One World Under Doom #6 review

Well, that looks painful. Victor Von Doom takes Reed Richards apart on Ben Harvey’s creepy cover. Dr Doom rips Mr Fantastic apart inside the issue too, but with words rather than metal gauntlets.

The Latverian dictator and longtime Fantastic Four foe has taken over the world. Having become Sorceror Supreme when he was key to ending a vampire plague, Doom has taken over the Earth – not by force, but by doing deals with world leaders, mostly involving blackmail, bribes and sundry skulduggery. Nevertheless, people everywhere are benefiting from stronger economies, better healthcare, an end to war and more. Utopia has arrived.

Seemingly, at least. While the masses fall into line, hailing Doom a great man, the world’s superheroes aren’t buying it. They’ve tried head-on attacks against Doom and attempted to persuade the public to look at his record as a tyrant and would-be world conqueror, but succeeded only in looking as if they were standing in the way of a Golden Age. Now, Reed tries a new tack – a TV debate.

If Reed has one weakness, it’s hubris. “If Doom can justify his rule to anyone, then surely he can convince the world’s smartest man,” he says. So while Reed tries logic to persuade the world to reject Doom’s rule, Doom also employs logic… along with some uncomfortable truths.

Meanwhile, Reed’s superheroic friends and family haven’t entirely given up hope – SHIELD agent Maria Hill has a plan.

The Black Widow, the Scarlet Witch and the Invisible Woman slip through the hole in Doom’s dome, use their talents to go undercover, and discover that the happy scenes that greet them aren’t real.

Going deeper, Natasha Romanov, Wanda Maximoff and Sue Richards learn that the truth behind the happy scenes of Latverian life is very, very dark…

This is terrific stuff, a Marvel event in which the main book is more than enough, as it’s filled with a big story that feels self-contained. There’s action aplenty, satisfying character beats and a feeling anything could happen. I can identity with the Earth 616 person in the street who feels that Emperor Doom is a good thing… the good guys can’t prove he made deals with world leaders, and probably wouldn’t care anyway – their lives are better, why fret the detail? This issue we see that the public will accept anything Doom says to justify his rule.

So far, anyway. Will the discovery that Latvia has become a hell on Earth change things? Surely this will make people think twice? Then again, there are three issues left in this maxi-series so even if they do, Victor obviously isn’t going quietly.

Regular Fantastic Four writer Ryan North brings his excellent plotting skills to One World Under Doom, and he always has a surprise up his sleeve… here he brings in a conspiracy theory about British wartime leader Winston Churchill I’ve also heard, equally unworthily, in relation to FDR.

North is joined by artist RB Silva, who does a very solid job, the growing tension Reed feels as the TV debate continues is especially nicely portrayed.

And I appreciate that he’s not oversexualising Wanda, Sue and Natasha.

David Curiel’s bright colours are splendid, a contrast to so many books from the House of Ideas that seem to be toned in Marveldirge. The Latverian sequence, in particular, looks fantastic, from the heroes’ energy blasts to the various nods to Doom’s trademark green.

Letterer Travis Lanham, meanwhile, draws out every drop of drama from the dialogue. Kudos, too, to Adam Del Re for an imaginative and attractive production design, including a stylishly Doom-themed recap page and extracts from the Daily Bugle and Herald-Sentinel.

If you’ve not been following this series, catch up on Marvel Unlimited or give serious consideration to buying a collection – it’s a winner.