CSBG Archive
Drawing Crazy Patterns – Doctor Doom Couldn’t Possibly Have Survived THAT, Right?
In this feature, I spotlight five scenes/moments from within comic book stories that fit under a specific theme (basically, stuff that happens frequently in comics).
Today we look at five times that the Fantastic Four were sure that Doctor Doom was dead.
Enjoy!
I’m only counting those issues where there was a real good faith basis that Doom was dead. To wit, in Fantastic Four #17 and Fantastic Four #60, Doom plummets from a great distance (the barrier that Galactus put into place to keep Silver Surfer on Earth is a lot higher than the air ship he falls from in #17, but still, they’re both a great distance), but the dude has a personal jet pack! So I don’t think those “deaths” really count. Heck, when Doom shows up again in FF #23, Reed doesn’t even react like “Oh, Doom survived that fall?”
Similarly, since John Byrne made it pretty clear that Doom sent his mind into the body of a bystander, I’m not counting Doom’s “death” in Fantastic Four #260.
Now here’s five examples that I AM counting!
In Doom’s second appearance, he teams up with Namor and he sends the Fantastic Four’s own home, the Baxter Building, into outer space with the intent of them burning up in the sun. In the process, he dooms Namor along with the rest of the FF. Namor does not take kindly to this…
In Fantastic Four #10, after switching bodies with Reed, Doom is forced back to his own body, but he still tries to take out the FF…
In Fantastic Four #23, Doom suffers perhaps his goofiest death ever…
Solar waves.
Lordy.
In Fantastic Four #144, Doom seemingly suffers death by lackey…
In one of the more noteworthy “deaths” of Doom, in Fantastic Four #381 he appears to take Reed out with him…
If you have suggestions for future installments, e-mail me at bcronin@comicbookresources.com!
25 Comments
pedro de pacas
July 23, 2011 at 3:22 am
when did johnny wear a red costume?
and in that last selection, i though sue was possessed by malice again, but then i just realized it was the terrible 90s…
Brian Cronin
July 23, 2011 at 3:28 am
Early 70s – an attempt by Roy Thomas to changes things up a bit. It was in honor of the original Human Torch, who we learn Johnny was a fan of in Fantastic Four #132 (when Johnny changes his costume).
It lasted over two years.
Joseph Tages
July 23, 2011 at 3:29 am
I prefer Reed’s demise during the DeFalco/Ryan era to Johnny’s recent and much-ballyhooed swansong. The anticipation could have lasted a bit longer, though. Guardian biting it in Byrne’s Alpha Flight #12 remains the gold standard for me.
Joseph Tages
July 23, 2011 at 3:32 am
And I gotta say, I’m probably the only dude who dug Johnny’s red duds and Sue’s skimpy number.
DJW
July 23, 2011 at 4:12 am
or to make it easier on the colorists
Biff Fearless
July 23, 2011 at 10:44 am
What about FF# 260 with Doom Vs Terrax? Or did the FF somehow know that Doom had transferred his consciousness to a bystander?
***Dave
July 23, 2011 at 10:50 am
Yeah, I was going to mention FF #260, too. I think everyone was SURE he was a gonner then, too.
I didn’t mind Johnny’s red outfit that much, but Sue’s “bathing suit” style? Ick. Very out of character.
spectreguy
July 23, 2011 at 11:40 am
I’m just thinking it’s a good thing Dooms building lifter didn’t let go while the Torch was under the Thing…I hear it’s real hard getting crushed superhero off your swim trunks. I’m just sayn’.
Ray
July 23, 2011 at 1:33 pm
It’s funny that Namor just stayed in his speedo and put a helmet on instead of putting on a full spacesuit. : )
Ronald Jay Kearschner
July 23, 2011 at 5:19 pm
I liked Johnny’ red costume too. Is the original Human Torch still around in Marvel continuity? Last I remember he was a non-fighting member of Heroes for Hire during Heroes Reborn. He’d be the obvious replacement for Johnny.
P. Boz
July 23, 2011 at 8:51 pm
Here’s my burning question:
Is the 4 supposed to be white or cut out of Sue’s horrible bathing suit number? I need to know.
Danny Wind
July 23, 2011 at 10:09 pm
It’s a cutout.
Is it completely ridiculous and out of character? Sure. But to a hormonal teenage boy in the ’90s, it was pretty much the greatest superhero costume ever.
Ed
July 23, 2011 at 11:51 pm
I noticed, unlike the Joker, not one time did Dr Doom plummet into water when supposedly dying. Take that, DC!
Iron Maiden
July 24, 2011 at 1:56 am
Speaking of Doom’s “death” in Byrne’s FF #260, I thought it was a good thing for Peter Parker that Doom didn’t miscalculate and swap bodies with Aunt May instead.
Reno
July 24, 2011 at 3:34 am
So is Sue the original MILF?
Derick
July 24, 2011 at 1:13 pm
Another pattern – The Thing walking away, giving his back to the reader, like the last panel of # 144??
Reep Daggle
July 24, 2011 at 4:35 pm
It would be cool to see how Doom managed to survive each of these deaths rather than just how he appeared to die.
P. A.
July 24, 2011 at 8:47 pm
Quite a group in #381: Sue with the bathing suit uniform, Ben with the helmet, Psi-Lord. Oh, man. I like Lyja, though.
sean
July 24, 2011 at 11:38 pm
“and in that last selection, i though sue was possessed by malice again, but then i just realized it was the terrible 90s…”
I thought the reason for the costume change *was* because of Malice. and tied to the Infinity War.
Luis Dantas
July 25, 2011 at 12:59 am
I had forgotten how goofy that costume was. It makes Supergirl’s current cheerleader look reasonable by comparison.
Psi-Lord’s helmet is not much better either.
sean
July 25, 2011 at 1:38 am
“Is the 4 supposed to be white or cut out of Sue’s horrible bathing suit number? I need to know.”
Presumably, it actually is there, but she keeps it invisible with her mental focus, so it’s fading back in because she’s distracted by watching her husband die.
[Yes, it's supposed to be cut out.]
Elpie
July 25, 2011 at 10:30 am
I mean, Sue’s a sexual character when she wants to be, but she has more class than that.
That said, someone should have Emma Frost join the FF and revisit the “4 of flesh” angle. She could pull it off.
jon
July 31, 2011 at 5:14 pm
I’m surprised you didn’t use the fight with Terrax. It ends famously where Doom is frozen in his armor and screams “I Am Doom!” as the Silver Surfer and Terrax battle. I think FF issue #263 or somewhere around there.
It kicks off Doom’s mind switch with another person in the crowd watching. It is written by John Byrne, of course.
Brian Cronin
July 31, 2011 at 5:18 pm
It’s the issue I mention (Fantastic Four #260) that made it clear that they did not even intend to fool us into thinking Doom was dead.
Junior
November 25, 2012 at 11:04 am
I prefere when Doom was sent back in time but Chlyde Wincham/Marquis of Death and was basically shown getting eaten by a prehistoric shark