The reign of Emperor Doom is at an end! The tyrant king of Latveria has lorded over the Earth for nearly a year’s worth of Marvel Comics. This week marks the release of One World Under Doom #9, bringing Victor’s tenure as both Sorcerer Supreme as well as Emperor of the World to a close. One World Under Doom #9 comes to us from Ryan North, R.B. Silva, David Curiel, VC’s Travis Lanham, and Tom Brevoort, by way of Marvel Comics.
It has been a long year, both in our world and on Earth-616. After surmounting assaults from coalitions of heroes and villains alike and singlehandedly defending the Earth from an invading Dormammu, Doom’s power began to feel limitless. However, the price of that power was revealed to be the enslaved souls of Latverian children. Galvanizing the public and the superhero community, a final battle was launched against Doom, but it still was not enough. Using all his might to seal his victory into a fixed point in time, Doom ensured what had been done on that battlefield could not be undone. Only then did he find that his goddaughter, Valeria Richards, was killed in that very same fight.
Valeria’s death in the final panels of One World Under Doom #8 is one hell of a cliffhanger, and one that seemed to promise an epic series finale in issue 9. Instead, this installment mostly occurs in a realm between life and death, where Doom shares a final moment with the fragmented being of his goddaughter. Considering the current state of them both, it’s less of a conversation and more of Doom telling Valeria a story. More specifically, the story of how they became family to one another. Taking on the trappings of a fairy tale, Doctor Doom narrates to us as well as Valeria about exhausting his every resource to restore her to life.
In short order, we watch Victor wreak havoc on the Vishanti—his uncaring patrons as Sorcerer Supreme—and when that fails, he appeals to an even higher power. Doom lays himself bare before the Living Tribunal, the ultimate arbiter of justice between the grand forces of the cosmos. Here, Doom succeeds at reviving Valeria, at the cost of his powers, his kingdom, and his life. Delivering his goddaughter back to the land of the living, Doom vanishes as the world moves back to its traditional status quo with breakneck speed. We’re presented with several different opinions from the public about Doom’s legacy, and we find Reed Richards in his lab, where he is able to share his thoughts at length to a fading shade of Doom. Victor takes the last laugh this time, as his final trap for Mr. Fantastic is to name him as the executor of Doom’s Will.
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OWUD #9 concludes with an end credit scene, not unlike an entry in the MCU. As is often the case there, the scene serves as a direct signpost for an upcoming release. This time, we find ourselves in Lotkill, NY, where Wanda Maximoff restores the Cloak of Levitation and the Eye of Agamotto from the brink of oblivion. The Scarlet Witch believes in the importance of preserving these icons of the office of Sorcerer Supreme, so much so that she sacrifices her own mystical construction, the Last Door, to accomplish this feat. I would have thought this scene might be spoiling Sorcerer Supreme #1 ahead of its release date, if Marvel itself hadn’t done so already last month.
I’ll admit, the final line of Eliot’s The Hollow Men did come to mind as I finished reading this comic. However, “this is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a whimper,” is a bit of an oversimplified summary of my thoughts on OWUD #9. I’ll speak on the art separately, but the plot of the issue itself happens so quick and feels like it’s missing something. This may be intentional, as Reed is quick to question the simplicity of the narrative Doom presents to us and Valeria. The issue itself leaves the question of ulterior motives and schemes within schemes open ended though, leaving us only with Doom’s fairy tale. As written, it feels a bit underwhelming as a conclusion for a series that has dominated Marvel’s main Earth for most of the year. The content of the issue is not bad in any sense, I just think it might have functioned better as an epilogue in a giant-sized version of issue #8.
The looming contents of Doom’s Will, Wanda’s end credit scene, and the art accompanying Doom’s story buoy this issue where it might otherwise risk sinking. At times in this issue, Silva and Curiel are tasked with capturing scenes packed with drama in as few as one or two panels. Not only do they prove able to do so, but they produce work that may just take your breath away. The pair also get to revisit a few key scenes from the history between Valeria and Doom, including her birth, or their guest appearance in Loki: Agent of Asgard #7.
The Pax Victoris comes crashing down in One World Under Doom #9. As far as we or anyone in the Marvel Universe can tell, Doctor Doom is dead, and his empire has turned to ash. He claims to have given his life to save the girl he calls family. Still, only time will tell how much of Doom’s tale is true, or if the universe needed more than just a display of altruism from the heart of the armored despot.
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