South Korea has accepted the rule of Doctor Doom, who is now the Sorcerer Supreme and Emperor of Earth. This leaves Tiger Division—South Korea’s government-sanctioned superhero team—with no choice but to fall in line despite their previous quarrels with ole’ Vic. Thing is, Doom’s rule has ushered in a new era of peace, which doesn’t leave the team with much to do…
Tiger Division. They sure are a superhero team. Look at them all! There’s the ice one and the leader one and the robot one… and the rest! I am, perhaps, being a little harsh on what is a relatively new superhero group, but then again, I had to read Doom’s Division #1.
Tiger Division’s first team outing was back in 2022, but they haven’t been given much attention since. As a result, most of the members of Tiger Division are pretty much blank slates going into Doom’s Division #1, and the issue doesn’t do much to change that. The book focuses most on Luna Snow, the ‘ice one’ (if you couldn’t guess), a K-Pop star whose music is being used as propaganda for Doctor Doom’s rule.
Marvel
This actually a really neat angle to take on a musical character living under a new dictatorship, but it’s not stressed heavily enough. Hopefully we see more of how this affects Luna in future issues, but in Doom Division #1, she just kind of sighs and goes along with it, which is a pretty weak reaction from the book’s protagonist.
The bulk of the issue is taken up by a lengthy, action-packed reintroduction to Tiger Division. A statue comes to life and attacks some civilians (don’t ask why; there is no why), which leads to a showcase of the team’s various abilities but leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to the relationships between the heroes.
It’s a kinetic, well-drawn punch-out, but wastes the opportunity to endear us to these characters through the action. There is an attempt to flesh out these characters later during an uneventful patrol later in the book, but it mostly fails. There’s little to no conflict within the team, no interesting relationship dynamics, and no indication as to what Doom’s Division is going to be all about.
Marvel
One character wonders aloud if Doom’s dictatorship is a good thing for South Korea, and others praise the good that Doom has done for their country. This does rankle some members of the team, but it doesn’t outrage; it doesn’t offend. I’m left wondering why Marvel chose this team to serve as the focus for one of their few One World Under Doom-related miniseries.
If Tiger Division are supposed to act as one of the few superhero teams that actually support Doom’s rule, it leaves a lot to be desired, as the story fails to forefront the philosophical quandy at the heart of this era of Marvel comics. If they’re supposed to serve as rebels to Doom’s rule, then why this team? What makes Tiger Division special? What makes Doom’s rule a personal issue for them?
For a bumper-sized issue, there’s very little meat on these bones. There’s no tension, no political intrigue, no stakes, and no emotional connection to these characters. Maybe this will change down the line, but Doom’s Division #1 simply doesn’t make a compelling case for itself. Why should you care about how One World Under Doom affects South Korea’s premier superhero team? That’s an easy one: you don’t, and even if you wanted to, you couldn’t.
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