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DOOM: THE EMPEROR RETURNS #1
Recommended (7/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Chuck Dixon
Artist: Leonardo Manco
Colors: Mariana Manco
Letters: Sharpefont
Editor: Bobbie Chase & Tom Brevoort
Price: $2.50 US/$3.75 CAN |
I wasn't all that impressed with the first Doom mini-series by
this creative team, largely because they seemed to fit the intriguing character
of Doctor Doom with an all-too-generic "journey of the hero" story. This series
thus far seems much more suited to the character, as it is the story of
rebellion against his rule and how he enforces his will on an entire world.
Manco's artwork is well-suited to this brutish and dark world, and if the work
isn't as strong as his best offerings, it's still effective and attractive. It's
too early to tell whether my interest in this title will sputter as it did in
the latter issues of the previous mini, but it's off to an intriguing start.
The current status quo of Doom as the ruler of an entire world seems fitting somehow, and has provided Marvel with some rich opportunities for storytelling. The shattered remnants of the Heroes Reborn world, a mixture of classic Marvel continuity with influences from the very different mindsets of Rob Liefeld and Jim Lee and a post-apocalyptic viewpoint reminiscent of The Road Warrior have made for a setting in which Doom can perform as an anti-hero
quite well. In this world, Doom's iron-fisted rule is preferable to the anarchy
that would result without him, and so we can root for him to gain control,
rather than wishing for the heroes to stop him.
Opening this book with an
attack on Doom's fortress was a great way to get us right into the action, a
strength Dixon has always had. We immediately know who we are meant to be
supporting, and though the adversaries include such notable good guys as Iron
Man and SHIELD, their brutish tactics and massive destructive power mark them as
the enemy, even as Doom's lesser strength marks him as the underdog. Manco does
some incredible work on the patchwork uniforms of both sides, particularly when
working on high-tech designs such as General Octavius or the SHIELD Air Corps.
With the split stories, this
issue has an interesting set of mixed pacing. The battle against Lancer and
Doom's forces on the surface provides tension and a tight clock, while there is
a feeling that Doom has time to consider in his deliberations below. Because his
battle is one of will and mind, it takes place on a different time scale, and
because the stakes he works for could undo the battles above, it doesn't seem to
matter if his forces fall on the surface. However, Dixon keeps us interested in
the story above by keeping Doom's victory below less than certain.
I'll be honest, I've seen stories where Doom reshapes the world done before, notably in the Emperor Doom graphic novel. However, this setting is
quite different, in that there is a shaky status quo with room to change, and I
suspect Dixon is going to make use of that freedom. There's also a feeling that
Dixon gets Doom, with all his power and intelligence and manipulative ability,
and I look forward to seeing where his story goes from here.
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