Doctor Doom has just chosen the next leader of Latveria! This monumental event took place in Doctor Doom #9, by writer Christopher Cantwell and artist Salvador Larroca. Doom, in an attempt to go heroic, will use his scientific prowess to close a black hole that is threatening the Earth. Once that is successful, Doom plans to turn himself over to the authorities to answer for his crimes. This would obviously leave Latveria without a ruler, but Doom plans to transfer control of the country to Victorious, his protégé and herald, before turning himself in.
Doom has ruled Latveria with a literal iron fist since his first appearance way back in Fantastic Four #5. But recent events in Doom’s solo title might force him to abdicate his throne. After accidentally creating a black hole near Earth, he has recently shown a more heroic side, desiring to clean up the mess he has made. Doom is so set on making amends that he plans to hand off control of Latveria, the country he is synonymous with, over to Victorious, one of his closest confidantes. Granted the Power Cosmic by Doom, Victorious has loyally served as Doom’s right hand.
But loyalty to someone like Doom comes with a price. Despite his heroic posturing, Doom is still Doom, and he ordered Victorious to kill her mother, an insurgent spy, in the previous issue. This looks to have driven a permanent wedge between them, and yet Doom still desires to leave the country in her hands. This prompts some serious soul-searching for Doom, who realizes that some of the horrible things he has done can never be undone. One thing Doom can never move past apparently is his hatred of Reed Richards, and after some perceived trolling by Reed, Doom’s plan goes off the rails, meaning Victorious will not become ruler of Latveria.
Even though it does not look like Doom’s plan will come to fruition, the mere fact he was ready to hand control of Latveria, his birth country, over to someone else is nothing short of incredible and shows just how committed Doom is to fixing his mistakes.
Over the course of nine issues, Cantwell and Larroca have stripped back much of what fans take for granted about Doom, and his iron grip on Latveria is one of them. They have shown a more nuanced side of Doom, one who is willing to be a hero, even if in his own way. Potentially surrendering Latveria to Victorious to help accomplish this demonstrates Doctor Doom could be a hero, if only he could check his ego
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November 30, 2020 at 06:09AM
