Review: Marvel Two in One Annual #1
Synopsis:
This Doctor Doom saw a universe destroyed. From the fragments he built his own world. He called it Battleworld. Now, instead of just being the monarch of a tiny country, he got to play God. The Fantastic Four, as always, defeated his megalomaniacal plans, but that defeat cost this world their Reed and Sue Richards, They are gone. This touched Victor’s soul and he started a path toward redemption and became the Infamous Iron Man. The grieving Ben Grimm sent the Human Torch on a wild goose chase with a device called the Multisect. He told Johnny it could be used to bring back Reed and Sue, but the reality is, that it can’t.
The Creative Team:
Chris Zdarsky isn’t going to make it easy to bring back Marvel’s flag-ship title. This story can get a little confusing if you don’t follow it closely. We have different universes versions of Doctor Doom and Reed Richards. Only one Thing and no version of Franklin Storm’s siblings. This comic opens with a flashback to Victor’s youth where he and his father encounter a homeless man who is begging for some change to get some food. Victor wants to give the homeless man something, but his father says they can’t afford too. Then Zdarsky sends Ben and this version of Dr. Doom into another dimension where that universes Dr. Doom has just killed his version of Reed Richards. Great stuff includes the two Doom’s facing off in battle plus the look at how Doom could evolve into a compassionate character and how the other universes version views his other self with loathing as he sees that Doom’s compassion as weakness. It’s a good read into the Psyche of Victor Von Doom.
Declan Shalvey has a simple approach to the characters Not a lot of contrast but it seems to work well for this tale of inter-dimensional travel. His opening look at Latveria and the young Victor Von Doom is a treat, I enjoyed how he handled the future dictators childhood memories. Highlights include the splash of the other dimensions introduction to Reed and Doom. Also the introduction to the Council of Reeds. All in all Shalvey seems to be the right artist for this story.
In Conclusion:
Worlds within worlds. Other dimensional travel. A voyage through space and time. None of these concepts are new to comic books or Science Fiction. It’s how the characters play out in the different scenarios that make these type of stories work and the Victor Von Doom segment works incredibly well here. My biggest criticism is the Thing. Preventing me from giving the story a fourth star. If you took him out of this story altogether he wouldn’t have been missed. The one action he performs that benefits the story, the lifting of a boulder to give them passage to Castle Von Doom, is underplayed and Ben even complains that he’s getting weaker and maybe Doom should do some of the lifting. He’s also taken out way to easy in battle and winds up useless. Not the Rocky Grimm Space Ranger I’ve come to know and love. I wish he could have fought the antagonist to a stand still at least before he was taken out. He’s only in this book because he’s the title star, and I guess it’s required for him to be in it. But as far as getting into the mind of Victor Von Doom this is a great read and highly recommended for that. *** (8.1 rating)
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Writer Chip Zdarsky
Art – Declan Shalvey
Colors – Jordie Bellaire
Publisher – Marvel
Author Profile
- Kevin Given has studied with “ Longridge Writers Group †and “ Writer’s Boot Camp †a speech/communications major from the University of Maine Presque-Isle/Orono sites. He has created the “ Karl Vincent Vampire Hunter †franchise which includes novels and comic books. They can be found on amazon, Indyplanet and Kindle. For a limited time you can get digital copies of “ Karl Vincent: Vampire hunter †# 1 and “ Files of Karl Vincent †# 1 for free on Indyplanet. Kevin is producing the third novel in the series “ Dracula Rising †(working title) and developing “ Foul Blood †into comic book form. Don't forget to check out the YouTube show " Comics: Let's Talk " hosted by Kevin Given
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