few weeks ago. Issue #4 picks up where the last issue left off and it reminds us the multiverse is vast and filled with surprises.

This is a good issue in part because it’s so self-contained. Bart attempts to get help after battling himself from another universe (and losing). One such person is his good friend who is now older, wiser, and has led a storied life. In a way, this issue is the training montage of your favorite action film. Bart must get himself up to snuff mentally and physically, which gives the book nice energy as he attempts to prepare for the biggest battle of his life.

This issue also offers well-placed character work for Bart, who does a lot of growing up in the issue. As a self-contained miniseries, this book has done well to tell a unique sci-fi multiverse spanning story while also building up the character.

These two characters bond in a real way.
Credit: Valiant Entertainment

Essentially, it’s an aside from the last issue, but works thanks to the relationship Arbona and Towe build between Bart and Gretchen. It’s also an interesting concept to have a character who has only known a friend as a kid build a relationship now that’s she’s old–and her version of Bart is gone–to build something new.

The art by Towe and colors by Fitzpatrick are fabulous. The visuals are big, bombastic, and fill the page nicely. There’s a great 9-panel page that features a tense moment with Bart and Gretchen that serves as a turning point, and the montage spins around the point of view well keeping both you and Bart on your toes. The color palette is also nice — it’s muted a bit, as if to convey this world is different from Bart’s original universe.

This is a good, self-contained fourth issue that serves as the training montage we all know and love in our favorite films. The creative team is setting up an epic battle while also building on the character in a way that’ll make him last for years to come.