I read "disappointment" as "I've been hearing about this super cool story that turned out to be not that super cool", which echoes my own sentiment about this particular FF tale.

But what it boils down to is what entzauberung suggested: I prefer the later characterization.

And I know he wasn't a good monarch, I should have made that more clear. He certainly thought of himself as a good monarch, and that people were better off under his "care". He did indeed kill underlings at the drop of a hat. But in the issues I grew up on, this ruthlessness was always the result of a perceived insult or failure that he felt justified it (even when his victim was a child). Maybe it's a thin distinction but it feels different from the Doom-Surfer just flying around being a dick to loyal subjects who were minding their own business. Less chillingly arrogant and more just plain goofy. What is he, the Rhino?

I don't think it's a crazy thing to prefer later characterization to the original. I doubt many people honestly prefer the Lee/Kirby one-dimensional Magneto to the Claremont version. (and yeah, I know that his differences were explained in continuity as being a result of Alpha de-aging him and Moira messing with him, but that was all thrown in years later; at the time it all boiled down to a writer just making him more interesting).

Anyway, I'm glad that Lee established the essence of all these characters, I'm just more glad that later creators had a chance to give their take on them (within reason, of course...Spider-Man making Mephisto deals, not-so-much a fan...)

And that's dumb, because the earlier thing can't contradict the later thing. The later thing can only contradict the earlier thing. Like how a father does not resemble his son, the son resembles his father.

No, he said he preferred later chracterizations of Doom. I agree with this.

Side note (or the real purpose of my comment): I totally have a t-shirt with that cover on it. Never knew what the plot of the issue was, but damn if that isn't one of my favorite shirts. Kirby goodness.

That also sounds a lot like his Lex Luthor, too arrogant to believe that Clark Kent could be Superman.

Doom is not a good monarch. He is a tyrant. Freedom is an alien concept in Latveria. His rule is backed through overwhelming force and fear. That the people's bodies are well-fed does not excuse the damage he does to their minds and souls.

And he does not care about his subjects, at least not as people. He cares about them as objects. He cares about them in the same way a housewife ; he keeps them in order and good condition because it reflects poorly on him if he doesn't. And he has no problem with killing them if they displease him, or abusing them if it serves his ends. (That he generally does this on an individual rather than a wholesale basis is not a mitigating factor.)

The depth in Byrne's characterization (a misreading of which is where all this fetishism comes from) is that Doom sees himself as a great man, and even has a degree of style and elegance about him, but is blind to his myriad flaws, the greatest of which is his arrogance. What did you *think* that scene where he nearly kills Kristoff for suggesting Magneto might be his equal was about?

I think I was most disappointed with Cosmic-Doom's characterization, specifically his flying around and messing with simple villagers and terrorizing people for the hell of it. It just seemed beneath him, and kind of flew in the face of his multi-faceted characterization as a good monarch who cares for his people.

I had heard about how Doom is defeated through assorted flashback accounts and Marvel Universe entries and it sounded very cool, but even there I found the story to be a letdown. If I read it correctly, doesn't Reed use a machine to make Doom more open to suggestion so that he tries to leave Earth? Pretty corny, even by Stan Lee standards. Would have been nice if he manipulates him through smarts and ego-massage. Strangely, I found the flashback summaries much more satisfying (including Random Stranger's above).

Not that the actual theft of cosmic power shouldn't rank as a cool moment (and that Kirby splash is nice).

At the time the Silver Surfer had an exiled from heaven thing going on; Galactus said "You don't get to leave earth!" and that was that.

So Doom procedes to spend the next issue and a half mopping the floor with everyone on the planet and generally having a good time when the villainous Richards tricked him into trying to fly out of the earth's atmosphere. Doom slams into Galactus's barrier like a bug hitting a semi windscreen and the Surfer manages to recover.