Doctor Doom vol. 2: Bedford Falls

Vol. 1 had Doom framed for sabotaging a black hole experiment on the Moon, deposed from his country, being arrested and then escaping before he was able to regain his armor and go after those responsible for his situation.  So if you’re thinking that vol. 2 sounds like this is where the series gets to the “good stuff” then you’d be right.  After a low-key issue where Doom and Kang hash out their issues in the Southwest, the good Doctor reassembles his inner circle, purges the traitors, gives the pretender to his throne what’s coming to him, and prepares to offer a perfect solution to the black hole that’s currently growing on the Moon.  It’s a plan so perfect that Doom has even reserved an hour of television on all the major stations the following night to talk about his inevitable success and his plans for the future.  Which include his desire to change and become a better person.  He’s seen the visions from this parallel world and knows that he has to change in order to make that world a reality.  There’s only one person standing in his way:  THAT ACCURSED REED RICHARDS!

…While I thought that writer Christopher Cantwell had a good handle on Doom in the first volume, it’s this second one where he shows us that he really knows the Doctor inside and out.  His ruthlessness, his cunning, his arrogance, his insecurity, it’s all on display here.  It’s also done in a way that makes Doom come off as more human than he has before.  Everything that he does here doesn’t feel like it’s being done to advance a specific story, but rather as an extension of the character himself.  Which is why his temper tantrum after his talk with Reed feels more pitiable than eye-rolling.  Or why his actions at the end of the volume come off as genuinely monstrous because they’re all the result of his wounded ego.  Artist Salvador Larroca sells all of this drama very well, even it’s calmer and weirder low key bits too.  This leaves us with a series that I’d say isn’t just a must-read for Doom’s fans, but also for those who feel that they’ve never quite understood him after all these years.