One World Under Doom has been taking the Marvel Universe by storm, showing readers how exactly Doom would rule the world. Doom has been handing out Ls to the heroes since the beginning of the series, all while making life better for the common people. Doom is transcending being a villain, and it’s making for a very interesting story. One World Under Doom #4 pits Doom against Dormammu in a battle that tests Doom unlike any other he’s fought so far. Dormammu is one of the most dangerous beings in the Marvel Universe, a god with his own dimension and demon army. Dealing with Dormammu with brute strength is a huge mistake, because he usually has more than enough power to overwhelm basically any foe.
One World Under Doom writer Ryan North first became known for more humorous comics, like The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. North’s sense of humor has been a key part of his later works as well, and Fantastic Four and One World Under Doom have both been made better because of it. One World Under Doom uses the fight between Doom and Dormammu to fit in a great joke, one that will be familiar to MCU fans.
Doctor Strange‘s ending became something of a meme over the years. Doctor Strange learned that Dormammu is about to break through to our universe, and he knows his considerable powers aren’t going to allow him to defeat Dormammu. So, instead, he walks up to Dormammu and says the immortal line, “Dormammu, I’ve come to bargain,” using the power of the Time Stone to reset time until he figures out how to make Dormammu listen before Dormammu kills him. Doom and Dormammu’s fight starts off much better than MCU Strange’s, but he’s still outclassed. So, Doom uses a classic Doom strategy — tricking his foe with a Doombot — and then comes in and attacks the distracted Dormammu. His dialogue during this scene references the Dormammu/Strange fight by having Doom tell Dormammu that he didn’t come to bargain, smashing Dormammu across the face with a massive hammer made of energy.
Marvel referencing the MCU in its comics is nothing new. The MCU is the most popular iteration of the Marvel Universe ever, and the prevailing opinion at Marvel has always been to find ways to make the comics more like the movies. Sometimes, this means something like completely changing characters, like the members of the Guardians of the Galaxy or Iron Man, to be more like their MCU versions. Other times, it means changing teams to be more like MCU teams — for example, Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers run started with a team that was the 2012 Avengers team; Marvel even put out an Avengers book called Avengers Assemble that also had the original MCU team. Nick Fury, who in the 616 universe is a basically immortal white guy, was replaced by his son Nick Fury Jr., who looks like the MCU version (Marvel already had a Sam Jackson-inspired Nick Fury, but he was from another universe). Kevin Feige has even appeared in the Marvel Universe, talking to Cyclops during the first “Hellfire Gala” story in 2021. One World Under Doom referencing the battle between Dormammu and Strange in the MCU is one of the more clever times that the comics have homaged the movies, fitting perfectly into the comic.
Doctor Doom isn’t the type of fighter to negotiate with his foes. Doom smashes his foes against the unyielding steel of his intellect and powers, and lets them negotiate with him. Doom doesn’t usually have to plan out battles on the fly because it’s rare that Doom battles anyone this much more powerful than him. Doom smashing Dormammu with a hammer, while telling him he isn’t here to bargain, is an awesome visual, but it’s also something of a mistake.
While Doom holds his own for the opening stages of the fight, Dormammu and his legions of demons are just too much for Doom. Doom came into the fight with something of a plan, but in order to get to the place where those plans could work, Doom has to take a beating that almost kills him. Doom would have done better if he would have did what Doctor Strange did in the MCU — find a way to bargain with the dark lord — instead of taking the beating he did.
One World Under Doom #4 is on sale now.
One World Under Doom has been taking the Marvel Universe by storm, showing readers how exactly Doom would rule the world. Doom has been handing out Ls to the heroes since the beginning of the series, all while making life better for the common people. Doom is transcending being a villain, and it’s making for Read More