The First Time Doctor Doom Took Over the World (Part 2)

Champions (Vol. 1) #16
“A World Lost”
Writer: Bill Mantlo
Artist: Bob Hall
Inker: Michael Esposito
Letterer: Denise Wohl
Colorist: Phil Rache
Editor: Archie Goodwin
Cover: Gil Kane and Dan Adkins
Released: Aug. 17, 1977

Returning to Doctor Doom's first conquest of the globe in the shadow of Marvel's “One World Under Doom” crossover, we find the stars of the title, the Champions, acting as the antagonists against the unlikely duo of Magneto and the Beast. If you didn't read last week's post, the Master of Magnetism and the founding X-Man found themselves the only two people in the world not under the control of Latveria's monarch after he pumped the atmosphere full of a neuro gas that makes everyone follow his commands … at least everybody who breathes air, as the recap at the top of the title page emphasizes.

Before we get into this glorious slugfest of an issue, I want to talk about the Champions. I believe I first became aware of them in “Marvel Tales” #229, which reprinted “Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man” #18 and saw Spidey crossing paths with Iceman and Angel in the aftermath of the team's breakup. I was fascinated by a team I didn't know of that mixed X-Men and Avengers with Ghost Rider and the Russian superheroine Darkstar, It wasn't until years later that I would actually read a few of those adventures, but the setup alone seemed like something born out of a fan's imagination.

As we left off in “Super-Villain Team-Up” #14, the Champions believe Beast has gone to the dark side, thanks to a warning call from the Avengers, who are under the control of Dr. Doom. I presumed the Champions were under Doom's control as well, and everyone is to a certain extent, but unless Doom appeared via holographic projection and told them to stomp his enemies, they might just be taking the Avengers' word for it.

This is no brief scuffle before they bury the hatchet and face the real threat. The battle rages – with Iceman's teammates chastising him for holding back against his pal the Beast – until Magneto and his reluctant blue-furred ally hear a radio broadcast announcing Doom's impending arrival at the White House to meet with President Jimmy Carter.* Magneto decides to quit looking for more allies and take the fight directly to his true foe, so he whisks Beast toward the nation's capital in an energy sphere. Darkstar gathers up her teammates and follows.

At the White House, Doom is once again finding himself frustrated with his victory, not sure if Carter and other leaders are welcoming him because of his gas-induced control or for the sake of political expediency. Either way, and disregarding any possible political commentary I may be imagining,** they're happy to have him in charge.

The Secret Service even leaps to protect Doom when the Hulk hurtles onto the White House lawn. But the Green Goliath was summoned by Doom, because, if you're going to control everybody in the world, who else would you want as your bouncer? Plus, Mantlo apparently felt a running battle for the fate of the world between Magneto, Doom, an X-Man-turned-Avenger and the Champions needed a little something more. I gotta say, I like the way he thinks.

The Hulk's arrival comes just prior to Magneto's, leading to a confrontation I hadn't really thought about but now want to see more of. Before we can get much of that matchup, the Champions intervene. Magneto takes advantage of this by slinging the Hulk into Hercules, starting a battle between those two that keeps either from pummeling him.

Doom orders the Champions to kill Magneto, and they hop to it – with the exception of Ghost Rider, who, in his magic flaming skull form, doesn't need to breathe. Now it's three against the world as the hellfire-wielding*** motorcyclist joins the fray.

Magneto traps Black Widow and Darkstar in a metal fence and light post, Iceman tries to cool off the Rider and Angel snatches Beast off the ground while Hercules and Hulk continue their grudge match and Magneto and Doom finally face off. Doom gains the upper hand, because he “reversed my armor's magnetic polarity” allowing him to absorb Magneto's “force and turn it against” him. That was not covered in any of my science classes, but who am I to argue with Mantlo?

Beast slugs Angel in the jaw, causing his ex-X-teammate to drop him right onto Doom. Doom doesn't take this well and moves to kill the gravity-grabbed hero. Ghost Rider intervenes, blasting Doom right in the head with a dose of hellfire that causes his mask to heat up. He already had some pretty nasty burn scars under there, so he quickly pulls the faceplate off. But his air filters go with it, causing him to breathe in the neuro gas in the atmosphere...

...which shorts out his mind control abilities. The fighting gives way to confused conversation, and Hercules is even persuaded to stop fighting the Hulk, citing chivalry as he obliges Black Widow's request to free her and Darkstar. The Hulk decides he prefers being left alone to more fighting and departs. Magneto gloats about his victory and decides he doesn't feel like killing any heroes or taking over the world today. Doom, meanwhile, stands on the White House lawn, unable to do anything because he is awaiting commands … from himself.

It's a rather abrupt ending that I will let slide because Mantlo filled the preceding 16 pages with all-out Marvel insanity of the highest order. The first issue set the story up with a gloriously simple concept: Doom conquers the world and gets bored. That allowed us to have this one, which I refer to as a “kitchen sink” issue that has a little bit of everything. I loved it from start to finish, and it certainly lives up to the memories I had from the first go-round.

This is a story that easily these days could have been a four- or five-issue event series, with numerous one-shots and tie-ins as Magneto and Doom battle for control of the world. There's not anything wrong with that approach – OK, except for the needless limited series that let you know the story is so important the publisher won't interrupt some of its regularly scheduled publications to tell it – but there's something to be said for just cramming all-out action into a couple of issues.

I have every confidence that Ryan North in “One World Under Doom” will deliver both laughs and thoughtful moments. I appreciate when comics tell a larger story that maybe says something about the characters and even who we are, but sometimes I just need Hulk and Hercules punching each other and Beast strategically falling on a would-be world conqueror, making me laugh out loud.

* – Who defeated All-Night Party Howard the Duck in the 1976 election. Look it up.

** – Besides, we all know politics in comics is strictly a modern phenomenon, right?

*** – I feel like I should restate my objections to the casual tossing around of hell and related words, so I will, but I think good stories can be told with Ghost Rider, so I'm not getting too worked up.