I'm no JMS fan, but, unlike Waid, he can WRITE Doom. Waid wrote genericsadisticvillainnoonehundredandsixtyfive, JMS has an actual handle on him (note his response to the demons and his reaction to the PM's death).
[ June 12, 2012, 03:10 PM: Message edited by: Reboot ]
Posted by Mekanix on :
I thought Waid's run was brilliant. I felt like he treaded that fine line between campy and ironic. And, I never saw anything wrong with his Doom.
That said, I think JMS does get Doom on a level most writers just can't seem to grasp. Wish he got the rest of the FF as well but I'll take what I can get.
Now if someone could just explain what the bleeding hell any of this has to do with miscellaneous crossover 735 or just leave it the hell out of my books, I would be most oblidged.
Posted by Cobalt Kid on :
I'm definately not a JMS fan either but I agree he wrote Doom very well. I actually agree about Waid's Doom, and thought it wasn't up to par (in fact, his run didn't really do it for me, just like JMS's run is most definately not doing it for me).
However, I am excited about one thing: bring on Thor! Don Blake? I can't wait.
Posted by Mystery Lad on :
Thor! 'Bout time! I hope the rest of Asgard isn't far behind him.
I find I miss that as a Marvel Universe setting even more than I miss the Thunder god.
Even if it isn't used very often.
I just hope Asgard and population isn't too unrecognizeable.
Posted by Caliente on :
Ahhhh! Asgard!!!! Nooooo~!!!
*cries*
No, seriously, I do like the idea, but I feel like the implimentation could've been better.
I don't know how it was in Thor's book but whenever it spilled over into the rest of the U... I dunno. The New Mutant stuff and the Beaubier twins... it was very... messy and strange.
Posted by Mystery Lad on :
I agree the Northstar/Aurora thing was lame... but I *love* the New Mutants-in-Asgard issues. I wish there'd be a sequel (maybe Dani'd get some new powers or something).
I like the stories either set in Asgard with no connection to Earth, or ones where Earth-type characters journey to Asgard. Not so much the ones where troops of gods descend to New York or something.
Enchantress, Thor, the Warriors Three-- they're fun on Earth, though.
Posted by Stealth on :
Todd, I liked the New Mutants in Asgard story, but I felt it could have been told in about half the issues that it took up (proto-decompression?)
quote:Originally posted by Mekanix: Heh. Asgard. I'd buy that. Maybe I'm just a romantic at heart, but I've always fancied the idea of the Gods exiting among us mere mortals.
I love Asgard, but considering what a mess Marvel has made of 95% of their universe, I'd rather they leave Asgard alone.
quote:Originally posted by Mekanix:Though, and this may just be me, I've always thought Thor was a bit of a fairy. It might just be the way he talks, I'm not certain.
I like the way he talks. Better that than making him some monosyllabic lunkhead.
Now, back on topic -- I'm a fan of JMS's TV writing (Babylon 5, She-Ra, He-Man, Real Ghostbusters). The only comic of his I've ever read is Fantastic Four. I think he got off to a slow start, but he's been getting better and better each month. This is one of the best Dooms of the past 40 years, and I look forward to seeing what else he does with him.
I can't make a comparison with Waid's Doom; I haven't read any of Waid's FF stories, because I don't like Mike Wieringo.
Posted by Emily Sivana on :
July 5th will mark his 50th year of being in Marvel Comics, so it seems fitting that we talk about this villain.
Dr.Doom is my favorite comic book villain. His personality seems complex at the surface, but at the core it is simple: he lives for himself and will not stop until he accomplishes his goals.
In that way, he can be compared and contrasted with Batman. Both characters lost their parents at a young age, and both of them journeyed to Asia to complete their training. However, they chose two completely different paths to avenge their parent's fates. Batman decided to gain skills in order to rid Gotham of crime, while Dr.Doom conquered his native Latveria. However, for Dr.Doom domination has always been a lesser priority than humiliating Reed Richards. Batman is largely indifferent to his Rogue's Gallery, whereas Dr. Doom has an undying hatred for Reed Richards. To summarize, Batman enforces the law but Dr. Doom insists that he is the law.
Many people admire Batman because, as Kevin Conroy said, "He doesn't have any powers, he is a mortal and he just uses his wits." The playboy billionaire is face, and Batman is his real self. Victor is more similar to Lex Luthor than any of the Bat-villains, who are mostly chaotic evil. Victor is absorbed in his own ego and any threat to it must be destroyed. I think I like Victor because if I were evil, I would be like that. I understand jealousy and the desire to be correct. I admire Batman because he aspires us to be the best in humanity, while I sympathize with Victor because it would all be too easy to give into those negative emotions and live only for myself.
I like Dr. Doom overall, but I think his impact is diluted by the ever-present plot parachute that is his Doombots. How many stories featuring a Doom that maybe didn't behave as he should have were retconned as having been a Doombot? Or how often has a story used a Doombot outright instead of Doom?
The thing is, Doom is, I believe, a fairly complex villain who is difficult for writers to get "right". Too often, they write him too similarly to other generic bad guys, and the character has suffered for it. As a result, I think Doom has slowly fallen among Marvel's elite stable of villains to the point where he may just barely be in the top 10 now or even slightly out of it. That's my opinion, but I think it's a shame. If I'm even remotely on-target in my assessment, that is.
I think Marvel's big shots should put there heads together and do the character justice. Ol' Vic could use some updating in his appearance, his tropes and his purpose. (Personally, I thought Walt Simonson was really on to something with what he did during his run 20 years ago--but, alas, it was sadly retconned out.) Finding some way of ditching the Doombots to make all of his appearances meaningful and "real" would be a good start.